1. Elements of a
Principia Posthuman
Human Body 2.0 Redesign,
Democracy, and Next-
generation Intelligence
Image credit: Natasha Vita-More, Primo Posthuman
Melanie Swan
MS Futures Group
+1-650-681-9482
@LaBlogga, @DIYgenomics
March 31, 2012, Sunnyvale CA
www.MelanieSwan.com
Slides: http://slideshare.net/LaBlogga m@melanieswan.com
2. About Melanie Swan
Founder DIYgenomics, futurist and applied
genomics expert
Current projects: MelanieSwan.com
Education: MBA Finance, Wharton; BA
French/Economics, Georgetown Univ
Work experience: Fidelity, JP Morgan, iPass,
RHK/Ovum, Arthur Andersen
Sample publications:
Swan, M. Crowdsourced Health Research Studies: An Important Emerging Complement to Clinical
Trials in the Public Health Research Ecosystem. J Med Internet Res 2012, Mar;14(2):e46.
Swan, M. Scaling crowdsourced health studies: the emergence of a new form of contract research
organization. Personalized Medicine 2012, Mar;9(2):223-234.
Swan, M. Steady advance of stem cell therapies. Rejuvenation Res 2011, Dec;14(6):699-704.
Swan, M., Hathaway, K., Hogg, C., McCauley, R., Vollrath, A. Citizen science genomics as a model for
crowdsourced preventive medicine research. J Participat Med 2010, Dec 23; 2:e20.
Swan, M. Multigenic Condition Risk Assessment in Direct-to-Consumer Genomic Services. Genet Med
2010, May;12(5):279-88.
Swan, M. Emerging patient-driven health care models: an examination of health social networks,
consumer personalized medicine and quantified self-tracking. Int J Environ Res Public Health 2009, 2,
492-525.
March 31, 2012 Source: http://melanieswan.com/publications.htm
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3. CONTACT presentations
Data Visualization in Second Life
(2008)
Future of Life Sciences: the Great
Convergence of Life and
Technology (2009)
Revolutionizing Biology with
Personal Genomes (2010)
Principia Posthuman (2012)
Slides: http://slideshare.net/LaBlogga Image credit: Natasha Vita-More, Primo Posthuman
March 31, 2012
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4. The future is notoriously hard to predict
Positional nanoassembly
Young lady’s illustrated primer
March 31, 2012
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Principia Posthuman
5. Simple models for thinking about the future
Past Present Future
March 31, 2012 Image: http://www.sydmead.com
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6. The role of time in thinking:
GPS for the Mind exercise Image: http://www.mindtime.com
Plot time orientation: certainty, possibility, probability
www.mindtimemaps.com/start/contact
probability
certainty possibility
March 31, 2012 Source: Fortunato, VJ and Furey, JT. The theory of MindTime: The relationships between Future, Past, and Present thinking and
psychological well-being and distress. Personality and Individual Differences. January 2011, 50(1), pp. 20-4. http://www.miindtime.com 6
Principia Posthuman
7. GPS for the Mind exercise
Image: Salvador Dali
CONTACT GPS for the Mind exercise (4 minutes)
Sign up for a free account at www.mindtimemaps.com
(use an anonymous name if you prefer)
Complete the GPS for the Mind exercise at the
community site: www.mindtimemaps.com/start/contact
Results: return to the community site
www.mindtimemaps.com/start/contact and click on the
Groups icon, then CONTACT to see the results
March 31, 2012 Source: http://www.mindtimemaps.com
Principia Posthuman 7
8. Agenda
Context for Principia Posthuman
Elements of a Principia Posthuman
Quantitative: science, human body 2.0 redesign
Qualitative: social constructs, democracy
Concepts: philosophy, next-generation
intelligence
Conclusion
March 31, 2012
Principia Posthuman
9. Aspen rhizome
Elements of a Principia Posthuman
Image: http://integral-options.blogspot.com
Philosophy Next-generation
Concepts Concerned with: Understanding intelligence
Art, aesthetics, economics, politics,
Qualitative societal design Democracy
Concerned with: Experience
Science and technology Human Body
Quantitative Concerned with: Characterization 2.0 Redesign
March 31, 2012
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Principia Posthuman
10. Agenda
Context for Principia Posthuman
Elements of a Principia Posthuman
Quantitative: science, human body 2.0 redesign
Qualitative: social constructs, democracy
Concepts: philosophy, next-generation
intelligence
Conclusion
March 31, 2012
Principia Posthuman
11. Miniaturization trend, next node: microdots
10-100 years ago 2000s 2050s 2100+
Room(s) size Handheld Invisible Non matter-
based?
