CYBERSECURITY AND DIGITAL SURVEILLANCE IN TRANSHUMANISM

TOWARD A NEW SOCIAL CONTRACT FOR THE PROTECTION OF AUGMENTED IDENTITY

Abstract

Transhumanism—understood as the pursuit of overcoming human limitations through technological innovation—confronts us with an unprecedented challenge by expanding human identity into the digital realm through neural implants, predictive algorithms, and human–machine interfaces.

This evolution gives rise to an “augmented identity” that redefines what it means to be human and, at the same time, opens up unprecedented risks in the areas of cybersecurity, digital surveillance, and the manipulation of individual autonomy.

Drawing inspiration from the social contract tradition, this article proposes rethinking the normative and ethical foundations of our coexistence to ensure that technology enhances the human being without reducing it to an object of control or exploitation. It argues for the need for a new social pact that recognizes the contemporary subject’s hybrid biological–digital nature and establishes safeguards against the risks of mass surveillance and the erosion of autonomy.