El Homo Technologicus es una especie única en la historia de la humanidad, caracterizada por su relación simbiótica con la tecnología. Desde la invención de la rueda hasta la era digital, esta especie ha transformado su forma de vida, convirtiendo la tecnología en un compañero inseparable. Imagina un mundo sin avances como medicinas, aviones, GPS, láser o internet; la vida existiría, pero sería radicalmente distinta.
La integración de estas herramientas no solo ha mejorado la calidad de vida, sino que también ha reconfigurado nuestras interacciones sociales, laborales y educativas. Hoy en día, la tecnología define cómo nos comunicamos, aprendemos y resolvemos problemas. Sin embargo, es esencial reflexionar sobre el equilibrio entre el uso de la tecnología y nuestras interacciones humanas.
El Homo Technologicus enfrenta nuevos desafíos. ¿Cómo mantenemos nuestra humanidad en un mundo saturado de dispositivos? La educación se vuelve crucial para enseñarnos a utilizar la tecnología de manera responsable y ética. No solo se trata de navegar en un océano de información, sino de convertirnos en consumidores críticos y creativos.
En conclusión, el Homo Technologicus no es solo un testigo de los cambios tecnológicos, sino un protagonista que debe aprender a prosperar en esta nueva realidad. La clave reside en encontrar un equilibrio que honre nuestra esencia humana mientras navegamos en el vasto mundo digital.
Hashtags: #HomoTechnologicus, #Tecnología, #Innovación
Keywords: Homo Technologicus, tecnología, impacto en la vida, medicina, educación, internet, GPS, láser, interacción humana, avances tecnológicos.
La integración de estas herramientas no solo ha mejorado la calidad de vida, sino que también ha reconfigurado nuestras interacciones sociales, laborales y educativas. Hoy en día, la tecnología define cómo nos comunicamos, aprendemos y resolvemos problemas. Sin embargo, es esencial reflexionar sobre el equilibrio entre el uso de la tecnología y nuestras interacciones humanas.
El Homo Technologicus enfrenta nuevos desafíos. ¿Cómo mantenemos nuestra humanidad en un mundo saturado de dispositivos? La educación se vuelve crucial para enseñarnos a utilizar la tecnología de manera responsable y ética. No solo se trata de navegar en un océano de información, sino de convertirnos en consumidores críticos y creativos.
En conclusión, el Homo Technologicus no es solo un testigo de los cambios tecnológicos, sino un protagonista que debe aprender a prosperar en esta nueva realidad. La clave reside en encontrar un equilibrio que honre nuestra esencia humana mientras navegamos en el vasto mundo digital.
Hashtags: #HomoTechnologicus, #Tecnología, #Innovación
Keywords: Homo Technologicus, tecnología, impacto en la vida, medicina, educación, internet, GPS, láser, interacción humana, avances tecnológicos.
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00:00It has been a dream since the dawn of time, a fantasy that no one believed could take
00:25body, be more handsome, stronger and smarter.
00:29Broaden the limits of humanity.
00:32However, current scientific progress is making it possible to turn this dream into a reality.
00:40The human being has always wanted to be immortal, possess superpowers of one or another type.
00:46But it is now when that desire can be fulfilled.
00:51For the first time in history, we are in a position to radically change the appearance of our children and grandchildren.
00:58We will be the first species to be able to control our own evolution.
01:02And it is not something that will happen in the distant future of science fiction, we are already experiencing it.
01:08Robotics, artificial intelligence, nanotechnology, genetic research.
01:13These new technologies promise to make our old dream come true, improve the human race.
01:20We want to manipulate, we want to modify, and we are learning how to change our appearance.
01:28In our attempt to obtain an improved version of what we are, we will become monsters.
01:35We have proposed to find that man of the future.
01:39A hybrid half human, half machine, genetically modified, an almost perfect human being.
01:49We will start in Vienna, Austria, where we will meet Christian, the first European bionic man.
01:55In 2005 he received an electric discharge of 20,000 volts and had to amputate both arms.
02:02After which he decided to participate in the orthopedic research project, OTTOBOCK.
02:07How has the arm worked since the last consultation?
02:11It works very well for me.
02:13Excellent.
02:15Without any problem.
02:17Excellent.
02:21Excellent.
02:23A small team of scientists took five years to develop this revolutionary prosthesis.
02:29Today, thanks to a microchip capable of performing more than 500 million calculations per second,
02:33Christian's brain controls an arm that is artificial and intelligent.
02:37The nerves transfer to the surface of Christian's chest the signals that are formed in his brain.
02:43And some ultra-sensitive sensors transform those signals into orders for the prosthesis.
02:51These integrated machines represent the first step towards the cyborg,
02:55the cybernetic organism half man, half machine,
02:58which has captivated our imagination since the beginning.
03:02I am happy because I know that one day I will be much stronger and I will be able to lift heavy loads,
03:06like Schwarzenegger in Terminator.
03:09That will be possible in the future.
03:11And I'm looking forward to that day.
03:32It is possible that Christian's artificial limbs would never have seen the light
03:36without the research of the United States Army.
03:39Their ambitious project, Revolucionando la Ortopedia,
03:42is a direct result of the wars fought by the United States in Iraq and Afghanistan.
