What do we lose when technology becomes as fundamental to our identity as our very sense of Lebendigkeit—the essence of being alive? Is ‘death’ lurking in this merging of minds and machines, or could it spark a much-needed re-evolution? What will it be like to trust an advanced AI with making moral decisions on our behalf? How will a machine handle something as delicate and deeply human as morality? Once we grant machines full, agency-based decision-making power and approach the technological singularity, it may be too late for these questions.

The Paradox of a Technological-Exponential Age

We live in an era where exponential growth in computing power has radically reshaped our selfunderstanding. If technological singularity marks the point at which AI surpasses human intelligence, it also frames a kind of “apocalypse” for humanity in its current form–—Homo Vivens—a being defined by unaltered biological limits, agency based decision-making, and the often chaotic, deeply personal process of learning.

Earlier, in seemingly simpler times, we regarded our limitations—mortality, fallibility, prejudices—as unshakable constants. We built art, cities, and social contracts around these constraints. But now, every leap in AI development forces us to reconsider the very foundation of our human existence. Are we perhaps losing that essential human radiance when we allow machines to think on our behalf?

Are we heading towards a kind of ‘zombie apocalypse,’ an end to humanity as we know it? Or can something new emerge out of the rubble?

AGI: The Unsettling End of Homo Vivens

How about we replace “rubble” with the spectre of Artificial General Intelligence (AGI). AGI represents the machine that doesn’t just memorize, calculate, or predict—it imagines, it decides, and it does so in ways that eclipse our human abilities. It’s the ultimate arrival of something utterly new in our world.

The threat is existential. For centuries, humans have placed themselves at the center of every moral, creative, and philosophical question. We occupy the stage, we write the script, we deliver the lines. If an AGI enters that stage and proves to have greater creativity, deeper analytical power, and more advanced problem-solving skills, do we relinquish our role as protagonists? Does the Homo Vivens quietly exit stage left?

Some view the rise of AGI as a harbinger, a sign to come to terms with the ‘death’ of our human self. But, as with any eulogy, there is a mix of wistfulness and gratitude. Gratitude for the opportunity to leave behind the smaller self in favor of something greater—provided that we manage to shape technological progress in a way that serves the collective ‘us’, rather than displaces ‘us’.

AHI: Evolving Instead of Surrendering

In our forthcoming book – Singularity Paradox – quantum physicist Dr. Florian Neukart and I propose an alternative path: the advancement through Artificial Human Intelligence (AHI). Unlike AGI, which seeks to create intelligence almost out of nothing, AHI focuses on a gradual expansion of our minds through implants, nanobots, and neural prostheses. Instead of creating a new star that outshines us, we connect its light with our own.

This approach doesn’t seek to bypass humanity; it seeks to augment it. Picture a musician who wears a brain implant that assists with complex chord structures. She remains, at her core, a creative person—with her unique style and unmistakable identity—but gains additional freedom from technical limitations, allowing her to explore new forms of expression

AHI theoretically preserves our self-understanding as a central starting point. It acknowledges that we are not only defined by pure computational power but also by the fragile interplay of personality, vulnerability, and ethical intuition. By using technology to expand precisely this interplay, we protect the inherent value of what it means to be a Mensch—and simultaneously extend its boundaries

Balancing the Scales: A Delicate Dialectic

The tension between AGI and AHI reflects a broader philosophical riddle: should our technological aspirations reach beyond us, or should they revolve around us?

1. Ethics and Technology: As AI becomes more autonomous, questions about alignment and control become urgent. AHI, by keeping humans directly in the loop, seemingly helps us anchor the technology to our evolving morals.
2. Progress and Values: There’s a subtle danger in any large leap that outruns our principles. If we create something so advanced that we cannot rein it in, the cost might be our moral foundation. Gradual evolution through AHI suggests a path forward that might let us update our values in step with our new capabilities.

We face a genuine dialectic: push forward blindly and risk overshadowing ourselves with AGI, or merge ourselves gracefully with new technologies and hope we maintain some continuity of self. The outcome is not foreordained. It hinges on decisions we make now, in labs, boardrooms, and even living rooms where children ask voice assistants to solve math problems.

The Re-Evolution of the Mensch: The Homo Mortuus Vivens 

What we perceive is real. Thus, today, a person with their smartphone, smartwatch, or VR headset already feels the first kinship with the Homo Mortuus Vivens—the updated, partly ‘postmortal’ human who has abandoned an older form of life in favor of a new one. Despite its gloomy name, it is less about an end and more about an evolution.

Homo Mortuus Vivens embodies the human of tomorrow, who recognizes that the boundary between technology and biology is blurring—or perhaps even disappearing. The old frameworks that once structured life, such as the inevitability of biological death, could shift drastically. Similarly, our sense of purpose and meaning might transform.

Initially, this upheaval may seem frightening. After all, we have built entire philosophies, religions, and societal structures around our own fragility. But what if we harness this new potential to expand our moral imagination, enlarge our rational compassion and understanding, enhance our creativity, and overcome seemingly insurmountable challenges?

The Central Imperative: Retaining Our Human Essence

Above all, the philosophical question hovering over us is: How do we reinvent ourselves without losing ourselves? The challenge lies in preserving the fundamental sparking of the flame that makes us curious, leaves us with a sense of rational compassion, and deeply connects us to one another while expanding our minds.

If the future demands that we “die” as our old selves, we must approach this metamorphosis not as a mere surrender to technology, but as a conscious, ethically guided step. 

AHI expands our possibilities without taking away our humanity. AGI, on the other hand, could forge something entirely new—a form of intelligence with its own agenda. Yet, in both paths lies the same task: to decide whether we hold on to self and our ethical commitments in a world that rapidly outpaces our once self-evident human forms.

I suspect the last sweet victory of Homo Vivens will lie in the fact that we—despite our limited biological state—stand before the future and ask ourselves that timeless question which a machine might never fully appreciate—What does it mean to be a Mensch? But as long as there is one more question to be asked, there is hope—there is light.