In this blog post, we deeply explore the possibility that even if humanity doesn’t go extinct, we as we are now could disappear, and what that future might hold.
If modern humanity were to go extinct, what would be the reasons? Common answers to this question include nuclear war, pandemics, and climate change. These threats facing humanity are problems that have long endangered our survival, scenarios warned about by numerous scientists and futurists. Human history has been a continuous overcoming of such crises, but the current situation is markedly different from the past. Advances in science and technology have enabled humanity to access far more information and develop the ability to solve complex problems than ever before. However, we cannot overlook the fact that these same technologies are exposing us to risks of a new dimension.
Yet some scientists propose a novel possibility for extinction: a scenario where humans go extinct, but humanity itself does not perish. While this concept may be counterintuitive, examining certain developments driven by modern science and technology reveals glimpses of its potential. This extinction would not stem from natural disasters or war, but rather from a path of evolution chosen by humanity itself. To grasp this, it is important to briefly review human history and the process of evolution.
For billions of years, life forms evolved according to nature’s laws. No organism deliberately chose its evolutionary path; they evolved purely by natural means. Humans similarly evolved, emerging as Homo sapiens, modern humans. However, as our science and technology rapidly advanced, attempts to transcend the laws of nature became possible. We have artificially created green fluorescent rabbits through genetic manipulation, grown large ears on the backs of mice, and even developed technology to resurrect extinct animals. This technological progress suggests that the natural laws upheld for billions of years have been broken.
This raises a crucial question: Could we genetically modify ourselves to become beings superior and alien to modern humans, both mentally and physically? This question transcends mere scientific curiosity, posing a profound philosophical challenge to humanity’s identity. If such manipulation were possible, and the degree of superiority and alienation became so great that they could no longer be considered the same species, could we truly call those humans our own kind? In such a scenario, Homo sapiens would effectively be extinct, replaced by a new species. Yet we did not perish. This is because the new species that replaced us descended from us. Thus, we become extinct but do not perish.
A similar case to the above involves the fusion of humans and machines. This is the cyborg, a subject used in many popular media, including “The Terminator.” While fictional works featuring people whose entire bodies are machines might lead us to perceive cyborgs as fictional entities, cyborgs are not mere fabrications confined to creative works. The early forms of cyborg technology are already appearing in our daily lives. Thanks to technological advances, not only prosthetic arms and legs but even organs like hearts are being replaced with machines—so-called artificial organs. Furthermore, electrodes implanted in a monkey’s brain can even control an artificial arm located far from its body, making it invisible. This signifies that the boundary between humans and machines is gradually blurring.
Taking this a step further, the same technology could potentially be applied to humans to create cyborgs. Eventually, this could lead to an ambiguous state where it becomes impossible to distinguish whether an entity is human or robot. No one calls a person wearing a prosthetic limb a robot, and no one calls a talking robot a human. However, if technological advancement blurs and breaks down that boundary, we may no longer be able to call ourselves Homo sapiens. This change is not limited to the physical dimension.
What deserves attention in cyborgs isn’t just physical changes. If electrodes implanted in the brain can move a third arm that wasn’t originally there, couldn’t we connect the brain directly to a computer? If countless brains were connected to computers, creating a ‘brain internet,’ that would be quite fascinating. The era when such technological possibilities are no longer mere imagination but can be realized is approaching. Yet this simultaneously threatens our sense of identity. For instance, when we hear about or read about someone else’s experience, we acquire it knowing it belongs to that person. But if someone accessed the brain internet and obtained another person’s memories, they might remember them as if they were their own experiences. This would raise doubts about whether my memories are truly mine. Furthermore, they might develop emotions and desires unimaginable to us today.
Can such people truly be considered the same species as us? This question highlights the need for deep discussion on how current scientific and technological progress will impact humanity’s identity. Beyond mere scientific discovery, these changes pose fundamental questions about how we exist as a species.
The notion that humanity could face extinction rather than annihilation is truly astonishing. While our growing scientific knowledge and technological capabilities have distanced us from annihilation, ironically, they have brought us closer to extinction. Facing this reality, we must seriously contemplate the direction we should take. While science and technology are clearly essential tools for human survival, we must also consider the possibility that these very tools could transform us into something entirely new.
Thus, humanity’s future hinges on the choices we make now, and the consequences of those choices will directly determine the fate of Homo sapiens. Ultimately, humanity may survive without extinction, but whether that survival resembles what we currently envision is questionable. Future humanity will likely evolve or transform in ways we cannot even imagine, and in that process, we may need to redefine the essence of humanity itself. This is not mere speculation but a challenge we may realistically face.
