Human Dehumanization in the Age of Algorithms: An Integrated Framework of Technology, Psychology and Ethics

The rapid growth of artificial intelligence (AI), algorithmic governance, automation systems, and digital surveillance has significantly reshaped how institutions evaluate, categorize, and regulate individuals. Decisions related to hiring, performance evaluation, financial approval, and risk assessment are increasingly mediated by computational systems that prioritize efficiency, scalability, and predictive accuracy. This shift represents more than technological progress; it transforms the structural conditions under which individuals are recognized and valued. While technology ethics scholarship has focused on fairness, bias, and accountability, it has paid limited attention to the psychological processes through which digital systems may influence moral perception. Drawing on dehumanization theory—particularly Haslam’s distinction between mechanistic and animalistic dehumanization— this paper proposes the Technology–Psychology–Ethics (TPE) framework. The framework argues that technological systems function as structural antecedents that reduce empathy and perceived autonomy, thereby fostering dehumanization processes that influence ethical outcomes such as diminished human dignity, reduced moral concern, and perceptions of injustice. By integrating psychological theory with algorithmic governance research, the TPE framework provides an interdisciplinary explanation of how technological exposure may reshape moral recognition and offers guidance for developing more humancentered digital systems.