Imagine a future when earth's inhabitants are not humans, but cyborgs—robotlike beings with both biological and mechanical components. With exosuits for added strength, cybernetic arms and legs,  surgically-implanted earbuds for advanced hearing, bionic eyes for X-ray and infrared vision, and digitally-enhanced brains, these "superbots" think and act at lightning speed. Nanobots inside their bodies work continually to maintain and repair organs and tissues. Equally impressive are their "organic parts," which have been genetically engineered for health.

These superbeings may sound like something out of a sci-fi movie, but they are the very real aspiration of influential business leaders, government officials, biotech engineers, scientists and futurists around the world, who are spearheading a philosophical and socio-political movement known as transhumanism.

In a nutshell, the transhumanist movement seeks to develop and use technology to radically transform humanity beyond its current physiology and limitations—to augment or amplify natural abilities like intellect and physical strength, create disease-resistant bodies, and extend lifespans or prevent death altogether.