Undergraduate Journal Publication ‘Considering a shared future between humans, post-humans and AI’

What will a shared future between humans, post-humans and AI look like? I had initially written this article as a book review for a credit bearing subject in my final year of undergraduate study. The 2013 Springer book Engineering the Human: Human Enhancement Between Fiction and Fascination explores the natural, artificial and technological alteration of the human body to enhance mental, physical or reproductive capabilities, presenting relevant scientific developments and fictional works from various eras in history. The book shows us that although circumstances may change, humanity’s dreams and fears are not so different.

My article aims to update, critique, and build on the book’s viewpoints and arguments in three sections: I first discuss important new advances in genetic modification and AI since the books’ publishing. I then offer a critique of the book’s conclusions about ethical and moral issues such as ‘what it means to be human’. Finally, drawing on my love of sci-fi, I update the books’ exploration of related science fiction works with discussions of topics including Cyberpunk, AI and Human-like Agents in sci-fi, and story-driven video games.

In the process of learning about science itself, we seem to lose the child-like wonder for the future and the capacity to dream beyond technical constraints. I’m glad to have spent considerable amounts of time reading and thinking while writing this piece, reconnecting with my younger self – the Yeok who was less concerned with grades and deadlines and absolutely obsessed with exploring the unknown and imagining new possibilities. 

You can access the article here at Inscribe Issue 8