What Makes Us Human?

Hello blog, it has been a while. I have been on a little hiatus, still writing, just elsewhere.

That being said, I wanted to hop on here today and share my thoughts on humanity (nothin major, amiright?). Recently, I have acquired some newfound knowledge on engineering. Here are some of my notes and overall thoughts.

For starters, robotics, GenAi, quantum computing chips, and advancements of fusion are gonna be a big deal. They kind of already are. (Example: Microsoft says they have created a new matter called a "topological superconductor" to power its quantum computing chip!)

Combining these things are going to create the 'future' in our lifetime.

Things I'm thinking about today:

1. The nearing Singularity! This is the "hypothetical point in time at which technological growth becomes uncontrollable and irreversible." Ray Kurzweil says this will happen in 2045.

2. The Anthropocene. Learned this word in my Climate Change and Culture Class. To sum it up, climate change is turning to “The Anthropocene” human condition which argues that we (inhabitants of the Earth) have entered into a new geographic era (from the Holocene to the Anthropocene )and is marked by human beings ascending to the level of a geologic force.

3. The emergence of the Homo Deus. This is a new word my partner introduced to me this morning and i am fascinated by it. Google says:

   "Homo Sapiens (wise humans) is evolving into Homo Deus (god humans) with god-like mastery over our environment and the ability to create (and destroy) life."

These topics have led me to look further into the question of "does our humanity matter?"

If robots, or scientifically grown humanoids, become sentient beings sometime in our lifetime, will it really matter that they are not human? Will we engage with them as if they are?

Will the evolution of the humanoid allow us to become free of labor work and return to the sensuous outdoors or will it further alienate us from our humanity and/or one another?

These are the things I am grappling with today. I like to think that humanity matters- our souls, The Oneness within us. Our Being cannot be recreated by a machine. But who is to say our Being matters? If it is truly important that we are made of flesh rather than mechanics?

Let me know if you have the answers or any good thoughts on how to justify a claim on the preservation of humanity.

Thats all for now.

xo

Ellie