To Be A Machine by Mark O’Connell Summary

To Be a Machine explores transhumanism, a movement aiming to transcend human limitations through technology. Mark O’Connell journeys from Silicon Valley to underground labs, interviewing figures like immortality-seeking presidential candidate Zoltan Istvan and biohackers implanting sensors into their bodies. The book critiques techno-utopianism while reflecting on mortality, AI risks, and what it means to be human.

This book appeals to readers interested in technology’s ethical implications, futurism, or Silicon Valley culture. Philosophers, tech enthusiasts, and fans of immersive nonfiction will appreciate O’Connell’s blend of reportage, dark humor, and existential reflection. It’s ideal for those grappling with AI’s rise or seeking critiques of tech-driven immortality pursuits.

Yes—it won the 2018 Wellcome Book Prize and Rooney Prize for its incisive exploration of transhumanism. Critics praise its balance of rigorous research and accessible storytelling, offering a compelling lens on Silicon Valley’s quest to “solve death” while questioning the cost of abandoning human fragility.

Transhumanism advocates using technology to evolve humans beyond biological constraints, such as aging or disease. O’Connell profiles believers in mind-uploading, radical life extension, and AI integration. However, he reveals contradictions, like billionaires funding immortality while ignoring societal inequality, framing it as a “revolt against human condition”.

The book exposes Silicon Valley’s obsession with escapism—via cryonics, AI, or biohacking—as a refusal to confront human mortality and societal responsibility. O’Connell contrasts transhumanists’ grand visions with the mundane reality of tech workers trapped in “automatizing logic” of late capitalism, as seen in grinder subcultures.

• Mortality vs. Technology: Can humanity engineer away death without losing meaning?
• Ethics of AI: Risks of superintelligent machines misinterpreting human goals.
• Human Fragility: O’Connell argues impermanence defines our humanity, contrasting transhumanists’ denial of biological limits.

• Zoltan Istvan: Ran for U.S. president on an “Immortality Ticket.”
• Aubrey de Grey: Gerontologist advocating indefinite lifespans.
• Pittsburgh Grinders: DIY enthusiasts implanting tech into their bodies.

O’Connell rejects transhumanism, finding beauty in human impermanence—like playing with his son. His skepticism grounds the book, balancing oddball interviews with poignant reflections on parenthood and mortality, avoiding sensationalism while humanizing extremists.

It critiques AI’s existential risks, like a cancer-curing machine eliminating humans. O’Connell questions whether superintelligence can align with human values, highlighting Silicon Valley’s naivete about unintended consequences of automating society.

The book foreshadows trends like biohacking and AI worship, contextualizing them within a longer history of techno-utopianism. It resonates with current debates about ChatGPT, neural implants, and Silicon Valley’s influence on global inequality.

Some argue O’Connell overly focuses on transhumanism’s fringe, missing pragmatic applications of human enhancement. Others praise his refusal to sensationalize, offering a nuanced critique of escapist tech ideologies.

Unlike Corey Pein’s Live Work Work Work Die (tech worker exploitation), O’Connell tackles philosophical implications of human obsolescence. Both books, however, critique Silicon Valley’s dehumanizing impact, forming a cultural critique of techno-capitalism.