Will Cyborgs Ever Be Humans in the Image and Likeness of God?

Krzysztof Krzemiński

doi:10.3390/rel12100850

Abstract

Advances in technology and genetic engineering have rekindled the hopes of some communities for human immortality on earth. Projects aimed at copying the human brain for the purpose of enabling humans to achieve “cybernetic eternity” are emerging. From the perspective of Christian anthropology, it is advisable to ask the following question: is a cyborg a human being in the image of God? It boils down to the criteria for being in the image of God. The first of these is creativity, understood as the actualized relationship of the human with their Creator. For the human is not a product of even the most brilliant minds and technologies, but a creature for whom a personal relationship with the Persons of the Holy Trinity is constitutive in nature.

Highlights

As for the main topic, it appears necessary to answer the question of the personal status of the creation that has become the work of the latest technologies
Kurzweil considers that scanning does not allow for the transfer of a person’s subjective awareness. He perceives the problem in relation to the consciousness associated with abstract thinking, which, for example, functions in the creation of mathematics or philosophy, but he fails to identify the place of this important type of awareness in the project of posthuman existence that he is developing
Christian anthropology considers the beginning of human existence to be the moment of union of the immortal soul, given by God, with the body transferred in the act of coexistence of the spouses

Summary

Introduction

Yuval Noah Harari, professor at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, claims that with the latest technologies and genetic engineering, humans will undergo evolution They will become more powerful, live much longer, and even be immortal (Harari 2017). In the 200 years the rich will become cyborgs because of the gradual integration of natural and artificial components It may sound like a science fiction movie script, but Professor Harari seems to be serious in his statements. From a religious point of view, Silicon Valley is the most interesting place on earth, for scientists are there developing a “techno-religion.” In his opinion, new technologies will turn humans into cyborgs and equip them with immortality

From Homo Sapiens to Homo Cyborg?

Is a Cyborg a Person?

Elements That Constitute the Human Being

Conclusions