Mission
The Human Augmentation Institute was founded to uphold bodily autonomy and ensure that any efforts in human augmentation are done ethically, safely, and responsibly as defined in the Code of Ethics.
Initiatives
1) CODE OF ETHICS - With the help and involvement of the human augmentation community and experts from relevant fields, the Institute has adopted a Code of Ethics to promote ethical, safe, and responsible human augmentation.
2) RESOURCES - The Institute is in the process of gathering and making available documentation on safe materials handling, laboratory safety guidelines, informed consent, research practices, and more. This documentation is created and sourced with the help and involvement of the human augmentation community and experts from relevant fields.
3) ADVOCACY - The Institute will engage the public, regulatory agencies, governments, and other stakeholders in conversations around human augmentation. Our goal is to promote human augmentation literacy, increase transparency, and avoid unjust policy and regulation.
4) GUIDANCE - The Institute plans to maintain a database of experts from relevant fields, such as bioethics, medicine, materials science, and law, that are willing to provide information and advice to those working within the field of human augmentation.
5) PUBLIC & MEDIA RELATIONS - The Institute will be a point of contact between members of the media and public and those working within the field of human augmentation. We will promote the success of those working within the field of human augmentation, provide interviews and media resources, clarify messaging, and facilitate conversation where necessary.
What HAI is Not
- The Institute is not an oversight committee and is not a judicial body. The Institute does not enforce rules or regulations on any outside entities or individuals.
- The Institute is not a licensing or accreditation organization.
Differentiation from Medicine
The Oxford dictionary defines “medicine” as “the science or practice of the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of disease.” This is not the focus of the Institute. Instead, we are focused on non-medical, augmentative procedures that alter the human body.
Meet The Team
Ryan O'Shea
Ryan is an entrepreneur from Pittsburgh, PA, and serves as the host of Future Grind, a podcast and video series that explores the ethics and implications of emerging science and technology. He has spoken on the topic of human augmentation at conferences across the United States and abroad.
Amanda Plimpton
Amanda is the Chief Operations Officer for Livestock Labs, a tech startup creating implantable devices to track the health and wellness of cattle. They spun out of the work of Grindhouse Wetware, a collective focused on human enhancement, and they hope to soon return to the human augmentation space.
Jacob Boss
Jacob is the co-founder of the Human Augmentation Research Network and sits on the steering committee of the American Academy of Religion's Human Enhancement and Transhumanism unit. He is currently completing his PhD in Religious Studies at Indiana University.