In 1974, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, the French philosopher Michel Foucault gave new meaning to an old neologism coined by Rudolf Gehlen. Although it may sound like a science fiction term, biopolitics is a reality that affects our daily lives. The term refers to how power is exercised over people's lives, not over territories. Foucault defined it as a set of practices and discourses that attempt to regulate and control the lives of individuals in a society.
Currently, biopolitics is evolving and redefining the relationship between individuals, technology and the state. This new approach is characterized by the practical and strategic use of technologies to exercise control over the population, not only in political terms, but also in cultural and sociological aspects. It should be made clear that the government is not the only one using bioenergy. Big pharmaceutical industries also play an important role, as the preservation and extension of life is implemented and designed from the sphere of private interests operating in the market. Besides. Surveillance extends to consumer habits and buying and selling trends, as well as the sophistication of technologies used to identify people.
In the digital age, biopolitics has become a question of data, methodology, and public policy. It manifests in various forms to implement social policies, control and regulatory technologies. This is exemplified in crisis management during the COVID-19 pandemic and in birth policies, such as the One Child Strategy in China (1980–2016), designed to control population and considered biopolitics due to its direct regulation. State birth rates.
The concept raises various ethical and political critiques such as the use of power, the reduction of life to mere data, mass surveillance and discrimination, privacy and personal autonomy, among other concerns that arise in contemporary debate.
The emergence of artificial intelligence (AI), data engineering and blockchain represents an important milestone for biology. These technologies enable large-scale data collection and analysis, and allow effective and accurate management and regulation of populations. AI has the potential to make decision-making on public policies more effective, detect health patterns in populations, or influence social behavior by personalizing content on digital platforms. Data engineering helps manage large amounts of information, which is key to the development of evidence-based policies. Finally, blockchain provides a framework for secure and transparent transactions that can be used to improve the integrity of electoral processes and the equitable distribution of resources.
Electronic government can be considered an extension of biopolitics as it seeks to influence and manage citizens' lives through digital means, facilitating online health services or allowing citizens to participate in the evaluation and monitoring of policies and public actions. It represents a form of biopower adapted to the digital age as it affects people's lives and well-being, aligning governmental practices with a country's political and social objectives.
Edgar Ortiz Arellano, in his essay „Biosecurity in Mexico: Devices of the Panopticon”., categorizes biopolitical devices into four: security, medical, statistical, and classification. These devices perform specific functions such as monitoring, analysis, intervention-correction and information.
The future of biopolitics is a topic of great interest and debate. It is predicted to be a field in constant evolution with technological advances and social changes, requiring a careful balance between technological progress and human rights protection.
The effects and critiques of biopolitics are varied and depend on the context in which it is used. While technology and its presence in our daily lives has set us a paradigm, it is important to recognize that we are living in transition. Its implementation. The arrival of technology in the state environment represents a dangerous change if there is not a comprehensive vision of its benefits and consequences, organizational models and the adoption of good practices that address real needs and challenges and are politically feasible. Additionally, effective implementation, solid general management practices and evaluation, adaptation and modification or elimination when necessary.
Ideology in perspective
The latter fact has established itself as a worrisome phenomenon in this electoral process. This strategy poses a challenge to the integrity of democratic debate because it diminishes objectivity and distorts the sense of reality. This makes informed decision-making difficult and compromises trust in our democracy.