If this even happens, would you be willing to go through with it?

Kind of a tough Q, this one.
I don’t think nanobots would necessarily rob me of humanity, (I may need new knees at some point, and I already have enough dental work that is not original or organic). I like the idea of less pain and strife in my body that was caused by damage from disease remediation, or the repair of faulty bits, but I am not keen to live a much longer life.

I am 70, and I am soul-weary from all the crap that has been taking down our general world spirit.

Environmental issues, rampant and increasing poverty,
In this country alone we see the rolling back of quality of life for anyone who is not a cis-het write man,
In the world in general there is an enormous erosion of empathy and compassion.

I don’t really want an extension of experiencing this.

Nicely said @canidmajor couldn’t agree more.

That’s a fascinating article! I can understand your reservations about merging with AI, especially the concerns about accessibility and wanting to remain fully human. It’s a tough call, but I think I’d want to know more about the benefits and risks before making a decision.

This should be in Social.
Although. I guess if I’m in a hospital in 2030, it may be “yes” or “no.”

I am not pleased to say, that I often regret getting my liver transplant. In retrospect, it made little sense to keep someone like me alive.
I am dealing with countless issues that keep me from “fully” recovering. As I was not a wealthy individual, my future is bleak, at very best.
Especially, if Trump wins, and people like me end up with no government assistance.

It was NEVER really something that I thought about. Potentially being on disability. Especially for some extended period…

I would rather die. If nothing else ,to follow all those that I loved. Wherever, if anywhere, that may be.

I don’t even know I will make it to 2029 but if I do, I won’t want to be injected with nanobots. If it could be done non-invasively by magic I might be up for it.

Who is creating the technology? Who is controlling it?
The answer to both is “the worst people in the world”. The Elons, the Zuckerbergs, the Bezoses.
So no, I would not do it, because the people making the tech can not be trusted.

@MrGrimm888 I understand completely. I’ve already made up my mind that I don’t want a kidney transplant. Too many other people need them and I’ve read about all the complications, the fact that I probably couldn’t have my cats in the house because of my immune system being compromised, etc. Just the cat thing alone has made me determined that I don’t want to go through that. I’m stage four kidney disease, so at some point I will have to go on dialysis, although right now my numbers are holding steady and have been for some time. But, and nobody knows this, not my family and not my doctor, but if Trump gets re-elected, at which point I will lose my health care assistance, I think when it comes time for dialysis I might just say, no thanks. I have no desire to see what this world would become like. And I have my faith and I believe that better things await me anyway in the next world. I’m sure my family will be upset with me but I’m already looking at not being able to afford rent by next June and not knowing what that will look like. I’m sure there’s somebody who would take me in, but I probably wouldn’t be able to keep my cats and I like my privacy. My family has pretty much told me they wouldn’t take me in although I also don’t think they believe that I could actually become homeless. At that point I’m just going to question why I would even want to continue my life.

^I want to be 100% clear, that I am NOT bad mouthing the organ transplant industry.

Many people, have had great experiences with transplants.
Many people, can get a transplant early, and not skip a beat.
The way it was decided who was chosen, and when, has alledgedly been called out, and I DO expect just making that process get more oversight can or will address many issues that will even further help the people who need their care.

Such things, are deeply personal. The process, can be difficult. The reasons people need transplants, or internal medicine specialists, all have different stories.
But.
As I have been in treatment environments for people in similar situations, I have seen many people overcome and conquer. Obviously, modern medical technology is a big variable in success. But. I know that it can mean that people have to be subjected to potentially some/many things, they’d rather not have to live through.
That’s a big area, where a person’s beliefs and concepts of quality of life, come in.

There were several stretches during my 2 years awaiting my liver, where I was ready to give up. If it matters, I don’t remember large portion of it. And there are some things, I will never unfortunately forget.

For me, I guess it seemed like a boxing match. I always had the mindset, that if I could endure something, it would be over and done.
And on to the next round.
I guess, THAT’S what I think about, in regards to invasive and new medical realities.
Can I live with this?
The answer is, yes. But. Do you want to repeat the process?

