Abstract

Homo sapiens is entering a vital era in which the human-technology link is an inexorable trend. In this paper a look is taken as to how and why this is coming about and what exactly it means for both the posthuman species Homo technologicus and its originator Homo sapiens. Clearly moral and ethical issues are at stake. Different practical experimentation results that relate to the theme are described and the argument is raised as to why and how this can be regarded as a new species. A picture is taken of the status of cyborgs as it stands today but also how this will change in the near future, as the effects of increased technological power have a more dramatic influence. An important ultimate consideration is whether Homo technologicus will act in the best interests of Homo sapiens or not. This paper concludes that the answer is clear.

Highlights

  • The subject area of cyborgs and posthumanism has been well developed in the social sciences and humanities for many years [1]

  • Homo technologicus is considered in this paper to be one in which the entity is formed by a human-technology brain/nervous system coupling in which the complete entity goes well beyond the norm in terms of Homo sapiens performance

  • The implants considered certainly, in each case, allow the recipients abilities that are not normal for Homo sapiens

Read more

Summary

Introduction

The subject area of cyborgs and posthumanism has been well developed in the social sciences and humanities for many years [1]. Homo technologicus is considered in this paper to be one in which the entity is formed by a human-technology brain/nervous system coupling in which the complete entity goes well beyond the norm in terms of Homo sapiens performance (case 4). Whilst this does refer to a relatively narrow definition with respect to all human-technology possibilities, the arguments that follow are dependent on such a definition. It is not thought to be worthwhile considering case 1 in any further depth than has been done already as this is merely the case of a human holding a pen, riding a bicycle or wearing a watch, no matter how some may wish to market their research [9,10]

Identification
Implant Variety
Magnet Implants
Conclusions
Case 3
Deep Brain Stimulation
Overcoming Paralysis
BrainGate
BrainGate for Enhancement
Human Enhancement
Intelligent Machines
Discussion
Full Text
Published version (Free)

Talk to us

Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have

Schedule a call