IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2020 - 38

universalism and local identities
alike, developing economies, compatible with planetary boundaries.
Sustainability concepts and na rratives (like the 2030 Agenda)
build on the achievements of En--
lightenment - and develop those
further. Therefore the basic achievements of Enlightenment and of the
epoch of Sustainability should be
defended in the Digital Age. The big
question is: how can digitalization
be aligned with sustainability transformations [6]?

At a Crossroads - Redefine the
Very Nature of Humans in the
Digital Age
The Enlightenment era focused on
the nature of humans (rational,
communicative, autonomous), as
subjects with natural and equal
rights, and distinct rights vis a vis
states. Digital innovations, and the
revolutionary entanglement between
humans and technical systems,
combined with synthetic biology,
could enable a transformation of
our understanding of human nature,
and a transformation of human
nature itself. Two main discourses
and trends (e.g., in research) are of
importance in this regard. Firstly,
there is a debate concerning the
"technologization of human beings"
through digital technologies (combined with synthetic biology) to
overcome biological limitations.
"Human enhancement" [23]-[25]
moves far beyond fighting diseases,
aiming at "developing further,"
transforming humans, and even creating new, hybrid species through
artificial evolution [24]. There are
also research strands and debates
about the "humanization of machines,"
the creation of human-like, sentient,
and or even independent artificial
species [26], [27].
Both trends would alter societies
enormously and mark a crossroad
in human civilization. After humans

ual and societal progress. The invention of the printing press in the 15th
century and the following emergence of modern science and educational systems during the last 200
years translated into fundamental
transformations of human civilization. None of the economic, social,
and political successes of the last
two centuries would have happened
without this first great knowledge
transformation in human history. AI
and deep learning machines, multiplied by quantum computing, will
result in a second large scale knowledge transformation in human civilization. This knowledge revolution
will create a much larger reservoir of
solutions and opportunities for societies (and the risks described above)
than ever before in human history.
Empowering humans, by investing
in educational and other knowledge
systems will be key. Important to
also consider is that the expanding knowledge pools as such does
not automatically result in greater
human well-being and societal
progress. They can be misused to
exploit people, damage the planet, and result in unequal development, making the few wealthy and
powerful. It is relevant to consider
how and for what purpose knowledge is being used. Equal access
to excellent educational systems,
combined with linking knowledge
explosions to societal -
normative
frameworks (like a Renewed Humanism or the 2030 Agenda) is therefore key [28].
Second, digitally-based, transnational communication infrastructures are creating the technical
preconditions for a global culture
of cooperation [29]-[31]. Next steps
in building virtual spaces for people across borders and beyond
geography to communicate, meet,
connect, and work are opening up
the chance for real time interactions between 10 billion people on

became the major drivers of Earth
system changes during the 20th
century (the debate of the Anthropocene), humans are now becoming
capable of fundamentally transforming themselves as a species. They
are creating machines and technical
systems with cognitive (and potentially even emotional) capabilities
similar to their own. There is an
urgent need to define and describe
our understanding of humans and
human self-image in the Digital Age.
How does the "Eigenart" of humans
look in these new contexts? What
normative guardrails for human
transformations would we like to
see emerge? This ethical discussion
should not only be decided by scientists, experts, elites. and firms, it
must be driven by broad-based societal processes.

The Utopian Potentials of Digitalization, Enabling a Renewed
Humanism
So far, digital disruptions have mainly been described as threats, challenges and risks to the future of
humanisms and democracy - that
need to be "controlled," "governed,"
"embedded in institutional and normative settings," and "aligned with
open societies". But the digital transformations themselves could also
be seen as radical enablers towards
a next step of human civilization,
moving beyond the horizon of the
Era of Enlightenment. How could
we leverage digital dynamics of
change to "invent" a Renewed Hu--
manism for the 21st century [6]?
This question is explored here in
four main points.
Firstly, digitalization and AI are
creating an explosion of knowledge
in research, in knowledge drive n
firms, and in society. The main
question is, whether and how educational systems are being prepared
to empower people to translate this
explosion of knowledge into individIEEE TECHNOLOGY AND SOCIETY MAGAZINE

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JUNE 2020

IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2020

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