The extent of human augmentation in our future (and anime)

[the Gatekeeper]

I'm a fickle person. Every time I write any kind of story, I'm sure to do the research and touch on every single detail. (Well, all the ones that I can.) All technology progresses, so that's how it is when I write.

I'm a bit bothered when I see certain sci-fis and their lack of consideration for all aspects of the future, of course I understand that not all authors have the time (or drive) to do the research (thank you, Popular Science for that great prosthesis timeline) like my own (nearly unquenchable) thirst for knowledge. I also understand that not all sci-fi authors are futurists on the inside.

That being so, why exactly are humans almost always represented just vanilla? By the time of First Gundam you'd think that human enhancements would probably be doing things like slowing down the aging process, (preserving youth too) granting superior strength, endurance, lung capacity, immunity to disease and stuff like that. Xenosaga states that humans have life-spans upwards of a centurey or two, we never really see it but I assumed that humans almost 5000 years into the future would be a little less like... us. Megaman is all about the developement of the robots/reploids, but humans remain the same until around the ZX series. (So original is like now. Then X is 100 years after that right? Zero is a century or two after X... Isn't ZX like 500 years after Zero?)

(And almost no one except Zone of the Enders touches on gravities effect on the human body, and even they let that fall to the wayside at times.)

It seems like the progress of any technology not related to the main concept is completely forgotten. Of course, the usually get a passing mention but only when it's plot-relevant. A great example of this would be from a past mechatalk thread in which one of our users had said, and I'm paraphrasing: "By the time the technology has made giant robots feasible for the battle-field, that same technology will make conventional weaponry invincible to the former."

So, where do you guys think humans will be augmentationally (not a word) speaking? Clearly, we won't be what we are now. (This is less about the anime I talk about and more of real life. This is also less of "mechs aren't practical weapons anyway" and more of "other technologies that should be advancing as well.")

Thanks in advance mechatalk.

[Kei Katsuragi]

I highly suggest reading 2312 from author Kim Stanley Robinson. In his depiction of the future, being around the age of 100 is still considered pretty young, human augmentations are the norm, and humans on different planets are like different species because of the climate differences. The protagonist is even a gynandromorph, and upon finding this out, another character just shrugged because he expected it.

[the Gatekeeper]

I highly suggest reading 2312 from author Kim Stanley Robinson. In his depiction of the future, being around the age of 100 is still considered pretty young, human augmentations are the norm, and humans on different planets are like different species because of the climate differences. The protagonist is even a gynandromorph, and upon finding this out, another character just shrugged because he expected it.

Thanks man. I'll have to pick it up after I'm done with the Mobile Suit Gundam novel. Read a bit about the book on wiki, sounds really interesting.

[Mythgarr]

I believe human augmentation would reach the phase where we have internet on our brain, computer is embedded into our DNA, wired into our nerves, our body energy efficiency will skyrocket due to nano ATP administration by nanomachines, and our psyches will be more stable due to minutes adjusment of hormones by said nanomachines.

And we will live up to age 1000 or until one decides he has enough and recycle himself.

And oh, there would only be 20 billion of humans or so, scattered in the universe, riding near-ligth vehicle to travel around the universe. Cryogenic, long age, and efficient dark-energy harvesting make it possible.

[Antares]

I believe human augmentation would reach the phase where we have internet on our brain,

Ah, GiTS.

I suppose in Gundam shows they don't do visible augmentation that much because they've wanted to keep the focus on humans. In G'00 there was some (Lichty) and talk of augmentation in Louise's cases. Oh yeah and in CE Andy has fully functional (and multi-functional!) prosthesis.

Seeing as how CB was the only faction with Haros, assisting robots weren't that common either. Come to think of it, that is a bit odd with only a few shows like Ghost in The Shell breaking the norm, given how much robotics research goes on in Japan.

Of course with Newtypes you needed less a robotic brain if you could connect with people with your thoughts? I don't know how much "cyber" actually went into Cyber Newtypes. Even the psychoframe seemed more of an external conduit than anything else.
By the way, did they ever state outright that Coordinators lived longer than Naturals? It would make sense if they did, given that they got sick less and healed faster.

No anime show could be classified as hard sci-fi, and since they are primarily for entertainment, explanations are often ditched because they would break the flow of the narration. Gravity effects, faster than light travel, all that is only cursorily explained because it's expected the audience doesn't care for that (giant robots and fanservice suffices? ).

[Antares]

On a related note, for those interested in sci-fi robotics and AI, read Capek's R.U.R.
It's not very long and the guy is credited with popularizing the word "robot", after all (in the 1920s!), and some would argue defining the entire dynamics between human and AI in popular fiction.

Spoiler

They will turn on us.

[feddieace42and0]

The 'Cyber Newtype' process was named because the idea was that they were suppose to have had some sort of cybernetic modifications to the brain that worked with newtype mobile suits like a modem to the internet. As for the upcoming AI revolution, Skynet... I mean Google... has already won.