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Cited by 27Foucault, Power, and EthicsEthics and Social Impacts of AICultural Studies and Postmodernism

From Disciplinary Societies to Algorithmic Control: Rethinking Foucault’s Human Subject in the Digital Age

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Sahakyan, Hayarpi, Gevorgyan, Ashot, Malkjyan, Arpine·2025·Philosophies
DOI 10.3390/philosophies10040073
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Abstract

In the digital age, the mechanisms of power and control have evolved beyond Foucault’s disciplinary societies, giving rise to a new paradigm of algorithmic governance. This study critically reinterprets Foucault’s concept of the human subject in light of contemporary digital surveillance, big data analytics, and algorithmic decision-making. The paper looks at how technology, biopolitics, and subject formation interact. It says that algorithmic control changes people’s choices in ways that have never been seen before through predictive modeling and real-time behavioral modulation. The study starts with a comparison of early Foucauldian frameworks and more recent theories of digital governance. It uses a method that combines philosophy, media studies, and political theory. The results show that while disciplinary societies relied on institutionalized norms and body regulation, algorithmic control works through data-driven anticipatory mechanisms, which make subjectivity less clear and more broken up. This shift raises ethical and ontological questions about autonomy, resistance, and the very notion of the self in a hyper-connected society. The study concludes that rethinking Foucault’s insights in the digital era is essential for understanding and contesting the pervasive influence of algorithmic power on human subjectivity.

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  • Sahakyan et al. develop a Foucauldian analysis arguing that AI systems instantiate new modes of subjectification through algorithmic rationalities.

    “More recently, Sahakyan et al. [8] develop a Foucauldian analysis arguing that AI systems instantiate new modes of subjectification through algorithmic rationalities that 'quietly shape behavior, organize possibilities for action, and determine what counts as truth or relevance'.”

    From Encountering Generative AI: Narrative Self-Formation and Technologies of the Self Among Young Adults (2026) · cites this paper as [8]

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Research works printed but not linked: 5

  1. Deleuze, G. Postscript on the Societies of Control; The MIT Press: Cambridge, MA, USA, 1992; Volume 59, pp. 3-7. Available online: https://www.jstor.org/stable/778828 (accessed on 15 June 2025).
  2. Han, B.-C. Infocracy; Polity: Cambridge, UK, 2022.
  3. Eubanks, V. Automating Inequality: How High-Tech Tools Profile, Police, and Punish the Poor; St. Martin's Press: New York, NY, USA, 2018.
  4. Noble, S.U. Algorithms of Oppression: How Search Engines Reinforce Racism; NYU Press: New York, NY, USA, 2018.
  5. Brunton, F.; Nissenbaum, H. Obfuscation: A User's Guide for Privacy and Protest; MIT Press: Cambridge, MA, USA, 2015.

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Authors
Sahakyan, H., Gevorgyan, A., & Malkjyan, A.
Affiliations
  • Yerevan State Medical University (AM)
  • National University of Architecture and Construction of Armenia (AM)
  • Armenian State University of Economics (AM)
Corresponding author
Gevorgyan, Ashot
ORCID
Venue
Philosophies
Publisher
MDPI AG
Published
2025-06-24
Volume
10
Issue
4
Pages
73
ISSN
2409-9287 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.3390/philosophies10040073
OpenAlex
W4411582732
Cited by
23
References
9
Citations by year
2026: 20 · 2025: 2 · 2024: 1
FWCI
38.06
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Philosophies (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Foucault, Power, and Ethics
  • Social Sciences › Safety Research › Ethics and Social Impacts of AI
  • Social Sciences › Communication › Cultural Studies and Postmodernism
Keywords
Michel Foucault, disciplinary society, algorithmic control, research participants, digital governance, digital surveillance, big data analytics, algorithmic decision-making, biopolitics, subjectivation, predictive modeling, behavioral modulation, autonomy, resistance, self, algorithmic power, human subjectivity

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