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

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.

5/8/2015 9BizarreJobsThatWillRedefineOurLivesInThe2050s

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Bacteriaonthetongue.(SteveGschmeissner/SPL)

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

2.TraitSelection Advisor

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

5/8/2015 9BizarreJobsThatWillRedefineOurLivesInThe2050s

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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.

5/8/2015 9BizarreJobsThatWillRedefineOurLivesInThe2050s

http://ieet.org/index.php/IEET/print/10349 4/10

Illustration:ChristoperBarnatt.

Minduploadinghasbeenputforwardasapossiblefuturestateforentirehumancivilizations.Butitcouldalsobeaneffectivewaytowarehousehumanselveswhosebodieswereravagedbydisease,whilenewbodiesarebeingpreparedforthem.

Whoknowswhateffecttheroundtripfrommeattosilicontomeatwouldhaveonahumanmindespeciallyifthepersonreemergedintoaradicallychangedworld?Anewclassofreintegrationspecialistcouldinstructnewarrivalsfromthedigitalotherworldineverythingfromphysicaltherapytonewculturalnorms.Thesenewarrivalscouldevenbesuspendedinaphygitalzoneasortofhalfwayhouseincorporatingelementsofdigitalandphysicalsubstatessothattheycouldacclimatethemselvestolifeamongliving,breathing,excretingbodiesgraduallyandgently.

4.Organ Farmer

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

5/8/2015 9BizarreJobsThatWillRedefineOurLivesInThe2050s

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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?

5/8/2015 9BizarreJobsThatWillRedefineOurLivesInThe2050s

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(Photo:DavidParry)

Today,startupslikeModernMeadowandBeyondMeataredevelopingalternativestofarmraisedmeatthroughinvitroandmeatsubstitutiontechnologies.Iftheindustrytakesoff,thedemandforpalatablesyntheticproteinsandthepeoplewhodesignthemstandstoflourish,aswell.

6.Deextinction Zoologist

Scientistsaroundtheworldaremakingheadwayonbringingextinctspeciesbacktolife,andwhiletherearemanyvalidquestionsandconcernsovertheethicsofdeextinction,theprocessholdspromiseforrestoringandconservingthreatenedenvironments.

5/8/2015 9BizarreJobsThatWillRedefineOurLivesInThe2050s

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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.

5/8/2015 9BizarreJobsThatWillRedefineOurLivesInThe2050s

http://ieet.org/index.php/IEET/print/10349 8/10

(DeusEx:HumanRevolution)

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

8.PharmaArtisan

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

5/8/2015 9BizarreJobsThatWillRedefineOurLivesInThe2050s

http://ieet.org/index.php/IEET/print/10349 9/10

TiborKdek/CC

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

9.ConnectomeArch itect

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

5/8/2015 9BizarreJobsThatWillRedefineOurLivesInThe2050s

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

(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.

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