Science for mankind or mankind for science

Science was born out of the human necessity to investigate nature, but now it's also growing on the necessity to investigate human nature. Cosmetic surgery, starting with the face, has travelled to abdomens, thighs, buttocks, necks and backs of arms. In the United States, an increasing number of men and women are going under the knife to change the shape and look of their genitals. If human beings once desired to change the nature, the desire for change is now their second nature. 

In the beginning, scientific inventions enhanced human talents. Tools were invented for survival, and machines multiplied productive power. Automation is when mankind started to disengage itself from its talents. It started to look for machines and tools to do its work. 

Thus robots are coming to make workers redundant. They can drive, sweep, mop and serve food in restaurants. Japan has robots, which can interact with humans, read news and tweets in several different voices. Ingestible robots are almost ready to patch stomach wounds. 

In future, humans will be able to form romantic relationships with robots. But it has its inherent risk. Sofia, the world's most advanced A.I. humanoid robot had an embarrassing glitch during an interview with CNBC. "She" admitted she wanted to destroy humans.

Driverless cars, drones and unmanned ships are either on the way or have arrived already. Scientists are working to create artificial limbs and organs that can replace the originals. If your heart or kidney fails or an arm or a leg is lost, 3D-printed spares will be available in the nearest shop. Smart clothes are coming to outsmart humans. Forgotten items in the wardrobe will text owners before automatically contacting charity shops asking to be recycled.

Scientists reported on May 4 they had grown human embryos in the lab, which might lead to advances in assisted reproduction, stem-cell therapies and basic understanding of how human beings form. Test tube babies are no longer a dream. Just like distance learning gets you a diploma without sitting in a classroom, artificial insemination makes it possible to conceive a child without lovemaking.

But the lab-grown human embryos raise the spectre of the ultimate tragedy. Manmade machines are now poised to produce machine-made man. There will be a time when we are going to talk about organic and inorganic human beings like vegetables. Or, cultured or natural human beings like fish.

Maybe that will be good news for the European countries and Japan where population is declining due to diminishing fertility. It might give busybody entrepreneurs a new business idea to produce readymade humans like readymade garments. Maybe the developing countries, with their low-cost labour, will manufacture human beings for developed countries.     

The Wall Street Journal reported in 2013 that scientists were puzzled over decreasing sperm quality. They had gathered in London in July that year for the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology annual conference where they debated the issue for an entire day. Most studies from several European nations had found that over the past 15 years or so, the sperm count of healthy men aged 18 to 25 had significantly gone down. A prominent study from the 1990s suggested the count had decreased by half over the last half-century.

The scientists claimed that exposure to pesticides, endocrine-disrupting chemicals, and lifestyle habits like sitting for too long were some of the factors responsible for the sperm crisis. Some of them even said there was increasing evidence that sperm count, like other health conditions, might be influenced by what happens to people early in life, even in the mother's womb. The upshot is that the world humans have created has turned against them.

The explorers in their curious exuberance are discovering the universe from end to end. Man landed on the moon many years ago. Settling down on the Mars is currently under serious consideration. A number of initiatives are underway to find alien life. Two weeks ago, NASA's Kepler mission verified 1,284 new planets. 

The inventors, driven by that same impulse, are scouring nature to control its power. And in that frenzy, they remain oblivious to the obvious peril that nature is also striking back. It's doing so in the most natural way: getting humans to dehumanise themselves. 

Human life is an absurd phenomenon, an infinite quest within a finite journey. Science expanded on the promise that the quest was going to improve the journey. But the desire to overcome human condition has reversed that promise, and the journey is overtaken by the quest.

The origin of mankind has been traced back to the Prosimians 65 million years ago. Who knows where the evolution train is going next? Meanwhile, science has created the illusion that mankind is rowing the boat, which is actually dragged by the strong current. 

The writer is Editor of the weekly First News and an opinion writer for The Daily Star. 

Email: badrul151@yahoo.com.