Augmenting the Animal Kingdom

This is a must-read, loaded with alarmingly topical science fiction riffs. For example:

"On tap for the future: Rodents zooming around with night-vision survival goggles, squirrels hoarding nuts using GPS locators and fish armed with metal detectors to avoid the angler's hook."

Ever read Bruce Sterling's "Our Neural Chernobyl" (collected in "Globalhead")?

Then there's this, which raises disquieting existential questions:

"Future technologies, though, could yield fruit. For example, some theorists have floated a Matrix-like scenario that would use direct stimulation of the brain to fool livestock about the reality of their living conditions."

Finally, the obligatory "Planet of the Apes" reference. (I regret never seeing -- or even hearing of -- "The Day of the Dolphin" . . .)

"Ultimately, some theorists argue, humans may have to decide whether they have a moral duty to help animals cross the divide that separates the species by giving them the ability to acquire higher mental functions -- a theme explored in apocalyptic films such as Planet of the Apes and The Day of the Dolphin."

I haven't read a lot of David Brin, but this reminds me of his "Uplift" books, in which various advanced species act as stewards for less-developed ones.

Oh, and don't miss the concept art.