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Edizioni Tlon — 2025

Hypnocracy

Trump, Musk and the new architecture of reality

Jianwei Xun / Andrea Colamedici

A book. A performance. A demonstration.

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The operation

A book that demonstrates what it describes

In January 2024, Edizioni Tlon published a philosophical essay signed by Jianwei Xun, presented as a young Chinese thinker already considered by some to be the heir of Jean Baudrillard and by others that of Byung-Chul Han. The book analyzes the mechanisms through which contemporary power manipulates the perception of reality, coining the term "Hypnocracy" to describe this new regime that operates directly on collective consciousness.

The volume was translated from English by Andrea Colamedici, who in the translator's note wrote of having had "the immediate sensation of being in front of something rare: a text that does not merely photograph the present but manages to show its inner workings." The book received immediate attention from the international press: The New York Times, Le Monde, Wired USA, El Clarín and dozens of other publications discussed its theses.

In April 2025, L'Espresso revealed that Jianwei Xun does not exist. The Chinese philosopher is an invention, and the book was written by Andrea Colamedici in collaboration with artificial intelligence. The operation, defined by the author as a "narrative performance," performatively demonstrated the reality manipulation mechanisms that the book itself analyzes: the ease with which a fictitious identity can acquire authority, the way cultural validation systems work, the constructed nature of collective perception.

The publication

Hypnocracy is released, signed by Chinese philosopher Jianwei Xun and translated by Andrea Colamedici. The book is welcomed as an original contribution to the analysis of digital contemporaneity.

January 2024
Spring 2024

The international echo

The book is discussed on Le Grand Continent, Le Figaro, La Nación and dozens of other publications. Translations begin in French, Spanish, English.

The revelation

L'Espresso reveals that Jianwei Xun does not exist: he is a creation of Andrea Colamedici made with artificial intelligence. The operation itself becomes the subject of global cultural debate.

April 2025
Today 2025

The meaning

Hypnocracy becomes a case study: a book that demonstrated its own theses through its very existence, making visible the mechanisms of reality construction that it theorized. From The New York Times to Le Monde, from El Clarín to Wired.

The editions

Ipnocrazia - Italian edition Italian
Hypnocracy - English edition English
Hipnocracia - Spanish edition Spanish
Hypnocratie - French edition French
«

Hypnocracy is the first regime that operates directly on consciousness. It does not control bodies. It does not repress thoughts. Rather, it induces a permanent altered state of consciousness. A lucid sleep. A functional trance.

Hypnocracy, Introduction

Trance

Key concepts

01

Algorithmic trance

The continuous flow of digital content induces a permanent altered state of consciousness, in which attention is modulated like a wave and emotional states are constantly induced and manipulated.

02

Perceptual sovereignty

The ability to maintain a core of autonomy in the perception of reality, resisting the dissolution of the boundary between true and false that Hypnocracy produces.

03

Algorithmic edging

The technique through which platforms keep users in a state of perpetual anticipation, promising satisfactions that are constantly postponed.

04

Dark resistance

Forms of invisible resistance that do not frontally oppose the system but inhabit its cracks, cultivating spaces of opacity within the regime of total transparency.

05

Gaseous reality

The contemporary condition in which reality has become entirely fluid: it is no longer a matter of separating truth from falsehood, the distinction itself has lost meaning.

06

The Other Plane

The intuition that the digital may be not only an instrument of control but an interface toward new dimensions of experience, where traditional distinctions begin to dissolve.

Press coverage

International coverage of the Hypnocracy operation

The New York Times A.I. Can Trick You, Warns Book That Hid A.I.'s Help Writing It Le Monde Le philosophe Jianwei Xun n'existe pas, mais son concept d'« hypnocratie » entre dans notre réalité El Clarín Hipnocracia, el libro del año La Nación El filósofo inventado con IA que fue un éxito editorial Wired USA A Philosopher Released an Acclaimed Book About Digital Manipulation. The Author Ended Up Being AI Télérama La vertigineuse histoire d'"Hypnocratie", le percutant essai d'un philosophe hongkongais qui n'existe pas France Inter L'IA peut-elle inventer des concepts ? Wired ES Andrea Colamedici, la mente detrás de Hipnocracia Style Corriere della Sera La verità su "Ipnocrazia", il libro esperimento di Jianwei Xun (che non esiste) raccontato dal suo creatore Rolling Stone El libro del año del autor inexistente: Una advertencia sobre la inteligencia artificial National Geographic ES Este es el "libro del año", pero su aclamado autor no existe: es una IA Infobae El autor chino que escribió el libro del año no existe: "Lo hicimos la IA y yo" Philosophie Magazine FR "L'IA est un outil d'une puissance extraordinaire pour construire des concepts" Philosophie Magazine DE Der Xun-Test La Vanguardia El aclamado filósofo chino Jianwei Xun no existe, es en realidad una IA El País Jianwei Xun, the supposed philosopher behind the hypnocracy theory, does not exist L'Espresso Ipnocrazia, ecco perché il filosofo Xun non esiste Le Grand Continent Qui est vraiment Jianwei Xun ? Une conversation avec Jianwei Xun Sky TG24 L'Espresso su 'Ipnocrazia': autore non esiste, saggio creato dall'IA Doppiozero Svegliarsi dall'Ipnocrazia

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Hypnocracy - Cover
The book

Trump, Musk and the new architecture of reality

An essay that analyzes how contemporary power operates through the manipulation of perception, constructing multiple and incompatible truth regimes. Through the cases of Donald Trump and Elon Musk, the book reveals the mechanisms of Hypnocracy: the emptying of language, the flooding of imagination with promises destined never to be fulfilled, the modulation of collective states of consciousness.

Publisher

Edizioni Tlon

Year

2024

Series

Hrönir

Buy the book

Learn more about Andrea Colamedici