# When Will Human Being Stop Being a Meaningful Category by James J. O'Donnell > “When will "human being" cease to be a meaningful category to speak of?” > **— James J. O'Donnell**, *2018, Edge Annual Question, “WHAT IS THE LAST QUESTION?”* ## Sources and Context - **Direct Edge response and surrounding essay:** [The Last Question](https://www.edge.org/response-detail/27498) — Edge published this exact, continuous passage in its 2018 Annual Question collection, *WHAT IS THE LAST QUESTION?*. The response page preserves the surrounding argument and qualifications. - **Complete local collection index:** [[research/Edge 2018 Full Quotation Curation|Edge 2018 Full Quotation Curation]] — retained source-first record for the response cohort and this passage's promotion status. ## Related Articles and Collections - **Collection:** [[collections/Edge|Edge]] - **Collection:** [[collections/Consciousness Continuity|Consciousness Continuity]] - **Collection:** [[collections/Neurotech|Neurotech]] - **Article:** [[articles/Mind Uploading and AI — The Host is Reusable and the Person is the Delta|Host Infrastructure Overview]] - **Article:** [[articles/Technologies for Consciousness Mapping and Transfer|Consciousness Mapping and Transfer]] - **Article:** [[articles/The Organic-Synthetic Brain Atlas|Organic-Synthetic Brain Atlas]] - **Wiki map:** [[wiki/Digital Personhood|Digital Personhood]] ## Related Topics - [[wiki/Machine Succession|Machine Succession]] - [[wiki/Posthumanism|Posthumanism]] - [[wiki/Personal Identity|Personal Identity]] - [[wiki/Superintelligence|Superintelligence]] - [[wiki/Digital Personhood|Digital Personhood]] ## Share on Social Media ``` “When will "human being" cease to be a meaningful category to speak of?” — James J. O'Donnell, 2018, Edge Annual Question, “WHAT IS THE LAST QUESTION?” https://bryantmcgill.com/simple-reminders-james-donnell-human-stop-meaningful-category ```