Social and ethical implications of Artificial Intelligence in the context of posthumanism and transhumanism critically analysed on the second day of CCA’s Study Consultation in Malaysia
Cyberjaya, Malaysia: While analysing the social and ethical impacts of Artificial Intelligence in the context of posthumanism and transhumanism, Rev. Dr John G. Mathews, an Indian theologian and posthumanism analyst, critically analysed how technologies such as machine learning, big data analysis, and natural language processing have created a “smart epoch” that promises efficiency and progress but simultaneously raises anxieties about the future of human life.
On the second day of the International Consultation on ‘Artificial Intelligence and Posthumanism: Ethical and Theological Perspectives’, Rev. Dr John G. Mathews presented his analysis on, “Artificial Intelligence in the Context of Posthumanism and Transhumanism: Social and Ethical Implications”. He stated, “Artificial Intelligence is not merely a technological development, but it is reshaping our imagination of what it means to be human. The ‘smart epoch’ brings many advantages, but also deep anxieties for the implications on society and on our very understanding of what it means to be human.”
An ordained minister of India’s ancient Mar Thoma Syrian Church, Rev. Dr John G. Mathews developed his doctoral thesis at Yonsei University in South Korea on posthumanism with a focus on transhumanism and spirituality. He explained that while transhumanism seeks to overcome human biological limitations through technologies such as genetic modification, cryonics, and mind uploading, critical posthumanism offers a more reflective response to technological change.
“Transhumanism envisions overcoming the limits of the human body through technology – pursuing superintelligence, enhanced wellbeing, and even immortality.” However, transhumanism risks reducing humanity to a quest for perfection, classifying those without enhancements as impaired. “It is merely an attempt to upgrade an individual ‘me’ alone,” Rev. Dr John G Mathews cautioned.
His presentation further explained that critical posthumanism, by contrast, “challenges the idea that humans are autonomous, self-contained beings; instead, it places emphasis on relationality, care, and interconnectedness. Transhumanism tends to focus on the individual ‘me,’ pursuing perfection and transcendence through technology. Critical Posthumanism shifts the focus to an ‘entangled we,’ emphasising relational responsibility, care, and ethical coexistence in a more-than-human world.”
He argued that debates on posthumanism cannot be separated from current socio-economic realities, noting that advanced capitalism drives technological innovation, with corporations and governments leading AI development while ordinary people bear the risks. He stressed that critical posthumanism exposes how capitalist forces shape not only technology but also our very understanding of humanity.
The presentation also highlighted emerging social trends such as digi-sexualism, where technology mediates human intimacy, raising ethical concerns about sexuality, commodification of the body, and the erosion of human relationships.
He reminded the participants that technologies are never neutral but consistently serve the interests of certain groups over others. “We cannot make a choice between implication and no implication, but only between different types and degrees of implications.”
Concluding his presentation, Rev. Dr John G. Mathews reminded participants that even in an age dominated by technological innovation, humanity’s spiritual and ethical core must remain central. He emphasised that technologies carry both constructive and destructive potential, and that society must engage with them not only with caution, but also with imagination, responsibility, and hope rooted in faith.
For photos from the second day of the International Consultation, please click here.
