Social Structural Prospects for the AI Era - Focusing on social structural problems

SUMMARY In this paper, I will detail the phenomenal problems involved in the AI era. Issues such as information bubble, post-truth, and digital prison will point to the problems that arise in an environment based on AI technology. This article will also show that, after Covid-19, the AI-based environment has changed not only as a technology as a tool for humans, but also as a condition for survival. From this, we diagnose the problems of control, monitoring, and subjection brought about by the development of AI technology and the changes to the living environment caused by the Covid-19 outbreak. Synthesizing these problematic situations, I argue that the AI-based environment is not designed to cause social change as a result of natural changes or technological progress, but as a kind of discipline mechanism. I believe that it is necessary to consider how this will affect the changes and development of human society, and that it is necessary to predict this through social structural changes. Through this process, I will discuss this concept by analogically applying them to the problems of the AI era. I would like to ask a fundamental question about whether the AI era will be able to achieve real progress for humans and human society. Moreover, through this comprehensive investigation, this article draws the conclusion that AI as a discipline device will play a critical role in producing new power.


Introduction
Here in 2022, AI is no longer the subject of sci-fi movies, but is a common topic in life-style science and technology that has already become part of daily life.People use schedulers set by AI to guide their daily lives and follow exercise programs for health.When people are depressed, AI can play music that suits one's mood and clean one's house.AI has already penetrated daily life in various ways.AI supports or replaces the role of teachers not only in everyday life but also in the educational field.AI is also designed to reduce the use of human labor in the workplace.As such, AI is substantially affecting the history of the development of human civilization while providing various conveniences to human life and enhancing the quality of human life.However, in spite of this utopian view, there are also various problems that AI will likely cause.How will human life change when all human labor is replaced by AI? Will humans accustomed to AI be able to sustain human society itself?In this context, the expectation of a new era requires a review of possible problems through philosophical questions asking about the possibility of the coexistence of humans and non-human beings.
In this paper, I raise a problem by focusing on the structural changes in human society that will be driven by the advent of AI in the prospect of the AI era.In particular, I want to pay attention to the fact that the technology to increase the convenience and accessibility required by popular artificial intelligence technology requires two conditions: simplicity and clarity of language for obtaining information.The fulfillment of these two conditions will amplify the useful value in terms of technology utilization.However, I believe that it is necessary to consider how this will affect the changes and development of human society, and it is necessary to predict this through social structural changes.
I compare the social order and structural architecture of Michel Foucault's identity and similarity, and critically examine the problem of subjection.Through this work, I will discuss this concept by analogically applying it to the problems of the AI era.I would like to ask a fundamental question about whether the AI era will be able to achieve real progress in humans and human society.In conclusion, this paper will argue that technological development in the AI era, along with efforts to maximize useful values, will rather lead to the regression of valued elements in human society.This article ultimately seeks to point out that advances in AI technology can produce new technologies of surveillance and control and in turn deepen human objectification to those technologies.

AI system and Pandemic era
Starting in 2019, COVID-19 swept through the entire world and humanity experienced the greatest forced isolation in history.As face-to-face contact has been socially restricted, human lifestyles have changed to adapt to non-face-toface online situations.For example, all universities stopped face-to-face classes and quickly switched to online classes to prevent mass movement.This decision among universities was also extended to elementary, middle, and high school education.In addition, group activities were minimized by working from home.This rapid change in lifestyle was made possible because of the development of Internet communication networks and the provision of computer and AI-based living environments.It not only processes many tasks that humans used to do manually through AI, but it also provides a service that collects personal information and provides necessary information.Further, AI provides guidelines for human beings to learn on their own.In this way, AI technology is contributing to the development of human society.
