For most of the modern era, influence over public information was primarily distributed among newspapers, broadcasters, and the regulatory frameworks of nation-states. In 2026, this architecture has been fundamentally reconfigured. A small number of technology companies now operate as the primary gatekeepers of the information environment: they design the algorithms that determine visibility, control the platforms through which news circulates, shape the interfaces through which citizens encounter political reality, and increasingly mediate access to AI-driven answer systems that stand between users and journalism itself. In this emerging configuration—often described as a form of techno-feudalism—control is no longer exercised through ownership of media outlets alone, but through the infrastructural dominance of attention, ranking, recommendation, and synthetic content generation.
This session will examine how this concentration of algorithmic power is reshaping the production and distribution of information, and how it is redefining the boundaries between fact, fabrication, and visibility. It will discuss the role of technology companies as de facto gatekeepers of public perception, the capacity of states to regulate or counterbalance platform power, and the implications of algorithm-driven amplification for democratic accountability. The discussion will also explore the growing influence of disinformation and deepfakes in shaping electoral processes, conflict narratives, and public trust, while assessing whether citizens retain meaningful agency within increasingly opaque informational ecosystems.
Discussion Themes:
- How is the concentration of algorithmic power in a small number of technology companies reshaping the production, distribution, and visibility of information globally?
- To what extent can states effectively regulate or counterbalance platform power without undermining innovation or fragmenting the global information ecosystem?
- How are algorithm-driven amplification systems and AI-generated content—such as deepfakes and synthetic media—transforming public trust, electoral processes, and conflict narratives?
- In an increasingly opaque and platform-mediated information environment, do citizens still retain meaningful agency over the information they consume and the perceptions they form?