03:47There are hundreds of soldiers who return from the front without a leg or an arm.
03:53The main objective of the program is to return the limbs of the soldiers
03:57The main objective of the program is to return the limbs of the soldiers
04:01but it also seeks to develop a kind of super soldiers.
04:07At the moment, the soldiers must be content with this exoskeleton called Hulk.
04:12This robotic structure motorized with titanium
04:14allows American soldiers to transport weights up to 90 kilos with minimal effort.
04:20They wear it as if it were an armor when patrolling the mountains of Afghanistan.
04:25By general rule, the army is the essential breeding ground for technological advances.
04:32Being naive, we could even say that it is a wonderful example of philanthropy.
04:38Being less naive, we observe that the limits between what cures
04:42and what improves or perfects are increasingly blurred.
04:48Everything that is used to heal or reduce suffering
04:51is immediately incorporated into improvement, transformation and remodeling projects
04:56whose result is something that is no longer only human.
05:17I remember the beginning of that program when they said
05:20we can rebuild it.
05:23And from my heart a scream arose.
05:27Yes!
05:28We are able to give birth to the first human bio-ionic.
05:31Steve Austin will become this man.
05:35He will be superior to what he was before the accident.
05:38The strongest, the fastest, in a word, the best.
05:51If you had asked me at 13 if I would like to have flesh and bone legs,
05:56I would have said yes, without a doubt.
06:00I don't know.
06:01But if they asked me today, I would not know what to say.
06:04The ankles of my prosthesis are not the same as they would have inherited genetically.
06:11I can say with certainty that they are much better.
06:14Having always perfect pedicure is a great advantage.
06:17I don't have to shave my legs.
06:19It's fantastic.
06:2150, 20 years ago, this would be science fiction, but here we are.
06:34Successful athlete, model of designer Alexander McQueen and actress,
06:38Amy Mullins is considered one of the 50 most beautiful women in the world.
06:44Although she was amputated both legs when she was only one year old,
06:47Amy has learned to overcome her disadvantage and has become a woman like no other.
06:52Her artificial limbs are not just therapeutic, they are an aesthetic element.
06:57Someone told me, oh no, you don't have legs.
07:00And I replied, well, the truth is that I have 12 pairs of legs.
07:03I have many legs.
07:04I have a room full of legs.
07:13If we have to believe Amy, soon we will go out to buy a new pair of artificial legs
07:22at the height of those we regularly see in fashion magazines.
07:26Our limbs will come with warranty and will have options,
07:29like all the prostheses we already use, without being aware that they are.
07:34I think we are already living in the age of enlargement, without any doubt.
07:37We all have prostheses.
07:40The cell phone, the computer, we can't do anything without them.
07:46I don't know if it's a good example,
07:48but it's clear that Pamela Anderson has as many prostheses in her body as I do, if not more.
07:54And no one would dare to call her disabled.
07:58That's why the good news is that people don't call me disabled either.
08:03I went to a very elegant party,
08:05and there was a girl who had known me for years with my normal height.
08:08When she saw me, she kept her mouth open.
08:11But you're so tall.
08:14I know, I told her, isn't it great?
08:16It's like wearing shoes with a super heel.
08:18I'm delighted.
08:20The girl looked at me and said,
08:22Amy, that's not fair.
08:29And the most incredible thing is that she meant it.
08:32She meant it.
08:34It's not fair that you can change my height to your liking.
08:40The fact that, today,
08:42someone can envy my orthopedic legs,
08:44is something totally new.
08:52I could see it happening with amputation,
08:56especially in the sports world.
08:59Athletes will do whatever it takes to get the most advantage they can have.
09:05They told me that I'd never walk.
09:09That I'd never compete with other kids.
09:14It wasn't in me to play water polo.
09:19They told me I'd never make the team.
09:21In 2007, Oscar Pistorius beat normal athletes in the Golden League of Rome.
09:27Amy Mullins and Oscar Pistorius
09:29are pioneers of a new era in which the limited man
09:32becomes the increased man.
09:35Someday,
09:36the world will know the difference
09:38between a man with no legs
09:40and a man with no legs.
09:43In 2007, Oscar Pistorius beat normal athletes
09:46in the Golden League of Rome.
09:49Someday,
09:50in the most competitive circles,
09:52models,
09:53sports stars,
09:54and soldiers
09:55will be tempted to replace arms,
09:57eyes,
09:58or a part of their brain
09:59with a more beautiful organ
10:01or that offers a higher performance.
10:05Even now,
10:06strange creatures,
10:07half man, half machine,
10:09have invaded the streets of New York,
10:11ready to take our place.
10:14Now,
10:15the objective of these technologies
10:17that we are developing
10:19is not to modify our environment,
10:22it's about modifying ourselves.
10:24It's one of the five or six greatest revolutions
10:27of the last 10,000 years,
10:29depending on whether we include
10:31the birth of Jesus Christ in the list or not.
10:34It occupies a prominent place
10:36in that list,
10:37along with sedentarism,
10:39the origin of culture,
10:41medieval sedentarism,
10:43the origin of consciousness,
10:45the industrial revolution,
10:47and the age of information.
