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Mitchell & Kilner THE NEWSLETTER VOLUME 9 OF THE CENTER NUMBER 3 FOR BIOETHICS AND SUMMER 2003 HUMAN DIGNITY Inside: Remaking Humans: The New Utopians Versus a Truly Human Future1 Remaking Humans: The New Utopians Versus a Truly Human C. Ben Mitchell, Ph.D., Senior FeIIow,The Center for Bioethics and Human Dignity 1 John F. Kilner, Ph.D., President,The Center for Bioethics and Human Dignity Future If the nineteenth century was the age of the mentally by making use of reason, science, The Genetics of Mice and Men: machine and the twentieth century the infor and technology. In addition, respect for the Can—and Should—We mation age, this century is, by most accounts, rights of the individual and a belief in the 2 the age of biotechnology. In this biotech cen power of human ingenuity are important ele Intervene? tury we may witness the invention of cures for ments of transhumanism. Transhumanists genetically linked diseases, including also repudiate belief in the existence of super Movie Review natural powers that guide us. These things 4 Alzheimer’s, cancer, and a host of maladies News from the Field that cause tremendous human suffering. We together represent the core of our philosophy. may see amazing developments in food pro The critical and rational approach which duction with genetically modified foods that transhumanists support is at the service of the 6 Book Review actually carry therapeutic drugs inside them. desire to improve humankind and humanity in all their facets.” Bioterrorism and high-tech weaponry may 7 Center Resources also be in our future. Some researchers are even suggesting that our future might include Again, the idea of improving society through the remaking of the human species. The next technology is not new. In fact, most of the last 8 Save These Dates! stage of human evolution, they argue, will be century was spent doing just that. What is Center News the post-human stage. new, however, is how the transhumanists intend to use technology. They intend to craft The New Utopians their technopia by merging the human with Utopianism—the idea that we can enjoy a per the machine. Since, as they argue, computer fect society of perfect people on a perfect speed and computational power will advance earth—is not new at all. Novelists, play a million fold between now and the year wrights, social engineers, and media moguls 2050 A.D., artificial intelligence will surpass have played with the idea for millennia. The human intelligence. The only way humans can new utopians, however, are survive is by merging with machines, according to the a breed apart, so to speak. “If the nineteenth century They are what we might transhumanists. Do the call “techno-utopians” or was the age of the machine movies Al or Bicentennial “technopians.” That is, they Man come to mind? believe that technology is and the twentieth century the Now, before you dismiss the key to achieving the per information age, this century fect society of perfect people the transhumanists as just on a perfect earth. is, by most accounts, the age another group of space-age wackos, you need to know THE CENTER FOR The new technopians actu- of biotechnology.” who some of them are. ally have a name for them One of the brains behind B I~ETH ICS AND HUMAN DIGNITY selves: transhumanists. According to the the movement is a philosopher at Yale World Transhumanist Association: “Trans University, Nick Bostrom. Bostrom’s website 2065 Half Day Road (www.nickbostrom.com) sets out his world- humanism (as the term suggests) is a sort of Bannockburn, IL 60015 USA humanism plus. Transhumanists think they view quite clearly. He wants to make better 847.317.8180 (PHONE) can better themselves socially, physically, and humans through technology. 847.317.8101 (FAX) [email protected] (EMAIL) www.cbhd.org (WEB SITE) Continued on page 5 Another transhumanist is a professor of evolution. But, with all of our human frail people, the church must mount a massive The Matrix Reloaded: An Ancient Myth Revisited News from the Field Xe cybernetics at the University of Reading in ties, are we going to make ourselves better educational ministry to help Christians Paul van der Biji, Cultural Commentator •~ ~e England. Kevin Warwick deserves the dis through technology? Since we are so limit understand biotechnology from a The Center for Bioethics and Human Dignity Daniel McConchie tinction of being the first “cyborg.” He ed, error-prone, and bounded, we might Christian worldview perspective. That is Director of Public Relations & Public Policy E .