In the 2021 movie, Dune: Part I, the young Paul Atreides submits to the Gom Jabbar, a test administered by the leader of an order of semi-mystical priestesses. In the test, he must put his hand inside a small black box while the priestess holds a poison-laced needle near his neck; the test is to see whether or not he can keep his hand in the box as it heats up to excruciating levels of pain. Removing his hand will result in his death, while keeping his hand in the box will result in the loss of his hand. When Paul asks the Reverend Mother about the purpose of the test, she tells him that it will reveal whether or not he is truly human.

The movie scene, based on the novel written by Frank Herbert in 1965, touches on a fundamental difference between a human being and an animal. The animal, will instinctively react to the painful stimulus, unable to control the deeply wired impetus to survival. The human being has a mind able to discern the circumstance, and the will to choose. The young man may panic, choose incorrectly, and fail to endure, but he has the capacity to overcome his fear and will his body to endure. Successfully completing the test, and removing an unharmed hand from the box, Paul is told, “Congratulations, young human.”

On a recent tour in Rome, art historian, Liv Lev, pointed to a collection of sculptures depicting men that were part animal and shared that these reflect man’s inner struggle with his animal nature and our ongoing journey toward a higher level of being – aspiration toward the divine. Later during our trip, Sally and I stood in front of a fountain in the Piazza Navona, looking at figures that were half-men, half-fish, mythological tritons, pondering Lev’s reflection on humanity’s animal nature, and the struggle to control our baser instincts.

In a presentation last week at Catholic University of America, AI expert and technologist, Taylor Black, opened his lecture by asserting that the question that the tech industry finds itself asking today is “What does it mean to be human?” Going on to argue that our culture’s “thin anthropology” around the value of work and our purpose in it is creating a crisis of meaning as artificial intelligence rapidly takes over increasingly complex tasks that once defined the work we do. He sees a growing sense of “hollowness” as AI prompts many to confront fundamental questions of purpose and value.

Black goes on to say that AI’s capacity to quickly process massive amounts of information, compiled human knowledge, and then take action on it creates the perception of judgment and choice, key differentiators between human beings and animals. The illusion of a disembodied intelligence follows, creating many to ask: what is my purpose, what value can I add, in a world where a machine can do the things I can do?

Though a machine’s ability to rapidly find patterns in natural language may create the illusion of intelligence and self-awareness, this is a far-cry from the unique combination of body, mind, and soul, that comprise the human person. However, the question of what it means to be human will remain a central issue for all living in an era in which machines eerily seem more and more human while also more than human in so many of their capabilities.

The great news for we humans is that we’ve got over two thousand years of Christian anthropology to help us with these questions. Human beings, made in the image of God, have a body, mind, and soul, to reflect the origin from their Creator and ultimate destination toward him. In this creation, we’re also given the great gift of self-awareness and free will. The power to believe. The power to hope. The power to feel and to know, particularly right from wrong. The power over our own will and the power to choose – as imperfectly as it might be – our own way.

We will continue to wrestle with the animal within, those baser instincts that so often drive us. We will continue to wrestle with notions of purpose and meaning, in our work, in day to day, and in our ultimate destiny. We will also continue to wrestle with the struggles that mark our brief existence. And yes, we’ll continue to wrestle with other humans, their choices, and the creations they unleash upon the world.

But all of that too is part of being human. Thank God.