Algorithmic Reality and the Myth of Neutrality: Social Informatics Perspectives on AI‑Mediated Society

Momčilo Bajac; Milica Njegovan Gužvica

doi:10.58898/sij.v4i2.01-10

Authors

Momčilo Bajac Faculty of management, University Union Nikola Tesla, Belgrade, Serbia https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2115-6373
Milica Njegovan Gužvica Faculty of management, University Union Nikola Tesla, Belgrade, Serbia https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3651-5714

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.58898/sij.v4i2.01-10

Keywords:

artificial intelligence, social informatics, algorithmic bias, mediated reality, youth, digital society

Abstract

The rapid expansion of artificial intelligence (AI), algorithmic systems, and platform-based communication technologies is fundamentally changing the way social reality is produced, perceived, and interpreted, particularly among younger generations growing up in digitally mediated environments. This paper aims to demonstrate that the assumption of algorithmic neutrality represents one of the most prominent and dangerous myths in contemporary technological discourse. By uncritically accepting algorithms as objective, value-free, and merely technical instruments, societies risk obscuring their profound normative, epistemological, and political effects. As a conceptual-theoretical paper drawing on insights from social informatics, philosophy of technology, and critical AI studies, we offer a conceptual framework for understanding AI as a generator of mediated reality, rather than merely a passive tool. The paper is intended as a reflective guide for authors and researchers, encouraging critical engagement in exploring the consequences of AI-driven systems across all spheres of social reality.

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