≪알리타: 배틀 엔젤≫을 중심으로 고찰한 포스트휴먼과 호모 사피엔스의 신체

Abstract

With the rise of artificial intelligence, ICT technology, and the ability to combine humans and machines to overcome previously incurable maladies and physical limitations, the Fourth Industrial Revolution is ushering in a new era that no one has ever before experienced. Above all, the human body is on the verge of an unprecedented transformation, and we are now entering an era in which portions of our bodies will be combined with or replaced by machines. This is what we call the Posthuman era, and the bodies that humans will have in the Posthuman era will be completely different from the bodies that Homo sapiens have had as a result of the evolution of life. During the transition to the Posthuman era, the human body may be liberated from disease and physical limitations, and even death, the ultimate annihilation of the body. On the other hand, the proliferation of mass-produced, standardized, and so-called modular bodies may usher in a bleak era in which the human body and its organs are completely subjugated by the neoliberal logic of capital. This paper explores the nature of “moral goodness” and “human values” that humans should possess as they transition from homo sapiens to posthumans and analyzes the future of the human body in the Posthuman era from multiple perspectives. In particular, we will compare and analyze the physical features of the posthumans and humans portrayed in Alita: Battle Angel. In doing so, it will reveal, beyond their physical characteristics, the most human values of posthumans and homo sapiens, as well as the thought algorithms that preserve them.