BY URI DOWBENKO At a TED-like techno-geek symposium in the 2014 film Transcendence, Artificial Intelligence guru Dr. Will Caster (Johnny Depp) is asked by an audience member, “So you want to create your own god?” And he answers, “Isn’t that what man has always done?” This smarmy remark is indicative of the hubris and arrogance of scientism, the belief that ...

Can technology help humanity realise its full potential? Transhumanists see the merging of man and machine as a natural “next step” in human evolution, but where does consciousness fall in the equation? Instead of bringing freedom, merging ourselves with technology could chain consciousness to the physical body and material world, overriding our natural capacity for spiritual evolution.