This volume defends the notion of humankind in the face of artificial intelligence. Responding to anti-humanist challenges to traditional arguments establishing human worth in nature, it defends humanity with the argument that technological ‘advances’ introduced artificially into some humans do not annul their fundamental human qualities.

This book asks whether there exists an essence exclusive to human beings that serves to distinguish them from artificially intelligent robots, and considers the extent to which human essentialism might justify the denial to advanced AI robots of legal and citizenship rights.