Som (i serem) efímers: La ficció sobre un futur amb humans millorats

Stories about the future, and about the humans living in the future, stem from our awareness of our own limitations and all that which we may never be. These representations, whether utopian or dystopian, are evidence of the contradiction between our desires and our doubts.

Hideous progeny? The future of growing humans

Today’s biotechnologies are not simply providing powerful new possibilities in medicine; they are transforming our view of what it can mean to be human. In particular, the discovery of the extreme plasticity of cells – the possibility of changing one tissue type for another, and of regenerating the embryonic cell state from which we all grew – forces us to confront our status as a contingent community of living cells, and challenges traditional notions of self and identity. Here I discuss some of these technologies and their broader social, ethical and philosophical implications.

Transhumanism. Beyond the body

SScience allows us to understand the world we live in. Centuries of research have helped us learn more about our place in the universe, and we have discovered a perhaps even more fascinating mystery: how the organism we inhabit works and the reasons why it stops doing so. In this field, as in many others, we have gone from just admiring nature’s wonders to being able to control them.

Human enhancement and functional diversity: Ethical concerns of emerging technologies and transhumanism

The concepts of posthuman, transhuman, transhumanism and human enhancement, and their use of emerging technologies, are described together with their scientific and social implications. Genome editing techniques for enhancement purposes, as well as their scientific, societal, and ethical drawbacks are specifically discussed. In particular, we focus on a perspective of personal and collective responsibility and social inclusion, considering all people, with their functional diversity or different abilities. Pros and cons of proposals for radical transformation as endorsed by transhumanism (genome editing), their impact on future generations and on subjects with functional diversity, and the need of a global ethical frame, are discussed.

Surpassing our genes: The subversive post-human message of 'Gattaca'

The movie Gattaca is often referenced in public debates about the societal dangers of human gene editing. In the public imaginary, its message is clear: the dystopian future it portrays stands as a warning against the societal acceptance of genetic perfectionism and genetic discrimination. This article argues that such a reading misses a deeper message of this cinematic text. Rather than offer a bioethics lesson against the use of genetics to make better human babies, in our opinion, the film actually argues that such genetic tampering is unlikely to succeed, but that the genetic engineering of a superior post-human individual is both possible and desirable.

The science of transhumanism: Are we nearly there?

Transhumanism looks to utilise science and technology to move humans beyond the limitations of their natural form. Recent scientific advances have, for the first time, presented plausible genetic interventions for the directed evolution of humans. In separate developments, electromechanical innovations, including miniaturisation of components and improvements in bio-compatible materials, have seen breakthroughs in brain-machine interfaces (BMIs) that potentiate a cybernetic dimension, in which mechanical devices would be under the direct control of the mind. This article offers insight into the most important of these recent advances, with particular emphasis on genome editing and therapeutic uses of BMIs in which the same technology might be employed for enhancement.

Can theology be a science? An epistemological reflection

Many dubious disciplines have been removed from academic institutions, but theology is not one of them, as it is still taught in respectable universities. This article argues that theology does not deserve that special treatment. Theology has long pretended to be a science, but it can never be, because ultimately, theology is grounded on faith and authority, two tenets that run counter to the scientific method. Natural theology appeals to evidence and reason, but it also fails in its endeavor. More recent theologians admit that their discipline is not science per se, but still consider it legitimate in its quest for meaning. There are also reasons to doubt this claim, as there is no need to appeal to the supernatural to find meaning.

Interlinked. Machines and humans facing the 10101 century

Robotics and artificial intelligence are two scientific research fields that receive considerable attention from the media and, consequently, from society. Unfortunately, many advances are reported to the general public in sensationalist (or even alarmist) terms, leading to false hopes or unjustified fears, and taking the focus from other key points. For instance, recent successes in artificial intelligence, amplified by the media, are the cause of a mistaken perception of this discipline’s state of the art. The reality is that artificial intelligence is still far from achieving many high-level cognitive skills; particularly, common sense reasoning.

In praise of life. The dynamic concept of biodiversity

We humans have long been aware that as a species we have great power to modify the natural world. We sure have. But it has only been a few decades since society, with a firm voice, turned against the destruction carried out in the past. We want to preserve the variety of life forms in all their beauty and complexity, because this biological variety not only provides us physical support, but also promotes our intellectual and philosophical development. It makes us wonder how it emerged, how it works, why species differ from place to place…

#Biotech: The need for biotechnology communication

The communication of biotechnology has played a key role in recent years. The great advances made and the speed with which new genetic editing techniques are implemented raise enormous expectations but also concerns. Good communication of the application of biotechnology in different fields – medicine, agriculture, industry – must be accompanied by a constant dialogue between scientists and society. The idea of this monographic came from the II Conference of the Association of Biotechnology Communicators (AcB in its Spanish initialism), of which I am a member. It was held in Valencia a couple of years ago, and some of the topics that aroused the most interest, debate and participation – such as the constant flow of new information about CRISPR, animal experimentation or the importance of understanding what information a DNA analysis can provide – have served as the basis for some of the documents in this issue. Others, such as the public perception of biotechnology and the importance of the use of metaphors to explain some biotechnological processes, complete this multifaceted view of communication and biotechnology.