Conclusion: Towards a post-pandemic, (post)human world

ABSTRACT

The conclusion of this volume considers the way that the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has accelerated some of the effects of the fourth industrial revolution and boosted (bio)technological innovation. The digital world has expanded in a permanent manner, with an impressive leap in digital activity in all aspects of life, but the fears of digital surveillance and dehumanization have also increased. Lockdown has brought an unprecedented decrease in carbon dioxide emissions and forced us to face the reality of the Anthropocene and the dangers of our intervention in nature. Literary fiction can continue to be a useful tool to understand this emerging post-pandemic, (post)human world. © 2021 Taylor & Francis.