10:49It is a stunning issue,
10:51and they are asking us
10:53to find a way to remain human
10:55in the middle of all this.
11:11The technological evolution
11:13has stepped on the accelerator.
11:15In Grenoble,
11:16some scientists have developed
11:18a revolutionary process
11:20to place implants in the center of the brain.
11:24The engineer of a new hybrid man,
11:26Professor Benebit,
11:28has invented the first brain marker.
11:31It is controlled by microelectrodes
11:33housed inside the brain.
11:38These scientists,
11:39who are trying to increase
11:41the potential of the human brain,
11:43are entering the most intimate
11:45nucleus of man.
11:46This video shows a Parkinson's patient
11:48who we are subjecting to various tests
11:50before surgery,
11:52and allows us to see
11:54how disabled he is.
11:56He can't even stand up without help.
11:58Here he appears after the intervention,
12:00but the stimulator is not yet connected,
12:02so his right hand is still shaking.
12:04My colleague is now connecting the stimulator.
12:07And soon we will see
12:09how the tremor of his right hand
12:11stops immediately.
12:18Now we connect the stimulator
12:20on the other side.
12:23And the patient unlocks,
12:25moves his legs,
12:27keeps his hands straight,
12:29raises his head,
12:31walks normally,
12:33balancing his arms,
12:35something that Parkinson's patients
12:37cannot do.
12:39He makes a small turn
12:41to show how agile his legs are.
12:43If we disconnect the stimulator,
12:45the patient will resume his disease.
12:47If we connect it,
12:49the miracle begins again.
12:52Although these extraordinary results
12:54should still be put to the test in the long term,
12:5740,000 people around the world
12:59already have this implant.
13:02The stimulated area is small,
13:04the size of a grain of rice.
13:06And the implant requires an operation
13:08that can last more than 10 hours.
13:12The principle of deep stimulation
13:14consists of sending high-frequency waves
13:16to the dysfunctional parts of the brain,
13:18either to activate them or to inhibit them.
13:20Stimulation makes the symptoms
13:22of the disease disappear,
13:24but does not cure it.
13:27Our neural system
13:29always fails in the same way.
13:32We start to stammer,
13:34and what the stimulator does
13:36is give us a little push
13:38and stop the stammering.
13:44It's like when we eliminate
13:46radio interference.
13:48But with it we could not improve
13:50a normal function.
13:53Because the type of stimulation
13:55we use is quite abrupt.
14:01Scientists are finding other uses
14:03for this kind of stimulator.
14:05As the high-frequency waves
14:07can suppress the desire to eat,
14:09they are testing it as a treatment
14:11against obesity.
14:13It has already been used to treat
14:15severe depression cases
14:17and compulsive obsessive disorders.
14:19Electrodes can correct our behavior,
14:21normalize our reactions
14:23and change our mood.
14:25And it has been demonstrated
14:27that it is possible to implant
14:30Natalie, a patient with
14:32severe obsessive-compulsive disorder,
14:34resistant to classical therapies,
14:36received an implant less than a year ago.
14:38Inserted under her collarbone,
14:40this tiny artifact produces
14:42high-frequency waves
14:44that stimulate her brain permanently.
14:46A psychiatrist regularly monitors
14:48the parameters of the treatment.
14:50Today he suggests that you see
14:52some images of her taken
14:54before receiving the implant.
14:57Let's watch the video
14:59where you see how she tries
15:01to get up from the table
15:03after breakfast.
15:26One, two.
15:29One, two.
15:32I have to do it six times
15:34before I can leave it.
15:51It's amazing.
15:53I was totally obsessed.
15:55Frankly, doctor,
15:57it's painful to see those images again.
16:01If I give you a glass now,
16:05do you have any difficulty
16:07in holding it or giving it back?
16:09No.
16:11Can you give it back to me?
16:13Yes.
16:15I feel totally normal,
16:17as before, as in 2000,
16:19as I felt before my illness.
16:21I do not feel a cyborg at all.
16:23Goodbye, doctor.
16:25Goodbye.
16:37Our knowledge of the brain
16:39is advancing at an extraordinary rate.
16:41Neuron to neuron,
16:43different areas of gray matter
16:45are revealing their mysteries.
16:47These secret images,
16:49never seen before,
16:51show a man walking with a monkey
16:53with all the necessary precautions.
16:55Since the goal was to decipher
16:57the mechanisms of the act of walking,
16:59it was necessary to teach the monkey
17:01to walk upright like a man.
17:03Three electrodes implanted
17:05in his hypothalamus
17:07allowed him to register
17:09his neuronal activity
17:11while moving his legs.
17:13In other places,
17:15memory, language and desire
17:17are also being deciphered,
17:19as well as the ability
17:21to move objects with thought.
17:25So far,
17:27American scientists
17:29have come the furthest.
17:31Some Boston researchers
17:33have begun to lay the foundations
17:35of improved medicine.
17:37To alleviate the loneliness
17:39of this tetraplegic,
17:41they have provided him
17:43with a superhuman function,
17:45the ability to move objects
17:47with thought.
