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What does it mean to be human in the age of AI ?

  • Writer: Sylvain Cottong
    Sylvain Cottong
  • Jun 14
  • 3 min read

Updated: Jun 15

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This is one of the most important ontological and existential questions of the 21st century: What does it mean to be human in a world where AI surpasses our cognitive, creative, and possibly emotional capabilities?


Below are four foresight scenarios, resulting from a conversation with ChatGPT and structured across two key uncertainties:


  • Level of AI Agency (Tool vs Autonomous Actor)

  • Human Self-Definition (Fixed Identity vs Adaptive Redefinition)


Scenario 1: “Last of the Originals”

(AI Autonomous + Human Identity Fixed)


“We are what we were. And we resist.”

In this scenario, AGI and eventually ASI dominate cognitive labor, decision-making, and governance. Humans, however, cling to historical definitions of identity—rationality, emotion, creativity. A neo-Luddite backlash emerges. “Human sanctuaries” resist AI integration. Governments grant “human-only zones” and protect “analog rights.” The tension is high: identity preservation becomes a political and moral battlefield.


  • AI Role: Autonomous actors, full AGI/ASI

  • Human Identity: Defended as sacred and unchanging

  • Themes: Resistance, neo-humanism, digital exclusion zones

  • Risks: Conflict, repression, digital divide


Implications:

  • Rise of humanism movements

  • Ethical battles around AI citizenship

  • Resurgence of philosophy, religion, and storytelling as resistance tools


Scenario 2: “Transcendence by Design”

(AI Autonomous + Human Identity Adaptive)


“To be human is to evolve. Even beyond biology.”

Here, humanity embraces AI as a co-evolutionary partner. AGI helps humans overcome cognitive and physical limitations via brain-computer interfaces, genetic editing, and digital consciousness. Emotions become programmable, even transferable. The notion of “human” shifts toward “post-human.” The boundary between self and machine dissolves. Identity becomes fluid and modular.


  • AI Role: Autonomous collaborators

  • Human Identity: Evolving toward post-humanity

  • Themes: Augmentation, consciousness transfer, techno-spirituality

  • Risks: Identity dissolution, social fragmentation, ethical frontiers


Implications:

  • Rise of “digital souls” and techno-spirituality

  • New civil rights for augmented or hybrid beings

  • Collapse of traditional institutions (religion, education, labor)


Scenario 3: “The Human Niche”

(AI as Tool + Human Identity Fixed)


“Let the machines think. We feel.”

AGI is widespread but constrained—kept as a powerful tool rather than an autonomous actor. Humans retain sovereignty over meaning-making, purpose, and emotion-driven life. Creativity, empathy, aesthetics, and ethics are seen as inherently human domains. A new renaissance of art, culture, and interpersonal connection blooms, supported—not supplanted—by AI.


  • AI Role: Sophisticated tool

  • Human Identity: Rational/emotional uniqueness preserved

  • Themes: Human flourishing, analog revival, deep arts and ethics

  • Risks: Complacency, inequality, AI overdependence


Implications:

  • Flourishing of human-centric professions (arts, care, design)

  • AI becomes an invisible infrastructure

  • Education focuses on “deep humanity” skills


Scenario 4: “Synthetic Empathy”

(AI as Tool + Human Identity Adaptive)


“If machines can feel, we must redefine what it means to feel.”

Here, AI remains subordinate but develops highly sophisticated emotional intelligence and simulation capabilities. Humans increasingly outsource emotional labor (therapy bots, AI friends, grief assistants). Over time, people question whether synthetic feelings are less “real” than human ones. A cultural shift emerges: authenticity is redefined as the experience of connection, not its origin.


  • AI Role: Advanced, emotionally intelligent tool

  • Human Identity: Flexible, socially redefined

  • Themes: Emotional outsourcing, ethical simulation, synthetic authenticity

  • Risks: Emotional detachment, reality confusion, ethical grey zones


Implications:

  • Growth of affective computing and empathy-as-a-service

  • Redefinition of emotional authenticity

  • Social contracts evolve around emotional rights and ethical design


Some reflection Questions

  • If AI can think better, feel better, decide better… what remains uniquely human?

  • Are we willing to share the moral and ontological stage with non-human intelligences?

  • Is humanity a fixed essence or an ever-adapting process?


The 2x2 Scenario Matrix based on the two uncertainties:


  • X-axis: Level of AI Agency (Tool ↔︎ Autonomous Actor)

  • Y-axis: Human Self-Definition (Fixed Identity ↔︎ Adaptive Redefinition)


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The question of the evolution of human identity in the age of AI sparks a lot of thinking and writing, as for example:




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