COMPLEX NET DIAGRAM: TRANSGRESSION – MODIFICATION – TRANSMOGRIFICATION

Abstract

The article offers a philosophical analysis of transformations of the human being in the context of the development of contemporary technologies, particularly artificial intelligence (AI). It argues that a post-anthropological situation has emerged in which traditional notions of the autonomous subject, the boundaries of the human body, and the space of cognitive activity are undergoing radical reconsideration. A conceptual diagram is proposed that outlines three levels of (post-/trans-)human transformation – transgression, modification and transmogrification – allowing for the conceptualization of diverse bodily, networked and cultural practices of contemporary society. It is demonstrated that transgression does not abolish the distinctions between the internal and the external, the human and the technological, but rather renders these boundaries mobile and nomadic. It is precisely within the field of transgressed boundaries that human–machine interaction takes place, particularly through neurointerfaces and algorithmic systems, which simultaneously erode the figure of the classical anthropocentric autonomous subject. Modification is interpreted as the main trajectory of transformation, embodied in various transhumanist programs, ideologemes, and practices aimed at the functional enhancement of the body and psyche, especially at the neurocognitive level in interaction with AI. By contrast, transmogrification is understood as a radical form of technogenic deformation that exceeds any formal normativity, image, or stable form, while not altering the already transgressed “essence.” Accordingly, the article argues that contemporary technologies give rise to the figure of the trans(in)dividual – a multiple, decentered being that acts and thinks within networks of human and non-human actors. This perspective opens the possibility of rethinking key modern concepts such as subjectivity, property, and creativity. At the same time, it is concluded that a crucial issue for the human today concerns the relationship between technological development and practices of emancipation.