Sfetcu, Nicolae (2024), Cybersecurity, Artificial Intelligence, and Posthumanism: A Convergence of Frontiers?, IT & C, 3:4, 65-73, DOI: 10.58679/IT14031, https://www.internetmobile.ro/cybersecurity-artificial-intelligence-and-posthumanism-a-convergence-of-frontiers/

Abstract

This is an extended article based on the book Intelligence, from Natural Origins to Artificial Frontiers – Human Intelligence vs. Artificial Intelligence (Sfetcu 2024). The relationship between cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, and posthumanism provides an intriguing look ahead for society. These topics cover the possibilities and dangers of our digital lives, emphasizing our transition from natural entities to beings closely linked with technology. As technology advances at an accelerating pace, it’s essential to grasp not only its potential but also its effects on our identity, safety, and destiny.

Keywords: artificial intelligence, ethics, responsibility, cybersecurity, posthumanism, AI singularity, artificial general intelligence

Securitatea cibernetică, inteligența artificială, și postumanismul: o convergență a frontierelor?,

Rezumat

Acesta este un articol extins având ca sursă cartea Intelligence, from Natural Origins to Artificial Frontiers – Human Intelligence vs. Artificial Intelligence (Sfetcu 2024). Relația dintre securitate cibernetică, inteligență artificială și postumanism oferă o privire intrigantă asupra societății. Aceste subiecte acoperă posibilitățile și pericolele vieții noastre digitale, subliniind tranziția noastră de la entități naturale la ființe strâns legate de tehnologie. Pe măsură ce tehnologia avansează într-un ritm accelerat, este esențial să-i înțelegem nu numai potențialul, ci și efectele sale asupra identității, siguranței și destinului nostru.

Cuvinte cheie: inteligența artificială, etică, responsabilitate, securitate cibernetică, postumanism, singularitate AI, inteligența generală artificială

IT & C, Volumul 3, Numărul 4, Decembrie 2024, pp. 65-73
ISSN 2821 – 8469, ISSN – L 2821 – 8469, DOI: 10.58679/IT14031
URL: https://www.internetmobile.ro/cybersecurity-artificial-intelligence-and-posthumanism-a-convergence-of-frontiers/
© 2024 Nicolae Sfetcu. Responsabilitatea conținutului, interpretărilor și opiniilor exprimate revine exclusiv autorilor.

Cybersecurity, Artificial Intelligence, and Posthumanism: A Convergence of Frontiers?

Ing. fiz. Nicolae SFETCU[1], MPhil

nicolae@sfetcu.com

[1] Cercetător – Academia Română – Comitetul Român de Istoria și Filosofia Științei și Tehnicii (CRIFST), Divizia de Istoria Științei (DIS), ORCID: 0000-0002-0162-9973

Introduction

In the modern era, swift progress in technology has transformed how people connect with one another and the planet. Three related areas – cybersecurity, artificial intelligence (AI), and posthumanism – stand out as key areas for exploration and development. Cybersecurity focuses on safeguarding online systems; AI seeks to mimic or even exceed human intelligence; and posthumanism delves into the philosophical and ethical considerations of how human identity evolves in a world increasingly dominated by technology.

The relationship between cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, and posthumanism provides an intriguing look ahead for society. These topics cover the possibilities and dangers of our digital lives, emphasizing our transition from natural entities to beings closely linked with technology. As technology advances at an accelerating pace, it’s essential to grasp not only its potential but also its effects on our identity, safety, and destiny.

Cybersecurity: Guarding the Digital Frontier

Cybersecurity involves protecting networks, systems, and information from cyber-attacks, data leaks, and unauthorized access or changes. With digital technology becoming a part of every aspect of contemporary life, from financial dealings and medical services to essential infrastructure and governmental operations – the need for strong cybersecurity measures is becoming more apparent.

As our dependence on interconnected technologies like the Internet of Things (IoT), cloud computing, and artificial intelligence (AI) grows, so do the risks within these systems. This situation demands that cybersecurity experts create sophisticated protection strategies, including intrusion detection systems, encryption, and blockchain technology. Concurrently, the advancement of AI and machine learning in the field of cybersecurity introduces new methods for identifying irregularities and tackling threats on their own. However, AI also brings security concerns, as it could be exploited by harmful individuals for cyber-attacks, spying, or other nefarious activities.

Artificial Intelligence: Power and Peril

A key feature of AI is its capacity to handle and examine huge volumes of data at speeds that surpass what humans can achieve. This feature positions AI as a crucial instrument in the field of cybersecurity, where it’s used to spot trends in extensive data sets that might suggest possible security threats. For example, machine learning algorithms can scrutinize network activity and identify anomalies in real-time, aiding companies in their swift response to new threats.

