What is it about?
This publication examines how new technologies such as artificial intelligence, digital networks and human–machine interfaces are changing what it means to be human today. It explains different ways of thinking about these changes, from optimistic views that support human enhancement through technology to more critical approaches that emphasise ethical responsibility, embodiment and interdependence. The article also shows how contemporary literature helps us understand the social and moral consequences of living in an increasingly technological world, highlighting the role of fiction in exploring issues such as identity, agency, memory and digital dependency.
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Why is it important?
This work is important because it brings together philosophy, technology and contemporary literature to address urgent ethical questions raised by artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies in the context of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. Unlike many studies that focus only on technical or policy aspects, this publication shows how cultural narratives—especially novels—play a crucial role in shaping how societies understand, accept or resist technological change. A key contribution of the article is that it clearly distinguishes between transhumanist and critical posthumanist approaches, demonstrating how they lead to very different ethical outcomes. By analysing recent literary responses to digital technologies, the article offers timely insights into how concerns about identity, agency and human vulnerability are already being negotiated in everyday culture, not just in academic debate. This interdisciplinary perspective helps readers better understand why ethical reflection must evolve alongside technological innovation.
Perspectives
Writing this chapter allowed me to bring together long-standing interests in literature, ethics and technology at a moment when these questions feel especially urgent. I was particularly interested in exploring how contemporary novels help us think through the human consequences of technological change in ways that theory alone often cannot. As artificial intelligence and digital systems increasingly shape everyday life, I hope this work encourages readers to pause and reflect on how deeply technology influences our sense of identity, agency and responsibility. More than offering definitive answers, my aim was to open a space for thoughtful, critical engagement and to show why literature remains a powerful tool for imagining more ethical and humane technological futures.
Sonia Baelo-Allué
Universidad de Zaragoza
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: The Ethics and Literature of Cybernetic Posthumanism, Transhumanism and the Technological Other in the Fourth Industrial Revolution, January 2026, De Gruyter,
DOI: 10.1163/9789004715516_028.
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