Biological & Neural Integrity / Human Augmentation
SUB-T05-044Assistive Augmentation
Definition
Assistive Augmentation examines augmentation designed primarily to improve access, independence and participation within the broader domain of therapeutic, assistive and elective technologies that extend cognitive, sensory or motor capability.
Why this matters
Failures concerning augmentation designed primarily to improve access, independence and participation can cause physical or psychological harm, loss of function, privacy invasion, identity compromise, exclusion, coercion or irreversible impact on human agency.
Research questions
Under which conditions can augmentation designed primarily to improve access, independence and participation be delivered, measured or protected reliably, and how do outcomes vary by person, device, duration, context and governance controls?
Hypotheses
A transparent, safety-bounded and person-centred approach to assistive augmentation, combining validated measurement, informed consent, privacy and security controls, human oversight and longitudinal monitoring, will improve benefit–risk outcomes compared with opaque or technology-centred approaches.
Proposed methods
controlled performance testing; longitudinal outcome measurement; human-factors evaluation; equity analysis; dependency assessment; user interviews; ethics and policy review; expert and affected-user review; reproducibility testing; methods adapted specifically to Assistive Augmentation
Stakeholders and beneficiaries
augmentation users; patients; clinicians; therapists; employers; insurers; manufacturers; disability advocates; regulators; carers