Digital geographies and power: Mechanisms, kinematics and causality

This paper calls for a rethinking of digital power, with a particular focus on key ideas around mechanisms and causality. Discussing digital power in terms of mechanism can result in accusations of technological determinism from digital geographers and other researchers who study digital technologies. Nonetheless, the number of digital mechanisms that underlie a range of interfaces and platforms continue to proliferate, producing significant societal impacts. Distinct from causally deterministic notions of technical mechanism, this paper argues digital mechanisms in interfaces operate kinematically to shape action. Thinking about digital power kinematically suggests mechanisms can inform and guide user action by building and accumulating sensation, rather than deterministically prescribing a single course or route through a digital system. To illustrate this claim, the paper turns to the example of loot box mechanisms in digital games.