““Technological advancements over the past few decades have profoundly reshaped society and altered our understanding of what it means to be human.” ”
Rapid technological advancements have reshaped human society, prompting a reevaluation of what it means to be human. These developments have given rise to the "bio-techno-scientific mode" of being human, where technology-driven ideas of humanity are integrated into everyday life. In this dissertation, I examine how emerging technologies like Pre-implantation Genetic Diagnosis (PGD) and Brain-Computer Interfaces (BCI) impact our understanding of personhood. BCIs, a burgeoning field in cognitive research, can potentially transform a person’s sense of self in impeccable sometimes, irreversible ways. PGD, on the other hand, is driving cultural shifts in parenting and fostering the commodification of human life—especially in North America—through the selection (or deselection) of offsprings. Against this backdrop, this dissertation revisits the ethical insights and values embedded in Christian theology’s Imago Dei and African conceptions of personhood, suggesting they can serve as crucial touchstones for bridging theology and technology. Drawing on Sylvia Wynter’s "Being Human as Praxis" as a theoretical framework and qualitative data from interviews with 20 scholars at leading universities, I propose a four-fold paradigm of personhood. This framework aims to guide the ethical development and deployment of human-centric technologies, ensuring that technological progress aligns with the preservation and flourishing of humanity.