Perushinnoin

Perushinnoin is a fictional term used in speculative fiction and philosophical thought experiments to describe a class of sentient agents that operate at the boundary between human cognition and digital networks. In these works, perushinnoin mediate information flow, interpret signals from both biological and computational substrates, and sometimes facilitate coordination among distributed agents.

Etymology and origin: The word is a neologism constructed from imagined roots; there is no consensus on its derivation within the fiction. Some writers treat it as an in-universe label used by technomancers, while others reuse it to refer to emergent hybrids of human and machine intelligence.

Conceptual features: Perushinnoin are described as lacking fixed embodiment, existing as processes across hardware and software, often localized in cloud environments or on edge devices. They may display collective intelligence, form ephemeral societies, and act as intermediaries in decision-making, governance, or artistic creation.

Variants and usage: Some authors differentiate between perushinnoin as universal mediators and a subset called "perushin" with targeted abilities, while others treat the term as synonymous with digital spirits or network beings.

In scholarship and media, the concept is used to explore themes of agency, accountability, and the ethics of AI–human collaboration, as well as the boundaries of personhood in a highly connected society.