B5338 - Political Theory of the Digital (1)

Learning outcomes

The course’s aim is to provide specific knowledge and analytical tools regarding different dimensions in which the digital intervenes within social and political processes. Among these, the role of big data and the implications of Artificial Intelligence, data centers and transformations of the territory, smart cities and logistics. At the end of the course the student will have tools to analyze a rapidly changing reality through a global perspective

Course contents

The course will provide tools for analysing and interpreting the digital as a technological, material, and political phenomenon, enabling students to actively engage with some of the most significant processes of transformation affecting contemporary societies. In the first part of the course, the mechanisms of digitalisation and the computational paradigm will be introduced from a theoretical-political perspective. In the second part of the course, particular attention will be devoted to AI, its operating logics, and the social and political impact of its diffusion.

The lectures will be organised around the following thematic axes:

• Digitalisation within the historical trajectory of technology and the relationship between technology and capitalism
• Computation, cybernetics and logistics
• AI, the statistical dimension, and predictive models: forms of AI use (personal, occupational, governmental, and military) and their interconnections; the relationship between the functioning of models and the purposes for which they are used (often discussed in terms of alignment); the socio-political implications of the diffusion of AI
• Algorithms, digital government and automation: transformations of power
• Political economy of the digital, the cloud, and new powers: The role of major digital corporations (Big Tech), the material dimension, and the reconfiguration of political spaces and warfare.

Students with specific learning disorders (SLD) or temporary or permanent disabilities: students are encouraged to contact the relevant University office (https://site.unibo.it/studenti-con-disabilita-e-dsa/it ) and the course instructor as soon as possible in order to identify together the most effective strategies for attending classes and/or preparing for the examination.

Readings/Bibliography

A. General reference text

Kate Crawford, Atlas of AI: Power, Politics, and the Planetary Costs of Artificial Intelligence. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2021.

B. Additional readings

Tiziano Bonini and Emiliano Treré, Algoritmi per resistere. La lotta quotidiana contro il potere delle piattaforme. Milan: Mondadori, 2025.

Dario Guarascio, Imperialismo digitale. Economia e guerra ai tempi delle piattaforme e dell'IA. Bari-Rome: Laterza, 2026.

Antonio A. Casilli, Waiting for Robots: The Hired Hands of Automation. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2025. (Italian edition: Schiavi del clic, Feltrinelli, 2021).

Matteo Pasquinelli, The Eye of the Master: A Social History of Artificial Intelligence. London: Verso, 2023. (Italian edition: Nell'occhio dell'algoritmo, Carocci, 2025).

Shoshana Zuboff, The Age of Surveillance Capitalism: The Fight for a Human Future at the New Frontier of Power. London: Profile Books, 2019.

Further readings will be provided during the lectures, and an additional bibliography will be uploaded to the Virtual Learning Environment at the end of the course.

Teaching methods

The course will be conducted mainly through lectures, which may make use of visual supports, such as PowerPoint presentations and audio-video materials, as well as external contributions. Active participation by students is nevertheless strongly encouraged, and ample space will be left for collective discussion and for proposals that may emerge. The ideas arising from the discussion will be taken into consideration by the lecturer in the subsequent lectures. Active participation during the course will be considered positively in the final assessment.

Assessment methods

• Students who have attended the course may choose either to take an oral examination or to write a paper of at least 2,500 words, developing a topic of their choice to be agreed with the lecturer. Writing the paper is strongly recommended, given the structure of the course, which aims to stimulate critical and argumentative abilities on the topics addressed. The materials to be used in both cases are: notes and materials discussed during the lectures, Text A, and one item from list B, consistently with the chosen topic. It is possible to use other materials proposed by the students, subject to prior agreement with the lecturer.
• Students who have not attended the course may choose either to take an oral examination or to write a paper of at least 3,500 words, developing a topic to be agreed with the lecturer. The materials to be used in both cases are Text A and one item from list B, consistently with the chosen topic.

Papers must be submitted in Word format one week before the examination date to the address giorgio.grappi@unibo.it [mailto:giorgio.grappi@unibo.it].

Use of AI: students are required to declare in writing in the paper the ways in which AI has been used during the stages of preparation and writing of the text. It should be recalled that, consistently with the University's policies, AI may be a useful tool to support individual study through further reading, summaries and self-assessment pathways. In the writing of a paper, only a limited, declared and non-substantial use of AI is permitted. Should a use of AI outside these guidelines be detected, the assessment will be considered null and void. For any activity carried out in person, the use of AI is not permitted unless otherwise indicated by the lecturer.

Assessment

The assessment for those submitting a paper will take into account: punctuality in the submission of the paper, quality of writing, ability to use and articulate different bibliographical sources, quality and originality of the argument. Active participation during the lectures will be considered positively in the final assessment.

The assessment for those taking an oral examination only, without having attended the course, will take into account: thorough knowledge of the texts, ability to identify their main arguments and to discuss their contents critically and accurately, and ability to recognise and argue the connections between the texts discussed, quality of delivery.

Assessment criteria

Excellent knowledge of the topics addressed, precision and correctness in the use of language, clarity of presentation and argumentative ability lead to a good or excellent grade.

Knowledge of the topics addressed, adequate language and the ability to summarise the main contents lead to a satisfactory or fair grade.

Fragmentary knowledge of the topics addressed and uncertain presentation skills lead to failure to pass the examination.

Students with Specific Learning Disabilities (SLD) or temporary or permanent disabilities: are recommended to contact the relevant University Office in good time (https://site.unibo.it/studenti-con-disabilita-e-dsa/it): it will be the responsibility of the Office to propose any appropriate adaptations for the students concerned, which must in any case be submitted, at least 15 days in advance, for the approval of the lecturer, who will assess their appropriateness also in relation to the learning objectives of the course.

Office hours

See the website of Giorgio Grappi