CNN and Square Enix are Teaming Up for a Human Augmentation Conference

CNN’s “Courageous” studio and Square Enix are teaming up to host a conference centered around human augmentation. The Human by Design conference will take place in New York City on August 3rd 2016, at the Paley Center.

https://vimeo.com/user40907307/review/172766084/4935e19f76

“Human by Design goes beyond bringing to life the key themes of Deus Ex: Mankind Divided. This conference is a special opportunity for a video game to take pause from the limitless world we play in, and to drive the conversation around what is really happening in the space of human augmentation,” said Square Enix’s Marketing Manager Jon Grant. “Our hope is that the gaming world tunes into the conference and is inspired to get involved as well.”

The event will have a variety of discussion panels.

• Is Augmentation a Human Right?: How can augmentation be accessible to everyone on the planet? – With E. Christian Brugger, Dr. Natasha Vita-More, Adam Arabian, Ph.D PE, and Dr. Steve Mann.
• Selective vs. Therapeutic Augmentation: Who should have the final say on augmentation procedures — doctors or individuals? – With Neil Harbisson, Dr. Michael Chorost, Samantha Payne, and Dr. Homayoon Kazerooni.
• The Future of the Far Far Next: What will medical advances enable 10 years from now? – With Will Rosellini, Lucy McRae, Zoltan Istvan, and Tan Le.

“Since the launch of Courageous, we have been committed to pioneering the evolution of branded content to help brands tell more powerful stories,” stated Otto Bell, Courageous VP and Creative Director. “Human by Design greatly embodies this approach, as we’ve assembled a group of thought-leaders across the fields of science, technology, ethics, and cyborg activism who, for the first time, will come together to discuss the cutting-edge technologies and innovations that are shaping human augmentation.”

The conference will end with a discussion on The Code of Ethics on Human Augmentation. They aren’t making direct rules for the phenomena here, just providing the tools to create a deeper conversation about it.

CNN will be recording footage directly, but the conference will also be streamed live on the Deus Ex Twitch channel. Travel directions and other details are available on the conference website.