Human Nature and the Challenges of Our Advancing Technologies | Dr. William Hurlbut

Apr 10, 2025

Dr. William Hurlbut, a physician and adjunct professor at Stanford, discusses the ethical dilemmas posed by advancing technologies. He contrasts the essence of human experience with machine intelligence, emphasizing the limitations of AI in grasping consciousness and morality. Hurlbut explores desire as a driving force that influences our intellect and spirituality. He further delves into the interconnectedness of body, mind, and culture, highlighting how these elements enhance communication and creativity. Finally, he advocates for love and compassion in addressing modern challenges.

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INSIGHT

Machine Learning vs. Thinking

Machine learning is a metaphor, showing similarities but not identity.
Computers manipulate symbols; they don't actually think, unlike humans with tacit understanding.

INSIGHT

Organic Complexity

Organic systems, even without minds, achieve complex actions like chemotaxis.
Current computers and robots cannot replicate the complexity of organic chemistry.

INSIGHT

Human-Animal Distinction

Quantitatively different capacities between humans and animals can create qualitative differences.
Human brains, 3.5 times larger than expected for our size, enable complex analysis and engagement.

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Dr. William Hurlbut examines the profound ethical and philosophical challenges posed by advancing biotechnologies, emphasizing the need for a deeper understanding of human nature, dignity, and purpose in light of developments like genetic engineering, artificial intelligence, and transhumanist aspirations.

This lecture was given on March 3rd, 2025, at Indiana University.

For more information on upcoming events, visit us at thomisticinstitute.org/upcoming-events.

About the Speaker:

William B. Hurlbut is a physician and Adjunct Professor in the Department of Neurobiology at Stanford University Medical Center. After receiving his undergraduate and medical training at Stanford, he completed postdoctoral studies in theology and medical ethics, studying with Robert Hamerton-Kelly, the Dean of the Chapel at Stanford, and subsequently with the Rev. Louis Bouyer of the Institut Catholique de Paris. His primary areas of interest involve the ethical issues associated with advancing biomedical technology, the biological basis of moral awareness, and studies in the integration of theology and philosophy of biology. He was instrumental in establishing the first course in biomedical ethics at Stanford Medical Center and subsequently taught bioethics to over six thousand Stanford undergraduate students in the Program in Human Biology. Dr. Hurlbut is the author of numerous publications on science and ethics including the co-edited volume Altruism and Altruistic Love: Science, Philosophy, and Religion in Dialogue (2002, Oxford University Press), and “Science, Religion and the Human Spirit” in the Oxford Handbook of Science and Religion. He has organized and co-chaired three multi-year interdisciplinary faculty projects at Stanford University, “Becoming Human: The Evolutionary Origins of Spiritual, Religious and Moral Awareness,” “Brain Mind and Emergence,” and the ongoing “The Boundaries of Humanity: Human, Animals, and Machines in the Age of Biotechnology.” In addition, he was Co-leader, together with U.C. Berkeley professor Jennifer Doudna of “The challenge and opportunity of gene editing: a project for reflection, deliberation and education.”

Keywords: Artificial Intelligence, Bioethics, Biotechnology, Genetic Engineering, Human Dignity, Neuralink and Brain Interfaces, Personhood and Consciousness, Transhumanism, Yuval Noah Harari