The artificial refers to something that merely resembles an original (such as a cheap plastic “diamond”) whereas the synthetic is a genuine and meaningful version of something that was deliberately created (such as a laboratory-grown diamond identical to a “natural” one at the molecular level). Thus, artificial intelligence merely seems smart, but synthetic intelligence really is. We should be pursuing synthetic intelligence, not artificial intelligence.
@NoahPaulLeGies when humans invented-discovered the technologies of language and culture - we immediately became cyborgs.
I think the better question is what is the viable alternative for flourishing?