Are post-human technologies dehumanizing? Human enhancement and artificial intelligence in contemporary societies

Dados Bibliográficos

ID21160000
AutoresIsmael Al‐amoudi (0000-0003-4548-3125, People, Organizations and Societies, Grenoble Ecole de Management (Chaire Numérique), Grenoble, France, autor correspondente)
Ano2022
Volume21
Fascículo5
Páginas516-538
Data de publicação2022-10-20
Peer ReviewedSim
Open AccessNão
TipoARTICLE
PeriódicoJournal of Critical Realism (JOURNAL)
Identificadores do periódicoISSN: 1476-7430 • E-ISSN: 1572-5138
EditoraInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/14767430.2022.2134618
OpenAlexW4308625171
IdiomaEN
Citações recebidas10
Referências citadas51

Post-human technologies, such as human enhancements and artificial intelligence, blur or displace the boundaries of our common humanity. While these technologies enhance many valuable human powers, there is limited philosophical discussion as to whether and how they can also be dehumanizing? To answer this question, I start from a philosophical discussion of the concept of ‘dehumanization' and argue that it conflates three social mechanisms through which (i) human flourishing is impeded; (ii) subalterns are degraded; and (iii) automated processes replace typically human activities. Furthermore, I argue in realist fashion that we should consider both the natural powers harnessed by post-human technologies and the social contexts through which the latter are designed, produced, marketed and consumed. I then illustrate my thinking with three recent inquiries that I conducted on post-human technologies’ dehumanizing potential. All three inquiries happen in the contemporary neo-liberal context, but each one foregrounds a distinct mechanism of dehumanization

Dehumanization · Environmental ethics · Epistemology · Flourishing · Human enhancement · Humanity · Political science · Sociology · Transhumanism · Anthropology · Humanities and Social Sciences · Law · Neuroethics, Human Enhancement, Biomedical Innovations · Philosophy · Psychology · Social Psychology · Space Science and Extraterrestrial Life