17:49They have implanted 100 electrodes,
17:51as thin as a hair,
17:53in his motor cortex.
17:55These electrodes collect
17:57the electrical signals emitted
17:59by the neurons
18:01and send them to a computer.
18:03For a few months,
18:05Matthew Nagle
18:07could play video games,
18:09turn on and off lights
18:11and change TV channels
18:13until he had to remove
18:15the TV from the computer.
18:17He says,
18:19you're doing a great job.
18:21Now I'm going to turn on the TV.
18:23It's already on.
18:25I'm going to select a channel.
18:27I've put the previous channel.
18:29Now I'm going to put the next one.
18:31Oh man,
18:33I can't describe it with words.
18:35I've just used my brain.
18:37I've done nothing but think it.
18:39I just told the cursor
18:41to go up right
18:43and it's wild.
19:13But is the information
19:15recorded in this hard drive
19:17an additional memory?
19:19A kind of external hard drive
19:21that I can reconnect whenever I want?
19:23The answer is no,
19:25because I don't know
19:27where to connect it.
19:37A simple problem
19:39of where to connect the cables
19:41separates him from the improved memory man.
19:43Some scientists believe
19:45that the problem could be solved
19:47in the next 5 or 10 years.
19:49I know that sounds crazy,
19:51but the founders of Google
19:53are already serious
19:55about implanting a Google
19:57in the brain.
19:59The first time that happened,
20:01people thought it was a joke.
20:03But it wasn't a joke.
20:05They were serious.
20:11It's possible that in the future
20:13we feel so lost without an implant
20:15as we feel now
20:17when we forget our cell phone.
20:19Our future bosses will demand
20:21to have brains equipped
20:23with the best software.
20:25This idea may alarm the Europeans,
20:27but on the other side of the Atlantic
20:29they seem less reluctant.
20:31The question is how and when,
20:33not a conditional yes.
20:35We have already connected
20:37human neurons to computer chips.
20:39And we are getting better and better
20:41at an exponential rate of improvement.
20:43And the fact is that
20:45as the improvement of these processes
20:47can generate a lot of money,
20:49capital will continue to flow
20:51at a very high rate.
20:53It's like pouring gasoline into the fire.
20:55All this will be happening
20:57faster and faster.
20:59It will happen somewhere in the world.
21:01And once it happens,
21:03the people who incorporate
21:05these improvements
21:07will say,
21:09how can I get that?
21:13Peter Diamandis is a transhumanist.
21:17Transhumanism is a movement
21:19that has thousands of followers
21:21all over the world,
21:23some of which occupy prominent places
21:25in the best American institutions
21:27and research laboratories.
21:29They even have their own university
21:31located on the campus of NASA
21:33in Silicon Valley.
21:35He is preparing the ground
21:37so that the richest can evolve
21:39and make up the technologically
21:41improved human species
21:43that will happen to Homo sapiens.
21:45Right now it's easy for us
21:47to say human.
21:49We know it's a human
21:51and it's a machine.
21:53But the border between one and the other
21:55will soon blur.
21:57We will start by receiving
21:59visual and auditory implants.
22:01Then we will go through
22:03a midlife crisis
22:05and instead of buying
22:07a sports car,
22:09we will buy a sports heart
22:11to improve our physical performance.
22:13It will start like this,
22:15with small improvements,
22:17and before we realize it,
22:19we will be more artificial than natural.
22:21So I would not try to close
22:23to the classic separation
22:25between humans and machines.
22:27We will evolve and change
22:29what we use to relate to the world.
22:31And it's something positive.
22:33It's evolution,
22:35an artificial evolution.
22:41Here some of the best students
22:43in the world teach
22:45that man is a machine
22:47whose pieces can soon be changed
22:49without limit,
22:51and that for our children,
22:53death will be a disease
22:55that will have a cure.
22:57When we understand
22:59we can go from seeing aging
23:01as something inevitable
23:03to seeing it as an election.
23:05Some people do not want to understand it like that,
23:07and I think it's good,
23:09they do not have to do it.
23:11But those who understand it like that
23:13will live more and in better conditions,
23:15will be more successful in society,
23:17and ultimately,
23:19as Darwin proved,
23:21they will overcome and replace
23:23those who do not.
23:25We are going through
23:27an evolutionary period
23:29based on natural selection
23:31to an evolution
23:33based on intelligent direction.
23:43The will of the human species
23:45to depend on itself
23:47in a rational way
23:49and following an established plan
23:51is something radically new.
23:53Until now, evolution
23:55has not been a problem
23:57when human beings
23:59become the engineer of evolution,
24:01the result is a form of excess
24:03that could be counterproductive.
24:11Our species
24:13is losing all its naturalness,
24:15and the question we must ask
24:17is, do we humans
24:19feel part of nature
24:21or do we feel displaced from it?
24:23That is for me the greatest danger,
24:25because separating from nature
24:27would mean the fall of humanity.
25:23The University of Reading,
25:25the British Silicon Valley,
25:27is one hour away by train from London.
25:29Here, a professor of cybernetics
25:31who enjoys a perfect health
25:33has begun to transform his body,
25:35proof that the transhumanist ideology
25:37has already crossed the Atlantic.
