Maria Laura Ruiu – författare

Does artificial intelligence (AI) empower humanity, or does it merely automate the stratifications of the past? In The Inequality Regime of AI, the authors offer a critical sociology of artificial power, arguing that AI represents a fundamental ontological shift in how social life is organized, valued, and governed.Moving beyond the traditional digital divide, this book introduces the concept of the Inequality Regime of AI. The authors trace a profound transition from inequalities of participation to inequalities of prediction, where social power is concentrated in the hands of those who own and control the means of cognition. Through a global lens, the volume exposes the hidden architectures of the algorithmic age: from the predictive cage of automated governance and the digital feudalism of rentier platforms to the extractive computational metabolism that binds AI to planetary resource depletion. Drawing on Southern epistemologies and the concept of techno-colonialism, the book reveals how AI stabilizes social hierarchies while presenting them as objective, efficient, and inevitable. However, the authors do not stop at critique. They advocate for a "e;praxis of freedom"e;, proposing a shift from extractive models toward redistributive infrastructures and the algorithmic commons.Grounded in a relational ethics of care and critical literacy, this volume is essential reading for scholars and students of sociology, media studies, political science, and the ethics of technology seeking to understand, and contest, the new architectures of global power.

Does artificial intelligence (AI) empower humanity, or does it merely automate the stratifications of the past? In The Inequality Regime of AI, the authors offer a critical sociology of artificial power, arguing that AI represents a fundamental ontological shift in how social life is organized, valued, and governed.Moving beyond the traditional digital divide, this book introduces the concept of the Inequality Regime of AI. The authors trace a profound transition from inequalities of participation to inequalities of prediction, where social power is concentrated in the hands of those who own and control the means of cognition. Through a global lens, the volume exposes the hidden architectures of the algorithmic age: from the predictive cage of automated governance and the digital feudalism of rentier platforms to the extractive computational metabolism that binds AI to planetary resource depletion. Drawing on Southern epistemologies and the concept of techno-colonialism, the book reveals how AI stabilizes social hierarchies while presenting them as objective, efficient, and inevitable. However, the authors do not stop at critique. They advocate for a "e;praxis of freedom"e;, proposing a shift from extractive models toward redistributive infrastructures and the algorithmic commons.Grounded in a relational ethics of care and critical literacy, this volume is essential reading for scholars and students of sociology, media studies, political science, and the ethics of technology seeking to understand, and contest, the new architectures of global power.

Does artificial intelligence (AI) empower humanity, or does it merely automate the stratifications of the past? In The Inequality Regime of AI, the authors offer a critical sociology of artificial power, arguing that AI represents a fundamental ontological shift in how social life is organized, valued, and governed.Moving beyond the traditional digital divide, this book introduces the concept of the Inequality Regime of AI. The authors trace a profound transition from inequalities of participation to inequalities of prediction, where social power is concentrated in the hands of those who own and control the means of cognition. Through a global lens, the volume exposes the hidden architectures of the algorithmic age: from the predictive cage of automated governance and the digital feudalism of rentier platforms to the extractive computational metabolism that binds AI to planetary resource depletion. Drawing on Southern epistemologies and the concept of techno-colonialism, the book reveals how AI stabilizes social hierarchies while presenting them as objective, efficient, and inevitable. However, the authors do not stop at critique. They advocate for a “praxis of freedom”, proposing a shift from extractive models toward redistributive infrastructures and the algorithmic commons.Grounded in a relational ethics of care and critical literacy, this volume is essential reading for scholars and students of sociology, media studies, political science, and the ethics of technology seeking to understand, and contest, the new architectures of global power.

Starting from the assumption that digital capital is a capital in its own right, and can be quantified and measured as such, the authors of this book examine how digital capital can be defined, measured and impact policy.  Using the Bourdieusian lens, this book makes a critical contribution to the field by examining in depth the notion of digital capital and by introducing a new theoretical toolkit in order to fully conceptualise it. Against this theoretical background, the authors propose a set of indicators that can be used to measure digital capital at an individual level. Ultimately, readers will learn how this can be used by policy makers to tackle social inequalities which are based on the digital exclusion of citizens.

