Prophets of the Algorithm. Affective subjectivities and the end of alterity in digital culture

Abstract

This article examines Elon Musk’s interview on the Joe Rogan channel as a communicative event that organizes affects and narratives within digital communities. Drawing on discourse theory and critical approaches to technopower, it explores how a charismatic figure is produced in algorithmically mediated environments. The study combines text mining with critical discourse analysis to examine the interview and a corpus of 76,800 YouTube comments. The findings identify affective clusters and semantic patterns that legitimize Musk as a technological authority and epistemic reference through narratives of exceptionalism and salvation. The discussion argues that these often polarized communities do not merely reshape discourse but also provide emotional stabilization for symbolic forms of leadership reinforced by algorithmic logics. The article contributes empirical evidence to understanding how digital platforms foster new modes of affective adhesion and symbolic legitimation in contemporary digital culture.