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

• Published in: Philosophies (Basel) Vol. 10; no. 4; p. 73
• Main Authors: Sahakyan, Hayarpi, Gevorgyan, Ashot, Malkjyan, Arpine
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Basel MDPI AG 24.06.2025
• Subjects: Algorithms; Artificial intelligence; Automation; Behavior; Big Data; Biometrics; Biopolitics; Commodification; Computer platforms; Decision making; Digital Age; Human subjects; Infrastructure; Personal information; Regulation; Social networks; Subjectivity; Surveillance
• ISSN: 2409-9287; 2409-9287
• DOI: 10.3390/philosophies10040073

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.