The report shows that, given the current state of scientific and technological development, many of the expectations expressed in discussions about the future appear largely speculative. All in all, neither the technical optimisation of human ‘nature’ (on a larger, i.e. socially relevant, scale) nor an ‘intelligence explosion’ in machines is likely to occur in the foreseeable future. The dynamics of boundary dissolution outlined above are currently unfolding on a more subtle level: for example, by undermining fundamental anthropological categories – such as accountability, self-determination and identity – which form the basis of our current moral and legal order, through the technological processes described. These normative challenges necessitate an early examination of the societal consequences, as well as the framework conditions, of the dynamics of boundary dissolution. The focus here should be on what we understand to be the genuine essence of humanity and its culture, and which aspects of this we wish to preserve for the future and protect from machine encroachment.