Just as the dinosaurs were wiped out by an asteroid impact 66 million years ago, advances in science could make eternal life possible or lead to extinction. While digital technology may allow us to clone the human brain and live forever, it also has the potential to wipe out Homo sapiens and transform us into a new form of existence.
Imagine what it was like 66 million years ago. Long-necked herbivorous dinosaurs are grazing, and tyrannosaurs are hunting with their sharp claws. But none of these dinosaurs knew that they were destined to become extinct soon afterward due to an asteroid impact. Dinosaurs aren’t the only animals that have gone extinct on Earth. However, no one reading this article imagines the extinction of Homo sapiens, or humans. This is because we are now more prosperous than ever thanks to the advances in science. However, many people don’t realize that science, like the sun, can also be the asteroid that will drive Homo sapiens to extinction, and that asteroid is still hurtling toward Earth.
In 2017, South Korea’s Naver Webtoon released a series of comics about the future of technology, including one called Circle of Life. The plot of this manga shows how humanity could become extinct. In the past, humans have been struggling to adapt to the changing environment day by day. However, in this manga, with the development of science, human consciousness has been replaced by data and stored in computers, and many people have decided to abandon their physical bodies and live in a world called “BITOPIA”. In this world, computers communicate with each other in binary system rather than the decimal system we usually use, and BIT stands for binary digit. Also, UTOPIA means utopia, and BITOPIA is a combination of the two. However, the protagonist believes that it would be wrong to enter BITOPIA because it would be an invasion of the realm of life and death.
The protagonist of this webtoon argues that humans shouldn’t violate the laws of life, but in fact, this has been a long-standing desire of humans. All humans have been afraid of their own mortality since they were born, that is, they are afraid that the world will continue on without any problems after they are gone. For this reason, humanity is currently working on the “Gilgamesh Project” to achieve eternal life. Gilgamesh was a character in Mesopotamian mythology who set out on a journey to find eternal life. Like Gilgamesh, modern humans are also trying to advance science to achieve eternal life, including biotechnology, cyborg engineering, and the digital engineering introduced in this webcomic.
Many people think that the digital world of 0s and 1s is difficult to reproduce in the real world. However, things happen in the digital world that happen in the real world. A prime example is the evolution of computer viruses. Viruses constantly replicate and try to infect multiple computers. As it continues to replicate, the order of the bits of 0s and 1s can be distorted, which can lead to mutations with new characteristics. If this mutation is more resistant to vaccines, the virus survives and continues to replicate. This is similar to the process of biological evolution, where the better individuals survive and leave offspring and the species evolves.
In addition to this, we have also developed artificial intelligence that can think like us in the digital world. Remember the highly publicized Go match between AlphaGo and Lee Sedol two years ago. AlphaGo synthesizes a lot of data from the game, and for each move it makes, it chooses the optimal number of moves from a vast amount of data. AlphaGo actually defeated Lee Sedol, a professional Go player, 4-1 in this match, so we can see that the AI’s thought process has advanced significantly.
However, these are just examples of computers mimicking the characteristics of living creatures, not human beings. The most important scientific breakthrough in the webtoon depends on replicating our entire brain in a computer. At first glance, this may seem impossible, but there is a project underway in Europe. It’s called the Blue Brain Project, and it aims to digitize the human brain. The human brain is made up of about 100 billion neurons, which are neurotransmitting cells. The goal of the research is to recreate this huge network in the digital world. The scientists working on the project have already successfully sketched a map of a rat’s brain on a computer. Of course, creating a perfect brain map remains a huge challenge, but this suggests that it’s possible to replicate the human brain map as well.
So why is this research relevant to the Gilgamesh Project, the quest for eternal life? Because if we can replicate the human brain in the cyber world, we can free ourselves from lifespan and physical limitations. Descartes argued that “I think, therefore I am”. This indicates that the ability to think is the most important characteristic of a human being. But if we have no body, only a mind, and are no longer active in the real world, can we really be called Homo sapiens? Furthermore, all living things, including humans, instinctively fear death. However, if we forget our fear of death and enjoy eternal life, it is fair to say that we are no longer Homo sapiens and have become something else, which means that Homo sapiens will become extinct in the real world.
Some will see digital engineering as an asteroid that will wipe us out, while others will see it as Noah’s Ark that will free us from the fear of death. And the debate between these two views will only intensify as technology advances. But that doesn’t mean that research like the Blue Brain Project will stop. As long as the desire to forget the fear of death doesn’t disappear, that is, as long as the Gilgamesh project continues. So Homo sapiens will eventually go extinct, and we will change. To a new life form, one without a body but with a soul.
