Judging Algorithms: Understanding Political Subjectivity in Algorithmic Publics with Arendt and Postphenomenology
Longo,Anthony
Longo,Anthony
Abstract
The entanglement of technology and politics is as old as political life itself. Throughout history, the public sphere has depended on technologies of visibility to ‘make things public’—from the printing press to television to the internet, each medium has, in its own way, shaped how political events become public issues and how citizens respond to them. However, the rise of algorithmic platforms seemed to have fundamentally altered this dynamic. Unlike traditional media, which primarily transmitted political discourse, algorithms actively structure what appears, for whom, and in what context, in real-time and from behind the screen. This shift has sparked growing concern that algorithmic curation is not just reshaping, but dismantling the very conditions that make the public sphere possible. Scholars warn for filter bubbles, data-driven manipulation, and the erosion of a common reality, fueling a widespread narrative of a public sphere in crisis. Some argue that algorithmic governance has rendered the public increasingly passive, with political agency overshadowed by opaque, profit- driven systems. This thesis critically examines these claims and asks: How do algorithmic systems mediate the public sphere, and what does this mean for political judgment and agency? Moving beyond the dominant crisis narrative, I explore how algorithmic publics are not simply spaces of decline, but dynamic sites where political subjectivity is continually negotiated. Drawing on the work of Hannah Arendt and postphenomenology, this thesis critically reexamines the conditions of mediation under which political action and judgment emerge in algorithmic publics. Rather than seeing algorithms as neutral tools or deterministic forces, I argue that they create a ‘processual in-between’: an instable space where political subjectivity is negotiated through human-algorithm interactions. Algorithmic infrastructures disrupt traditional links between materiality and public visibility and require a rethink of what it means to appear, act, and judge in the digital age. Integrating Arendt’s phenomenology with technological mediation theory, this approach challenges the ‘black box’ metaphor, shifting focus from algorithmic opacity to user-algorithm relations. It shows how technologies not only structure discourse but also reshape how individuals recognize themselves and others as part of a public.
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2025-06
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Longo, A 2025, 'Judging Algorithms: Understanding Political Subjectivity in Algorithmic Publics with Arendt and Postphenomenology', Doctor of Philosophy, University of Antwerp. https://doi.org/10.63028/10067/2136790151162165141