I talk about this more in the articles below.
The difference is at least one of degree in that we rely a lot more on technology than do other tool-using species. But the difference in kind has to do with the cultural feedback loops that radicalize the human mentality, so that we're not content with natural niches but must forge artificial ones in opposition to nature's wildness wherever the latter is found. We have the humanistic ambition to civilize in that way, and also the technical ability to do so (with our languages, opposable thumbs, and so on), so that we're freer from our animality. One of the greatest symbols of this difference is our attempt to conquer outer space. Let's not pretend that this attempt is normal for all animal species.
