The Illusion of Presence: ontological limits of algorithmic mediation in contemporary subjectivity

Summary

Algorithmic mediation creates a structural illusion of connection without genuine exposure, proximity without risk, and communication without encounter. Drawing on phenomenology and critiques of digital culture, the essay argues that technical hyperconnectivity expands contact between subjects while emptying the shared vulnerability necessary for authentic human bonds. The implications for clinical psychology, philosophy of mind, and contemporary suffering are discussed.

Study at a glance

Abstract

This essay examines the ontological limits of algorithmic mediation in the constitution of contemporary subjectivity. Drawing on the critiques of Han (2015, 2022), Zuboff (2019), and Turkle (2011), and grounded in the phenomenology of Merleau-Ponty (1945) and the enactivism of Di Paolo (2005) and Fuchs and De Jaegher (2009), the central argument holds that technical hyperconnectivity quantitatively expands contact between subjects while qualitatively emptying the shared vulnerability that constitutes the condition of possibility for genuine human bonds. It is proposed that algorithmically mediated presence produces a structural illusion: the subject experiences connection without genuine exposure, proximity without risk, and communication without encounter. The implications for psychological clinical practice, philosophy of mind, and the understanding of contemporary suffering are discussed throughout the text.Keywords: subjectivity; algorithmic mediation; presence; vulnerability; contemporary suffering; philosophy of mind.

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