I used to be really deep into this rabbit hole. Theres a community of “biohackers” who do stuff like inserting rfid chips and magnets under the skin.

The magnet in the finger tip is what always interested me, but im too much of a chicken to seriously consider doing it because its not a medical procedure (you can’t just go to a doctor afaia and request to have it implanted - theyll just refuse to do it) so you need to do it with local anaesthetics that you can legally acquire, yourself or with a friend.

People who have done it have reported they became able to sense electromagnetic fields once they got used to its sensitivity, which is bizarre and awesome at the same time. They literally gave themselves a “sixth sense”

Chop me up, doc. I’m ready to live life by the hot wire.

Yes. I’m chronically ill with a lot of issues. I’d go down to Maelstrom’s territory at night alone and wiggle seductively. “Oh no, please don’t force chrome on me Mr. Maelstrom guy.”

Realistically, I have ADHD so having a neural interface to make sure I didn’t forget shit would be so helpful. I wouldn’t trust most devices though. It’d have to be free of the possibility of being enshittified, so I’d only be comfortable with it if I controlled the software.

I get a kind of chafe, like that of clothes that don’t fit, for the normal function of my own body. Like some other arm I’ve never used is tied behind my back. So yes, but the cost matters more.

If I die younger for it, not worth it. If I give up my sovereignty to an amoral entity for it, not worth it.

So no hack jobs and no corporate bs, but non-invasive opensource projects like openbci and openmuscle? Awesome!

For it to be more mainstream I’d really support a well ran cooperative that supports these opensource projects and customers that have them.

I refer to my CGM as “my cybernetic implant”, so I guess I already have one?

Yes, just seeing the headline was a yes - but yeah nothing for the brain, just robot arms and legs and eyes for now

Watch the black mirror episode on that

New Chrome? Well Cyberpunk made it seem fun, but in reality you’d get so many ads…

My initial reaction was a strong yes, but after a bit of thinking the realistic options are really limited. Most of the cool stuff from cyberpunk fiction is completely implausible or useless to me personally.

1. Durability. Metal bones, subdermal armor. Resisting small arms may be possible? But it’s useless. Even if you’re a soldier or an American schoolkid, people would start using higher calibers once this becomes a known technology. Resisting impacts is impossible because all the force would hit the weakest link (heart, lungs brain). You’d need a full body replacement with a remote brain, which is sci-fi nonsense and comes with its own drawbacks. I think the most likely risk to me would be head injuries (car accident, falling over), you can’t really avoid that without removing the brain, or adding padding like a built-in helmet. If I wanted to wear a bike helmet all the time I could do it right now, but I’d look like a chud.

2. Arm Tools. Gun arm, scissor hands. Just carry a normal one. The only useful thing I can think of is a hidden weapon, which would be illegal and useless for most people. Again, every security operation would start scanning people to counter them.

3. Super Strength. Most useful lifts involve your full body, you’d need to replace the whole thing or you’ll risk straining something. An exoskeleton might work, but why would you make it part of your body? Plus, if you’re performing an industrial process, there’s probably a more efficient way with custom tools. It could be usable if it’s within the normal range of strength, and it’d save you some time at the gym. Also, maybe a super-strong hand would be useful for grip strength?

4. Extra Limbs. Your brain isn’t structured to control these. Might work with a brain implant, but this would be very advanced technology if it’s even possible.

I think brain and eye implants are the only things that’d be useful for a normal person. For brain implants it’s hard to say what’s realistic. Eyes, if you could match the resolution of a normal eye, you could add different modes and switch quickly, that might be useful? I’d get it for the cool factor. But how likely are you to need this with no notice. Just wear goggles.

I think the main use-case would be as a social tool to keep mildly offensive things on your person, using an argument from bodily autonomy. But then this is only socially acceptable if they’re widespread, which requires them to be useful in the first place. I wouldn’t want to do this and look like a total loser.

Not unless it was medically necessary, and they had open hardware and software for the parts. Otherwise, I don’t trust companies and the US government to properly regulate it, and I really don’t feel like having to play whack-a-mole with adblockers or whatever to keep my cybernetic parts from beaming ads straight into my brain, or doing other crazy stuff. I’d also be wary of companies just discontinuing support for the implants when it became too expensive for them to maintain, and being left with a useless bunch of metal somewhere in my body.

Is the hardware and software open source or otherwise not owned by a corporation. Then maybe.

No.

I’ve seen how often tech breaks, gets controlled, becomes unsupported, and can never really get things “right.”

But like you said, if it’s that or blindness, sure. But I’m not chopping off good parts.

Someone hasn’t played the Deus Ex series…

No. Restoring human-like capability following some kind of traumatic event, sure.

“Nothing voluntary” and “nothing that grants superhuman abilities” are the bare minimum to make sure it doesn’t turn into an arms race, leading to a tiered society with the enhanced elite ruling over the organic poor.

It depends.

If it is somehow able to be powered by the sugars in my body, doesn’t need external recharging, and does not have any network connectivity, especially if it’s an upgrade to what I currently have, probably.

If it fails any of those three tests, then probably not.

My brain immediately went to cybernetic titties and I got lost thinking about what they might do.