Imagining High-Tech Bodies

Abstract

Seeking for broad and inclusive ways of framing ethical debates on emerging technologies, in this article the authors explore imaginaries of body enhancement as encompassed in the science fiction (sci-fi) literature. They provide in-depth descriptions of three sci-fi novels: Neuromancer, The Player of Games, and Kéthani. They explore how ethical concerns are framed within the imaginary world of these novels, emphasizing that this framing is usually ambivalent, embedded within lived narratives, as well as future and collectively oriented. Because they evoke shared imaginaries, sci-fi novels appear as useful to trigger debate on new technologies.