If...Then Algorithmic Power and Politics

IF...THEN

Algorithmic Power and Politics

Taina Bucher

If. . . Then

Oxford Studies in Digital Politics

Series Editor: Andrew Chadwick, Professor of Political Communication in the Centre for Research in Communication and Culture and the Department of Social Sciences, Loughborough University

Using Technology, Building Democracy: Digital Campaigning and the Construction of Citizenship Jessica Baldwin-Philippi

Expect Us: Online Communities and Political Mobilization Jessica L. Beyer

The Hybrid Media System: Politics
and Power
Andrew Chadwick The Only Constant Is Change: Technology, Political Communication, and Innovation Over Time
Ben Epstein

Tweeting to Power: The Social Media Revolution in American Politics Jason Gainous and Kevin M. Wagner

Risk and Hyperconnectivity: Media and Memories of Neoliberalism Andrew Hoskins and John Tulloch

Democracy’s Fourth Wave?: Digital Media and the Arab Spring Philip N. Howard and Muzammil M. Hussain

The Digital Origins of Dictatorship
and Democracy: Information Technology
and Political Islam
Philip N. Howard

Analytic Activism: Digital Listening and the New Political Strategy David Karpf

The MoveOn Efect: The Unexpected
Transformation of American
Political Advocacy
David Karpf
Prototype Politics: Technology-Intensive
Campaigning and the Data of
Democracy
Daniel Kreiss
Taking Our Country Back: The Crafting
of Networked Politics from Howard
Dean to Barack Obama
Daniel Kreiss

Media and Protest Logics in the Digital Era: The Umbrella Movement in Hong Kong Francis L.F. Lee and Joseph M. Chan

Bits and Atoms: Information and Communication Technology in Areas of Limited Statehood Steven Livingston and Gregor Walter-Drop

Digital Cities: The Internet and the
Geography of Opportunity
Karen Mossberger, Caroline J. Tolbert, and
William W. Franko

Revolution Stalled: The Political Limits of the Internet in the Post-Soviet Sphere Sarah Oates

Disruptive Power: The Crisis of the State
in the Digital Age
Taylor Owen

Afective Publics: Sentiment, Technology, and Politics Zizi Papacharissi

The Citizen Marketer: Promoting Political Opinion
in the Social Media Age
Joel Penney

Presidential Campaigning in the Internet Age Jennifer Stromer-Galley

News on the Internet: Information and Citizenship in the 21st Century David Tewksbury and Jason Ritenberg

The Civic Organization and the
Digital Citizen: Communicating Engagement
in a Networked Age
Chris Wells
Networked Publics and Digital
Contention: The Politics of Everyday
Life in Tunisia
Mohamed Zayani

If. . . Then

ALGORITHMIC POWER AND POLITICS

TAINA BUCHER

OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS

OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS

Oxford University Press is a department of the University of Oxford. It furthers the University’s objective of excellence in research, scholarship, and education by publishing worldwide. Oxford is a registered trade mark of Oxford University Press in the UK and certain other countries.

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© Oxford University Press 2018

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You must not circulate this work in any other form and you must impose this same condition on any acquirer.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Bucher, Taina, author.

Title: If. . . then : algorithmic power and politics / Taina Bucher.

Identifiers: LCCN 2017054909 (print) | LCCN 2018008562 (ebook) |

ISBN 9780190493042 (Updf) | ISBN 9780190493059 (Epub) |

Subjects: LCSH: Information technology—Social aspects. | Information

society—Social aspects. | Algorithms—Social aspects. | Big data—Social aspects. |

Artificial intelligence—Social aspects.

Classification: LCC HM851 (ebook) | LCC HM851 .B798 2018 (print) |

DDC 303.48/33—dc23

LC record available at htps://lccn.loc.gov/2017054909

1 3 5 7 9 8 6 4 2

Paperback printed by WebCom, Inc., Canada Hardback printed by Bridgeport National Bindery, Inc., United States of America

Contents

Acknowledgments vii

1. Introduction: Programmed Sociality 1
2. The Multiplicity of Algorithms 19
3. Neither Black Nor Box: (Un)knowing Algorithms 41
4. Life at the Top: Engineering Participation 66
5. Affective Landscapes: Everyday Encounters with Algorithms 93
6. Programming the News: When Algorithms Come to Matter 118
7. Conclusion: Algorithmic Life 149

Notes 161
Bibliography 175
Index 195

v

Acknowledgments

I enjoyed writing this book. The initial idea behind this book started taking shape as a dissertation at the University of Oslo, but soon evolved into something else entirely, as most things do. I therefore owe a sense of gratitude toward all the eforts I put into my PhD project. Memories of past struggles greatly lessened the burden of undertaking and writing my first book. The encouragement and the generosity of series editor Andrew Chadwick and editor Angela Chnapko at Oxford University Press were also huge contributions to that end, as well as fundamental in developing this project. Thanks to both of you for believing it would make a valuable contribution to the Oxford Studies in Digital Politics series. The book is a product of various encounters with people, things, and places. It was writen in the libraries, ofices, homes and cafés of Copenhagen, Oslo, Berlin, and New York. Writing allowed me to explore these places in new ways. I’d also like to acknowledge the sunlight, cofee, sounds, views, connectivity, and solitude that these places helpfully ofered. The University of Copenhagen has provided a rich academic community, and I am grateful to all my colleagues at the Centre for Communication and Computing for the intellectual discussions and support. Thanks to Shannon Matern for hosting me at the New School in New York for my sabbatical. A number of people have provided valuable feedback on the book as it emerged: Anne-Brit Gran, Michael Veale, Angèle Christin, Ganaele Langlois, and Fenwick McKelvey. Thanks for your insightful comments. My appreciation also goes to all people involved in the editorial process, copyediting, transcription services, and to all the anonymous referees whose work and critical remarks have greatly improved the final product. There are countless other scholars and students met at conferences and seminars to thank as well for their keen interest in my work and their astute suggestions. I hope a collective word of thanks will be accepted. This book also benefited from insightful interviews and conversations with media leaders, producers, and social media users. I am grateful to all the people who generously agreed to be interviewed and for giving up their time to help me understand the world of algorithms a bit beter.

vii

Fragments of this text have been previously published, but are all freshly milled here. Chapter 4 takes parts from “Want to be on the top?” (New Media & Society). Chapter 5 builds on pieces from “The algorithmic imaginary” (Information, Communication & Society) and chapter 6 has adapted sections from “Machines don’t have instincts” (New Media & Society). Probably there are many more fragments to be acknowledged, but the boundaries of a text are never easily delineated. Chapter 5 and 6 also benefited from financial support from the Digitization and Diversity project funded by the Research Council of Norway. Thanks to friends and family for their patience and support, and especially to my mom who never forgot to mention that there is more to life than writing a book. More than anyone I am grateful to Georg Kjøll for his unconditional love, superb editorial skills, music playlists, daily home-cooked dinners, and companionship; you make living and writing so much fun each and every day.

viii

Ack nowledgments

If. . . Then