Digitalization of Society and Socio-political Issues 1

Digitalization is a long and constant sociohistoric process in which all areas of society s activities are reconfigured.

Digitalization of Society and Socio-political Issues 1 examines the transformations linked to the development of digital platforms and social media, which affect the cultural and communicational industries. It analyzes the formation of Big Data, their algorithmic processing and the societal changes which result (social monitoring and control in particular).

Through critical views, it equally presents the various ways in which technology participates in relations of power and domination, and contributes to possible emancipatory practices.

Auteur
Eric George is Full Professor at the School of Media Studies (Faculty of Communication) at the Universite du Quebec a Montreal (UQAM), Canada, and Director of the Center for Interuniversity Research on Communication, Information and Society (CRICIS), Canada.

Contenu

Acknowledgments xiii
Éric GEORGE

Introduction xv
Éric GEORGE

Part 1. Digital Technology, Big Data and Societal Transformations 1

Chapter 1. For an Archaeology of the Cult of the Number 3
*Armand MATTELART*

1.1. Governing by numbers: an old and a new figure 4

1.2. The invention of the calculable individual 5

1.3. Control as a mass phenomenon 6

1.4. The techno-security paradigm 8

1.5. The fascination for Big Data 10

1.6. The shadows of the number cult 12

1.7. References 13

Chapter 2. Big Data as a Device for Generalized Decoding of the Social Field 15
*Fabien RICHERT*

2.1. Coding, decoding and axiomatization 16

2.2. The role of Big Data 20

2.3. Semiocapitalism 21

2.4. Digital labor 22

2.5. Conclusion 23

2.6. References 25

Chapter 3. Algorithmic Management, Organizational Changes and the Digitalization of HR Practices: A Critical Perspective 27
*Yanita ANDONOVA*

3.1 Digital transformations and business developments 28

3.2. Digitalization of the HR function: practices and tools 31

3.3. Which communication approach for studying these phenomena and their social consequences? 33

3.4. References 36

Chapter 4. Nanotargeting and Automation of Political Discourse 39
Samuel COSSETTE

4.1. On nanotargeting 39

4.1.1. Segmentation 39

4.1.2. Microtargeting 40

4.1.3. Nanotargeting 41

4.2. On algorithmic governance 43

4.3. Public space and communicative capitalism 44

4.4. On the automation of political discourse 46

4.5. References 47

Chapter 5. Digital Practices, Cultural Practices, Under Surveillance 51
*Robert PANICO and Geneviève VIDAL*

5.1. Social acceptability of the digital injunction, monitoring devices and digital control 51

5.2. Dilution of cultural practices in digital technology 54

5.3. Conclusion 56

5.4. References 57

Chapter 6. The Hypothesis of the Privacy of Ancients and Moderns 61
*Julien ROSSI*

6.1. Privacy under discussion 62

6.2. The invention of the right to privacy 63

6.3. The emergence of informational self-determination and the privacy of the Modern 65

6.4. Conclusion 66

6.5. References 67

Chapter 7. Very Precious Memories: Digital Memories and Data Valorization 71
*Rémi ROUGE*

7.1. The high dependency of start-ups 73

7.1.1. Capturing dormant content 74

7.1.2. Confirming their value 75

7.2. Tagging traffic: the response of dominant platforms 75

7.2.1. Limiting external traffic 75

7.2.2. Introducing new types of data circulation 77

7.3. Conclusion 78

7.4. References 78

Part 2. Digital Technology and Changes in Cultural and Communication Industries 81

Chapter 8. Capital as Power: Facebook and the Symbolic Monopoly Rent 83
*Maxime OUELLET*

8.1. The debate on value production in social media: digital labor versus affective labor 84

8.2. Capital as power: accumulation through symbolic monopoly rent 85

8.3. The institutional transformations of advanced capitalism: the financialization of the economy and the commodification of knowledge 86

8.3.1. Accumulation on intangible assets and patents 87

8.3.2. Control of communication risks 88

8.3.3. Facebook and the imperial expansion logic of the knowledge monopoly 89

8.4. Conclusion: Facebook and the contradictions of capitalism in the digital age 90 8.5. Reference...