Yet, the advent of AI brings forth new obstacles. AI systems themselves are susceptible to cyber-attacks, including adversarial attacks where hackers alter the inputs of an AI model to yield incorrect results. Moreover, as AI becomes more involved in making decisions in sectors such as autonomous weapons, healthcare, and criminal justice, there’s a rising worry regarding the equity, clarity, and responsibility of these systems. If AI is compromised, biased, or poorly crafted, the outcomes could be disastrous, sparking debates over who – or what – is accountable for the decisions made by machines. The need for trust in AI systems is for transparency, yet the intricacy of these technologies places users in a precarious position, where they must either blindly accept or dismiss the results produced by „black box” algorithms.

An important question is, to what extent will AI come to be aware of its own membership and develop a sense of this membership.

Overall, posthumanism of AI offers a radical way to think about future possibilities for humanity and other life forms, challenging many of our current assumptions and ethical frameworks.

1. Katherine Hayles talks about the struggle between different versions of the posthuman as it continually co-evolves alongside intelligent machines(Cecchetto 2013), and the translation of human bodies into information. Posthumanism in continental philosophy and critical theory extends anthropocentrism in 21st century thought(Ferrando 2014), with variations such as:
2. Anti-humanism: Criticizes traditional humanism about the human condition, vitality and agency(Childers and Hentzi 1995).
3. Cultural posthumanism: Critiques the fundamental assumptions of humanism and its legacy(Esposito translated bylorenzo chiesa 2011), questioning the notions of „human” and „human nature” (Miah 2009) adopting a dynamic approach that adapts to techno-knowledge – contemporary scientists (Badmington 2015).
4. Philosophical posthumanism: A philosophy(Ferrando 2019) that is based on cultural posthumanism; addressing the ethical implications of extending beyond the human species (Morton 2019).
5. The posthuman condition: Deconstructing the human condition(Hayles 1999).
6. Posthuman transhumanism: A transhumanist ideology and movement that, starting from posthumanism philosophy, deals with technologies that would enable immortality and significantly enhance human intellectual, physical, and psychological capabilities(Bostrom 2005).
7. Robot revolt: A variant of transhumanism where humans will be replaced by artificial intelligence. Humans should accept their own extinction as a consequence of a technological singularity(MacDougald 2015).
8. Voluntary human extinction: A “posthuman future” without humans(Torres 2017).

Posthumanism has implications relevant today and for the future, seeking to redefine social structures without inherently human or even biological origins in terms of social and psychological systems in which consciousness and communication could exist as single disembodied entities (Wolfe 2009).

Posthumanism: Redefining Humanity in the Technological Era

Posthumanism, a philosophical idea that envisions the transformation of humanity via technology, brings an existential size to the conversation. It demands situations our knowledge of what it method to be human in a global in which we’re an increasing number of augmented with the aid of using technology. In the context of AI and cybersecurity, posthumanism increases essential questions on the limits among people and machines, and whether the ones differences even count number anymore. As humans undertake wearable devices, neural interfaces, and synthetic organs, we discover ourselves blurring the road among the herbal and the synthetic.

Ihab Hassan states that it appears that humanism is coming to an end as it turns into something we must call posthumanism. He expressly addresses, in this sense, postmodernity in society (Thiher 1990), being complemented and contrasted by numerous philosophers and AI specialists (Hayles 1999).

Theodore Schatzki suggests two varieties of philosophical posthumanism: „objectivism,” which opposes the subjective and emphasizes the role of non-human agents, and „prioritization of practices over individuals (or individual subjects)” that constitute the individual (Cetina, Schatzki, and Savigny 2000, cap. Introduction: Practice theory).

Among the precursors of the posthuman discourse can be considered Descartes, associated with the philosophy of the Enlightenment period (Badmington 2015), and Shakespeare in some of his works (Herbrechter et al. 2022).

Recently, critics have sought to describe the emergence of posthumanism as a critical moment in modernity, arguing for the origins of key posthuman ideas in modern fiction (Critical Posthumanism Network 2013), in Nietzsche (Wallace 2016), or in a modernist response to the crisis of historicity (Borg 2019).

Michel Foucault placed posthumanism in a context that differentiated humanism from Enlightenment thought (Wolfe 2009).

Robert Ranisch and Stefan Sorgner state that posthumanism is often used as an umbrella term that includes both transhumanism and critical posthumanism (Ranisch and Sorgner 2014).

Pramod Nayar states that posthumanism has two main branches: ontological and critical. Ontological posthumanism is synonymous with transhumanism, while critical posthumanism opposes ontological „by rejects both human exceptionalism (the idea that humans are unique creatures) and human instrumentalism (that humans have a right to control the natural world).”  (Nayar 2014)

Posthumanism intersects with AI and cybersecurity in numerous approaches. For one, as AI structures develop extra advanced, the boundary among human and system will become an increasing number of blurred. AI isn’t only a device for human use, however, can also additionally in the end emerge as a co-equal, or maybe superior, shape of intelligence. This increases issues approximately the ability subordination of people to machines, specifically if AI structures emerge as self-conscious or self-enhance in approaches that undertaking human control.