~ wears implanted computer chips in his arm just destroy ourselves! The problem of to say, since all truth is God’s truth, and The Center for Bioethics and Human Dignity and wrist. The next stage of human evolu self-extinction worries a few of the since we live in a world that faces the I believe that one of the roles of film in today’s society is the same as that of -C-) tion, argues Warwick, is the cybernetic age. Transhumanists, especially Nick Bostrom. brave new world of biotechnology, myth in ancient societies. Both seek to explain in everyday terms the mean Scientists Hail Completion of the As Warwick told Newsweek in January Christians have an obligation to under ings and mysteries of life and death. Every film in some way does this, but Comprehensive Human Genome Map 2001, “The potential for humans, if we Robots and computers will of course never stand how God’s revelation applies to those such as The Matrix and its recent sequel The Matrix: Reloaded stand The daunting initiative known as the Human Genome stick to our present physical form, is pretty become human. Why not? Because being those technologies. apart from the rest. In the Journal of Religion and Film (October 2000), Project has now been completed. This astounding achieve limited...The opportunity for me to “one of us” transcends functional biology. James Ford states, “It is impossible to know what narratives will become the ment—realized 2 years ahead of schedule—was become a cyborg is extremely exciting. I Human beings are psychosomatic soulish This will mean that seminaries will have to foundation myths of our culture. But epic films like The Matrix are the mod announced in mid-April by the International Human can’t wait to get on with it.” And so he has. unities made in the image of God. The equip ministers to address the ethics of ern day equivalent of The Iliad-Odyssey, the epic of Gilgamesh I know image of God is fully located neither in our genetic engineering, gene therapy, trans Genome Sequencing Consortium and the US Department it may seem presumptuous to give such honor to a film that has not yet Rodney Brooks, professor of robotics at brain nor our DNA. We, and all who are genics, xenotransplantation, stem cell stood the test of time; however, I do think The Matrix saga addresses in an of Energy. The completion of the “draft” sequence of the MIT, believes that through robotics we are “one of us,” are unique combinations of research, and a growing number of other important way the ancient Christian heresy known as gnosticism. human genome was announced in 2000 at a White House reshaping what it means to be human. His body, soul, and mind. We might quibble issues. Currently most seminaries provide ceremony. This draft has now been converted into a “fin recent book Flesh and Machines is an theologically about how best to describe only limited opportunities to address these Writing for a popular website www.killingthebuddha.com, Robin L. ished” sequence of 99.99% accuracy. While the sequence exploration of his worldview. For many of the components of our humanity, but most difficult areas. This is unfortunate because Zebrowski has compared the ideas presented in The Matrix to the ancient is now in hand, questions remain about how many genes the transhumanists, human beings are Christians agree that we are more than the these are, and will increasingly become, gnostic belief that “the creator of our world. ..is not the creator God of the human beings possess, with estimates ranging between merely what AT guru Marvin Minsky has sum of our biological and functional parts. the context of thorny pastoral problems. great monotheistic traditions popular today. Instead, there was originally 25,000 and 30,000. The entire project cost $2.6 billion to called, “computers made of meat.” So, Pastors are even now being asked to pro both a male and a female deity. The Mother, Sophia (“wisdom”), wanted to complete, which was $400 million under budget. The technopians, however, do not share vide counsel regarding reproductive tech produce another creation, but did so on her own rather than with her part our view of what it means to be “one of nologies but few are prepared to help ner. The resulting Demiurge was an abomination....[who became]...the cre “One day it may be illegal to us.” Even though computers and robots because they find themselves uninformed ator of our world. He trapped the Spirit in matter, and mankind has been Scientists are now looking to the immediate future and unplug a computer and so end its may never become “one of us,” some will not only about the technologies, but also trying to escape, to get back to the true God, ever since.” Such a belief sys what they believe can be accomplished in the genetic doubtless attribute to them human charac about how to think about them. tem led to an emphasis on knowledge (“wisdom”) over matter, with the arena.
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