Vol. 4 No. 1 (2026):
Artículos

Educating against technofascism: in favor of Educational Digital Sovereignty

PDF (Español (España)) HTML (Español (España)) PDF HTML
  • Héctor Alonso-Martínez,
  • Enrique-Javier Díez-Gutiérrez
Héctor Alonso-Martínez
Profesor en la Universidad de Barcelona. España
Enrique-Javier Díez-Gutiérrez
Catedrático en la Universidad de León. España
DOI: https://doi.org/10.51896/easc.v4i1.1241

Published 2026-05-30

Keywords

  • Digital Sovereignty,
  • Educational Policies,
  • Technofascism,
  • Artificial Intelligence,
  • Community Participation,
  • Digital Democracy
    • ...More
    Less

How to Cite

Alonso-Martínez, H., & Díez-Gutiérrez, E.-J. (2026). Educating against technofascism: in favor of Educational Digital Sovereignty. Revista Internacional De Educación Y Análisis Social Crítico Mañé, Ferrer & Swartz, 4(1), 449–485. https://doi.org/10.51896/easc.v4i1.1241
Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

Abstract

Educational digitization seems as inevitable. This article shows how the adoption of algorithmic platforms and systems is displacing pedagogical autonomy and teaching capacity from school communities toward corporations and technofascist frameworks that impose a digitization prioritizing control, data extraction, and commercial ends over educational objectives. The aim is to offer a critical analysis of this process and propose strategies to recover educational autonomy and democracy in the digital sphere. The analysis identifies three main findings: structural dependence on private infrastructures with a libertarian-capitalist ideology that condition curriculum, assessment, and communication; erosion of students' privacy and digital identity through the mass collection of data for primarily commercial purposes; and reduction of teacher autonomy through metrics and automation that reorganize school practice through remote governance mechanisms. Complementary strategies are integrating digitization into the educational project, through decision-making, and the democratic participation of the educational community; strengthen critical capacities, both institutional, technical and pedagogical, to evaluate decision-making on the incorporation of Artificial Intelligence and digital communication in the educational process; and build alliances with administrations, universities and civil society to build public alternatives that guarantee democracy, transparency and digital rights.

