The Transhumanist Anthropocene – Emerging Regimes of (Non-)Human Nature in a Digital Era

2025

Schütze, Paul /

Michael Latzer

Working Paper – Media Change & Innovation Division. University of Zurich, Zurich.

This paper identifies a significant shift in the current dynamics of the Anthropocene driven by transhumanist thought that shapes the digitalization of societies. While the Anthropocene has traditionally emphasized humanity’s impact on the natural environment, transhumanist visions now direct this transformative force inward, targeting human nature itself. This marks an expansion of human action toward the technical control of human evolution, generating unprecedented living conditions that redefine what it means to be human. To capture this development, we introduce the notion of the “Transhumanist Anthropocene”. With it, we point to a novel trajectory within the overall Anthropocene dynamics. This is characterized by a reinforced anthropocentrism, the rise of technoreligion, a reduction of the perceived urgency of the climate crisis, and an increasing reliance on techno-solutionist models of environmental governances. We argue that the growing dominance of transhumanist logics within the Anthropocene along with the digital transformation and recent AI developments narrows possible future pathways. This significantly complicates efforts toward effective and sustainable regulation and oversight in the face of the climate crisis.