For a long while, only rich people and biojackers will engage in augmentation. Then, eventually, it will just be a kind of new normal, as opposed to "augmentation." We all ingest a stimulant every morning. We all offload our memories and knowledge to mini-computers. We all monitor our fitness with wrist computers. So yeah, at some point it will be mundane to pop nootropics like vitamins, or set your vision to continuous recording, or issue simple mental commands to the TV via your scalp reader. (I don't see most people undergoing invasive surgery just to "enhance" themselves.)
No stimulant for me. No wrist computers, and I'm not sure what you're trying to reference by mini computers.
But I see this a little more serious than I do various tech gadgets. There's a vast difference in a job requiring me to understand how these tech gadgets work, or being trained in some kind of software and a job requiring I own an exoskeleton suit capable of XYZ. And, yes, I see that coming down the line if (when) these things catch on. It's not abnormal for your mechanic or construction personnel to have to supply their own tools here and safety gear here, and a suit could be right in line with that.
Take the eyes. Body cameras are becoming standard for police, but if everyone has eyes that can be downloaded, everything you see suddenly ceases to be entirely private.
Yeah, I also don't drink coffee in the morning and don't have a smartwatch, but I recognize that these are common or becoming so. By mini-computers I just mean smartphones. These devices are already replacing some of the tasks once performed by our brain. We don't need to know how to navigate; our computer does that for us. We don't need to remember birthdays; our computer does that for us.
But I see this a little more serious than I do various tech gadgets. There's a vast difference in a job requiring me to understand how these tech gadgets work, or being trained in some kind of software and a job requiring I own an exoskeleton suit capable of XYZ. And, yes, I see that coming down the line if (when) these things catch on. It's not abnormal for your mechanic or construction personnel to have to supply their own tools here and safety gear here, and a suit could be right in line with that.
Somebody on Poly used to have a sigquote that went something like "the most reliable prediction about the future is that it will be mostly like the past." The main flaw in most predictions of the future, IMO, is failing to reckon with human needs, wants, and limitations; no, we're not going to do [extravagant and remarkable thing], either because it's too expensive or risky to be worth it or because we have a more efficient or practical way to achieve the same result. Lori gave a good example; invasive surgery is probably always going to be dangerous and unpleasant, and many of the things you could accomplish with body mods could be accomplished more practically by outsourcing to a machine. I could see exoskeletons maybe being useful for military applications, but once AI advances enough just having robotic soldiers would cut out the slowest and least durable components of any enhanced human warrior.
I think robots controlled with a VR/AR rig will come sooner. But, yeah, exosuits at some point for specialised applications. Wouldn't want to predict whether they'll ever be mainstream for jobs
Take the eyes. Body cameras are becoming standard for police, but if everyone has eyes that can be downloaded, everything you see suddenly ceases to be entirely private.