9 bizarre jobs that will redefine our lives in the 2050s

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Printed: 20150508 Instititute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies IEET Link: http://ieet.org/index.php/IEET/more/dvorsky20150501 9 Bizarre Jobs That Will Redefine Our Lives In The 2050s George Dvorsky http://io9.com/9weirdjobsinbiotechandmedicinetolookforinthe 1701486512 io9 May 08, 2015 The fields of biotechnology and medicine are rapidly evolving, and with them their associated employment opportunities. Here are nine biomedical professions to look for in the coming decades. To help me compile this list, I recruited the help of IC/Futures, a collective of futurists at Idea Couture. The group includes Emily Empel, Mat Lincez, Jayar La Fontaine, Melissa Richer, and Shane Saunderson. Last year, the IC/Futures team brainstormed a number of jobs that are likely to appear by the 2030s. This time around, however, we gazed deeper into the future and only considered jobs that might emerge in the increasingly related fields of medicine and biotechnology. Here’s what we came up with. 1. Personal Microbiome Steward We have only just begun to comprehend the complexity of the relationship between human beings and the trillions of microscopic organisms that live on and inside us. But what scientists have learned so far suggests that our bodies’ microorganismal communities play a role in everything from body weight, to energy levels, to mental health.

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  • 5/8/2015 9BizarreJobsThatWillRedefineOurLivesInThe2050s

    http://ieet.org/index.php/IEET/print/10349 1/10

    Printed:20150508

    Instit ituteforEthicsandEmergingTechnologies

    IEETLink:http://ieet.org/index.php/IEET/more/dvorsky20150501

    9BizarreJobsThatWil l RedefineOurLivesInThe2050sGeorgeDvorsky

    http://io9 .com/9weirdjobs inbiotechandmedicineto lookfor in the1701486512

    io9

    May08,2015

    Thefieldsofbiotechnologyandmedicinearerapidlyevolving,andwiththemtheirassociatedemploymentopportunities.Hereareninebiomedicalprofessionstolookforinthecomingdecades.

    Tohelpmecompilethislist,IrecruitedthehelpofIC/Futures,acollectiveoffuturistsatIdeaCouture.ThegroupincludesEmilyEmpel,MatLincez,JayarLaFontaine,MelissaRicher,andShaneSaunderson.Lastyear,theIC/Futuresteambrainstormedanumberofjobsthatarelikelytoappearbythe2030s.Thistimearound,however,wegazeddeeperintothefutureandonlyconsideredjobsthatmightemergeintheincreasinglyrelatedfieldsofmedicineandbiotechnology.Hereswhatwecameupwith.

    1.PersonalMicrobiomeSteward

    Wehaveonlyjustbeguntocomprehendthecomplexityoftherelationshipbetweenhumanbeingsandthetrillionsofmicroscopicorganismsthatliveonandinsideus.Butwhatscientistshavelearnedsofarsuggeststhatourbodiesmicroorganismalcommunitiesplayaroleineverythingfrombodyweight,toenergylevels,tomentalhealth.

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    Bacteriaonthetongue.(SteveGschmeissner/SPL)

    Thefirsteverfullbodyscansofchemicalsonthesurfaceofhumanskinarerevealingthatmanyareresiduesfromtopicalskinproducts,raisingconcernsthatmanmadechemicalsaredisruptingfunctionoftheskinmicrobiome.Itseasytoimagineafuturewhereprofessionalmicrobiomestewardsassistusinbecomingconscientiousshepherdsofourownmicrobiota,throughfeeding,culling,andrebalancing.

    2.TraitSelection Advisor

    Lastweek,scientistsinChinareportedtheyhadeditedthegenesofhumanembryos.Theresearchershadattemptedtotinkerwiththegenebehindthalassaemia,adangerousblooddisorder,withatechniquecalledCRISPR/Cas9.Thestudymarksthefirstdocumentedattemptathumangermlineediting,andhasrevivedthedebateovertheethicsofhumanaugmentationanddesignerbabies.

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    ATraitSelectionAdvisor,asportrayedinGattaca.