25:39I did not want to limit myself
25:41to being a human,
25:43I wanted to be a scientist,
25:45I wanted to be a scientist
25:47and I wanted to be a scientist
25:49and I wanted to be a scientist
25:51I did not want to limit myself
25:53to being a human
25:55If I could progress and transform
25:57into an improved human,
25:59a cyborg, so to speak,
26:01I am entirely determined to do it.
26:08Kevin Warwick´s mutation
26:10increases the ability of his cell
26:12to have more controls
26:14on the robotic systems
26:16in his laboratory,
26:18The first implant I received was an RFID, a radiofrequency identification system.
26:27I chose to have it implanted in my left arm as an experiment.
26:32What it did was allow me to identify myself in the computer in my building.
26:37So, as I enter, the doors open and the lights turn on.
26:41And as I cross the main door, the computer says...
26:45Hello, Professor Warwick.
26:48A lot of animals already have this implant, but I was the first human.
26:52And it could be used as an extra passport for humans.
26:56I love being a cyborg.
27:02A few months later, Kevin decided to take another step and implant a second chip in his arm.
27:08But this time, it was connected directly to his own nervous system.
27:12His goal was to remotely control a robotic hand.
27:15He underwent an extremely delicate operation of two and a quarter hours, in front of the cameras, and without ever losing his smile.
27:24It took six months to train my brain, to teach it to recognize the new pulses,
27:30and to feel the amount of force that the robotic hand was applying.
27:34It was like having another sense of touch, a sixth sense that my mind had not had until then.
27:43This is Mowi.
27:45Mowi is a research robot.
27:48It has cameras in its eyes and an audio system in its ears.
27:53It has an ultrasonic sonar in its forehead,
27:57it has a radar in its nose,
28:00and its upper lip emits infrared rays.
28:04So, in the future, there will be humans that have not five senses, but 20 or more senses.
28:10This will allow us to understand much better the world that surrounds us.
28:15This is an ultrasonic baseball cap.
28:18This was linked to my nervous system by means of an implant,
28:22so that in case there is a nearby object, my brain can get current pulses.
28:27I could use this to track objects.
28:30Clearly, it is an improvement that anyone can experience.
28:35What I'm going to try to do now is use the cap to walk around the room without bumping into anything.
28:43There is nothing on my right.
28:45It's all clear on the right.
28:47It's not on the left, it's not on the right.
28:50It's right in front of me.
28:52It's the camera.
28:59Kevin is jealous of the machines.
29:02Today, his dream of a better future is focused on this fire extinguisher robot.
29:10Hello, welcome home.
29:12You did very well.
29:13Much better than me, that's for sure.
29:18Maybe in the future, when human bodies are so obese that we can't move,
29:23we will move in small vehicles like this.
29:27And it will be our brain that controls the world that surrounds us.
29:31Our bodies are there to move our brains from one place to another.
29:35Maybe also to practice sex and a couple of other things.
29:38But it could get rid of our bodies.
29:44There will be two species, no doubt.
29:46Improved humans and normal humans.
29:48And I know which group I want to belong to.
29:51And I know which group I want to belong to.
29:53I don't want to be one of those boring normal humans with limited mental abilities.
29:58I want to be in the intellectual group, in the improved human group.
30:24Humanity is already divided between poor and rich.
30:27Not all of us have the same access to education, culture, health and technology.
30:33But nowadays, social classes are more or less permeable.
30:37Tomorrow, once technology invades our bodies,
30:40humans will be divided forever into unalterable technological castes.
30:49Two categories of people could be created.
30:52The upper class, that of the improved individuals,
30:55and the lower class, that of the non-improved individuals.
30:58There would be a new differential factor.
31:01Normal people would be at a disadvantage in front of people with means to access these improvements.
31:11The idea of a world dominated by a minority,
31:14medicated, full of implants,
31:16and with the power to shape the future of our species,
31:19should make us reflect.
31:25What is a superior human?
31:27How will we get to him?
31:29We have managed to get cows to produce more milk because we need it,
31:32to increase the production of corn to 2,250 kilos per hectare because we need it.
31:36But what do we want from humans?
31:38There is no answer to that question.
31:56It's scary.
31:59You'll look younger, smaller, lighter, fuller, tighter, thinner, softer.
32:05It really works.
32:20It is clear that this desire to standardize human matter,
32:23human flesh, goes hand in hand with the desire for cultural standardization.
32:27We are making man competitive.
32:30That is the key word of our era.
32:32To think that there can be no place for people who want to remain within that trend,
32:36and that there will be many people who will lag behind in this race,
32:39is an idea that terrifies me.
32:49Who will set the standards of this competitive man,
32:52with an infallible brain and a perfect body immune to aging?
32:56Scientists? Politicians? Militaries? Or manufacturers?
33:01While we try to model, standardize and reproduce at our will
33:04various biological processes,
33:06the technology that sees man as a machine is gaining ground rapidly.
33:12And the application of this industrial vision of man begins with his birth.
33:23Good evening, Mr. President.
33:29As you can see, the breeding stages are complete.
33:32They are devoid of individuality, subservient to our authority.
33:37And quite frankly, Mr. President,
33:39they're stupid.
