Worldbuilding

As I prepare for my fifth eye surgery to fix a prosthetic lens, I'm reminded of how dumb elective cybernetic implants, augmentations, or what have you, would be in real life.

I bring this up because in most sci-fi settings I've encountered where cybernetics exist, they go unquestioned as a boon to the individual and society at large. When they are the focus of a work, people who are in favor of baseline humanity are portrayed as luddites or even bigots.

Very quickly, here's why I take a dim view of cybernetics:

1. Society is already stratified into haves and have-nots. The people most likely to get augmented are those who are already in power, the rich and connected, not the huddled masses. So a persecution scenario like that seen in the later Deus Ex games is unrealistic.
2. tech support. Devices eventually need to be serviced or replaced, and that's bad when it involves turning your innards into outards.
3. Following from number 2, planned obsolescence. Your model of brain chip is outmoded? Better get the newest one if you want to keep up.
4. Invasive medical procedures are inherently risky.
5. Do you really want your body to be vulnerable to cyber attacks?
6. Better pony up the dough for the gold subscription if you want to dream in color again.

In my conworld, even though the yinrih have achieved Kardashev II status they don't use cybernetics. Part of this is because they can't lose consciousness, meaning they can't use anesthesia, meaning surgeries have to be as minimally invasive as possible, limiting what sort of stuff can be implanted. The other, more realistic reason, is because wearable tech does most of what you want out of augmentations. Why chop off your legs when you can wear pseudosinew to improve strength? Why get ocular implants when HUD specs do the job? You get the point.