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using the link in the description. Many suggest a future that sees our descendants as some

synthesis of natural and engineered, organic, and machine. But what does this future look like?

So welcome to the Sci-Fi Sunday here on SFAA, and our topic for today is synthetic life,

and we'll begin by asking what we mean by synthetic and what we mean by life, as neither

is entirely clear cut.

Now, a point I often make in regard to artificial intelligence and cyborgs is that just

about the most artificial thing on this planet is a human already.

Most of us have some artificial components, be it external things like clothing and glasses

or minor things, like tooth fillings, or

full-on prosthetic limbs or organs.

Moreover though, our actual minds are very artificial, very based on decades of learning

surrounded by artificial customs and objects, not like a mostly instinctual animal.

Humans are not terribly natural creatures these days,

indeed the only real rivals for that are the various pets, livestock, and cereal crops we've

been selectively breeding for thousands of years. So just the notion of artificial intelligence

being computer brains doesn't really feel like a very useful or accurate definition.

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