Algorithmically mediated judgment: an arendtian perspective on political subjectivity in social media

This article examines how algorithms mediate the human faculty of judgment within the context of social media. Challenging the common view that algorithms ‘undermine’ or ‘eliminate’ human judgment, I argue instead that they mediate the human-world relations in which judgments emerge. Drawing on Hannah Arendt’s phenomenological approach to identity and judgment, the article deconstructs prevailing assumptions about ‘human judgment’ and ‘algorithmic judgment’ and proposes a different approach to understand user-algorithm relations as co-constitutive rather than oppositional. In line with the ‘empirical turn’ in the philosophy of technology, which emphasizes the importance of grounding philosophical inquiry in lived experience, the proposed philosophical approach is developed and illustrated through a case study of ADHD-related content on TikTok. The case study demonstrates how algorithmic amplification becomes part of self-apprehension and public discourse. Through this lens, the article explores the interplay between self-disclosure, judgment, and the collective formation of political subjectivity, revealing the productive and disruptive roles algorithms play in these processes.