This essay explores the implications of transhumanism and human-machine hybridization. It raises concerns about the increasing dependency on technology and the risk of losing control over our existence. In the face of the growing threat of humanity being supplanted by digital golems, it is essential to be vigilant and place greater value on humanism and social connections.
E. Krieger
Having been invited to write a few lines on the theme of the post-human, I found myself unable to contemplate this perspective for a long time, struck with bewilderment. It is already difficult to imagine what the world might look like after our own death, but to reflect on the end of humanity and what would succeed it is an even more perilous and frankly unpleasant leap of induction.
To make matters more challenging, I was advised to watch a documentary by Philippe Borrel, co-produced by Arte, entitled « A World Without Humans? » Like Pandora’s box, hope remained lurking at the bottom of the jar, represented by a question mark at the end of this provocative title. The documentary concludes with an injunction to resist the most radical fringes of neoliberal and eugenic proponents of the transhumanist philosophy.
This report leads us to think that « The Matrix » may not necessarily be just an entertaining and unreal work of science fiction. With our eyes glued to our smartphones, we even come to realize that we are all, to varying degrees, promoters of technologies intended to « enhance » the physical and mental characteristics of human beings, which is precisely the essence of transhumanism.
Transhumanism, what for?
Like hamsters destined to run faster and faster as we activate the wheel of our digital exchanges, we increasingly conceive and utilize productivity tools. We are constantly connected in real-time to the whole world, risking neglecting our friends at the restaurant or our colleagues at work after just a few minutes, as their conversation does not provide the same adrenaline rush as checking our emails, SMS, or engaging in discussions on social media. We eagerly call for service robots capable of handling a growing number of professional or personal tasks, to the point of dreaming of implants that could optimize our metabolism and allow us to live even longer. But for what purpose, exactly?
From hubris to hybridization, there is only one step that transhumanists take more willingly, imagining they can control these mutations for personal gain. What Nietzsche dreamed of with his Zarathustra, is Google in the process of achieving it? While we only attribute greatness to the rich, some developments by this company in augmented reality are, to say the least, perplexing.
Prometheus: from mythology to dystopia
From liberator, could Prometheus be turning into a jailer? If we no longer take the time to contemplate a sunset or listen to the song of a bird in the early morning, have we not already lost control of our existence?
Is humanity merely a parenthesis in the history of the universe? On an astrophysicist’s or geologist’s timescale of fourteen billion years or « only » five billion years for our planet, this may seem obvious, but it is an unbearable postulate for ordinary people. Nevertheless, it is difficult to imagine the abrupt or insidious end of humanity being supplanted by machines or nothingness.
The most credible hypothesis of the end of civilization emerged during World War II, and since then, we have continued to dance on a volcano. Stanley Kubrick addresses this issue in « Dr. Strangelove, » where it appears that a set of ill-adapted procedures to contingencies could lead to an escalation of retaliations, resulting in the destruction of our planet. In this scenario, the machines do not take power; they only execute the instructions of misguided military strategists, with the approval of a power that blindly delegates the management of a conflict to them.
From ancillary to ominous: the anticipated drift of digital golems
Contemporary robots are direct heirs of the sophisticated defense protocols that inexorably lead to nuclear winter. In Stanley Kubrick’s film, the machine remains desperately narrow-minded, even as it calculates faster and faster. If algorithms and processes malfunction, it will still be the « fault » of humans, who have indeed acquired the ability to be their own gravediggers for a few decades, tragically distinguishing them from animals.
It is not so much the sprawling developments of the « digital » that worry but rather what humans will actually do with them. In recent history, humanity has survived authentic psychopaths, sometimes democratically elected to power. Will this still be the case tomorrow? In the Talmud, the golem is an automaton, a stupid being that precedes the creation of Adam. The digital world is just a golem. No more, no less. If humans give it their place, it is because they will have resigned from what makes the essence of their humanity: their intelligence.
In the face of the resistible rise of digital golems, it is more essential than ever to be vigilant and trust in humans and their discernment. By holding up a mirror to the proponents of transhumanism, we can hope that they will weigh their utopia against what humans hold most precious: social connections and the preservation of their own ecosystem.
Adapted from Krieger E. « La résistible ascension des golems numériques », La Revue du Cube #4, « Après l’Humain », Avril 2013, pp. 49-50. Also published on: www.ikigai-colors.com/index.php/2023/07/26/la-resistible-ascension-des-golems-numeriques-2/
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