Conference Agenda

This paper examines gender-affirming surgeries as a specific form of technology to explore the complex relationship between technology and human identity. Current debates about the insurance coverage of gender-affirming surgeries often position these procedures as medically necessary 'saviors' for the trans* body, suggesting that without them, trans* individuals are destined to lives of dissatisfaction or even suicide and death. However, this paper interrogates this notion by considering how such technologies, as forms of what Heidegger calls "bringing-forth," not only address pre-existing needs and desires but also actively shape and reveal our very understanding of those needs and their broader social implications [1]. Drawing on the concept that technologies can bring pre-existing wants to the status of a need, this analysis investigates how the development and application of gender-affirming technologies are influenced by social norms and how they impact trans* individuals' experiences of their bodies. This analysis will focus on the way that these technologies can be understood not merely as instruments of intervention on the body but as a way of bringing forth trans* identities themselves as a challenge to reductive cis conceptions of gender. The medicalization of trans* identities has brought with it a heavy reliance on surgical technologies as both an intervention and a marker of a "successful transition," but in doing so, perhaps the medical industry has put forward a very particular standard for how to be trans, and what a trans* body should look like, that fails to capture the full scope of trans* identities and experiences [2]. Moreover, this paper will explore the ethical implications of relying on medical technologies for identity affirmation, arguing that while these technologies offer powerful tools for self-expression, the societal acceptance of diverse identities ultimately contributes to genuine well-being. There is a never-ending stream of new procedures that can keep being invented to perfect the trans* body and make it palatable and conform to the shifting standards of gender [3], but will the trans* body ever truly conform? By considering the ontological and ethical dimensions of these technologies, this paper aims to contribute to a richer understanding of the intertwined nature of technology, identity, and the human body and to consider what other means of care and support can be explored to help affirm trans* identities [4].

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1. Heidegger, Martin. 1954. "The Question Concerning Technology."

2. Shuster, Stef M. 2021. Trans Medicine: The Emergence and Practice of Treating Gender. 3. New York University Press.

3. Plemons, Eric. 2017. The Look of a Woman: Facial Feminization Surgery and the Aims of Trans-Medicine. https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/vt/reader.action?docID=4922951&query=.

4. Abstract edited and checked for tone by NotebookLM, GoogleAI, January 15, 2025, https://notebooklm.google.com/.

In the era of digital technologies, the home has evolved from a static refuge to a dynamic device that connects individuals, technology, and society. This project investigates how the digitalization of living spaces influences the construction of human identity, interpreting the domestic space as a techno-relational field where tools and daily practices co-produce the self. Drawing on Peter Sloterdijk’s concept of anthropotechnics, the project analyzes how the digital home becomes an extension of the body and mind, a space where intelligent objects (such as voice assistants and sensors) contribute to the construction of a fluid and interconnected identity. This reflection is enriched by Bernard Stiegler’s approach, which positions such technologies as “prostheses” of the self, amplifying potentials while also generating risks of alienation and dependency. The research is structured around four main areas. First, it examines how the transition from the traditional home to the smart home reshapes habitual practices and interpersonal relationships, transforming the domestic space into a laboratory for the “connected self.” The digital home, enhanced by IoT systems and voice assistants, operates as a “technological organism” that not only responds to the inhabitant’s needs but also co-constructs identities, relationships, and meanings. Second, through Tonino Griffero’s atmospheric phenomenology and Henri Lefebvre’s theory of the production of space, the project explores the new “digital atmospheres” emerging from the interaction between inhabitants and technologies, examining how they influence emotions, perceptions, and meanings. A further focus is placed on the therapeutic potential of the digital home: how technologies for health monitoring and well-being management can foster authentic dwelling or, conversely, contribute to an alienating experience of control and surveillance. The project evaluates whether the smart home can still provide a space of authentic “care,” as envisioned by Martin Heidegger, or if it is increasingly characterized by depersonalizing technicization. Finally, the project proposes a critical theory of dwelling in the digital era, exploring the co-evolution of technology and identity. It develops ethical guidelines for the design of home automation technologies that promote privacy, autonomy, and dignity, ensuring that technology remains a tool of emancipation rather than subordination. This research contributes to contemporary philosophy of technology and is focused on identity and agency of the spaces, offering an interdisciplinary perspective that combines philosophy, anthropology, and environmental psychology. The home, understood as both an ontological and prosthetic device, emerges not only as a lived space but also as an active agent in shaping the connected human identity.

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