Mediating Knowledge: Power in the Digital Era
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Abstract
Contemporary institutions of power increasingly operate through subtle, technology-mediated mechanisms. Drawing on Michel Foucault’s conception of the reciprocal relationship between knowledge and power, this study examines the role of digital objects as epistemic instruments within such power structures. Following Don Ihde’s framework, technologies are understood as non-neutral mediators that shape and sustain “structures of meaning.”
This study addresses two central questions: To what extent do tools and technologies shape human understanding of existence? And how do digital objects, as material mediators, function within mechanisms of power to produce, regulate, and perpetuate meaning?
Employing a phenomenological methodology, this research explores lived experiences, focusing on how digital platforms, smartphones, augmented reality, artificial intelligence, and search engines embed users within pervasive networks of influence. Findings indicate that digital technologies simultaneously generate knowledge, structure meaning, and subtly guide voluntary compliance with algorithmic norms. This underscores the continuous interplay between knowledge production and surveillance in the digital era.
Keywords: Power Institutions, Michel Foucault, Digital Era, Epistemology, Don Ihde, Digital Objects, Meaning-Making Structures
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