The Divide Between Individual and Collective Perspectives Exacerbated by IT

Maison Suger is pleased to host the fourth session of the seminar cycle "Accumulations and Accelerations: Computer Totalitarianism III", with Julien Gobin, economist and philosopher, author of The Individual, End of the Road? The Trap of Artificial Intelligence, Gallimard, 2024

It is well established that information technology enables individuals to accomplish more, and at greater speed. However, the individual, absorbed in immediate tasks and intoxicated by acceleration, becomes less capable of perceiving realities beyond their own circumstances. Furthermore, the perceived benefits of technical conveniences—such as the automobile, washing machine, or email—are often distorted both spatially and temporally. From a temporal standpoint, gains in unit efficiency frequently lead to an increase in the number of units produced or consumed, a phenomenon known as the rebound effect. For instance, never have so many photographs been taken as since the advent of the digital camera. Spatially, in a context marked by competition, technological innovations often result in zero-sum dynamics: the progress or advantages gained by one are offset or nullified by those of others. This leads to a broader trend—described by some as “entropic”—toward a general decline in performance within industrial society.

Following the success of the first two years of the seminar, which focused on the all-encompassing influence of computing, a third cycle has been organised to explore new counter-truths. The promise of virtual communities can sometimes prove harmful to physical social relations. Remote working, far from promoting equality, tends to increase disparities. The mechanised school, often presented as virtuous, risks reducing education to mere conditioning. And the fantasy of the “augmented” human reinforces capitalist logics of accumulation and acceleration.

The seminar will also examine the threats posed by automated warfare and the mechanised rationalisation of medical care, which can obscure the environmental causes of many diseases. New techniques for manipulating texts, sounds and images are making it increasingly difficult to distinguish between true and false. Finally, the artificialisation of life fosters endless individualisation: isolated humans are caught in a race toward immediate technical pleasures and struggle to grasp collective issues.

Inspired by an interactive pedagogy, the seminar is free and open to all, particularly students and researchers in the humanities, law and philosophy.