    Germlinemodificationcouldonedaybeusedtonotonlymendgeneticsequences,butinsertnewonesinpursuitofdesirabletraits.Inthelongterm,wellhavetothinkpracticallyabouthowtoregulatethemarketformadetoorderhumansandadviseparentslookingtohavegeneticallyengineeredchildren.Apersonaltraitselectionadvisorcouldhelpparentsunderstandthelegallimitsofgermlineeditingwhileworkingwiththemtodefinewhatgeneticeditsmightbebestfortheirfutureoffspring.

    3.MindUploadingRe in tegration Specialist

    Minduploadingsoundslikepuresciencefiction.Itshardenoughtodigitizeanalogbookswithoutcreatingunwantederrors,sowhathopeistherefordigitizinghumanselves?

    Whileminduploadingiscertainlymindbogglinglycomplex,somescientistsbelieveitspossible.Thethinkinggoeslikethis:Ifourselvesareencodedinthestructureandactivitypatternsofourbrains,thenaslongaswecancaptureandcatalogthenanostructureofahumanbrain(see:#9ConnectomeArchitect)wecanreinstantiatethosesamestructureandactivitypatternsinanothersuitablemediumthatisequalorsuperiortobrainmeat.Like,say,amainframecomputer.

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    Illustration:ChristoperBarnatt.

    Minduploadinghasbeenputforwardasapossiblefuturestateforentirehumancivilizations.Butitcouldalsobeaneffectivewaytowarehousehumanselveswhosebodieswereravagedbydisease,whilenewbodiesarebeingpreparedforthem.

    Whoknowswhateffecttheroundtripfrommeattosilicontomeatwouldhaveonahumanmindespeciallyifthepersonreemergedintoaradicallychangedworld?Anewclassofreintegrationspecialistcouldinstructnewarrivalsfromthedigitalotherworldineverythingfromphysicaltherapytonewculturalnorms.Thesenewarrivalscouldevenbesuspendedinaphygitalzoneasortofhalfwayhouseincorporatingelementsofdigitalandphysicalsubstatessothattheycouldacclimatethemselvestolifeamongliving,breathing,excretingbodiesgraduallyandgently.

    4.Organ Farmer

    Organshortagesarealreadyahugeproblemtoday.EachyearintheU.S.thereareabout28,000transplantswhileanother120,000peopleareassignedtowaitinglists.Ithasbeenestimatedthatsome35%ofallannualU.S.deathscouldbepreventedbyorgantransplantation.Hencetheimpetustodeveloplabgrownorgans.

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    (Organovo)

    Asregenerativemedicinecontinuestoadvance,sotoowillourcapacitytoproduceorgansaffordablyandenmasse.SanDiegobasedOrganovoisaleaderinthisareathroughitsdevelopmentofa3Dbioprinter.Itslabcangenerateminiliverassaysthatarevirtuallyidentical,architecturallyandbiologically,tohumanlivers.Anotherapproachistocreatea3Dscaffoldofanorgan,suchasaheart,liver,kidney,orlung,anduseapatientsstemcellstogrowanentirelyneworganfortransplantation.Lookingtothefuture,andgiventheintensedemandsfororgans,thejobofanorganfarmercouldbecomeanappealingone,indeed.

    5.SyntheticProtein Designer

    Globaldemandformeat,fishandothersourcesofproteinisincreasing,ascountrieslikeChinagrowinsizeandeconomicinfluence.AccordingtotheUN,worldwidemeatconsumptionpercapitadoubledbetween1961and2007,andisprojectedtodoubleagainby2050.Globalmeatdemand,coupledwithshortagesinresourceslikewaterandarableland,issparkinginnovationwithinthefoodsciencespace.If,by2025,meatislessavailable,affordableorpalatable,whatproteinswillconsumersbeabletoaccess?

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    (Photo:DavidParry)

    Today,startupslikeModernMeadowandBeyondMeataredevelopingalternativestofarmraisedmeatthroughinvitroandmeatsubstitutiontechnologies.Iftheindustrytakesoff,thedemandforpalatablesyntheticproteinsandthepeoplewhodesignthemstandstoflourish,aswell.

    6.Deextinction Zoologist

    Scientistsaroundtheworldaremakingheadwayonbringingextinctspeciesbacktolife,andwhiletherearemanyvalidquestionsandconcernsovertheethicsofdeextinction,theprocessholdspromiseforrestoringandconservingthreatenedenvironments.

