Algorithmic Stranding: Optimization Systems and the Loss of Collective Agency

This paper extends the Beached Whale Hypothesis by applying its ecological–cognitive framework to algorithmic governance and optimization systems. While prior research has focused on algorithmic bias, transparency, and fairness, this study argues that a more fundamental pathology lies in the externalization of agency itself. Through a structural comparison between digital nationalism and algorithmic optimization, the paper conceptualizes “algorithmic stranding” as a collective navigational failure in which neither individuals nor institutions retain effective steering capacity. The study proposes that algorithms function not as instruments of control but as resonance amplifiers that intensify directionlessness under conditions of over-coherence. By reframing algorithmic power as a symptom of agency vacuum rather than intentional domination, this paper contributes a socio-cognitive model for understanding contemporary governance failures.