Significant work on AI concepts can be approached in various ways.According to the method of arranging capabilities, AI could be divided between weak AI and strong AI.A high level of AI is expressed by setting concepts such as superintelligence and singularity."A philosophical view on singularity and strong AI" (Hoffmann, 2022) takes a closer look at these concepts.In particular, this article points out that it is difficult to clearly distinguish names of AI defined by philosophers.In addition, this article argues that arguments stating that AI is changing into artificial general intelligence, weak AI, strong AI, superintelligence, and singularity reflect different aspects according to time."The Place of Big Data in Addressing Emerged Issues in Vaccinology of the 21st Century" is an article that deals with the two-sided situation that arises when AI collects information using big data.This study demonstrates that the level of AI can be estimated according to the way AI collects and utilizes information.First step, "The data have various forms and various origins.To fulfill the mission, data have to be true.… Second step, This is the step where data are processed and become information.In the process of processing data, some of the data are lost.… Third step, The next step has brought us to the level of knowledge, the level at which we know-how, which gives us the answer to how and why.At this point, information becomes instruction.… Forth step.The wisdom is called wide knowledge, the point of knowledge for practical and ethical problem-solving" (Pelčić et al., 2020, pp. 339-340).Looking at the four stages, it can be seen that it is impossible to rise to the stage of knowledge only with initial information overload state of big data.However, structured information can be formed at the point where it rises to the second stage.If the digital information state is the state of providing arithmetic information in the first stage, then self-learning AI can progress to the state of the second stage through information selection.At this time, AI does not stop at generating information, but rises to the level of collecting various information according to its own selection.This paper does not aim at the level of AI where only data calculation is possible.This paper will discuss problems that may arise in a society where an environment in which AI having an algorithm-based learning ability can handle big data is constructed.In other words, it means AI in which AI technology has advanced beyond the second stage can learn information of specific individuals and form customized services.This refers to AI that can learn information of specific individuals and form customized services with AI technology advanced beyond the second stage.Such a society has already arrived.It means an environment in which it is difficult to be completely free from AI information.It also means that AI can be used as a tool for self-judgment.In other words, it refers to AI technology that operates in an environment of interconnected information networks.
Communication using AI in a pandemic situation seems to have provided humans, who are a social animal, with a tool they can use to plan society in a different way.
Then, what will the world that humans are building through AI technology look like?To approach this problem, this article will examine the situations in which digital prison and digital surveillance phenomena are being strengthened using AI.

AI-based environment and the imformation bubble phenomenon
The information bubble phenomenon refers to the characteristics of the digital information age.It is a term that symbolically reveals the phenomenon of excessive information pouring out.This information overload phenomenon generates more information through expanded production methods.Specifically, the method of producing and distributing information has led to innovative environmental changes with the advent of AI.However, this excessive amount of information does not provide a method for subjectively selecting the information to the subject who accepts it.This is because, in the case of a large amount of information using AI technology, only some information is poured out in a short time, and the target of receiving such information is assumed indiscriminately.
"Philosophy, privacy, and pervasive computing" (Michelfelder, 2010) focuses on problems that arise when information is identified as an informatization element of computers.In particular, this article asserts that those who receive information through information retrieval become information providers again.In this case, consumers may not be able to understand the situation in which information is exchanged.Thus, a situation in which private information is controlled may occur."This has consequences not only for our privacy, but for our relation to the public world as well.The moral value of privacy in an age of pervasive computing is best seen not by taking the protection of items of personal information as a starting point, but through looking more holistically at how pervasive computing affects one's very orientation to the world itself."(Michelfelder, 2010, p. 62) The author argues that awareness of issues that arise when providing information and selecting information is essential should be accepted as an ethical issue.This paper argues that the concept of "existential autonomy" is necessary and explains the meaning of existential autonomy as follows."Having existential autonomy with respect to being a provider of technological information would offer the freedom to make a 'personal decision' that could make a critical contribution to 'one's basic lifestyle and in so doing help to further spell out and delineate 'one's self-identity" (Michelfelder, 2010, p. 67).
In particular, information retrieval using big data includes the process of retrieving necessary information from invisible information, and even the purpose of information production and clarity of information are lost.These informatization characteristics have led to the following problems and resulted in the establishment of a one-way network: Who are the recipients of information in the AI-based environment and for what purposes do they need it?Moreover, is there a standard with which to distinguish between good information and bad information?Is all information shared fairly with everyone?This is the information prison and the basic structure that builds the digital world that is only built by producing information through such a continuous distribution network.This information overload has resulted in another problem in the production of distorted news.This is the socalled post-truth problem.In 2016, the Oxford Dictionary named post-truth as the word of the year.The definition of post-truth is as follows: "relating to circumstances in which people respond more to feelings and beliefs than to facts" (https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com).Rather than truth, which is a matter of fact as a basis for judgment, post-truth is a phenomenon in which feelings, or other beliefs or subjective judgments are excessively involved.Above all, the situation of accepting false facts as true at this time causes problems in the production and distribution of fake news.
