In this blog post, we’ll discuss the development and future of biotechnology, the meaning of the end of Homo sapiens, and the definition of Homo sapiens.
Marvel’s First Avenger, Captain America, has muscles and strength that humans don’t have. Many people envy Captain America’s strength, and now it’s not hard to have them if you have the money. This is thanks to advances in biotechnology. This means that we’re only a few steps away from the kind of human modification we see in comics. The future of biotechnology is the creation of enhanced humans, superhumans, with taller stature, handsome faces, and higher intelligence, by manipulating their genes from birth. However, too much progress in science and technology has always caused concern, and Yuval Harari, author of Sapiens, argues that these advances in biotechnology and genetic manipulation could eventually lead to the end of Homo sapiens. So, what exactly is the end of Homo sapiens, and how far has biotechnology come?
First, what is “Homo sapiens” and what does the phrase “end of Homo sapiens” mean? The English word Homo sapiens literally means “wise man,” and from a biological perspective, it’s defined as a species of primate. How you interpret this definition of homo sapiens can make a big difference in the meaning of the apocalypse. You can consider Homo sapiens as an intelligent life form, like humans, or you can accept it as a special species, like modern humans. For the purposes of the following discussion, we’ll use the latter definition. The premise is that if many genes are altered, if intelligence becomes too high, or if parts of the body become robotic, we may no longer be considered homo sapiens. In other words, intelligent life forms such as humans may not become extinct, but we may no longer be able to call them homo sapiens. To illustrate the importance of definitions, let’s take an analogy from Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice, where the main point is that we need to clarify the “pound of flesh” part: we can think of a pound of flesh as simply including blood and flesh, and as an approximate pound, but we can also take it as an exact pound of flesh without blood, and as an exact pound with all significant figures. The same is true for Homo sapiens.
Second, let’s look at what biotechnologies make it possible to create a superhuman. Currently, there are always political and ethical issues that slow down biotech research on humans. In the case of pigs, it’s possible to genetically engineer pigs with the fat we want, and in the case of insects, we’ve made progress in creating insects with six times the intelligence. These technologies are always just a few tweaks away from being applied to humans. It’s only a matter of time before clinical trials allow us to alter human intelligence from birth. The same goes for mapping all of our genes. In effect, once this is done, we will know which proteins, which codes, determine specific human traits. In other words, if we take a car apart as a complex, and know which parts propel it forward and which parts determine its direction, we can fix it by simply replacing those parts. The same is true for humans. If we know that a particular gene is causing our body to be sick, we can take it out and replace it with a healthy one. These technologies are by no means in the distant future.
In this article, we’ve discussed the development and future of biotechnology, the implications of the end of Homo sapiens, and the definition of Homo sapiens. The end of Homo sapiens will not be caused by any other species. It’s our greed that will eventually cause the end. For example, let’s say we develop a cure for Alzheimer’s, but what if it turns out to be a drug that improves memory in normal people? What if you build a strong robotic arm for people who’ve had arm accidents, and they want to use it for strength? The truth is, there’s nothing to stop people from wanting to get stronger, smarter, or whatever outside of the therapeutic purpose. Given enough time, you can eventually become a superhuman by manipulating only the genes you want from birth. Just like painting a wall any color you want, you can create any number of brighter or taller people by replacing only the desired components of our genes. There will also be people whose bodies are mostly robotic. Would we even call them homo sapiens anymore? If everyone has the same powers as Captain America and the same arm as the Winter Soldier, are they still human? The apocalypse is not a big deal. It’s just the beginning of change. And it’s a change driven by human greed and desire.
