Joanna Ziemna

The article touches upon the issue of the identity of neurodiverse people, with emphasis on autism. The problem is connected with the way of viewing the autistic - the way in which they are de-personified by the neurotypical society. They are driven away from what in the antropocentric world is understood as being “human” and “subject” towards the category of “non-people”: either as unemotional robots or aliens in human body, or as unintelligent bodies devoid of agency and in need to be taken care of, like pets. Their otherness is emphasised by being different from neurotypicals’ mode of cognition and embeddedness in language. The author puts a special emphasis on how neurodiversity exposes us to multiple kinds of subjectivity, amongst which neurotypicality is but one of many others.

The paper discusses the alterhuman community composed of individuals who, despite having human bodies, identify as other-than-human. Such identities range from earthly animals to mythological or otherworldly beings such as elves, dragons, aliens or angels, or even immaterial ideas. While alterhumanity is not inherently an online phenomenon, the community is based mainly online, which allows them to discover labels that describe their identities and discuss their lived experience with non-humanity. The paper is based on a project completed in 2021. This research explores the phenomenon of alterhuman identity, including but not limited to otherkin, therian or plurals, focusing on non-human identities. The study looked at the ways in which members of this community produce and use labels which aid in categorizing one’s experience. Through observational netnography with elements of content analysis of existing data gathered from identity labels included in self-introductions on 200 Tumblr blogs, the paper examines the relationship between identifying as alterhuman and being part of (other) social minorities.

This article explores the ethical, cognitive, and epistemic stakes of introducing smart-hive technologies (such as Hiveopolis project) into honeybee colonies (Apis mellifera). These robotic structures supplemented with artificial intelligence algorithms and other technological alterations are discussed here not as merely monitoring devices but as an active part that bridges and enhances the remaining two organic elements. The paper proposes a portrayal of a biohybrid with a triadic structure consisting of bees, humans, and technology. This depiction foregrounds whole-organism interactions and emphasizes the emergent character of such hybrids, which are more than the sum of their parts. Situated within the framework of embodied cognition, this development is examined through an enactivist lens. Adhering to this perspective, cognition arises through a dynamic organism–environment coupling, together bringing forth the world. Ethical concern cannot be separated from its cognitive counterpart; questions of responsibility, care and consent are inscribed in the very structure of such coupling.