PDF (Español (España)) HTML (Español (España)) PDF HTML

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

  1. Asiimwe-Kyomugisha T. (2025). The Role and Impact of Collaborative Decision-Making in Schools. Research invention journal of current issues in arts and management, 4(2), 20-23. https://doi.org/10.59298/RIJCIAM/2025/422023
  2. Barbrook, R., & Cameron, A. (2023). L'ideologia californiana. Gog.
  3. Boeskens, L., & Meyer, K. (2025). Policies for the digital transformation of school education: Evidence from the Policy Survey on School Education in the Digital Age. OECD Education Working Papers, (328), 1-98. https://doi.org/10.1787/464dab4d-en
  4. Calzada, I. (2022). Democracia tecnopolítica pospandémica: Naciones algorítmicas, soberanía de datos, derechos digitales y cooperativas de datos. En J. Zabalo, L. Escajedo y I. Filibi, Formas y escalas emergentes de las democracias contemporáneas: miradas desde la sociedad vasca (pp. 123-146). Dykinson.
  5. Caro, J. (1 de marzo de 2023). The Silicon (Valley) Doctrine: Las ideologías de las Big-Tech. El Viejo topo, 422, 4-9. https://dialnet.unirioja.es/servlet/articulo?codigo=8848070
  6. Center for Democracy and Technology. (15 de enero de 2025). Press release: CDT Research uncovers widespread use of questionable technologies in K-12 schools despite parent concern and lack of awareness. https://cdt.org/insights/press-release-cdt-research-uncovers-widespread-use-of-questionable-technologies-in-k-12-schools-despite-parent-concern-and-lack-of-awareness/
  7. Coeckelbergh, M. (2026). Technofascism: AI, Big Tech, and the new authoritarianism. AI & SOCIETY, 1, 1-14. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00146-026-02862-9
  8. Consortium for School Networking. (2025). CoSN 2025 National Student Data Privacy Report. Consortium for School Networking. https://www.cosn.org/edtech-topics/student-data-privacy/
  9. Cugurullo, F. (2026). AIdeology: Unpacking the Ideology of Artificial Intelligence and Its Spaces. Antipode, 58(1), e70065. https://doi.org/10.1111/anti.70065
  10. De Miguel, R. (10 de enero de 2024). Estas son las tendencias educativas y tecnológicas de 2024. Educación 3.0. https://www.educaciontrespuntocero.com/tecnologia/tendencias-educativas-2024/
  11. Díez, E. J. (6 de junio de 2025). Capitalismo digital: la IA está marcada por la retórica neoliberal libertariana de la Silicon Doctrine. El Diario de la Educación. https://eldiariodelaeducacion.com/2025/06/06/capitalismo-digital-el-adn-de-la-ia-esta-marcado-por-la-retorica-neoliberal-libertariana-de-la-denominada-silicon-doctrine-2/
  12. Díez-Gutiérrez, E. J. (2021). Gobernanza híbrida digital y Capitalismo EdTech: la crisis del COVID-19 como amenaza. Foro de Educación, 19(1), 105-133. http://dx.doi.org/10.14516/
  13. fde.860
  14. Díez-Gutiérrez, E. J. & Jarquín-Ramírez, M. R. (2026). Soberanía Digital Educativa. Octaedro.
  15. Diálogo Interamericano. (2025). Contenidos y plataformas digitales en la era de la inteligencia artificial. Mensajes clave del Grupo de Trabajo sobre Innovación y Tecnología en la Educación. Diálogo Interamericano. https://thedialogue.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/Nota-Tecnica-EdTech-Contenidos-y-plataformas-digitales.pdf
  16. Dong, G., & Sheng, S. (2026). What Hinders Physical Education Teachers From Accepting Digital Technology? An Empirical Study Based on Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology 2 Model. Journal of Teaching in Physical Education, 1(aop), 1-17. https://doi.org/10.1123/jtpe.2025-0115
  17. Duan, H., & Zhao, W. (2024). The effects of educational artificial intelligence-powered applications onteachers’ perceived autonomy, professional development for online teaching, and digital burnout. International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning, 25(3), 57-76. https://doi.org/10.19173/irrodl.v25i3.7659
  18. Duque-Rodríguez, J. A., Piña-Ferrer, L. S., & Isea-Argüelles, J. J. (2025). Dimensiones éticas de la inteligencia artificial en educación. Cienciamatria. Revista Interdisciplinaria de Humanidades, Educación, Ciencia y Tecnología, 11(20), 27-45. https://doi.org/10.35381/cm.v11i20.1522
  19. Engeness, I., & Gamlem, S. M. (2025). Agency in Digital Education: Empowering Students and Teachers in Technology-Rich Learning Environments. Education Sciences, 15(8), 1051. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci15081051
