If...Then Algorithmic Power and Politics

190

Bi b liography

Bi b liography

191

192

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Bi b liography

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194

Bi b liography

A/B testing, 48, 82, 127

accountability, 13, 27, 35, 41–42, 43, 47, 52, 76, 129, 133, 141, 155, 157

actor-network theory, 30, 49, 51

Adresseavisen, 125, 131, 140, 144

afect, 13, 14, 17, 62–65, 93, 94–96, 100, 116–17 see also encounters with algorithms

afordances, 23, 131

Aftenposten, 58, 119, 121, 122, 123, 125, 128, 152

Aftonbladet, 133

agency, 16, 27, 42, 49, 50–51, 55, 56, 147, 151, 155, 156

Ahmed, Sara, 100, 156

Algol 58, 21

algorism, 20–21

algorithmic configurations, 16, 50, 55, 58, 63–64, 72, 143, 146, 151, 155–56

algorithmic culture, 31–32, 150

algorithmic decision-making, 34, 35, 41, 46, 53, 55

algorithmic discrimination, 29–30, 36, 39, 43, 45–46, 51, 55, 56, 102 see also bias; “racist” algorithms

algorithmic imaginary, 113–16, 117, 156–57

algorithmic life, 12, 13, 67, 149–59 see also orientations; technicity

algorithmic power and politics, 3–4, 8, 13–14, 15, 18, 19, 20, 23, 27, 34, 35, 41, 55, 119–20, 146–47, 151, 155, 159 see also encounters with algorithms; gatekeeping; government and governmentality; multiplicity of algorithms; ontological politics

in contemporary media landscape, 16, 18, 20, 32–40, 122

diagrammatics of algorithms, 72–74

micropolitics of power, 94, 116

algorithmic timeline, 39, 93, 112

al-Khwarizmi, Abdullah Muhammad bin Musa, 20–21

Amazon, 31, 51, 101, 102–3, 149, 153–54

Anderson, Benedict, 51, 94, 113, 114

Anderson, C.W., 29, 122, 124, 130
antiepistemology, 44
Apple Music, 54
architectural model of power, 73, 92, 95
architecture, 83, 84, 85, 89, 91, 114
Aristotle, 8, 11
artificial intelligence, 27, 56, 97, 151
Ashby, Ross, An Introduction to Cybernetics, 59–62
assemblages, 8, 22, 30, 50–51, 64, 82, 142, 144, 152, 155
auditing, 43, 45, 60
automation, 9, 25, 31, 32
autonomy, 13, 42, 72

Barad, Karen, 16, 49, 51, 120, 121, 125, 146, 154, 155
Barocas, Solon, 25–27, 53
Bayes’ theorem, 28, 61
Beer, David, 29, 33, 34, 103, 104, 114
Bennet, Jane, 49, 120
Berlingske, 143
bias, 35, 36, 39, 41, 45, 52–53, 55–56, 58, 86, 90, 106, 118, 120, 152, 154 see also algorithmic discrimination; “racist” algorithms
big data, 2, 25, 27, 28, 29, 32, 54, 130, 139, 150
black boxes, 16, 41, 42–47, 50, 56, 58, 59–60, 61, 64, 65 cybernetic notion, 43, 60, 61, 62, 77 opening up, 43–44, 45–46, 47, 50
blogging, 111, 123, 124
Bogost, Ian, 38–39
Boland, Brian, 85–86
Bosworth, Andrew, 70, 79
boundary-making practices, 146, 148, 152, 155, 157–59
business models, 6, 8, 48, 108, 128

calculation, 20, 32, 140

Callon, Michael, 32, 44, 50, 58, 143

categorization, 5, 10, 14–15, 102, 103, 115, 155

Index

195

Chartbeat, 131, 132
chronos, 80, 149
Chun, Wendy, 28, 149
clicking consciously, 101, 109–13, 114
collaborative filtering, 1, 114, 154
communication studies, 15, 72
computable friendships, 8–12 see also Facebook friendships; programmed sociality
computational journalism see journalism
computational thinking, 145–46
computer-assisted reporting (CAR), 122, 123
configurations see algorithmic configurations
Cooren, François, 125, 126
co-production, 1, 72
Couldry, Nick, 6, 63, 68
Cox, Chris, 79, 86–87
critical algorithm studies, 15, 29, 35
culture, 29, 38, 39, 60, 71, 90, 117 algorithms and, 31–32, 150 computing, 72, 87 at Facebook, 68, 69, 70–72, 81–82, 91 of secrecy, 43 software studies, 29–30
cybernetics, 43, 59–60, 61, 62, 77, 115
cyborgs, 63, 97 Danish news media, 124, 125, 130, 131, 143
see also Scandinavian news media
data analytics, 2, 122, 130, 131, 132
data mining, 28, 32
data structures, 5, 22–23
databases, 2, 5, 22, 25, 32, 122, 133
De Vries, Katja, 102, 115
decision-making see algorithmic decision-making; human decision-making
DeepFace (Facebook), 27
definitions of algorithms, 19, 20, 21–22, 23, 28, 30, 157, 158
Deleuze, Gilles, 49, 51, 73, 88, 94
democratic function of journalism, 132, 139
democratic society, threats to, 119, 129, 141
deterministic algorithms, 23–24
Deuze, Mark, 1, 66–67
Diakopoulos, Nick, 29, 33–35, 60, 122
disciplinary power, 37, 88–89, 91–92
disciplinary societies, 83, 84, 88
Discover Weekly (Spotify), 54
discrimination see algorithmic discrimination; bias; “racist” algorithms
Dodge, Martin 14, 29, 30, 114
Dourish, Paul 5, 56–57

