Rethinking Sociology in the Age of Algorithmic Supremacy: Toward an Epistemic Realignment of the Discipline
Sameena Z. Mir
*
School of Law & Liberal Arts, Ajeenkya D. Y. Patil University, Pune, India.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
The concept of Artificial Intelligence (AI) is transforming the ways societies create, access, and disseminate knowledge. This paper argues for an epistemic realignment of sociology a fusion of critical-theoretical reflexivity and computational awareness so the discipline can be both critique and co‑architect AI governance. Based on post‑structuralist, decolonial, and sociotechnical approaches, and using a critical‑theoretical synthesis with illustrative case analyses, the paper examines algorithmic governance, epistemic obscurity, and disciplinary fragmentation in sectors such as policing, media, healthcare, and education. It highlights how algorithmic power reorganizes classical sociological concepts of agency, structure, and justice, and emphasizes contributions from Global South epistemologies to decolonize AI scholarship. The paper concludes with recommendations for methodological pluralism combining algorithmic auditing, digital ethnography, and computational literacy and for greater sociological engagement in policy and public ethics to advance algorithmic justice. (Methodological stance: critical‑theoretical synthesis + case examples; suggested methods include algorithmic auditing and digital ethnography.)
Keywords: Sociology of AI, algorithmic epistemology, disciplinary disruption, social theory, global south, epistemic justice, algorithmic governance