  20. Erstad, O., Miño, R., & Rivera-Vargas, P. (2021). Educational Practices to Transform and Connect Schools and Communities. Comunicar: Media Education Research Journal, 29(66), 9-19. https://doi.org/10.3916/C66-2021-01
  21. Filgueiras, F. (2024). Artificial intelligence and education governance. Education, Citizenship and Social Justice, 19(3), 349-361. https://doi.org/10.1177/17461979231160674
  22. Granić, A. (2022). Educational technology adoption: A systematic review. Education and Information Technologies, 27(7), 9725-9744. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10639-022-10951-7
  23. Grimstad, S. (2026). Opportunities for platform cooperatives in the Asia Pacific. En M. Altman y A. Kurimoto, Exploring Asian-Pacific Co-operatives in Theory and Practice (pp. 341-347). Academic Press.
  24. Hamadeh, S., & Amin, H. (2025). AI, education and digital sovereignty. Frontiers in Education, 10, 1677727. https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2025.1677727
  25. Huber, L., Sum, C., & Fox, S. (2026). The tech worker movement and the rise of the tech oligarchy. Science as Culture, 1, 1-12. https://doi.org/10.1080/09505431.2025.2608227
  26. Jiménez, A. (2020). The silicon doctrine. TripleC: Communication, Capitalism & Critique. Open Access Journal for a Global Sustainable Information Society, 18(1), 322-336. https://doi.org/10.31269/triplec.v18i1.1147
  27. Kabakov, J. N. (2022). Technofascism. Trine Day.
  28. Kasinathan, G., & Sreemala, S. (2025). Digital technologies for equitable quality education. Praxis Educativa, 21(52), e17108. https://doi.org/10.22481/praxisedu.v21i52.17108
  29. Klein, N. (2020). On Fire: The Burning Case for a Green New Deal. Penguin.
  30. Korhonen, T., Karme, S., Airaksinen, J., Laakso, N., & Salo, L. (2024). Finnish teachers’ experiences with transformative digital agency. Cogent Education, 11(1), 2402683. https://doi.org/10.1080/2331186X.2024.2402683
  31. Li, Z., & Zhang, W. (2025). Technology in education: Addressing legal and governance challenges in the digital era. Education and Information Technologies, 30(7), 8413-8443. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10639-024-13036-9
  32. Loor, J. A., García, M. G., Montaño, E. V., Armijo, A. V., & Mogrovejo, E. S. (2025). El uso de plataformas digitales en la educación del siglo XXI: avances, retos y oportunidades. Ciencia Latina Revista Científica Multidisciplinar, 9(3), 10159-10184. https://doi.org/10.37811/cl_rcm.v9i3.18712
  33. Mataboge, S. K. C., & Khololo, S. (2024). Examining participative management’s impact on curriculum decisions in secondary schools through collaboration. Educational Administration: Theory and Practice, 30(11), 1126-1132. https://doi.org/10.53555/kuey.v30i11.8268
  34. Mason, P. (2016). Postcapitalism: A Guide to Our Future. Farrar, Straus and Giroux.
  35. Matar, S. (2025). The development of educational technology and artificial intelligence and their impact on the future of education: Opportunities and risks. Journal of Posthumanism, 5(7), 1271-1292. https://doi.org/10.63332/joph.v4i2.2915
  36. Morente, J. C. (2023). The Silicon (Valley) Doctrine: Las ideologías de las Big-Tech. El Viejo Topo, (422), 4-9. https://www.elviejotopo.com/articulo/the-silicon-valley-doctrine-las-ideologias-de-las-big-tech/
  37. Morozov, E. (2018). Digital Socialism? New Left Review, 116/117, 33-67. https://doi.org/10.64590/tt3
  38. National Education Association (NEA). (20 de junio de 2025). Student and educator data privacy. NEA. https://www.nea.org/professional-excellence/student-engagement/tools-tips/student-and-educator-data-privacy
  39. Nichols, T. P., & Dixon-Román, E. (2024). Platform governance and education policy: Power and politics in emerging edtech ecologies. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 46(2), 309-328. https://doi.org/10.3102/01623737231202469
  40. OECD. (23 de enero de 2025). Trends shaping education 2025. OECD Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1787/ee6587fd-en
  41. Parcerisa, L., Jacovkis, J., Lindín, C., & Màrquez, I. (2024). Soberanía Digital y Educación: Un Vínculo Ausente en la Literatura. REICE. Revista Iberoamericana sobre Calidad, Eficacia y Cambio en Educacion, 22(2), 151-168. https://doi.org/10.15366/reice2024.22.2.009
  42. Pérez-Urbina, H. (2025). Tracing the Techno-Supremacy Doctrine: A Critical Discourse Analysis of the AI Executive Elite. arXiv. https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2509.18079
