The Endangered Ideals of Democratic Transhumanism in Annalee Newitz’s Autonomous

Abstract

Drawing on James Hughes’ postulations on transhumanism in Citizen Cyborg (2004), this paper explores Annalee Newitz’s novel Autonomous (2017) as a blueprint of the endangered ideals of democratic transhumanism. With close reference to the text, the focus is to probe the degradation of autonomy, accessibility, and the fundamental right to free existence for all sentient beings in the 22nd-century hyper-technologized world. It is thus argued that Autonomous uncovers the endangered ideals of democratic transhumanism, such as the fear of exacerbating global inequalities, and the degradation of personhood and autonomy as a consequence of Capitalism. Moreover, this paper suggests a solution-oriented ideology of democratic transhumanism – an ethical approach to using emerging technologies, such as the universal availability of future technological enhancements. Ultimately, it suggests that democratic transhumanist choices are significant for the consequential future, resulting from our present-day decisions for liberation under fair governance rather than enslavement under corporate oppression