The main causes of this phenomenon are changes in the living environment, such as distrust of scholars, dissatisfaction with politics, and acceptance of various values.However, the biggest problem is that environmental problems that cannot verify the authenticity of the huge amount of information produced and distributed in virtual reality act as the main cause.Such an overwhelming amount of information exceeds the scope of an individual's capabilities.In addition, various attempts to remove the boundary between fake and real have made the boundary of judgment more blurred.Adrienne Colborne and Michael Smit analyzed the information environment, which has made it easier to access information through open data, as the main cause.This means that the information environment has changed as a result of the usage of AI technology (Colborne & Smit, 2017).Ethics for a Digital Era (Elliott & Spence, 2018) deals with the problems of the digital age and points out the main enemies of the digital age by focusing on three issues: Fictional News, Biased News, and News for Sale.This discussion points out the problems of the press and media and argues that we are in a situation requiring ethical considerations.It also points out that accurate information selection is a basic right of citizens, and that there are problems in the digital environment where such rights cannot be exercised.
There is a notable study dealing with the problem of a human who recasts the relationship between images and subjects in an algorithm-based environment."Seeing like an algorithm: operative images and emergent subjects" (Uliasz, 2020) points out effects of algorithmic systems on humans."Algorithmic vision systems classify and produce images through logics of pattern-finding that beget critical media theoretical analysis.Through patterning information, algorithmic vision not only simulates a codified notion of human cognition, but actively participates in the articulation of human subjectivity."(Uliasz, 2020(Uliasz, , p. 1236) ) This study develops Foucault's discussion of image and social control that distinguishes, discriminates, and accepts normal people as standards of control.Algorithmic environment can cause bias or erroneous perception, which is a problem caused by difference between images and perceptual information.This study introduces complex situations in an AI environment that can occur when combining information that affects human perception.It points out that when ambiguous images are perceived as information, they can be taken as if they were real.This could be magnified into a situation of erroneous control.
The important problem here is that, in the process of internalizing external information, it has changed to an environment that cannot be determined independently.Rather than utilizing information through the interaction between the subject and the object, there is a situation in which the overflowing information object overwhelms the subject who accepts the information.This AI-based environment leads to deepening of the enslavement of information to the subject.Because the balance of power between the information object and the receiving subject has been destroyed, the subject is no longer a subject, and only exists as a process of data subjection.The structure of informatization drives the formation of an information prison.The processes of information production and distribution cannot be separated from daily life by subjecting the subject to the form of algorithmic data surveillance.This can be seen in the appearance of ordinary people who use digital technology.Ultimately, this phenomenon forms the structure of a so-called 'digital prison'.

Digital prison phenomenon in the Covid-19 situation
This chapter identifies the characteristics of the concept of surveillance in the digital age and analyzes how these characteristics have come to be established.I will derive the common properties of surveillance through this method.I would like to begin by analyzing the contents of Foucault's Discipline and punishment (1995).
