Abstract

This article explores the ethical, cognitive, and epistemic stakes of introducing smart-hive technologies (such as Hiveopolis project) into honeybee colonies (Apis mellifera). These robotic structures supplemented with artificial intelligence algorithms and other technological alterations are discussed here not as merely monitoring devices but as an active part that bridges and enhances the remaining two organic elements. The paper proposes a portrayal of a biohybrid with a triadic structure consisting of bees, humans, and technology. This depiction foregrounds whole-organism interactions and emphasizes the emergent character of such hybrids, which are more than the sum of their parts. Situated within the framework of embodied cognition, this development is examined through an enactivist lens. Adhering to this perspective, cognition arises through a dynamic organism–environment coupling, together bringing forth the world. Ethical concern cannot be separated from its cognitive counterpart; questions of responsibility, care and consent are inscribed in the very structure of such coupling.