<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">

<p>The Society of Control is a philosophical concept developed by Gilles Deleuze in the early 1990s to highlight the transition from Michel Foucault’s Disciplinary Society to a new social constitution of power assisted by digital technologies. The Society of Control is organized around switches, which convert data, and, in this way, exercise power. These switches take data inputs (digitized information about individuals) and transform them into outputs (decisions) based on their pre-programmed instructions. I call these switches “automated decision-making algorithms” (ADMAs) and look at ethical issues that arise from their impact on human freedom. I distinguish between negative and positive aspects of freedom and examine the impact of the ADMAs on both. My main argument is that freedom becomes endangered in this new ecosystem of computerized control, which makes individuals powerless in new and unprecedented ways. Finally, I suggest a few ways to recover freedom, while preserving the economic benefits of the ADMAs.</p>
</abstract>

The Society of Control is a philosophical concept developed by Gilles Deleuze in the early 1990s to highlight the transition from Michel Foucault’s Disciplinary Society to a new social constitution of power assisted by digital technologies. The Society of Control is organized around switches, which convert data, and, in this way, exercise power. These switches take data inputs (digitized information about individuals) and transform them into outputs (decisions) based on their pre-programmed instructions. I call these switches “automated decision-making algorithms” (ADMAs) and look at ethical issues that arise from their impact on human freedom. I distinguish between negative and positive aspects of freedom and examine the impact of the ADMAs on both. My main argument is that freedom becomes endangered in this new ecosystem of computerized control, which makes individuals powerless in new and unprecedented ways. Finally, I suggest a few ways to recover freedom, while preserving the economic benefits of the ADMAs.

Freedom in the Society of Control: Ethical challenges

Ethics & Bioethics

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

{"article-title":"Freedom in the Society of Control: Ethical challenges"}

The Society of Control is a philosophical concept developed by Gilles Deleuze in the early 1990s to highlight the transition from Michel Foucault’s...

Freedom in the Society of Control: Ethical challenges

Published Online: Dec 12, 2020

Page range: 203 - 220

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/ebce-2020-0019

Keywords
Freedom, Power, Society of Control, Automated Decision-Making Algorithms, Digital Technologies

© 2020 Yevhen Laniuk, published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Freedom in the Society of Control: Ethical challenges

Published Online: Dec 12, 2020

Page range: 203 - 220

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/ebce-2020-0019

KeywordsFreedom, Power, Society of Control, Automated Decision-Making Algorithms, Digital Technologies

© 2020 Yevhen Laniuk, published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Keywords
Freedom, Power, Society of Control, Automated Decision-Making Algorithms, Digital Technologies