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This is according to Yuval Noah Harari, a professor at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, who believes the radical shift will take place in the next 200 years.
Using biotechnology and genetic engineering, Professor Harari claims the wealthy will transform into a new type of divine, immortal human with complete power over life and death.
He argues that humans are unable to resist the temptation to 'upgrade' themselves, according to a report by Sarah Knapton in the Telegraph.
'We are programmed to be dissatisfied,' said Professor Harari, during a recent speech at the Hay literary festival in Wales.
'Even when humans gain pleasure and achievements it is not enough. They want more and more.
'I think it is likely in the next 200 years or so homo sapiens will upgrade themselves into some idea of a divine being, either through biological manipulation or genetic engineering of by the creation of cyborgs, part organic part non-organic.
'It will be the greatest evolution in biology since the appearance of life. Nothing really has changed in four billion years biologically speaking.
'But we will be as different from today's humans as chimps are now from us.'
The technology to do this, however, will be restricted to the very wealthy, claims Professor Harari.
Up until now, he says society has been held together by inventing 'fictions', such as religion, money and the idea of fundamental human rights.
As long as humans believed they relied more and more on these gods they were controllable, he said 'But what we see in the last few centuries is humans becoming more powerful and they no longer need the crutches of the Gods.'
He added that the most interesting place in the world from a religious perspective is not the Middle East but Silicon Valley.
Here, people are developing what he describes as a 'techno-religion' in which they believe death is just a technological problem.
'Now we are saying we do not need God just technology,' he added.
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