I don't worry same much about the person who changes himself, but for the changes that those changes will mean for those who don't go along.
First, if you're looking to create a permanent overclass, enhancing humans in any way is a great way to do that. Rich people will most certainly be able to have those implants that will make them smarter, better, and stronger than ordinary people. And given that we hire the best person for the job, you create a situation in which a person cannot get a job because he didn't get enhanced. No one is going to choose a programmer with an iq of 130 when he has someone else who has an iq of 1000. No one is going to hire a non enhanced roofer when he can hire one that has a chainsaw attachment. And since most of this is "elective", it's going to be used overwhelmingly by the rich. At which point, you have an entire caste system-- elites who are better in every way, and peasants who have no way to improve.
Another related problem is that eventually the enhanced will be so far ahead that they may as well be a different species. You with an IQ of 1000 are 10x smarter than the average unenhanced human. This is about the difference between a human and a dog. We have problems with racism when there are no real differences in intelligence, just perception and easily recognizable physical differences. This is different, now you have physical markers (no robot parts) and actual differences. I don't think enhanced people will treat the underclass that's actually inferior to them any better than we treat minorities in our world now. If anything, it will be worse.
I don't worry same much about the person who changes himself, but for the changes that those changes will mean for those who don't go along.
First, if you're looking to create a permanent overclass, enhancing humans in any way is a great way to do that. Rich people will most certainly be able to have those implants that will make them smarter, better, and stronger than ordinary people. And given that we hire the best person for the job, you create a situation in which a person cannot get a job because he didn't get enhanced. No one is going to choose a programmer with an iq of 130 when he has someone else who has an iq of 1000. No one is going to hire a non enhanced roofer when he can hire one that has a chainsaw attachment. And since most of this is "elective", it's going to be used overwhelmingly by the rich. At which point, you have an entire caste system-- elites who are better in every way, and peasants who have no way to improve.
Another related problem is that eventually the enhanced will be so far ahead that they may as well be a different species. You with an IQ of 1000 are 10x smarter than the average unenhanced human. This is about the difference between a human and a dog. We have problems with racism when there are no real differences in intelligence, just perception and easily recognizable physical differences. This is different, now you have physical markers (no robot parts) and actual differences. I don't think enhanced people will treat the underclass that's actually inferior to them any better than we treat minorities in our world now. If anything, it will be worse.