Advances in cyborg engineering open up new possibilities by combining the human body with inorganic materials, but they also pose the risk of a loss of personal identity. In particular, the connection between the brain and the computer could lead to a loss of identity as personal memories are mixed with those of others. These changes could disrupt the human mindset and sense of self, eventually leading to the end of Homo sapiens. This is why it’s so important for humans to try to maintain their unique identity amidst the flood of information.
We often refer to humans as “Homo sapiens”. Homo sapiens means “man of reason” or “man of wisdom”. So what are the most important characteristics of this species? If I had to pick one, I would say identity, because unlike other animals, Homo sapiens have the ability to think for themselves, and their individual identity is shaped by their thoughts. Let’s take a look at how cyborg engineering, one of the latest attempts to replace natural selection with intelligent design, might affect human identity.
First of all, the term “cyborg” in cyborg engineering refers to a combination of living and non-living things. For example, a human with a bionic hand or prosthetic leg is a cyborg. However, it’s hard to categorize people today who use various devices like computers and televisions in their daily lives as non-cyborgs, especially since cell phones are almost an extension of the body for many people. We are currently walking a tightrope between being a true cyborg and being bionic. If we cross this line and embrace inorganic elements as part of our bodies, we will change as individuals in every way.
So, could cyborg engineering lead to the end of Homo sapiens? I think it’s entirely possible. This is not to say that cyborg engineering will have only negative effects on humans. As I mentioned earlier, bionic hands or prosthetic limbs can give people who have lost body parts in accidents a new lease on life. In fact, while bionic arms are limited in what they can do compared to biological arms, they’re advanced enough to work by interpreting nerve signals from the brain into electrical commands. In short, it’s possible to have a bionic arm that works just by thinking.
However, cyborg engineering is a double-edged sword. For all its positive effects, the development of cyborg technology has had an equally large negative impact. I believe that this negative phenomenon could lead to the end of Homo sapiens. I’m not talking about being conquered by robots, as in the movie I, Robot, where advances in cyborg engineering lead to advances in robotics, and intelligent robots dominate humans, leading to the extinction of Homo sapiens. I think the reason for the apocalypse is loss of identity.
Usually, when we think of cyborg technology, we think of prosthetic hands, prosthetic limbs, and artificial organs. However, there is a recent project in the field of cyborg engineering to connect computers and brains. If successful, the connection between computers and brains will have a profound impact on human identity. Let’s take a look at the reasons why. A computer-brain connection would mean that all the information stored in an individual’s brain could be transferred to a computer. If many people’s brains were connected to a computer and their information was stored in the computer, it would create a kind of network that would allow us to see other people’s memories and thoughts, just like the Internet. This would allow one cyborg to search for information in another cyborg’s brain and adopt it as if it were their own. This process will begin to confuse the individual’s identity – their memories, traits, personality, and tastes – and blur the lines between self and other. Humans who lose their identity will eventually lose the ability to understand themselves, and in the confusion, normal thinking will become difficult, and they will lose their reason and intellect.
In this way, it is very dangerous to indiscriminately accept other people’s memories through the brain internet. Even now, we live in an endless stream of information via the internet. It’s literally a flood of information. Many people lose their identity in the midst of this information, even in the pre-internet era. When we read what others post, we initially interpret it with our own imagination, but gradually, we lose our own thoughts because we are influenced by the thoughts of others. Of course, not everyone loses their identity, but simply reading and interacting with texts has a great impact, and what about the impact of directly interacting with other people’s memories? The impact is incomparable to that of simply interacting with texts.
Although we have not yet developed an internet of brains, as humans and homo sapiens, we must strive to maintain our identity and not lose our own thoughts in the sea of information.