Starting from the assumption that digital capital is a capital in its own right, and can be quantified and measured as such, the authors of this book examine how digital capital can be defined, measured and impact policy.  Using the Bourdieusian lens, this book makes a critical contribution to the field by examining in depth the notion of digital capital and by introducing a new theoretical toolkit in order to fully conceptualise it. Against this theoretical background, the authors propose a set of indicators that can be used to measure digital capital at an individual level. Ultimately, readers will learn how this can be used by policy makers to tackle social inequalities which are based on the digital exclusion of citizens.

Starting from the assumption that digital capital is a capital in its own right, and can be quantified and measured as such, the authors of this book examine how digital capital can be defined, measured and impact policy.  Using the Bourdieusian lens, this book makes a critical contribution to the field by examining in depth the notion of digital capital and by introducing a new theoretical toolkit in order to fully conceptualise it. Against this theoretical background, the authors propose a set of indicators that can be used to measure digital capital at an individual level. Ultimately, readers will learn how this can be used by policy makers to tackle social inequalities which are based on the digital exclusion of citizens.

This comprehensive Handbook explores the multiple ways in which people experience digital life. It maps the transitions in human civilization generated by such digital technologies as the internet, mobile telephony, artificial intelligence, the metaverse, social media platforms and algorithms. It explores how the scarcity or abundance of digital affordances impacts access, governance and livelihoods in various parts of the world. The book’s 27 chapters are organised in five sections: Social Media and Digital Lifeworlds; Digital Affordances and Contestations; Digital Divides and Inclusion Strategies; Work, Culture and Digital Consumption, and New Media and Digital Journalism. The present and future of digital transitions are interrogated in the context of everyday social production and consumption.

This comprehensive Handbook explores the multiple ways in which people experience digital life. It maps the transitions in human civilization generated by such digital technologies as the internet, mobile telephony, artificial intelligence, the metaverse, social media platforms and algorithms. It explores how the scarcity or abundance of digital affordances impacts access, governance and livelihoods in various parts of the world. The book’s 27 chapters are organised in five sections: Social Media and Digital Lifeworlds; Digital Affordances and Contestations; Digital Divides and Inclusion Strategies; Work, Culture and Digital Consumption, and New Media and Digital Journalism. The present and future of digital transitions are interrogated in the context of everyday social production and consumption.

​This book analyzes and understands the complexity of digital poverty by considering its intersecting nature with socioeconomic and environmental poverty. The rapid digital acceleration that has characterized contemporary society in recent decades, notably accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic, has profoundly reshaped societal structures and dynamics. Our direction depends on how we integrate digital technologies into social structures, utilize them for environmental protection, and master their use rather than being passive consumers.Digital Environmental Poverty is split into three sections. Section I explores the multidimensional nature of poverty, emphasizing the necessity to view it beyond economic terms, and placing it within the contemporary digital-environmental evolution. Section II focuses on the environmental dimension of poverty. Section III offers case studies illustrating the interplay between social, digital, and environmental poverty. The conclusion provides recommendations to anticipate and mitigate the risk of digital environmental poverty.

​This book analyzes and understands the complexity of digital poverty by considering its intersecting nature with socioeconomic and environmental poverty. The rapid digital acceleration that has characterized contemporary society in recent decades, notably accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic, has profoundly reshaped societal structures and dynamics. Our direction depends on how we integrate digital technologies into social structures, utilize them for environmental protection, and master their use rather than being passive consumers.Digital Environmental Poverty is split into three sections. Section I explores the multidimensional nature of poverty, emphasizing the necessity to view it beyond economic terms, and placing it within the contemporary digital-environmental evolution. Section II focuses on the environmental dimension of poverty. Section III offers case studies illustrating the interplay between social, digital, and environmental poverty. The conclusion provides recommendations to anticipate and mitigate the risk of digital environmental poverty.