Algorithms in Context

Algorithms in Context – Towards a Comparative Agenda for Studies of Algorithmic Governance Across Politics, Culture, and Economy

The project is scheduled for 2019-2020 and funded by NOS-HS.

The workshop series will facilitate empirically driven research that reveals the implications of contextual variables on the forms and effects of algorithmic governance. This series of exploratory workshops aims to study implications of the rapidly growing phenomenon of ‘algorithmic governance’ in diverse social, political, and cultural contexts. New modes of collective action enabled by algorithm-driven technologies raise pressing questions, including who is accountable for their operation, whether they can create injustices and erode civic norms, and how we should resolve (un)intended consequences. To address these issues, we need a more detailed understanding of how algorithmic governance functions across sectors and societies.

The workshops aim to:

Explore the theoretical concept of ‘algorithmic governance’ from different backgrounds and map out an interdisciplinary comparative research agenda;
Investigate how algorithmic processes can be identified and studied empirically;
Examine algorithmic practices of governance across sectors (industrial, governmental, societal) and in an international comparative perspective (Nordic countries, Western Europe, Russia).

Schedule

Workshop 1: “Developing a framework for comparative analysis of algorithmic governance” (Uppsala, 9-10.5.19).

Workshop 1 report

Workshop 2: “Overcoming methodological challenges in the study of algorithmic governance” (Helsinki, 19.09-20.09.19).

Workshop 3: “Implications of algorithmic governance across sectors and societies” (Tromsø, 21-22.5.2020).

PI: Daria Gritsenko (UH)

Co-PI: Holger Pötzsch (UiT)

Workshop participants:

Aneesh Aneesh US
Jenni Hakkarainen FI
Patrick Kapsch DK
Riikka Koulu FI
Mikael Laaksoharju SE
Francis Lee SE
Beata Mäihäniemi FI
Mykola Makhortykh CH
Annette Markham DK
Felix Muench DE
Gabriel Pereira DK
Francesco Reda FI
Maren Schuster DE
Mariëlle Wijermars NL
Matt Wood UK