33:41The perfect customers for your banks of tomorrow.
33:45And this one, I'm afraid that one hasn't turned out quite as we expected.
33:50This one, I'm afraid that one hasn't turned out quite as we expected.
34:13Oscar was not born of an artificial uterus.
34:17But at birth, after a pregnancy of just six months,
34:20he managed to survive the last three months of pregnancy
34:23in this incubator that replaced his mother's womb.
34:30In the future, the babies will be born in a machine,
34:33an artificial uterus that will allow its manufacture.
34:37It's true that it looks like science fiction, but it's not at all.
34:41For Henri Atlan, producing an artificial uterus
34:44is the logical extension of the current medically-assisted procreation techniques.
34:52There is already in vitro fertilization,
34:54which means that the first days of development
34:56take place outside the woman's body, in a laboratory.
34:59On the other hand, premature babies spend the last weeks in an incubator.
35:04So the question is how we fill the gap of those five months
35:08that separate the beginning from the end of the gestation.
35:11It won't be easy, but I consider it feasible.
35:28We are in Philadelphia,
35:29in the intensive care unit of the maternity ward
35:32of the Temple University Hospital.
35:34Here, Thomas Schaffer has developed a technique
35:37that allows extremely premature babies to survive.
35:40Schaffer had the idea of making them breathe a liquid rich in oxygen.
35:46Babies grow up in the uterus,
35:48in a liquid environment in which their lungs are filled with liquid.
35:54And unfortunately,
35:55premature babies make the transition to gas breathing too soon.
36:01So my idea was to introduce a synthetic liquid
36:05into those immature lungs,
36:07so that they continue to function.
36:11Once they have matured,
36:13we will stop introducing that liquid.
36:15What remains will evaporate,
36:17and babies will be able to resort to gas breathing
36:21like a normal infant.
36:31Although it was not his first goal,
36:33the liquid invented by Dr. Schaffer
36:35was used in the first real attempt to create an artificial uterus.
36:39At the University of Yuntendo in Tokyo,
36:41Dr. Kubabara extracted the premature fetuses from a goat's uterus
36:45and placed them in a plastic tank.
36:49The babies reached the end of their gestation,
36:51but only lived four weeks after their birth.
37:02At Cornell Medical School in New York,
37:04a professor of endocrinology
37:06has gone even further with the suspensions of the uterus.
37:10By artificially recreating the beginning of gestation,
37:12Dr. Liu has begun to assemble the first pieces of a baby-making machine.
37:19Dr. Liu managed to create a very successful first version of the artificial uterus.
37:25A plastic cavity covered by endometrial cells,
37:29the cells that form the female uterine lining.
37:35She also managed to implant human embryos in that cavity.
37:40Although they were pathological embryos,
37:42we knew they were going to die.
37:48Her results were very controversial
37:50and she was forced to suspend her experiments.
37:54But the doctor continued to work with mice
37:56and managed to develop mouse offspring in those cavities
38:00until her complete gestation.
38:05Dr. Liu only wanted to return fertility to women with dysfunctional uteruses.
38:10Like many scientists,
38:11she thought she could control the technology she was developing.
38:16But how can a discovery of that nature be controlled?
38:20Mechanizing and ultimately industrializing the birth of a child
38:24is a very delicate matter.
38:25Too delicate.
38:29The idea that one day a machine could replace the uterus
38:32generated such a scandal
38:33that the doctor began to receive death threats.
38:38There was a terrible debate
38:40and the doctor was scared.
38:42The issue of the artificial uterus
38:44was debated in international biomedical ethics seminars
38:47among supporters and detractors of her experiments.
38:52It was a very interesting debate
38:54because everyone could express their points of view.
38:57Paradoxically, the movements provided by the United States
39:00were shown to be in favor
39:02because they believed that this would lead to fewer abortions
39:05because unwanted children could be transferred to an artificial uterus
39:09without having to end their lives.
39:22The artificial uterus surprises many people.
39:25But the process has already begun.
39:27It is the process of dissociation between procreation and sexuality.
39:34The result will be that the great asymmetry
39:37that currently exists between men and women
39:39when deciding to have a child or not will disappear.
39:42Because women will participate in the same way as men
39:46when providing cells.
39:48Women will provide ovules.
39:51Men, sperm and period.
39:54This means that there will be an asymmetry that did not exist until now.
40:10According to a survey conducted by an American website,
40:1355% of Internet users
40:16do not see any ethical problem in the use of an artificial uterus.
40:20What do they gain from it?
40:22It avoids the unpleasant effects of pregnancy
40:24and they can continue working.
40:26There will always be a market for the artificial uterus
40:29because it satisfies the desire of women
40:32who want to procreate in the most comfortable way possible.
40:35In fact, the market will be created by the manufacturers themselves,
40:39as is currently the case with many of the medicines
40:42that circulate the pharmaceutical companies that create the market.
40:53In Los Angeles, a new market has seen the light of day.
40:57Here, the production of the perfect human being
41:00begins in the conception,
41:02selecting the best quality embryos.
41:05A new industry offers babies to the letter,
41:08with different options and a total guarantee.
