Analysis and Design of Social Machines [GER/EN]
Sub-project "Study of social machines regarding their reproduction of social inequalities by the means of (semi-) automated, algorithmic decision making and development of societal desirable perspectives"
Social machines describe technologies which fuse digital, often web-based techniques with the multifaceted dynamics of social interaction and organization. The amalgamation of algorithmic calculus and social intelligence as well as ongoing attempts to identify social contexts and dynamics by the means of data analysis lead to social machines being important discursive objects and agents regarding contemporary and future societal change by the means of digital technologies. Reports about the reproduction of social inequalities through the ongoing data-based algorithmization of day-to-day decisions with sweeping consequences for already marginalized communities foreshadow the negative potentials of this technology.
In cooperation with groups from the departments Social Sciences, Economics and Management, and Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, this sub-project aims at gaining a deeper understanding of this technologies, estimating their potential outcomes as well as normative implications and conclusively is geared towards the development of societal desirable alternatives.
Contact