An odd question.

[skeletalman]

How do we define being human? Are we at risk of losing our humanity as technology advances? What is it that makes us human? What is so unique about the human experience? Why is it that we see our own reality mirrored in the realm of animals? How different are we from the beasts that surround us?

WHY ARE THERE NO EASY ANSWERS!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!

[Hyper Kinetic]

There are no easy answers because there are no steadfast definitions.
This, in turn, simultaneously answers and fails to answer all of your questions

For what it's worth...
To me, there are different "levels" of being human. A vegetative state, for example, is (to me) one of the lowest forms of humanity I can describe. Those with the unfortunate genetics of having extra or less chromosomes are also special cases of being human. I'll get to cybernetics and risking of humanity in a minute.

Why is it that we see our own reality mirrored in that of animals? Simple: We ARE animals. Just because we have developed all of this awesome technology and mechanisations does not change that fact. How different are we from other beings? Aside from folded brain structures and science/technology, not a lot.
Also, I add here a comic from Abstruse Goose, because it kinda fits in here:


Back to cybernetics...
The real question, to me, is at what point does a being cease to be that which it initially was and becomes something new entirely? With this question, stop thinking about being human and start thinking of something else with a more neutral starting point.
Ships for example:
At what point does a ship stop being its original ship and become something else entirely?
Is it when you take out its core operational systems? Is it still the same ship if you move its internals into an entirely new outer hull?
What about changing the non-essential systems but leaving the core intact?

Then think about a ship that has had at least one of the above done (if you still consider it the same ship)... and then apply one of the other modifications.
For example, if you consider the ship as being the same if it has the same inside but a completely new (but otherwise the same) hull, then what if you change some of the internal components? New Ship, Same ship, or different?
Same Core with different non-essentials? What happens when you change the hull?

Then apply these to humans.

Then take an extra piece of complexity if you take something as intangible as Souls and Minds in to account.
At what point do you think a human loses its humanity can often be described, in a personal sense anyway, as what point they lose their Soul or Mind to something else.
Some people may choose to believe that as long as the brain is intact the soul and mind remain intact. Others may believe that removing the mind or soul from its initial body (or vice versa) destroys the human and creates something else entirely.
Would having a chip implant with pre-filled memories or knowledge constitute a loss of humanity?
If so, does having a computer or other external device with which to store memories also constitute a loss of humanity?

Welcome to Cyberpunk (not that I have read any of that genre... but I'd like to. Neuromancer is on my to do list this year)

I reiterate my initial statements:
There are no easy answers because there are no steadfast definitions.
This, in turn, simultaneously answers and fails to answer all of your questions

[Tyrantor]

Become a Nihilist. Explains everything. Kind of.