Computing
machinery
Information
storage
DNA
sequencing
March 31, 2012
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12. (Kuhnian paradigms,
Information transmission eras Foucauldian epistemes)
Analog Digital Life code ?
17,300 years ago 1455 & 1950-2000 2000-2100 2100+
Painting, scrolls Press, Transistor DNA ?
March 31, 2012
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13. Prominent artificial intelligence eras
Enumeration Biomimicry Big data ?
1950s 1990s+ 2000s+ 2100+
Expert syst, CYC NLP, HTM, NCC Google, Watson ?
March 31, 2012
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14. Big data: personal health informatics
DNA:
SNP mutations RNA expression
profiling
Health 2.0: Proteomics
DNA: Structural Personal health
variation informatics
Epigenetics Microbiomics
Metabolomics
March 31, 2012 Academic papers re: integrated health data streams: Auffray C, et al. Looking back at genomic medicine in 2011. Genome Med. 2012 Jan 30;4(1):9.
Chen R et al. Personal omics profiling reveals dynamic molecular and medical phenotypes. Cell. 2012 Mar 16;148(6):1293-307. 14
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15. Biology is an information technology
DNA sequencing:
10x/yr improvement
I love you
010010010010000001101100011
011110111011001100101001000
00011110010110111101110101
I hate you
010010010010000001101000011
000010111010001100101001000
00011110010110111101110101
Image credit: http://pubs.acs.org/cen/_img/87/i50/8750cover2_law.gif
March 31, 2012
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16. Biology is the information technology
Organ regeneration (urethra) Algal biofuel
Image credit: Anthony Atala lab Image credit: http://www.rexresearch.com
Artificial cell booted to life Whole organ decellularization and DNA nanotechnology latch
Image credit: J. Craig Venter Institute
recellularization (heart) box for drug delivery
Image credit: Thomas Matthiesen Image credit: Aarhus University
March 31, 2012
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17. Agenda
Context for Principia Posthuman
Elements of a Principia Posthuman
Quantitative: science, human body 2.0 redesign
Qualitative: social constructs, democracy
Concepts: philosophy, next-generation
intelligence
Conclusion
March 31, 2012
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18. Agency: collective intelligence computing
Crowdsourcing
Concierge research
Consumer genomics Citizen science
Health 2.0:
Consumer blood tests Crowdsourced
health computing
DIYbio labs
Continuous Ambient mental
sampling performance
Quantified self-
optimization
tracking
March 31, 2012
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19. Mobile is the platform
Explosive growth Image credit: http://www.psfk.com
US: more cell phones (328 m) than people (315 m) 1
One billion+ worldwide smartphone users by 20132
App downloads: 5 bn in 2010 versus 300 mn in 20094
Health-related apps: 7,0004
81% physicians using smartphones 20123
Studies: thousands recruited in months2
Intimate continuous interaction platform Image credit: tehgaygeek.blogspot.com
Phone loss noticed within 5 minutes vs. 1 hour for wallet loss
Kids chat with Siri as virtual friend
1
Kang C. Number of cell phones exceeds US population. Washington Post. October 11, 2011.
March 31, 2012 2
Dufau S. Smart phone, smart science: how the use of smartphones can revolutionize research in cognitive science. PLoS One. 2011.
