Back to the future? DARPA scientists are 10 to 20 years ahead of us

What DARPA scientists are working on is 10 to 20 years ahead of the technology that's out in the public domain.

As the author of a novel about Strangers (both cyborgs and humans) I keep my eyes open for all the new stories regarding cyborgs and the science behind them.

Today I read this article about cyborg warfare today - here:

http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/latenightlive/darpa-double-edged-sword-us-military-industrial-complex/6854474

I will quote just 2 paragraphs because they made me think!

'Science fiction writers might set that kind of cyborg warfare in a distant future. But as Jacobsen writes, at any given time, what DARPA scientists are working on—especially in the agency's classified programs—is 10 to 20 years ahead of the technology that's out in the public domain.'

'DARPA's movement is towards coupling man and machine, so putting neuro-prosthetics in the brains of soldiers so that they can have what is called augmented cognition. They can become super-soldiers ... Ultimately [the Pentagon is moving] toward robots taking over the job: self-governing drones, drones that are often called hunter-killer drones.'

There are two points here that are discussed in my novel.

1) Edward, the fictional boss of a A&A Robotics, says to his daughter that cyborgs are the present, not the future, and there's nothing to worry about - they are here to help.

2) The world in the year 2012 is completely unaware of just how much progress we have done in the field of robotics and cyborg.

I am certainly not an expert in the field but it's poignant that a novel I wrote 3 years ago (and it's almost finished and ready for publication) sums up many issues that will soon touch people around us and not just science fiction authors.

The question remain unsolved both in my mind and in my novel: will cyborgs ever threaten humanity with their super powers? Will every human being want to be enhanced, implanted, chipped, to compete with the others?

We have never dealt with all these issues before and thus nobody can really estimate the consequences of unleashing powerful human-machines into our real, every day life.

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