Homo sapiens has conquered the world with its cognitive abilities. In the 21st century, intelligent design is replacing natural selection, and biotechnology is manipulating life. This has opened up the possibility of creating new life forms, but it also raises ethical and political issues and could lead to the end of the human species.
Humans, or Homo sapiens, are bipedal, walking primates of the human family. Animals are subject to the physical forces, chemical reactions, and processes of natural selection that govern all life, and homo sapiens, like all animals, is subject to these processes. As a result of natural selection, sentient humans have a huge home range. We are not only active on land, but we are also active in the sea by building ships and submarines, in the sky by inventing airplanes, and, more recently, in space. These things make it seem like humans have completely dominated the world and will continue to do so. However, there must be limits, and it’s worth thinking about the end of the human species, or Homo sapiens.
In the 21st century, Homo sapiens is breaking the laws of natural selection that have been in place for the past four billion years and replacing them with the laws of intelligent design. The law of natural selection can be illustrated with the example of giraffes. In the past, there were both long-necked and short-necked giraffes. But because the long-necked giraffes had an easier time reaching food in high trees than the short-necked giraffes, they survived longer and produced offspring, until eventually only the long-necked giraffes remained. This is the law of natural selection, which states that species with survival advantages survive and leave offspring. In contrast, the law of intelligent design states that humans (intelligent designers) create life by intelligently designing life. One example is the green fluorescent rabbit. Scientists extracted the gene for green fluorescence from a jellyfish and inserted it into a rabbit embryo to create a green fluorescent rabbit. In this way, the laws of intelligent design allow humans to create the kinds of organisms they want.
There are three methods of intelligent design: biotechnology, cyborg engineering, and non-organic engineering. In this article, we’ll focus on biotechnology. Many people know about super corn and pest-resistant crops. These are GMO foods, which are foods that have been genetically modified to serve a specific purpose by combining two or more types of genes using genetic recombination technology. Biotechnology is similar. It involves human intervention at the level of biology to modify genes for a purpose. Biotechnology may seem new and recent, but it’s not. We’ve long castrated bulls to make them less aggressive and easier to train to pull plows, sopranos to create seductive voices, and human males to create vassals who can be relied on to care for harems. Humans have made intentional interventions to create organisms that serve a purpose.
More recently, humans implanted bovine cartilage into the backs of mice to give rise to something that looks like a human ear. Soon, humans may be able to use animals to create artificial ears that can be implanted in humans, and it won’t be long before other artificial organs are created and implanted in humans. In addition to biology, biotechnology can also be used to genetically modify our personality and social structure. The vole, a rodent that looks similar to a mouse but is shorter and chubbier, is mostly polygamous, but there is one species that is monogamous. Geneticists have succeeded in isolating the gene responsible for this monogamy. By inserting this gene into an orgiastic field mouse, they believe they can make it a faithful and affectionate husband. If we can genetically manipulate the social structure of rats by controlling their personality and nature, we will be able to genetically manipulate the social structure of humans.
Biotechnology can create ethical and political problems when it is misused by evil people. But when biotechnology is used to transplant organs, cure incurable diseases, and extend human life, ethical and political issues will no longer hold us back. The cognitive revolution took us from apes to masters of the world. It is not impossible, then, that technologies like biotechnology could spark a second cognitive revolution, creating a completely new form of consciousness with artificially created organs and personalities. The paradox is that humans are becoming extinct as we advance in science and technology and transcend our own limitations. When humans are able to use their intellect to create future successors with unimaginable emotions and desires and can no longer control them, the era of new life forms of our own creation will begin.
This transformation has already begun, and the pace is accelerating. For example, CRISPR, a gene-editing technology, provides the ability to precisely correct specific genes, which can be used to treat a variety of diseases or create new life forms. This technology has made it possible to manipulate the genes of living organisms in ways that were previously unimaginable. In addition, advances in artificial intelligence and machine learning are rapidly increasing our intellectual capabilities, which will contribute greatly to the creation of new forms of life.
In conclusion, humans are constantly pushing their limits, which has the potential for apocalyptic consequences. But at the same time, these scientific advances can help us create new forms of life and solve current problems. Therefore, we need to handle these technologies carefully, recognizing both their potential and their dangers. Only by doing so will we be able to prepare for future challenges and continue to exist as human beings.