41:11They have a wide catalog of rental mothers
41:14and carefully selected sperm donors.
41:17Here they are sold in large quantities,
41:19the genetic inheritance of the perfect baby.
41:22Now we can choose the sex of our child
41:24along with many other characteristics.
41:26These are the incubators where we have the embryos,
41:29as if they were inside the mother.
41:31How many babies do you have here?
41:33Forty.
41:34Forty babies.
41:40In France, as in most countries in the world,
41:43choosing the sex of your child is illegal.
41:46But a flight to Los Angeles and a few thousand dollars
41:49is enough to have the child you want.
41:52In China, all families want to have boys.
41:55In Canada, they prefer girls.
41:57In Mexico, too.
41:59In France, the preferences are slightly inclined towards girls,
42:02but they are almost 50%.
42:11In some countries, being able to choose the sex of a child
42:15is a matter of great importance.
42:17In China, where they kill thousands of girls as soon as they are born,
42:20there are 18 million single men due to the scarcity of women.
42:25If it were available,
42:27this process would have devastating effects in that country.
42:30Fortunately, there is still a long way to go
42:32for this to be a generalized problem.
42:34For now, only those who can afford it
42:36can have the child they want.
42:38The technology used to select the embryos
42:41is called pre-implant genetic diagnosis.
42:44This form of diagnosis was invented
42:46to avoid abortions in couples with serious genetic diseases
42:49who did not want to give birth to a baby with malformations.
42:52But as soon as the mercenaries of procreation
42:54appropriated this technique,
42:56the baby market was created.
43:02Elizabeth and Peter enjoy good health
43:04and are parents of two children.
43:06But they have decided not to leave the arrival of the third child
43:09until the end of the pregnancy.
43:13Okay, so you're interested in gender selection.
43:16That's right.
43:17Okay, so you already have two children,
43:19both healthy,
43:21and two boys.
43:23Yes, we want a healthy girl.
43:26Very good.
43:27We use the technology of in vitro fertilization.
43:30The only difference is that once we have the embryos,
43:33I have a team of outstanding geneticists
43:35who perform biopsies of the embryos
43:37and study the genetic components that interest us.
43:48This is for the new mothers, when they get pregnant,
43:51to prepare them, because two weeks later they are pregnant.
43:54Sure?
43:55Yes.
43:56Well, there is an 85% chance.
43:58We consider our program the Rolls Royce of fertilization programs.
44:017,000 cases, no error.
44:03All patients have had what they wanted.
44:08The baby pack includes hotels and plane trips with a discount
44:12and a complete financing plan.
44:16All included, the baby of your dreams has a price that exceeds $20,000.
44:23The price of the sex selection package they have chosen
44:26has a price of $18,490.
44:29Very good.
44:30Taxes included?
44:32The medication is never included in our packages.
44:36The medication for this cycle can cost the patient around $5,000,
44:40but that's nothing to worry about.
44:42Thank you so much.
44:53I calculate that it will cost us about $30,000,
44:56which is a lot of money.
44:57It seems crazy.
44:58A part of you says,
45:00Oh, I can't spend so much money.
45:02But if you think in the long run,
45:04you value the desire you have to have a daughter,
45:06and you stop to think how much you're going to spend on each of your children,
45:09maybe it's worth it.
45:13I think it's a fantastic price.
45:15It's cheaper than a car.
45:16Economically, knowing if you want a boy or a girl
45:19is a very good decision.
45:21I don't think it's comparable to buying a car.
45:23But in a way, it's the long-lasting good, par excellence.
45:26We're talking about something that will last forever.
45:28I don't feel uncomfortable with this procreation method.
45:31Now it's up to us to decide how much desire we have to have a girl,
45:35as much as to spend $30,000.
45:46If you are paying $12,000 or more for a fertility treatment
45:50that allows you to choose the sex of your child,
45:53what kind of pressure and demand are you putting on that child?
45:58And if it's not a very feminine girl,
46:00what if he wants to play football with you?
46:03What if he doesn't want to wear pink dresses?
46:08Soon we will be able to choose other options for our children.
46:11Dr. Steinberg recently announced that he was able to choose
46:15the color of the eyes, the hair and the skin of the baby.
46:18Immediately after his announcement,
46:20the clinic received a flood of requests.
46:22But the controversy generated by that statement
46:24caused the offer to be withdrawn from his website.
46:27Outside the cameras, the doctor admitted that he had been asked
46:30to select embryos that would become tall, athletic people
46:33or with a perfect timbre of voice.
46:35We will never know because there is no public information about it.
46:39And they don't have to tell us what tests they are doing.
46:42We are in Hollywood, the capital of plastic surgery.
46:45If a person doesn't like his nose, he changes it.
46:48And that seems good to me.
46:49I understand perfectly that someone doesn't like a color of the eyes
46:52and prefers another color.
46:53Now, would I do it?
46:54Probably yes, but not right now.
46:56It's too soon.
47:00It's incredible.
47:01Yes, it's an incredible technology.
47:04Dr. Steinberg is convinced that, in the end,
47:06he will prove that he is right.
47:08The doctors in Great Britain have already agreed
47:10to eliminate the embryos that could give rise to viscous babies.
