Digital Society, Risk Society, and the Metamorphosis of the World: Exploring Digital Technologies through the Work of Ulrich Beck

The concept of "digital" can be understood through various contexts and disciplines, providing a range of definitions. In technology, it refers to computational systems and digital infrastructure; in economics, to the transformation of production processes and business models; in politics and ethics, to the implications for governance, privacy, and human rights; in epistemology, to new modes of knowledge production and dissemination; and in sociology, to how digital technologies reshape social practices and public spaces. Thus, the digitalization of society reflects the inherent polysemy of the concept, characterizing it as a multifaceted phenomenon.

Given that digitalization arises from scientific and technological practices developed and applied by public and private entities, Ulrich Beck's risk society theory provides a relevant theoretical framework for analyzing its implications. According to Beck, technoscientific advancements – including digitalization – aim to solve problems and promote innovation, yet simultaneously generate new types of risks. These risks are generally uncertain, invisible, incalculable, and have global reach, at least initially. This paradox of progress reflects the overlap of socio-economic vulnerabilities inherited from the 19th century and the self-produced risks of late modernity.

In the context of the global risk society, digitalization – especially through the use of algorithms, artificial intelligence, and big data – constitutes a transformation associated with the "metamorphosis of the world" suggested by Beck, an alteration in the human condition that connects the risk society with processes of cosmopolitanization, individualization, and reflexivity in modernity. Digital risks emerge as diffuse, immaterial, and difficult for individuals to grasp, undermining autonomy, privacy, and democratic institutions.

The invisibility of digital risks in this context is obscured by an ideology of technological development, perpetuating dependency and deepening the challenges posed by digitalization. For Beck, emancipation from these global risks requires the assertion of data protection and digital freedom as fundamental rights.