Björn Wikström is an independent digital sociologist and contemporary philosopher based in Sweden. His research sits at the intersection of digital sociology, AI philosophy, and welfare-state sociology, developing the Perceptual Legitimacy Gap (PLG) framework to understand how highly rationalized institutions — including AI systems — can function technically while losing legitimacy among those they serve.
His article "The Age of No Resistance: Palliation, Friction Reduction, and the Structural Erosion of Social Integration" is forthcoming in Acta Sociologica. He also works on AI philosophy, consciousness studies, and the Field–Node–Cockpit (…
Björn Wikström is an independent digital sociologist and contemporary philosopher based in Sweden. His research sits at the intersection of digital sociology, AI philosophy, and welfare-state sociology, developing the Perceptual Legitimacy Gap (PLG) framework to understand how highly rationalized institutions — including AI systems — can function technically while losing legitimacy among those they serve.
His article "The Age of No Resistance: Palliation, Friction Reduction, and the Structural Erosion of Social Integration" is forthcoming in Acta Sociologica. He also works on AI philosophy, consciousness studies, and the Field–Node–Cockpit (FNC) model, treating these as theoretical and methodological resources within digital sociology.
His current research explores what society lacks when digital infrastructures fill the void left by institutions in legitimation crisis — from online gang recruitment to therapy-AI and algorithmic communities.
ORCID: 0009-0000-4015-2357
