Dr. James Canton: I don’t think that this will play out quite this way. I do think we all benefit from Moore’s Law, the doubling of computer power every year or so. At the same time this same doubling of power costs half as much. When I was introducing at Apple the new Macintosh computer in 1984 it was $2,400 for 30 Megahertz computer. Now this same amount of money buys a supercomputer, actually I can buy two for this price today. The point is that accelerating technologies are both exponentially increasing in power, all tech, bio, neuro, networks, quantum and are getting cheaper by the hour. So I believe that just as there Porsche’s and Toyota cars there will be high end and lower end Surrogates. Economics will play a role, but I have a forecast that says it makes more sense to donate to the world Surrogate tech, like vaccines have been in the past, because it may lead to better health care, world peace, productivity and less conflict between the haves and have nots. I am an optimist not a utopian on this forecast. It is self-serving for all, rich and poor to have access to Surrogate tech, just as mobile phones, computers and the Internet are available today in the most economically poor regions of the world–and these technologies are leading to better quality of life. I believe that Surrogate tech, will help and heal more then hurt and harm in the long run.

Q: Can you tell me your involvement in the making of “Surrogates” ?

Randall Alley: I wrote the script, produced and directed the film and still found time to take care of my patients. Just kidding. I had no direct involvement in the making of “Surrogates” but I would like to think that my chosen line of work enabled me to influence the subject matter if only slightly. Prosthetic technologies are really coming into their own and I think this area is fascinating to the average person simply unaware of what we are working on and how far we have progressed. It was an honor to be a part of the bonus feature and to be able to give some thoughts on the subject from my perspective.

Q: Randall, do you think life-like surrogate robots would quickly lead to a promiscuous society where fantasies are lived out rather than productivity increases recognized?

Randall Alley: Yes and no. Without a doubt such fantasies would be lived out. You see this with people chatting on the net pretending to be somebody else, safe in the knowledge, or at least the belief, that no one will discover their real identity. However, I also believe productivity increases would also occur. As a species, not so much as an individual, we can’t stop improving, growing, experimenting, learning. So where someone might simply choose to live out a fantasy day after day, there will be those individuals who recognize that why all these “sloths” are tied to the machine, there’s huge opportunity to seize the moment and move onward and upward. As has always been the case throughout the history of man is that giant leaps of progress are typically the result of a very small number of very bright, or very determined individuals.

Q: James, same question for you, do you think life-like surrogate robots would quickly lead to a promiscuous society where fantasies are lived out rather than productivity increases recognized?

Dr. James Canton: I think that Surrogate robots will provide more lifestyle choices that will enable people to live out their fantasies, both good, bad and yes ugly. But this is no different then today. Human society even without the Surrogates spends a larger portion of time engaging in behaviors that are promiscuous. Will the Surrogates tech accelerate people having more of these experiences, perhaps. But it is certain that less social repression, especially associated with sexual behavior, leads to less violence against women. Countries that have more liberal laws have less violent crimes, so if we allow safe alternative experiences that are safe and accepted, it is likely we will gain a social good from this. This does not mean to say that productivity must be thrown out for other promiscuous behaviors, but this is human nature not technology’s issue. The Surrogates movie does show how a technology as powerful as the Surrogates can change society. It is up to us to make sure that we steer this technology of the Surrogates to be used for good and in the public interest as opposed to being used to manipulate human beings or used by governments or criminals to control thought, desire or human experience. For more information see my website at www.GlobalFuturist.com and www.SingularityU.com for an exploration of these ideas.

Q: Randall, what roll does the human brain play in operating prosthetics/bionics? Can they ever be as complex as the biological connection to the hand would be for example?

Randall Alley: You know it’s quite amazing how fast and how far brain interface control has come in only a few short years. It has been discussed and theorized for many decades, but we are now truly on the cusp of a revolution in this area. What people tend to forget is that two different areas need to come together for this to work. The brain interface side of the equation is getting very close as is the prosthetic capability side of the equation, but they have not yet met in a successful and reliable fashion. What we’ve had for a very long time are rudimentary prosthetic capabilities and therefore simply having the brain control the components would still not result in much more than a fascinating science project. What has to merge is the capability of controlling complex systems with multiple degrees of freedom. It is only at this juncture that we get the full benefits of mind-machine interfacing. In a way, with myoelectric control that’s been around for many years and is a strategy that utilizes signals generated by contracting or relaxing muscle to control prosthetic components, we already have mind control. It is simply not direct brain interfacing. The brain still commands the target muscle to contract or relax, and the sensing electrode sends the signal to a microcontroller which then passes it on in an appropriately filtered and amplified manner to the target effector, such as a hand, wrist or elbow.