Foucault analyzes the new control method and the emergence of the panopticon in the modern era after the 18th century in monitoring and punishment, analyzing the changing society for the sake of discipline, and discussing such changes and political issues.I know that the political anatomy he is analyzing is not the same as the political form of the 21st century.However, I believe that key concepts from his discussion can be useful for identifying issues that have been overlooked by current technological advances.Foucault (1995, pp. 136-137) identifies the following characteristics while analyzing 18c projects of docility: "To begin with, there was the scale of the control: it was a question not of treating the body, en masse, 'wholesale', as if it were an indissociable unity, but of working it 'retail', individually; of exercising upon it a subtle coercion, of obtaining holds upon it at the level of the mechanism itself -movements, gestures, attitudes, rapidity: an infinitesimal power over the active body.Then there was the object of the control: it was not or was no longer the signifying elements of behaviour or the language of the body, but the economy, the efficiency of movements, their internal organization; constraint bears upon the forces rather than upon the signs; the only truly important ceremony is that of exercise.Lastly, there is the modality: it implies an uninterrupted, constant coercion, supervising the processes of the activity rather than its result and it is exercised according to a codification that partitions as closely as possible time, space, movement.These methods, which made possible the meticulous control of the operations of the body, which assured the constant subjection of its forces and imposed upon them a relation of docility-utility, might be called 'disciplines'".The system that divides time and space as accurately as possible in these governance techniques that have appeared in the modern era is an important feature that can now be equally confirmed in everyday life, here in the AI era.The technique of segmentation does not allow for dormant gaps.This is a technique of control that prioritizes efficient methods.
In particular, I note that the purpose of discipline is in the way it is combined with "increases of utility" and "increase of the mastery of each individual over his own body".(Foucault, 1995, pp. 136-137).This is because, in modern society, the mechanism that has been changed for control reproduces the technologies of control in various ways.In a paper dealing with the issue of vaccination in the Corona situation (Pelčić et al., 2020, pp. 339-340), the reason for the appearance of those who refused to be vaccinated was because of information from big data based on AI.The paper argues that the reason why more people are refusing to get vaccinated now than in the past is because people can quickly get information about various side effects.However, the paper argues that advances in AI will play a major role in medical advancement.This is because, through various information, it can be an opportunity to develop medical services that target individuals.
The technology of control is implemented differently in each era.In addition, the technology of such control eventually constitutes a social network that can help unite and govern society.However, it should be noted here that the control method currently being developed is directly intervening in an individual's life by maximally activating the network through technology grafted with AI.In fact, the life of contemporary people is changing in a way that all tools used in daily life are linked with AI technology and that AI technology directly intervenes in overall personal life.People can use AI voice systems to guide everything that happens in daily life, and they can track their tasks through the AI-managed manager system at work, while social activities with friends and colleagues are also maintained through the online network.
The environment of this AI technology background has caused humans to have a weakened distinction between social and personal space.AI technology is also helping individuals spend their lives more efficiently.Further, the ongoing Covid-19 crisis has forced us to choose a new way of life that combines public and private spaces.Humans have come to solve the problem of survival by transcending time and space with the power of AI technology in their social and personal lives.In this environment that requires online networks and AI technology, individuals are in a situation that cannot be separated from these advanced technologies."Enquiries into the ethical aspects of digital pandemic surveillance technologies need to pay attention not only to power imbalances but also to how these structures of domination and inequality shape knowledge production in digital health technologies, as well as to the purposes of this knowledge and to how, by whom, and for whose benefit it is used."(Hendl & Roxanne, 2022, p. 310).After COVID-19, all systems that can check and care for health have been transformed into AI-based environments.As a result, the role of AI technology in information and communication about life and health has become more important.In addition, the problem of an information gap among subjects who can utilize AI technology was discussed while pointing out the differences existing in the working environment after Covid-19.A study on "Essential jobs, remote work and digital surveillance: Addressing the COVID-19 pandemic panopticon" analyzes the problems of changes in living environment and work after Covid-19.In this study, it should be noted that, after Covid-19, bluecollar workers who work in the field and white-collar workers who mainly focus on office work were in completely different situations.This study analyzed that there is a clear environmental difference between those belonging to the occupational group that can use AI facility-based systems and information access technology well and those that cannot (Aloisi & De Stefano, 2022, pp. 293-295).Judging from these circumstances, from a future perspective, it is impossible to reject an AI system-based society, so it can be predicted that the overproduction of information will intensify and exist in a situational environment.