Moreover, the combination of people with AI or different virtual structures via cybernetic implants or brain-pc interfaces (BCIs) might require unheard of degrees of cybersecurity to defend people from being hacked or manipulated. Imagine a global in which now no longer simplest computer systems or telephones may be hacked, however additionally a person`s thoughts or body. These opportunities enlarge the scope of cybersecurity past mere facts safety to shield the integrity of human attention and identity.

Ethical and Philosophical Implications

The convergence of cybersecurity, AI, and posthumanism forces society to grapple with critical ethical questions. Who controls AI, and how do we ensure it benefits humanity as a whole rather than a select few? What rights should AI possess if it becomes sentient? How can we balance technological advancement with the need for privacy, security, and human dignity?

Posthumanism, in particular, raises existential questions about the future of humanity. Will humans evolve into a new species that blend organic and technological elements, or will AI and machines surpass humans, relegating them to a secondary role in their own world? These questions challenge long-held assumptions about autonomy, intelligence, and what it means to lead a meaningful life.

Key aspects and themes of posthumanism:

Transcending human limitations: Posthumanism considers the possibilities that arise from transcending natural biological limitations through enhancements such as genetic engineering, cybernetic implants, and even fusion with machines.

Reassessing human-centered thinking: This philosophy often challenges the dominant anthropocentric (human-centered) perspectives in many cultural, ethical, and philosophical contexts. It promotes a more inclusive vision that considers the rights and values of all sentient beings. Posthumanism rejects any claim based on anthropocentric dominance (Wolfe 2009). Human rights exist on a spectrum along with animal rights and posthuman rights (W. Evans 2015).

The impact of technology on identity: Posthumanism explores how technology, particularly emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence and biotechnology, can alter our understanding of identity, consciousness, and the self.

Joseph Vukov believes that the species criterion is incorrect because it would, in principle, disqualify „robots with sophisticated artificial intelligence” (Vukov 2017, 263), and other possible posthumans. He proposes to replace the concept of species with that of natural type, such that a type K is natural if (1) a member of K cannot continue to exist without being K, (2) K is ontologically committed, and (3) there are conditions that specify the normal operation of K. These conditions would allow biological types to be natural, while geometric types (e.g., „circles”, „triangles”) would not be natural, as they lack normativity (Porter 2017). Thus, Vukov, for the natural person, develops the Lockean explanation in terms of natural kinds as follows: „for any individual, x, and any natural kind, K, where x ∈ K, x is a person iff K is normally characterized by some advanced cognitive capacity, F” (Vukov 2017, 267). According to Vukov’s criterion, humans and posthumans, although sufficiently different, can nevertheless be accepted as persons.

Ethical considerations: Raises ethical questions about the implications of human enhancement and the potential creation of new forms of life or consciousness. Issues such as inequality, consent and the nature of personhood are central.

Influence on culture and society: The movement also examines how these transformations might affect society, culture and human interaction, speculating on new social structures and relationships.

Criticism and extension of humanism: Posthumanism critically engages with the principles of humanism, which typically emphasize human dignity, reason, and autonomy. He suggests that these principles may be outdated or should be revised considering new realities.

From a cybersecurity perspective, the growing reliance on AI and digital systems also introduces moral hazards. If AI governs critical infrastructure, medical systems, or military operations, how do we ensure that it operates ethically? Moreover, as human enhancement technologies emerge, the potential for abuse—whether by hackers, corporations, or governments—becomes a serious concern.

Conclusion: Interconnected Futures

The convergence of cybersecurity, AI, and posthumanism factors towards an interconnected destiny wherein the limits among human and device aren’t most effective blurred however may also emerge as irrelevant. As AI keeps advancing, questions of virtual protection will amplify past conventional cyberattacks to embody problems of identification and private autonomy. If posthumanism implies the merging of human abilities with generation, then cybersecurity will want to conform past defensive gadgets and networks to safeguarding the very essence of what makes us human—our thoughts, our emotions, and our freedom.

Ultimately, the connection between cybersecurity, AI, and posthumanism is described via way of means of a push and pull among development and risk. Each improvement brings with it new possibilities, in addition to new moral dilemmas. While AI and posthumanism technology promise to increase human potential, additionally they gift critical dangers to privacy, protection, and private autonomy. In navigating this complicated landscape, we must make sure that technological development does now no longer comes on the value of human dignity and freedom. The venture for destiny lies now no longer simply in advancing generation, however in making sure that this generation serves and complements human enjoyment instead of diminishing it.

As we circulate ahead right into a destiny wherein human beings and machines emerge as ever extra intertwined, it will likely be crucial to broaden moral frameworks that stability innovation with protection, and development with appreciate for human dignity. Ultimately, the venture lies in making sure that generation serves to decorate human life, instead of lessening it.

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