Futures of the human body

The FUTUREBODY research project, coordinated by ITAS, deals with the potential and increasingly real technologization of humans. Its transdisciplinary approach includes a film festival, which is open to submissions of work until the end of July.
FUTUREBODY
More than just a vision: the fusion of humans and technology thanks to neurotechnology. (Photo: Jeremy Bishop / Unsplash)

Cyborgs and other human-machine hybrids have long populated the worlds of science fiction. The situation has changed since the 2000s: real, especially neurotechnological, advances and the growing importance of transhumanist visions have made human-technology fusion a prominent topic in scientific and public communities. However, there is still a wide gap between current technology development and far-reaching visions of the future, as propagated in particular by leaders of the computer and internet industry.

Against this background, the transnational FUTUREBODY research project, coordinated by ITAS, addresses possible futures of the human body in the light of technological progress. In collaboration with partners in Calgary, Freiburg, and Vienna, a wide range of topics are covered – from existing neurotechnological and prosthetic applications to do-it-yourself cyborg practices and fundamental philosophical, social, and innovation issues to powerful futuristic visions.

Science Art Film Festival

A key element of FUTUREBODY is to integrate artistic perspectives and imagination into scientific and public discourse on the subject. As part of this effort, the Austrian project partner organizes the third BIO·FICTION Science Art Film Festival in Vienna. Film contributions to this festival can be submitted until 31 July 2019. They will also be presented and discussed on other occasions during the project.

With this transdisciplinary approach, FUTUREBODY aims to contribute to research on ethical and social aspects of neurotechnologies and to their responsible development. The focus is on the question of the future of the human body in the age of its possible and increasingly real technologization. (04.06.2019)

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