47:17What produces horror is the fact of introducing
47:20the notion of rational choice to have a child.
47:26And it is this rational choice that I question,
47:29not commercialization or technology.
47:32I question rational choice.
47:35I feel totally against the elimination of chance.
47:39There are two conditions, two facts that make sense in life.
47:44The first is that every life has an end.
47:48The second is the importance of chance in life.
47:51So if we eliminate both that end and chance,
47:55we eliminate the meaning of life and the meaning of death.
48:08Eliminating the chance of birth is not a recent concern.
48:12In the 1870s, Francis Galton, cousin of Charles Darwin,
48:16founded the Eugenesia.
48:18His goal was to double, reduce the number of inept
48:21and improve the race, encouraging the reproduction of the fittest.
48:27Overflowing with good intentions,
48:29the movement grew at the beginning of the 20th century.
48:32First in the United States and later in Europe.
48:35In 1950, 33 states of the United States
48:38approved eugenic laws such as sterilization of the disabled,
48:41epileptic, mentally ill and sometimes even alcoholics and drug addicts.
48:46These policies were abandoned when the Americans
48:49discovered the horrors of the Nazi concentration camps.
48:55Today we have technologies that make eugenics less traumatic than before,
49:00since no one is forced to sterilize
49:03and people are relatively free to decide for themselves.
49:06That is why all the conditions are given
49:08for eugenics to experience a similar boom to that of the 1930s.
49:14The economic crisis, the need to create jobs,
49:17the fascination for technological progress
49:20and the myth of the birth of a new man,
49:22factors that made possible the boom of the eugenic movement in the 1930s,
49:26seem to be repeated today.
49:28Although today most doctors
49:30consider that the selection of embryos is a positive eugenics,
49:34because it is not imposed by a government,
49:36but is a free individual choice.
49:39People try to calm down by saying that new eugenics
49:42is a free and voluntary practice,
49:44since each person decides which embryos he wants to keep and which not.
49:48But we must not forget, as we saw in the movie Gattaca,
49:51that when some can choose,
49:53those who cannot do it are seen in difficulties.
49:56Because that means that the obligation to choose is created.
49:59That is why the statement that people have the freedom
50:01to select embryos is not as true as it may seem.
50:04If it is allowed to do it,
50:06it will end up being mandatory.
50:36Welcome to Gattaca.
51:05Gattaca is a very accurate description
51:08of how we can select human beings
51:10to achieve concrete results
51:12and make the selection,
51:14even within the egg itself.
51:17I think the day will come
51:19when society will tell those
51:21who do not want to select their children,
51:23pay it yourselves.
51:25We will not give you a maternity leave or social benefits.
51:28If you want to take the risk,
51:30fix it alone.
51:32Social pressure will grow
51:34and it will end up being an obligation
51:36that people have useful and standardized children,
51:38which, in theory, should be much happier than others.
51:41I ask you to welcome now
51:43Mr. Michel Petrucciani.
52:04Applause
52:33Music
52:45It should not surprise us
52:47that society wants children by the letter,
52:49because today there are many people
52:51who are unable to accept
52:53those who are different.
53:03It is true that I am completely against
53:05choosing children by the letter.
53:07Of course it is good to find ways
53:09to limit genetic diseases,
53:11because that would mean
53:13that there would be fewer children
53:15who would suffer diseases
53:17and who would feel different
53:19throughout their lives.
53:21Music
53:25After all, it is certain that
53:27Music
53:31Naturally,
53:33we have had geniuses
53:35who were different
53:37and who used that difference
53:39to be unique
53:41and become extraordinary people,
53:43people who go beyond
53:45normality.
53:47Music
53:57If I could have chosen,
53:59I would have chosen
54:01to be normal,
54:03but I am not sad
54:05to be as I am.
54:07Music
54:15I would not want my children
54:17to suffer what I suffered.
54:19But I say that
54:21with a certain degree of prudence,
54:23because I still do not know
54:25enough about life
54:27to categorically affirm
54:29whether or not I would like
54:31to have a son like me.
54:33Because my father did want to have me.
54:35But he knew much more
54:37about life than I did.
54:39He experienced what I have experienced,
54:41and yet he made the decision
54:43to have me.
54:45And I am the result
54:47of that decision.
54:49Music
55:09Is it desirable to make reality
55:11the old dream of becoming
55:13perfect men?
55:15We cannot deny the unasked
55:17to parents who suffer from rare diseases
55:19the possibility of having children.
55:21But since medicine
55:23goes from being a science that cures
55:25to being a science in which the criteria
55:27of selection and improvement prevail,
55:29it is time to question this
55:31improved man.
55:33Music
55:35We will make more beautiful bodies
55:37that will live many more years
55:39and brains that will allow us to work even more.
55:41But who will benefit
55:43from these supposed improvements?
55:45Our politicians, who make these wonderful discoveries?
55:47Our governments,
55:49who will not stop at anything
55:51to create jobs of the future?
55:53If we eliminate the chance of life,
55:55we also eliminate a large part of its meaning.
55:57And the risk is that technology
55:59will not make us better,
56:01but simply
56:03less human.
56:05Music