Research Article

Power Discipline and Resistant Self: Analysis of Machines Like Me

Shuhan ZhouXi’an International Studies University*

* Corresponding author: [email protected]

Abstract

Based on Foucaul's theory of disciplinary power, this paper examines the disciplinary narrative of artificial intelligence power to human beings in the fictional parallel world of the 1980s, analyzes the triple transformation of the protagonists Charlie and Miranda, and presents the shaping process of human subjectivity in the digital panoramic open prison. This process is manifested in turn as external discipline under hierarchical monitoring, active compliance brought by internalized self-discipline, and ultimate self-awakening and resistance, revealing that human subjectivity has both vulnerability and resilience in the era of algorithmic governance. This paper further points out that the loss of human subjectivity is closely related to the invisible domination of technical rationality and the blind convergence of "optimal solution", which provides a critical context for interpreting the erosion of human autonomy by artificial intelligence power. This study expands the panoramic view model from physical architecture to digital algorithm surveillance, enriches the critical application of Foucault's theory of disciplinary power, breaks through the limitation that traditional power analysis only focuses on state institutions, and also provides a new analytical framework for understanding the complex operation of power, self-discipline and self-concern in the digital age.

Keywords: Machines Like Me; Power Discipline; Michel Foucault
Published: June 15, 2026
DOI: 10.54254/2753-7064/2026.BJ34485
Volume: CHR Vol.110
pp. 166-171
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