All antagonism, all resistance, all criticism, all dissent, and all seditious attempts can now be predicted based on the automatic detection of data patterns. Hence, algorithmic domination can anticipate the next move and “put the band-aid before the wound appears”. However, we continue to await the arrival of a dystopian future without realizing that the massive processing of data for the purposes of social control, hand in hand with the accelerated technological revolution, has already established that dystopia here and now. While many comrades remain lost, engrossed in a futile struggle against outdated windmills, absolute social control has been established with the help of new technologies. These are prediction machines, “whose goal—according to Pariser—is to constantly create and refine a theory about who you are, what you will do, and what you will desire next”.i

Through this machinic process, power has invaded the most intimate corners of existence, including the horizon of the imaginable. Domination, through information and communication technologies, has effectively penetrated every pore of the collective unconscious. Thus, it expands and strengthens, second by second, quantifying “likes”, “searches”, “visits”, and “content”. In this way, it extracts a vast amount of information that allows it to know not only our tastes and desires but also the slightest hint of unease in hundreds of millions of interconnections, optimizing decision-making in response to even the slightest discontent without needing to resort to forceful action. In other words, without altering the perception of “freedom” and “autonomy” of the digital servitude. This contains a clear irony: since power does not materialize in its traditional form, freedom and power end up being synonymous. Thus, the concepts of oppression, exploitation, and alienation vanish. Just when more exploitation, more alienation, and greater oppression are on the horizon. Continue reading Dark Times by Gustavo Rodríguez , May 15, 2026 →