Tuesday 23 November 2010

Pregnancy and early motherhood in the Articulated Naturality Web

Pregnancy is a hard time for a woman. Carrying around the weight of a
baby is hard. Fear of cot death is a problem. There are many other
trials and tribulations that I, as a man, can't understand.

I wonder what the future holds for pregnant mothers.

A big obstacle for any mother is getting around be they expecting or
carrying around a baby. The future navigation systems may become
tailored to different needs. I'm trying to think what specific needs
they may have. For example they may only want to get on public transport
which is tailored to meet their needs, which has space for them to put
their buggy or always has seats available for expecting mothers to sit.
Perhaps systems may be setup to link with traffic control so pregnant
mothers (as well as ambulances, police and fire services) get priority.

I'm not sure how telepresence will work in the ANW, i.e. whether it will
simply be a video call or whether there will be a more advanced
interface. 3D for example can give mothers and fathers full reality view
of their child. Every intensive care unit could have a 3D camera in each
cot.

Biomonitoring is an obvious step too and linked to a mobile platform it
gives parents access to essential data on their child. Physicans may
also want access to this data. I wonder if this could be used to prevent
cot death and other forms child death. Systems get integrated into cots
and patches with biosensors can be attached to pregnant women's stomachs
and babies.

I've always wondered if there was a way that technology could stop a
child crying. I've seen children on the tube and they find it a
distressing experience. It's an unfamiliar environment. It's noisy and
cluttered. Could some sort of helmet or other apparel help to keep
babies calm in environments like this by surrounding their field of view
and aural senses with something familiar or entertaining.

It's hard to think about this because I've never been pregnant. Even
this may change in the future as men may be able to have babies. There's
a $1 million prize for the first man to have a baby (the first man born
as a man). The sponsor believes this will achieve world peace.

There are other concerns, like when is the first moment that a baby
becomes introduced to the ANW. At what point should they become Human
2.0. Many might say as soon as possible but there may be risks. It may
be important to hold off so Human 1.0 senses develop. After all,
electronic systems can fail so the robust Human 1.0 sensory system needs
to develop first before it becomes augmented by the overlay of digital
information overlaid on the real world. Parents want to give their child
every advantage but there may be such a thing as introducing technology
too early in a person's development and this may pose risks that are
unknown until the person matures to adulthood.

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We It comes in part from an appreciation that no one can truly sign their own work. Everything is many influences coming together to the one moment where a work exists. The other is a begrudging acceptance that my work was never my own. There is another consciousness or non-corporeal entity that helps and harms me in everything I do. I am not I because of this force or entity. I am "we"