Q: Randall, do you think the promotion of surrogates will only further promote a sedentary society which already suffers many health problems associated with a lack of simple exercise?

Randall Alley: As in all things, you will have those who want to sit on the couch and those who want to get out and seize life by the horns, regardless of the technology that is available. I, for example, view the internet as the most amazing library of information on the planet and am amazed at how fast I can get answers and get back to what I need to do, while others want to sit and play video games all day and night. It really comes down to what is inside of you.

Q: Randall, Surrogates goes to the heart of the question of human identity. In your work, do these kind of philosophical questions figure in your work?

Randall Alley: All the time, though often they are the quiet moments that my patients spend reflecting on their situation and not discussed aloud. An example of the terminology we use to describe individuals who have lost their limbs, and even in some cases those who were born without is the use of the word “amputee.” While it is often far easier to use this word because it is understood on a global scale, I have lectured many times on the subject of appropriate terminology. Though I have used “amputee” as a descriptor, I don’t very often and typically only in a context such as this one where fragile psychologies are not present and time is of the essence to answer these questions. These are individuals who have lost an arm or a leg, or who were born without, not some different category. We have to remember that. It serves us well to consider the human factor in even the small things. When I remove an electric hand from a prosthesis while it is being worn the individual, maybe because I need to service it but we don’t want to take the time to remove the prosthesis itself, I have to be careful of how they view this “snap on snap off” capability. It definitely takes the human out of the equation momentarily, and this can affect people in different ways.

Q: Randall, what was your greatest success story at biodesigns in helping an amputee with technology?

Randall Alley: Probably the most memorable happened quite a long time ago. I worked with a middle-aged woman with quadrimelia (born without arms or legs) at very high levels, so she was at the hip level as well as the shoulder level on both sides. Adding to her challenges, she also had severe scoliosis, so her upper back was significantly rotated off of center. Her parents took care of her every minute of their lives and had been doing so for more than forty years. Just sit back and imagine that. Eating, toileting, dressing, everything. When I met her, all she wanted was to be able to feed herself. The technology at the time was too heavy or simply incapable of providing the function she needed so I, along with an engineer designed a system that brought components together from different manufacturers that weren’t meant to work with one another. The system not only weighed far less than anything out there at the time, but was also simple to use and reliable. She ate her first cookie right in front of me and her family wept. I won’t ever forget that.

Q: James, could the world depicted in Surrogates be truly possible? What are the likely scenarios needed to achieve such an existence from social, economic and political points of view?

Dr. James Canton: As a futurist I see the world of the Surrogates as probable and not just because of technology’s progress. There are other social drivers that could bring the Surrogates into our reality faster. Population declines due to low fertility , war or pandemic could leave nations with more jobs then workers. Japan is a nation that is de-populating and is also a leader in robotics for this reason. Aging societies will need to be taken care of by robots, both surrogates and autonomous bots. Another likely scenario is that disasters due to climate change, wars and disease may require Surrogates to engage in areas we do not want to risk human life. Finally, the convergence of robotics, AI computers, nanoscience and biotech will offer new choices for humans to extend their consciousness beyond the limitations of their bodies, for entertainment, sports as well as careers that will be dominated by Surrogate tech. Other likely scenarios will be driven by health care and medicine. We may not be able to treat the 8 billion people on the planet over the next 30-40 years without Surrogates. So social drivers will make the world of the Surrogates a reality to help humanity cope with population, conflict, health care and security.

Q: Randall, if you could have a surrogate, what would it look like and what would you want to use it for most?

Randall Alley: Now there’s a loaded question! I think depending on the age I was at the time my surrogate was created, it would resemble me as opposed to being some enhanced version, only because I can’t imagine what it would feel like to have to constantly see the more youthful me, or the more physically capable me. This would only make the reality that much more painful, as we see in the movie. As for what I would use it for, well, networking on a much more personal scale! And this begs the question, why only one? Why not a vast array of “me’s” so I could ostensibly get much more done. For me it would be more about being efficient as opposed to living a double life, though that certainly has its attraction.

Q: As the media and entertainment industry does have a strong influence on our society, do you think that movie studios sometimes seek advice or approval from futurist oriented companies to offer audiences what could perhaps be plausible expectations in technology to sort of adapt the general population’s minds towards acceptance of these things as they become available to the public?