AI technonlogy and the structure of new subjectification
In the previous chapters, we looked at the reasons why the expansion of monitoring and control is deepening through AI technology.In this chapter, we will grasp the ultimate state that appears when the method of discipline and control is refined.If the value of the technology of surveillance and control is only to suppress the freedom of many people, then this value will be rendered useless.If this were the case, the system of discipline and punish could not be built structurally due to resistance from the majority.This is because, in spite of the restrictions of liberty, without the benefit to be gained, such a form of government cannot be extended.Foucault describes this process in detail in his work Discipline and punishment.Early surveillance techniques were devices that were designed for dealing with criminals, but these methods were gradually extended to military units, monasteries, hospitals, and schools.After that, the same method of controlling was applied to the whole society; "now they were being asked to play a positive role, for they were becoming able to do so, to increase the possible utility of individuals" (Foucault, 1995, p. 210).
Foucault points out that the mechanism of surveillance is no longer dark and heavy but shifted to a flexible control as it transitions into a varied and free state: "in order to be exercised, this power had to be given the instrument of permanent, exhaustive, omnipresent surveillance, capable of making all visible, as long as it could itself remain invisible."(Foucault, 1995, p. 214).The change in surveillance method that Foucault is emphasizing here is a point of focus to understand the phenomena existing around us while living in the AI environment.Foucault's issue of surveillance is developed with Deleuze.These discussions again developed into discussions about SNS.Based on this, Foucault's discussion is actively used in the analysis of technological and social environment.The main discussion about digital surveillance is "Social networking services: A digital extension of the surveillance state?" (Amiradakis, 2016) which is analyzed through detailed discussion.However, this article compares differences in points of Foucault and Deleuze."This reinforces one of Foucault's central claims concerning the asymmetrical 'seen/be seen dyad' (induced by the panoptic schema) and shows how it has been incorporated and extended into a digital, online capacity" (Amiradakis, 2016, p. 284).This study evaluates that while Foucault highlights the negative order of surveillance and enslavement, Deleuze approaches the network in the meaning of the domain in which the individual searches for a sense of meaning and belonging.Furthermore, this paper needs to confirm a critical position on the aspect of technological development as a tool of control or subordination."Thus, one can confidently assert that there is a great deal more to the nature of online surveillance than the mere "friendly gaze" regarded by some observers as being both a "natural and neutral extension" of the (post)modern world" (Amiradakis, 2016, p. 290).This paper needs to look at the development of technology from an ambivalent point of view.
As we could see in the previous chapter, AI systems are now used in our daily lives.
In modern life, it is difficult to discern how AI is being used and how it is even with us in our daily lives.Furthermore, the progress of AI technology has made it difficult to distinguish whether humans are using AI as a tool object or humans are becoming a tool object to confirm AI technology progress.In particular, big data-based technologies analyze and store various types of social information as well as personal information.Additionaly, the information they store is not limited to just personal information, but also special codes for?individual body information, personal memory, and individual sensitivity, and it is stored as part of the body information.Such information is again utilized and reproduced as information for new consumption in daily life.Moreover, the informatizational process of AI is combined with capitalist elements and is actively penetrating the realms of various capitalist markets.
The problem of information network and algorithmic information management can also be approached through language and language interpretation.Languages identified only with signs and symbols have limitations in that it is difficult for AI to derive an interpretation that fits the context and practical situation of the language.
Even if AI learning can advance to a higher level and reach the level of knowledge and utilization of language, whether or not it is possible to signify it from a practical point of view remains unclear.In particular, since it is difficult to clearly realize the specificity of human language in the practical world for each situation, it is necessary to take into account diversity or another interpretation of accurate information.
Studies on interpreted automatic formal systems have discussed this very issue (Porfı´rio, 2015).The author of this paper argues that a complete language cannot be implemented through AI in a formalized system because there is a point where the meaning is assumed differently or the meaning is lost.In this case, the missing point is not directly revealed.This is the biggest problem that will be revealed in an AI environment based on algorithms.To solve these problems, an AI system that analyzes daily life can be built.However, a simplified system is more likely to be built in terms of benefits if we consider economic loss when analyzing every day."The invisibility of interpretation seems to be a basic mechanism in different fields.Is this just a special difficulty with some machines?Or is it a deeper difficulty with formal systems?In the next section, we will consider that question looking at another use of formalisms: the use of Game Theory in Economics" (Porfı´rio, 2015, p. 162).
