The story of civilization is the story of humans and their tools. Use of tools has changed the human mind, altered the human body, and fundamentally reshaped human identity. Now at the dawn of the 21st century, a new category of tools and machines is poised to radically change humanity at a velocity well beyond the pace of Darwinian evolution.

A science is emerging that combines a new understanding of how humans work to usher in a new generation of machines that mimic or aid human physical and mental capabilities. Some 150 million of us are over the age of 80, while 200 million of us suffer from severe cognitive, emotional, sensory, or physical disabilities. Giving all or even most of this population a quality of life beyond mere survival is both the scientific challenge of the epoch and the basis for a coming revolution over what it means to be human. To unleash this next stage in human development, our bodies will change, our minds will change, and our identities will change. The age of Human 2.0 is here.

In a dramatic and crucially important new initiative, h2.0, the MIT Media Lab seeks to advance on all fronts to define and focus this scientific realignment. The Lab will leverage a new understanding of human cognition, emotion, perception, and movement to produce machines that better serve humanity.

Positioning itself at the center of a confluence of new science is a familiar place for the Media Lab. Understanding the adaptive impulse of humans and harnessing it for the pursuit of a new generation of machines is an endeavor as world shattering as anything the Media Lab has ever undertaken. The goal? New Minds, New Bodies, New Identities.