Virus levels petty human 'gods'

THE EDITOR: The verdict is in. Zoonosis ie, the transmission of a disease from animal to human, is responsible for the biggest pandemic threat in our lifetime.

Science has made tremendous strides in the last century, from discovering DNA to mapping the human genome. There are also scientific breakthroughs that gave us the ability to determine life's creation and its origin. Furthermore, on the path to discovering the source of life, we began conceiving of man's superiority with immortality as the ultimate goal.

Man has achieved incredible feats with technological advances and may be able to create life, but will humans ever obtain the God-like state we so desperately desire? Scientists have been struggling with that very subject.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has come a long way. However, according to forbes.com, we must tread carefully, "Today, artificial intelligence is used for many good. Unfortunately, as our AI capabilities expand we will also see it being used for dangerous or malicious purposes. Since AI technology is advancing so rapidly, it is vital for us to start to debate the best ways for AI to develop positively while minimizing its destructive potential."

Nevertheless, let us not be too hasty in humankind's abilities. Creating life in a laboratory and inventing artificial intelligence does not make us gods. Covid19 is a wakeup call to scientists who thought humankind had become hermetic to all that nature has thrown at us and lived to conquer it.

No, we are not even close to being God-like. Leave those fantasies to Grecian and Egyptian mythology. We are just like any of the mammalian species who inhabit planet earth. "Scientists believe all life evolved from a common ancestor, which means that humans also share DNA sequencing with all other living organisms."

So let us check our egocentric presence at the door. We are not Gods, and we never will be. A minute virus named covid19 has brought us back down to planet earth with a resounding smack.

REX CHOOKOLINGO

Via e-mail

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"Virus levels petty human 'gods'"

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