Technology, Artificial Intelligence, and Ethical Implications In Social Regulation

The increasing integration of technology and artificial intelligence into systems of governance, policing, administration, and everyday life has transformed contemporary mechanisms of social regulation. Predictive algorithms, facial recognition systems, automated decision-making, and data-driven governance are now widely used to monitor, classify, and regulate individuals and populations. While these technologies are often promoted as tools of efficiency, security, and innovation, they also generate significant ethical, legal, and sociological concerns relating to privacy, bias, accountability, discrimination, and democratic freedoms. This session seeks to critically examine the implications of artificial intelligence and emerging technologies within contemporary systems of social control. It invites contributions exploring algorithmic governance, predictive policing, digital surveillance, technological inequalities, cyber regulation, data ethics, and the social consequences of automation. The session also encourages interdisciplinary perspectives on resistance, regulation, transparency, and human rights within technologically mediated societies. Particular attention will be given to how technological systems reproduce or intensify existing social inequalities and exclusions. By situating artificial intelligence within broader debates on governance and power, this session aims to foster critical dialogue on the future of social regulation in an increasingly digital and data-driven world.