It’s scary how much of our lives are now controlled by systems we don’t see and don’t understand. Not just social media or ads—but decisions that can literally affect life and death. Health care, immigration, welfare, law enforcement, even war—big choices are being made by computers, AI, and company software instead of humans.
This isn’t science fiction. It’s real. Your body, your health, your movements, even your money—these are now just numbers in a system that decides how much you matter. Some people get quick care, visas, or services. Others are ignored, delayed, or cut off completely. And often, it isn’t personal—it’s designed that way.
Think about it like this: there’s a term called necropolitics. It’s a fancy word for when power decides who may live and who may die. In the past, this was clear: colonial powers, apartheid, or war zones treated certain groups like they didn’t matter. Today, this power is hidden inside digital systems. Algorithms decide who gets medical care, who gets deported, or who is considered “high risk.” You may never meet the person deciding your fate—but the results are real.
Take health care. Insurance companies use software to deny care to people they think are too expensive. Patients die slowly when treatments are delayed or refused. Sometimes, decisions are made before a doctor even sees a patient. This isn’t a mistake—it’s the system working exactly how it was built.
Immigration is another example. Systems track and categorize people automatically. Fingerprints, GPS data, travel history—all of it can decide if you can stay in a country or be sent away. The results can be deadly: families separated, people deported to countries they don’t know, or even drowned trying to escape danger.
Even war has gone digital. Drones controlled by AI can strike targets far away. Civilian deaths happen, but in reports they are just numbers. Life and death decisions are being made by machines, not humans.
Why does this matter? Because it’s not inevitable. These systems are made by humans. Every risk score, every automated denial, every computer decision reflects someone’s choices about whose life matters. If these systems are hurting people, it’s because someone built them that way. And if they were built, they can be changed.
The danger is that we get used to it. We call slow death “bureaucracy” or “efficiency.” Companies and governments treat life like a spreadsheet, and human suffering becomes invisible. The people affected—what some call the “undead” of modern society—don’t even appear in public discussion. They are just numbers in a computer.
This affects everyone. Even rich or “safe” people can be caught in mistakes made by automated systems. Computers don’t care who you are—they just follow their programming, sometimes with deadly results.
But there is hope. We still have power. These systems are not natural—they are designed. That means they can be redesigned. Transparency, rules, fairness, and accountability can stop these systems from quietly killing people. AI doesn’t have to harm us—it can protect and help.
We must refuse to believe that computers are neutral. Human life is messy, valuable, and important. No number or algorithm should decide its worth. If we accept that, slow death becomes invisible, unstoppable, and permanent. And then no one is truly safe.
Life is human. Algorithms are not. And it’s up to us to make sure the systems we build respect that.