3Kiser K. 25 ways to use your smartphone. Physicians share their favorite uses and apps. Minn Med. 2011. 19
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4
Boulos MN. How smartphones are changing the face of mobile and participatory healthcare. Biomed Eng Online. 2011.
20. Participatory health activity landscape
(Light) Level of Engagement (Intense)
Social Mobile PHRs Consumer
media health apps (personal genomics Citizen Quantified
science self-tracking
health
records)
DIYbio
(do-it-yourself
biology)
March 31, 2012 Image credit: Getty Images
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21. Concepts in participatory health
Citizen science Quantified self-
tracking
DIYbio
(do-it-yourself
http://ezramagazine.cornell.edu
biology)
http://thecoolgadgets.com
http://www.iab.keio.ac.jp
March 31, 2012
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22. Citizen science definition
Performing scientific investigation
without professional training in the field Image credit: http://www.southernfriedscience.com
Institutional science
research
Citizen science health
and biology
Citizen
science: 200+
organizations1
March 31, 2012 1
http://scienceforcitizens.net/finder
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23. Citizen science health – why now?
Tools
Plummeting cost of genome sequencing
Availability of consumer blood tests
Online bioinformatics tools
Education and support
Local DIYbio labs, online forums
Image credit: http://diybionyc.blogspot.com Image credits: http://www.biocurious.org
March 31, 2012
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24. Goal: personalized knowledge through
quantified self-tracking
Format: monthly ‘show n tell’ meetups
Outcome: optimality and improvement
Example: personalized interventions for
depression, low energy, sleep quality
Image credit: http://www.nationalpost.com Image credit: Quantified Self
March 31, 2012 Source: Swan, M. Overview of Crowdsourced Health Research Studies. 2012. Forthcoming.
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25. Quantified self study examples
Food consumption (1 yr)1 and the Butter Mind study2
Study
Low-cost home-administered blood, urine, saliva tests
Cholestech LDX OrSense continuous non-invasive ZRT Labs dried
home cholesterol test glucose monitoring blood spot tests
March 31, 2012 1
Source: http://flowingdata.com/2011/06/29/a-year-of-food-consumption-visualized
2
Source: http://quantifiedself.com/2011/01/results-of-the-buttermind-experiment 25
Principia Posthuman
26. Health social networks and collaboration
Health social Health
networks collaboration
(global & local) communities
Source: Extended from Swan, M. Emerging patient-driven health care models: an examination of health social networks, consumer
March 31, 2012 personalized medicine and quantified self-tracking. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2009, 2, 492-525. 26
Principia Posthuman
27. Agenda
Context for Principia Posthuman
Elements of a Principia Posthuman
Quantitative: science, human body 2.0 redesign
Qualitative: social constructs, democracy
Concepts: philosophy, next-generation
intelligence
Conclusion
March 31, 2012
Principia Posthuman
28. Professionalizing participative health:
Philosophical validation
Towards an epistemology of citizen science
Provide a structure and context for participant-derived health
knowledge
Q1: Are new kinds of knowledge are being formed
through group collaborations such as wikipedia and
health social networks?
Q2: How to characterize the knowledge generated by
traditional medicine, self-experimentation, and health
collaboration communities?