echo chambers, 121–22, 129, 139, 142 EdgeRank algorithm (Facebook), 77–78, 80, 82, 97 editorial responsibility, 121–122, 135, 141–42, 148 see also Facebook news feed; journalism

Elmer, Greg, 13, 102
encounters with algorithms, 14, 17, 93–101, 109, 113–17, 148, 150–51, 156–57 clicking consciously everyday, 109–13 personal stories, 7–8, 17, 98–117 phenomenological perspective, 61–63 “strange encounters,” 63, 100
engineering participation, 69–74 see also Facebook news feed
Enlightenment vision, 42, 44, 47, 59
entanglement, 14, 16, 20, 31, 38, 68, 72, 148, 151
Entscheidungsproblem, 21
epistemology of algorithms, 16, 42, 46, 56, 59–60, 64–65
Espeland, Wendy N., 9, 32
eventfulness of algorithms, 16, 20, 48–55, 121, 142, 145, 147
experimentation, 48, 60, 62
Facebook, 1–2, 5, 18, 25, 28, 41, 47–48, 58, 60, 66–68, 85, 95, 129, 132, 143–144, 148–151 see also Facebook friendships; Facebook news feed; Zuckerberg, Mark engineering culture, 68–72, 81–82, 91 face recognition, 26–27 goals of, 69, 71–72, 150 “hacker way,” 69–72 headquarters, 70–71, 81, 91 openness, ethics of, 70–71 work in progress, 28, 48
Facebook Chat, 71, 79
Facebook friendships, 4–15, 13, 98, 109, 153 concept of friendship, 8–9 “guilt by association,” 13–15 PYMK feature, 9, 14 target ads, 13, 14, 80, 101–2 “top friends,” 10–11
Facebook Help Center, 74–75
Facebook news feed, 2, 10, 15, 16–17, 38, 39, 53, 62, 67, 68, 71, 74–77, 80–81, 89, 106, 136, 141, 142, 144, 148, 156 algorithmic architecture, 85, 87–88 algorithmic logic, 17, 67, 75 “Californian code,” 119, 121, 129, 141 censorship allegations, 58–59, 119, 121, 148, 152 communication stories, 85–87, 89 competition, 85, 86 editorial responsibility, 55, 118, 119, 121, 141, 152 emotion experiment (2014), 75, 76 “fake news,” 119, 121, 147, 156, 157 friendships see Facebook friendships gatekeeping, 88, 98 “most recent”/ “top news” versions, 74–6, 85–7 News Feed FYI (blog series), 74, 80, 87 participatory subjectivity, 17, 88–90, 155 personal algorithm stories, 7–8, 95–96, 98–100–2, 104–5, 107–8 ranking algorithm, 77–82, 91, 155–56 reverse engineering, 113 “Terror of War” image controversy (2016), 58–59, 97, 119, 125–26, 148 Ticker, 74, 86 trending topics controversy (2016), 51–52, 53, 55–56, 118–19, 121, 152 visibility, 17, 75, 78–79, 84, 88, 92, 159 threat of invisibility, 17, 84–89, 96 ‘Year in Review’ fiasco, 104
facial recognition, 26–28, 35
fake news, 118, 119, 121, 147, 148, 156, 157
feature engineering, 25
filter bubbles, 34, 121, 129, 139, 140, 142, 146, 154
financial accountability, 129, 141
folk theories, 97
Foucault, Michel, 17, 20, 32, 73–74, 94, 120, 143, 147 government and governmentality, 32, 33, 36–38, 73, 156 panopticism, concept of, 82–84, 85, 92 power, concept of, 3, 33–35, 37, 69, 73, 83, 116–17, 153, 155 disciplinary model, 37, 88–89, 91–92 surveillance, notion of, 17, 82, 83, 88, 91, 92
friendship, 5, 6, 8–9, 12–13, 13–14 computable, 5, 8–12 see also Facebook friendships; programmed sociality
Galison, Peter, 43, 44
Galloway, Alexander, 30, 45, 61
Gans, Herbert, Deciding What’s News, 130–31
gatekeeping, 7–8, 34, 88, 98, 107, 112, 132, 138
Gillespie, Tarleton, 5, 9, 15, 22, 25, 29, 30–33, 36, 72, 76, 81, 101, 110–11, 113, 152, 156, 157
Gomez-Uribe, C.A., 47–48
Google, 6, 27, 35, 36, 41, 45, 51, 60, 107, 129, 131, 141, 143, 149, 152 Flu Tracker, 28–29 “racist” algorithms, 27–28, 51
government and governmentality, 32, 33, 36–38, 73, 156
Gray, Rebecca, 96, 115
Guardian, 52, 77