I think that there are two problems of a system with this phenomenon: The first is the problem of subjugation that occurs as humans who use AI technology as a tool are eroded by the convenience of the technology.The nature of these problems is that monitoring and control are extended through a variety of networks.In an AI-based environment, individuals are supported with complementary roles to solve problems that cannot be solved individually through the expansion of networks.As a result, the individual is placed in a relation of social protection.The individual prefers the safety it provides rather than escape from such surveillance and control for the sake of private rights.This is because adapting to the AI-based environment is an effort to live as a social member and an insider of that society.In addition, pursuing this type of survival is a way to live a stable urban life, and it will require an effort not to become an outsider of society that is not protected by order and system.
However, even more interestingly, it is not limited to personal community, but it also occurs in companies and social organizations that build and operate systems.As of 2022, not only government and public systems, but also systems of general private companies, are introducing AI systems and maximizing efficiency.In this context make an important point: "Yet, the conditions under which public institutions are permitted to process data are not necessarily the same for private employers.Although panoptic tools have been offered on a strictly voluntary basis, fears and threats of adverse consequences may have led to submissive acceptance" (Aloisi & De Stefano, 2022, p. 304).In other words, changes in society are not necessarily being selectively changed by the need for a specific technology, but they are changing in a way that builds a structural system.At present, structuring is being used to form a new panopticon through the combination of digital information and AI.
The second is the possibility of maximizing the technology that will allow the invisible power to be controlled and that can change the situation in our society such as that of a digital data prison.This situation means that we are overwhelmed by efficiency, and we find ourselves in a situation where AI information systems take control of humans.However, in this process, the culture or value fairness of human society is not the criterion for discrimination, but only the scope of the labor market is expanded through the method of monitoring for the purpose of optimal efficiency.
The following discussion shows the situation in which new information arising from the Covid situation can be reflected in hiring and disadvantageous to certain classes through it."AI system sifting through candidates in hiring processes may exclude female workers in the recruitment phase to match the patterns observed in previous cohorts.The same kind of thing may happen with software trained to promote employees with consistent career paths, which could penalize those who have taken maternity or sick leave" (Aloisi & De Stefano, 2022, p. 302).AI continues the work of segmentation to discriminate and separate through information data collected in various ways.The purpose of this work is to maximize the usefulness of society as a whole through detailed monitoring.
AI and Humanity (Nourbakhsh & Keating, 2020, p. 72) analyzes that the 3rd revolution is centered on monitoring in the digital age, while the 4th revolution is focused on AI-based monitoring systems.In particular, this study charges that the surveillance system that uses AI to analyze workers' body information in companies undermines the dignity and value of human beings."Digital and physical surveillance unite to provide a complete picture of each person's physical and online activities in a unified holistic picture.Massive networking promises that information is richly fused, creating secondary knowledge that was otherwise impossible to capture, such as demographic data, purchasing habits, and the chances of loan defaults" (Nourbakhsh & Keating, 2020, p. 72).I believe the reversal between technology and humans is becoming increasingly serious.I also think that, as a result, a phenomenon has emerged wherein humans become objects of control and technology develops to have the power to control humans.The social structure that pursues efficiency has intensified since the advent of AI.These reinforcing acts of control are the result of the strengthening of the phenomenon of treating and instrumentalizing humans as a social instrument.

Conclusion
I consider that, by synthesizing the contents of this paper, the following arguments can be drawn.The AI era did not arise as a result of social change or emerge as a result of a change in any natural phenomenon, but it was designed to establish a structural order with a specific purpose.If so, what can be inferred for that very specific purpose?At this point, I think that the AI era and the modern social changes should be considered analogically.In other words, the operation of the invisible force that Foucault pays attention to is surveillance that uses discipline as a device.Then, is it not the case that AI advancing as a technology can better implement the device of discipline?If this reasoning is sound, then it is a correct conclusion to think that there may come a time when AI will play a role as a producer of some power.
From the diagnosis of these problems, planning for the next steps should begin.The goal is to elucidate what are the requirements for human beings to live an independent life in an AI-based environment.This is an issue that also relates to many ethical issues.I wrote this article as a preconditional analysis for this discussion, and I will re-problem these issues in a later discussion.