I would say for ALL, that even bad conditions, can be treatable, or more survivable than you may think. If you are going to make a decision, about something of this magnitude, I would hope you are well educated on all of the circumstances.

LQ. If it’s OK, I’d like to touch bases with you on PM…

Maybe in 50 years when most of the kinks are out of AI and nano-materials, I might consider it.

But for now and the foreseeable future, AI, nanobots, neural implants, and that sort of thing are pure experimentation, and absolutely not to be trusted.

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I wouldn’t be one of the firsts, and it seems impossible to me it will be in 2029, unless they are only talking about test subjects.

If it can clean the plaque out of my arteries I might consider it. Hopefully, I’ll still be alive ten years after it’s commonplace when I might have the guts to do it.

If it’s just to be used for simple things, like cleaning arteries or killing cancer, then I’m okay with that. But if it’s about delaying death by making whole new cells like when you were young, then no. I think the only thing that makes the human race tolerable is life is only so long. The planet is overcrowded as it is. Could you imagine if you tacked on another 50-plus years per person? The greedy will get greedier—the hateful more hateful. And don’t get me started on the religious fanatics. And let’s not forget about all the pollution that we will have to live in. Lets spend more time fixing our planet first, then we can talk about extending life.

No. And it’s also science fantasy.

Nope. Living forever holds no interest for me. And having little critters injected into my body holds even less.

Nanotechnology, in my opinion WILL replace almost all medical treatments.
They would essentially be artificial/way better versions of existing anatomy.
If you think about all the different ways we fight diseases, and viruses, or cancer, we always have to find a way to get our immune systems, or white blood cells, or any number of our original inner workings to cooperate. It was only fairly recently, that we have had some success battling “the common cold” (aka, a “rhino-virus.”)
The problem, was that the viruses have thick, protein layers that act like armor. Armor, that our white blood cells have a lot of trouble penetrating/killing.
We’ve been able to have varying successes with things like vaccines as well.
But. Imagine robots (the same size-ish as your white blood cells,) that are no more advanced in design than a simple insect (like just the ability to move, and maybe 1 or 2 claws.) Once programed, the “nanobots,” wouldn’t need medicines or poison to kill unwelcome things in the body.
They could simply destroy whatever doesn’t belong. No different, than what our white blood cells already try to do.
But. An armored virus, or cancer cell, would be no match for a metal robot that could easily destroy it, just with (as I suggested) little claws.

In theory. They could be used for almost limitless ways of protecting, and improving our physical bodies.

It’s not like we could feel the nanabots. We would just be healthier.

Yes. There is always the possibility of people making catastrophic “grey goo,” or other things to harm us. But. That could be said, of most technology…

Nanotechnology, is called that, because of the unit we use for measuring REALLY small things.
A “nanometer,” is about the length a man’s facial hair grows, as he lifts a razor to his face.
REALLY a small measurement.

These nanabots, would be VERY small, and like I said, they wouldn’t be that different from our original inner workings.

Not trying to convince anyone of anything. But. I like “future tech.”
It’s endlessly thought provoking.

Future tech provokes my thoughts too, but I tend to think about the difficulties and unintended outcomes, and the degree to which humans don’t actually understand the fullness of everything, as well as clever theoretical ideas for what might eventually be possible.

What history has shown again and again, is that you should not look at inventions with the question of how it could help humanity, or what uses the inventors envision.
What you should look at is the question: “what will this invention look like after capitalism has had its way with it.” Think of the worst way technology could be abused for profit, and you still have not scratched the surface of how bad it would actually be.

^Worse than capitalism, is humankind’s obsession with war.
The discoveries related to science (specifically atomic research) in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s would be the backbone of many positive things for humanity. But.
Not before, even with little understanding of it, we weaponized it. AND used it!

@Zaku I consider almost anything to be possible. It’s just a matter of how, and in many cases the restrictions of “current” technology.

Leonardo DaVinci, may have built helicopters, and lots of modern machinery, IF he had better technologies, or ingredients to work with.

I think it will take longer than by 2029 to do what they say, but I am not in principle against living longer. I don’t believe in the existence of a soul. Humans are just highly elaborate machines.

I got the shots and likely would take the nanobots over hospitalization/ surgery.