  43. Pérez-Vásquez, M. A. (2025). El capitalismo digital Big Tech y sus implicancias en los sistemas educativos globales. Izquierdas, 54, 1-31. https://doi.org/10.4067/S0718-50492025000100238
  44. Radtke-Bederode, I., & Meireles-Ribeiro, L. O. (2025). Plataformización educativa con IA generativa: impactos en la autonomía docente. Alteridad, 20(2), 178–189. https://doi.org/10.17163/alt.v20n2.2025.02
  45. Rensfeldt, A. B., & Rahm, L. (2023). Automating teacher work? A history of the politics of automation and artificial intelligence in education. Postdigital Science and Education, 5(1), 25-43. https://doi.org/10.1007/s42438-022-00344-x
  46. Rivera Vargas, P., Herrera Urízar, G., & Trejo Quintana, J. (2025). El capitalismo digital BigTech y sus implicancias en los sistemas educativos globales. Izquierdas, 54, 1-12 https://doi.org/10.4067/S0718-50492025000100238
  47. Rodrigues, C., Neto-Mendes, A., Santos, M., & Gouveia, A. (2025). Mapping Problems and Approaches in Educational Governance: A Systematic Literature Review. Education Sciences, 15(8), 1048. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci15081048
  48. Rosen, J., & Álvarez-León, L. F. (2022). The digital growth machine: Urban change and the ideology of technology. Annals of the American Association of Geographers, 112(8), 2248-2265. https://doi.org/10.1080/24694452.2022.2052008
  49. Saura, G., Díez Gutiérrez, E.-J., & Rivera Vargas, P. (2021). Innovación Tecno Educativa “Google”. Plataformas digitales, datos y formación docente. REICE: Revista Iberoamericana sobre Calidad, Eficacia y Cambio en Educación, 19(4), 111–124. https://doi.org/10.15366/reice2021.19.4.007
  50. Selwyn, N. (2022). Less work for teacher? The ironies of automated decision-making in schools. En S. Pink, M. Berg, D. Lupton y M. Ruckenstein, Everyday automation. Experiencing and Anticipating Emerging Technologies (pp. 73-86). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003170884-6
  51. Sharma, D. (2026). Beyond the Techno-Solutionist Narrative: Human, Ethical, and Structural Limits of Technology in Education, Health, And Food Security. International Journal of Social Sciences, Language and Linguistics, 6(01), 52-60. https://doi.org/10.55640/ijssll-06-01-07
  52. Sriprakash, A., Williamson, B., Facer, K., Pykett, J., & Valladares, C. (2025). Sociodigital futures of education: Reparations, sovereignty, care, and democratisation. Oxford Review of Education, 51(4), 561-578. https://doi.org/10.1080/03054985.2024.2348459
  53. Tortorici, S. (2026). The challenges of platform cooperativism and the path ahead. A Research Companion. En J. N. Warren, K. Ogunyemi, A. Guerreschi y M. Szulc, Global Cooperative Economics and Movements (pp. 381-398). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003534006
  54. UNESCO. (25 de septiembre de 2025). AI and education: Protecting the rights of learners.
  55. https://www.unesco.org/en/articles/ai-and-education-protecting-rights-learners.
  56. Penagos, M. (14 de abril de 2025). Strengthening data governance in EdTech. A collaborative effort to prioritize children’s rights. UNICEF. https://www.unicef.org/innocenti/stories/strengthening-data-governance-edtech
  57. Vetter, M. A., & McDowell, Z. J. (2023). A spectrum of surveillance: Charting functions of epistemic inequality across EdTech platforms in the post COVID 19 era. Journal of University Teaching & Learning Practice, 20(2), 1-19. https://doi.org/10.53761/1.20.02.02
  58. Viera, I. A. (2025). Evaluación Crítica del Uso de la Tecnología en la Educación. Revista Tecnológica-Educativa Docentes 2.0, 18(1), 112-121. https://doi.org/10.37843/rted.v18i1.601
  59. Yeşilçınar, S., & Yasin-Öztürk, S. Y. (2026). The Hidden Cost of Technology: Emotional, Social, and Pedagogical Consequences for Vulnerable Teachers. M. Nazari, I. Xodabande y S. Karimpour, Emotional Vulnerability of Language Teachers in Digital Settings (pp. 73-91). Springer Nature Singapore.
  60. Williamson, B., Komljenovic, J., & Gulson, K. (Eds.). (2023). World yearbook of education 2024: digitalisation of education in the era of algorithms, automation and artificial intelligence. Taylor & Francis. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003359722
  61. Zuboff, S. (2019). The age of surveillance capitalism: The fight for a human future at the new frontier of power. PublicAffairs.

Most read articles by the same author(s)