What would Michel Foucault say about AI and TikTok? 100 years after the philosopher who predicted the era of cameras, algorithms, and self-exposure

This summary is generated by artificial intelligence and reviewed by the editorial team. He was the intellectual of the counterculture and the critical discourse on modernity. From novel concepts such as 'micropower' or 'biopolitics', he brought to light the multiple mechanisms of control that manifest in human relationships, as well as the subtle systems of surveillance over individuals and bodies. A psychologist, philosopher, sociologist, and historian, Michel Foucault (1926-1984) represented the thought of an entire era marked by the tensions of the postwar period and the echoes of the utopian May '68 French movement, that movement which made the phrase "Prohibited is prohibited" its slogan. He was the intellectual of the counterculture and the critical discourse on modernity. From novel concepts such as 'micropower' or 'biopolitics', he brought to light the multiple mechanisms of control that manifest in human relationships, as well as the subtle systems of surveillance over individuals and bodies. A psychologist, philosopher, sociologist, and historian, Michel Foucault (1926-1984) represented the thought of an entire era marked by the tensions of the postwar period and the echoes of the utopian May '68 French movement, that movement which made the phrase "Prohibited is prohibited" its slogan. In 1984, when Foucault died from complications of HIV, an era dominated by technology was beginning to emerge. In his most important books such as "The Order of Things" (1966), "Discipline and Punish" (1975), or "The Microphysics of Power" (1977), Foucault established powerful metaphors that could well glimpse our present, marked by the Internet and the digital age. His idea of the panopticon as that great watching eye that supervises and controls human actions can be linked to the rise of current video surveillance and facial recognition cameras, or his network of micropolices to discipline social life can be transferred to those algorithms that increasingly decide our actions and thoughts. What would Foucault have thought if he had lived in our digital 21st century? —The freedom of the individual— Raúl Castro Pérez, sociologist, communicator, and dean of the Faculty of Communication Sciences at the University of the South, says that this centenary is an ideal time to make a balance of Foucault's thought. He emphasizes that in the last part of his life, the French intellectual highlighted the power of the individual against an overwhelming system. "What remains of his work in a very positive way," he says, "is that he understood society as a network of dynamic relationships. For him, power was not an exercise of certain types taking the cachiporras from others. Foucault understood that there was a set of very subjective influences that had concrete application in people's lives. That remains. The point is that he did not see some developments that could have led him to another type of thought. Foucault would be a defender of individual freedom today." "“What Foucault sketched in the mid-twentieth century as mechanisms of power of the disciplinary society derives today into a panopticon turned into public space.”" Rosa Silva Flores | Philosopher In this aspect, what would you have thought of the algorithms behind artificial intelligence? "The central thing is to understand his work dynamically," Castro responds. "For a mechanistic discourse, the algorithms, the robot or the 'Matrix', as in the movie, will take control and be those who govern us. That is a apocalyptic vision arising from the recent discussion, motivated by the heads of big tech themselves. I believe that a Foucault recharged would discuss that interpretation of AI and highlight rather the liberating potential of individuals. How these possible impacts can be managed within big tech to slow down their pernicious effects." —Fear of what others will say— The anthropologist Alexander Huerta-Mercado, a professor at the Catholic University, prefers to highlight another type of surveillance, internal and subjective, where Foucault's theories are perfectly fulfilled. "Let's remove the Internet and cameras from the equation, and add ourselves, the Peruvians: he would think that our real surveillance comes from gossip, caring for appearances, that strong morality instilled in us since childhood, that conservative education that translates into elections and the fear of what others will say. That leads us to the fear of offending, of not being part of a group or an ideological current. That is why we are all watching ourselves," he explains. Huerta-Mercado affirms that Foucault would have been surprised that all these actions, such as attacking or judging the other, could translate into mathematical equations and into something called an algorithm. "He would have been surprised to see how this mode of watching became a product through the algorithm and that the great eye watching was not the Orwellian Big Brother, but all of us watching each other on social networks." "Let us remember that we are not only talking about watching, but also about punishing – the anthropologist specifies. It is about exhibiting the humiliation of the other to demonstrate that one has power." We ask if the so-called influencers can be the new exponents of this diffused power arising in the digital age: "Yes, but they are also victims of surveillance," he replies. "Before they were the stars of Chollywood, now they are also prey to gossip. That is, power is given to the influencer, but at the same time the public wants to have power over them through gossip or shaming." —Automated Panopticon— In this scenario, the search for 'likes' and popularity seems incessant, as if everyone is looking for a place in a digital ecosystem that the philosopher and professor Rosa Silva Flores calls "an automated panopticon." In her opinion, the current hypervigilance starts with the self-exposure of bodies and data. "What Foucault sketched in the mid-twentieth century –he affirms– as mechanisms of power of the disciplinary society has derived, in 2026, into an automated panopticon that became a public space of normalized control. Today this power is exercised in a subtle way, under the appeal of seduction, hedonism, biotechnologies, and technological optimism… and power functions as a network of unequal relations in service of politics, the market, and ideology." Thus, amidst the rise of social networks and algorithms that make our tastes, hatreds, and emotions trendy, micropolices are generated that, as Castro, Huerta-Mercado, and Silva opine, are immersed in our most everyday relationships, something Foucault glimpsed half a century ago. Foucault is known mainly for his critical studies of social institutions, especially psychiatry, medicine, and the human sciences. - Federico Kauffmann Doig: "I am interested in knowing how Peruvian civilization was formed" - Common places, by Alonso Cueto - Ideas to reconstruct the Ministry of Culture: "A ministry should not be a spoils for a war between political parties" - Uruguayan writer Fernanda Trías: "One must always remain an amateur writer" - Alejandra Costamagna: "Writing like cats is very suggestive" NewsInformation based on facts and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified by expert sources.