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    (RoyalBCMuseum)

    Forinstance,manyvarietiesofelephantonceroamedtheearthandplayedanimportantpartinthehealthoftheplanetsecosystems.Arenewedelephant(ormammoth!)populationintheUScouldtrampledryearthinthevastdesertifiedswathsoftheAmericanmidwest,aidinghumanreforestationefforts.Oneofthebiggestunknownssurroundingdeextinctionishowpreviouslyextinctanimalswouldfareinecosystemsthathad,inaveryrealsense,leftthembehind.Adeextinctionzoologistcouldhelpmanageaspeciesreintegrationtothewild,andassessanyunintendedecologicalimpactsofthespeciesintroductiontothehabitat.

    7.Biomechan icsServicePerson (orMedchan ic)

    Withagrowingamountoftechnologybeingintegratedontoandintoourbodies,itsnothardtoenvisiontheriseofinformalspecialistswhocanrepair,upgrade,andmaintainspecificcyberneticaddons.

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    (DeusEx:HumanRevolution)

    Thesemedchanicsmightworkoutofprivateshops,andvisitingoneoftheseshopsmightbeliketakingacarinforatuneup.Imaginehavingyourbodywornorembeddeddevicesconfigured,repaired,oroverhauledbytheequivalentofavehiclemechanicforthebody.Thepositionmaylackthetheemotionalandpsychologicalaspectsofmoretraditionalhealthcare,butitsefficiencyandsimplicitywillbeawelcomeelementinthefuturecareofourcyborgselves.

    8.PharmaArtisan

    Onepossibleoutcomeofthepushforpersonalizedmedicine,lowcostgenesequencing,andrapiddrugprototypingisafuturewheresmallbatchesofhighlycustomizeddrugsaredesignedquicklyandsynthesizedondemand.Pharmaartisansmightcraftsmallbatchdrugsbasedonacomprehensiveunderstandingofanindividualsgeneticmakeup,personalhealthhistory,socioeconomicenvironment,personalhabitsanddailyroutines,andsoon.

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    TiborKdek/CC

    Today,cookingdrugsinaprivatelabconjuresimagesofoutlawsandmisfitsworkingindarkandgreymarkets.Tomorrow,independentdrugproducerscouldoccupyamorelegitimate(andmoretherapeutic)placeinthehealthcareecosystem.

    9.ConnectomeArch itect

    Thehumanbraincontainsaround115,000neuronspercubicmillimeter,witheachindividualneuronmakinguptoathousandconnectionstotheneuronsaroundit.Thecomplexityinabarelyvisiblecubeofbraintissueisastonishing.Nowconsiderthattheaverageadultbraincontainsaround1.3millionsuchcubes.

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    (jgmarcelino/Flickr/CC)

    Thatstoputitlightlyalotofwiring.Thetaskofcreatingadiagramthatspecifiestheseinputsandoutputscalledthehumanconnectomeisarguablythemostcomplextechnicalprojecthumanshaveeverembarkedupon.

    Butthisprojectisprobablyworththeoverhead.Acompletehumanconnectomecoulddrasticallyimproveourunderstandingofthecircuitleveloriginsofbraindiseasesandmentalillnesses.Itcouldalsohelpfuturehealthprofessionalscreatetargeted,nanosurgicalinterventionsonthehumanbrain.Thinkabouttheconnectomeastheschematicsofabuilding.Ifthebuildingrequiresworkonitsfoundations,theblueprintcanhelpusunderstandwhatpartsofthebuildingrequirebuttressing.Inlikefashion,theconnectomecouldprovideaguideforplanningsurgeriesthatrerouteneuronalprocessestoeliminateunwantedmentalcharacteristics(orenabledesirableones).

    GeorgeP.DvorskyservesasChairoftheIEETBoardofDirectorsandalsoheadsourRightsofNonHumanPersonsprogram.HeisaCanadianfuturist,sciencewriter,andbioethicist.Heisacontributingeditoratio9wherehewritesaboutscience,culture,andfuturismandproduceroftheSentientDevelopmentsblogandpodcast.HeservedfortwotermsatHumanity+(formerlytheWorldTranshumanistAssociation).GeorgeproducesSentientDevelopmentsblogandpodcast.

    Newsletter:http://ieet.org/mailman/listinfo/ieetannounce

    Contact:ExecutiveDirector,Dr.JamesJ.Hughes,IEET,56DalevilleSchoolRd.WillingtonCT06279USAEmail:[email protected]:8602972376