Image credit: http://inkingrey.com
March 31, 2012
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29. Ontological shift
Image credit: http://efx3.com
Old thinking:
My health is the responsibility of my physician
New thinking:
My health is my responsibility
… and I have the tools to make managing it easy
March 31, 2012
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30. Genome politics and regulation
Our world is not Gattaca
Personal genomics has
destigmatized health issues
Issues: human cloning, sex selection,
genetic privacy, non-discrimination
UN Convention on Human Rights and
Biomedicine 1997 (Ch IV Human Genome) Image credit: http://www.sonypictures.com
U.S. Genetic Information Nondiscrimination
Act (GINA) 2008
Biocitizenry, health as a human right Image credit: http://sciencephoto.com
March 31, 2012 30
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31. Role of participative health: future medicine
1. Continuous health information climate
Automated digital health monitoring, self-tracking devices,
and mobile apps providing personalized recommendations
2. Peer collaboration and
health advisors
Health social networks, crowdsourced
studies, health advisors, wellness
coaches, preventive care plans,
Individual boutique physicians, genetics coaches,
aestheticians, medical tourism
3. Public health system
Deep expertise of traditional health system
for disease and trauma treatment
March 31, 2012 Source: Extended from Swan, M. Emerging patient-driven health care models: an examination of health social networks, consumer
personalized medicine and quantified self-tracking. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2009, 2, 492-525. 31
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32. Health self-management
A new model of health and health care
March 31, 2012 Source: Extended from Swan, M. Emerging patient-driven health care models: an examination of health social networks, consumer
personalized medicine and quantified self-tracking. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2009, 2, 492-525, Figure 1. 32
Principia Posthuman
33. Biotechnicity and computational philosophy
Metaphysical shift: new ways of being
Concepts •Meaning of health and health outcomes
•Sense of self and group identity, biocitizenry
Image credit: http://stemcellresources.org
Epistemic advance: new knowledge generation
•Content: New data streams, larger data sets, more granular data, higher
Qualitative order magnitude science
•Process: New algorithms and new models
Computational tools of health-related philosophical discovery
•Hardware and software devices and algorithms: quantitative health data streams, health-
related smartphone applications, personal electronic health records, quantified self-
tracking devices
•Crowdsourced human computing networks: crowdsourced disease prediction, health
social networks, quantified self n=1 health self-experimentation, crowdsourced health
research studies, DIYbio labs
Quantitative
March 31, 2012 Source: Swan, M. Biotechnicity 2.0: Computation-enabled Philosophical Advance in the Epistemology of Human Biology and the
Ontology of Bioidentity. 2012. Submitted. 33
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34. Agenda
Context for Principia Posthuman
Elements of a Principia Posthuman
Quantitative: science, human body 2.0 redesign
Qualitative: social constructs, democracy
Concepts: philosophy, next-generation
intelligence
Conclusion
March 31, 2012
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35. GPS for the Mind exercise
Image: Salvador Dali
CONTACT GPS for the Mind exercise (4 minutes)
Sign up for a free account at www.mindtimemaps.com
(use an anonymous name if you prefer)
Complete the GPS for the Mind exercise at the
community site: www.mindtimemaps.com/start/contact
Results: return to the community site
www.mindtimemaps.com/start/contact and click on the
Groups icon, then CONTACT to see the results
March 31, 2012 Source: http://www.mindtimemaps.com
Principia Posthuman 35
36. GPS for the Mind results
Image: Salvador Dali
Past, present, future
Self, group, country
March 31, 2012 Source: http://www.mindtimemaps.com
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37. Aspen rhizome
Elements of a Principia Posthuman
Image: http://integral-options.blogspot.com
Philosophy Next-generation
Concepts Concerned with: Understanding intelligence
Art, aesthetics, economics, politics,
Qualitative societal design Democracy
Concerned with: Experience
Science and technology Human Body
Quantitative Concerned with: Characterization 2.0 Redesign
March 31, 2012
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38. Principia
Posthuman
Thank you!
Questions?
Image: AmericanThinker.com
Image: Natasha Vita-More, Primo Posthuman
Melanie Swan
MS Futures Group
Slides: http://slideshare.net/LaBlogga +1-650-681-9482
@LaBlogga, @DIYgenomics
www.MelanieSwan.com
Creative Commons 3.0 license m@melanieswan.com
39. DIYgenomics participant-organized studies
7 studies in open enrollment (vitamin deficiency, aging, and
mental performance); 5 in design (oncology, calcinosis)
March 31, 2012 Source: Swan, M., Crowdsourced health research studies. J Med Internet Res 2012, Mar;14(2):e46 39
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