Technology’s Redefinition of the Human

In response to Ray Kurzweil predictions of a world “in which humans gained near immortality by becoming one with robotic technology,” Bill Joy expresses great alarm and distress at the notion that the contemporary definition of the “human” may transform. Even though this definition has transformed with various evolutions that have shaped or, perhaps more accurately, reshaped human biology, psychology, sociology—and yes, even technology—Joy’s pessimism towards this version of a future appears to stem from its underlying principle—that technology will eventually surpass human faculties and capabilities and ultimately, not transform us into a new species of sentient beings, as per Kurzweil’s predictions, but replace us as the supreme beings of this planet. The question then is: does technology have the ability to replace us? Any investigation regarding technology in contemporary society will reveal an impressive catalog of the progress technology has made. And while the same investigation will yield an equally long list of improvements and advancements that yet to be made, Joy’s fears resonate with the fact that any such investigation will also reveal how increasingly reliant we are on technology and suggest that one day, when technology does develop sentience and it exists independent of humans may very well cease to exist. However, as technological experience and human-based experience become one and the same, perhaps it is not Joy’s extinction of the human race that remains on our horizons, but a technological redefinition of what a human is. One of the primary indications of the growing blend between man and machine exists in online learning. In “The Postmodality Era: How ‘Online Learning’ is Becoming ‘Learning,’ Cavanagh discusses the increasing number of students attending this method of instruction; he cites the