THE INSTITUTE FOR TRANSHUMANIST CEPHALOPOD EVOLUTION (ITCE) The Institute for Transhumanist Cephalopod Evolution (ITCE) is dedicated to expanding the boundaries of human perception and intelligence, inspired by cephalopods—some of the oldest and most adaptable creatures on Earth, including cuttlefish, octopuses, and squid.

ITCE works at the crossroads of neuroscience, marine biology, group dynamics, deep sea diving, and somatic (body-based) practices. The Institute develops tools and practices for evolving the human species in a world marked by rapidly changing technological and ecological climates. Through research, education, and immersive programs, we forge new ways of relating to the self, each other, and the planet.

ITCE reclaims the term “transhumanism” from contemporary futurists - rather than an escape from the body by uploading consciousness into machines, the Institute returns to the term's transcendent roots. ITCE explores how we can enhance human capacity *through* the body and its deep connection to the natural world. By working with what’s already available in our biological systems, ITCE opens up radical new ways of thinking about adaptation, transformation, and collective evolution.

Founded in 2017 at the MIT Media Lab by interdisciplinary artist and researcher Miriam Simun ITCE works to create the future from the inside out - one body at a time.

How do we know what technology we need to augment the human body, if we don’t yet fully know what is possible with what we already have?

In a world dominated by ever-accelerating technological development, ITCE forefronts training as a technology - one rooted in practice, development of internal abilities, and equity in access (when compared to implants, prosthetics or device-based augmentations). We embrace the capacities residing in the human body ("existing bioavailabilities" in the language of biotechnology).

What can we do with what we already have, right here, right now?

ITCE advocates for embodied, ancestral and non-anthropocentric forms knowledges for the project of innovation, alongside cutting-edge scientific research. For a future that champions the pleasure and knowing rooted in bodily labors and practices.

Role Model Species

ITCE posits cephalopods - a class of non-mammalian ocean animals - as an evolutionary role model for humanity.

Model species are organisms used to advance scientific understanding. A single species, such as a mouse or a zebra fish, becomes a biological system that scientists use to collect and compare data , enabling them to make claims that can be extrapolated and applied to more complex organisms. In practice they are often animals chosen or engineered for characteristics that make them efficient and inexpensive tools for research. These organisms are usually placed in highly controlled laboratory environments, decoupled from the very environment that make the organisms what they are. 

What if the ways we treat the species we work with and learn from - our model species - affects the kind of species we become, too?

ITCE proposes another way of looking at the model organism - as a role model organism. How can we learn from another species by looking to it as a role model, as an organism to emulate? How can this help us relate to a more systemic understanding of the animal, the environment, and ourselves? What do we learn by attempting to suspend - even if impossible to ever fully do - the anthropocentric point of view?