We were created out of relationship. The verses represent perhaps a bit of a conversation among the persons of the Trinity: “Let us make man in our image…” Man was not created because of some kind of deficit in the Trinity. That is to say, God did not make man because He was lonely. Or because He was bored. Or because He needed someone to depend on Him. Rather, man was created out of the abundance of the relationship within Himself.

Around 350 BC, the philosopher Aristotle wrote Nicomachean Ethics, in which he, among other things, discussed what it meant to be human. And one of the primary things he said marked human beings, separating them from all other kinds of beings, was the exercise of reason. What makes human beings human beings, according to Aristotle, is that human beings are capable of rational thought. 

Recently, at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, an organization called Boston Dynamics debuted the next-generation Atlas humanoid robot. The new Atlas features a radical, fully electric design with 360-degree joint rotation capabilities, allowing for movement that is more advanced and efficient than human motion, rather than simply mimicking it. The robot is built for industrial environments, is fully water- and dust-resistant, and can operate in a wide range of temperatures. It has human-scale hands with tactile sensing and can lift payloads up to 110 pounds. Importantly, Atlas can operate autonomously and uses AI models to learn new tasks, sharing that knowledge instantly with other Atlas units. 

So based on Aristotle’s understanding, is this new robot a human being? Is it not a kind of being that can learn? Make decisions autonomously? And then adjust behavior based on rational conclusions? And if not this latest iteration of AI, then how about the next one?

The question of what it means to be human might have been self-evident at one point, but today the lines in society are blurring. It’s never been more important, then, to understand the true answer to this question. Not only does understanding the answer help us navigate the issues that are no doubt coming our way; it also provides the key to actual and real fulfillment in life.

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