196

Index

hacker culture (Facebook), 69–72
Hacking, Ian, 9–10, 11, 32
Hallinan, Blake, 29, 150
Hansen, Espen Egil, 119, 121, 122, 125–26, 129
Hardy, Quentin, 70, 72
history of algorithms, 20–21, 31–32
House of Cards, 2, 149
human agency, 53–54, 55, 118, 141, 145, 152, 153,
154–55 see also bias; values
human algorithms, 39, 104
human decision-making, 35, 72, 119
human experience, capturing of, 99, 104–5, 120
human instincts/gut feelings see under journalism
human-computer interaction (HCI), 29
Hunt, N., 47–48
hybrid assemblages, 8, 50, 51
hybrid media system, 144, 148
“if. . . then” statements, 21–22, 24, 159
ignorance, 56, 57–59, 64
image recognition, 26–28, 35, 36, 162 n16
Ingold, Tim, 62, 98, 102
Instagram, 39, 98, 103, 105, 107, 110–112, 150
#InstagramAlgorithm, 98, 107
Internet, 1, 34, 66, 123
Introna, Lucas D., 29, 31, 35–37, 50–51, 151
invisibility see visibility
iTromsø,125, 130, 135, 140

journalism, 18, 29, 31, 38, 52, 118, 120–24 computational, 123–24, 130, 133, 139–40, 145–46 democratic function, 132, 139 “editor-controlled” algorithms, 140–41 editorial responsibility, 121–22, 133, 135, 139, 141, 148, 152 “gut feelings”/“instincts,”138, 139, 145, 147 limitations of algorithms, 138–40 material-discursive practices, 126 personalization, 130, 131, 133–34, 135–36, 139–41 problematic algorithms, 55, 120, 134–38, 139, 140, 141–42, 148, 158 problematization of algorithms, 142–47 “reverse engineering” algorithms, 60 Scandinavian case study, 124–48 “structured,”133 values, 128, 129, 132, 134, 137, 139, 141–42, 146 “good” and “bad” algorithms, 6, 147, 148, 158 “right” journalistic values, 141–42, 158
JP/Politikens Hus, 128
Jyllandsposten, 125, 130, 140, 143

kairos, 80, 149–50
Kitchin, Rob, 14, 21, 29–30, 114
Knorr-Cetina, Karin, 46–47, 59
knowable known unknowns, 43
knowing algorithms, 14, 18, 41, 42, 43–44, 46, 47,
57, 59, 60, 85, 113, 122, 151, 158
practical knowing, 61–62, 98
knowledge alibis, 57
known unknowns, 43, 59–61
Knuth, Donald, 20, 22, 23
Kroll, Joshua A., 44–46, 57
Lash, Scot, 33–4, 72
Last.fm, 34
Latour, Bruno, 4, 18, 44, 49–52, 58, 60, 64
Law, John, 3, 15, 32, 39, 49, 64, 120, 151
Lemke, Thomas, 33–4, 36, 38
Lenglet, Mark, 29, 31
Levy, Stevy, Hackers, 69
Lewis, Seth C., 122, 124, 145
living with algorithms, 82, 100–101, 109
see also encounters with algorithms

Index

197

McCormack, Derek P., 99–100
McGoey, Linsey, 56–57
machine-learning algorithms, 20, 23–28, 32, 35–36, 53, 95, 97, 116, 156, 157 deep learning, 25, 27 facial recognition, 26–27 feature extraction, 25 models, 24–25 problematic results, 27–28 strategic unknowns, as, 56–58 supervised/semi-supervised learning, 24, 25–26
Mackenzie, Adrian, 14, 24, 26, 29, 30, 61, 67, 68, 87, 88, 90, 142
“making up people,” 9–10, 32
material-discursive practices, 120, 125, 126, 147, 151
materiality, 8, 17, 30, 68, 69, 72, 90, 120, 121, 125, 158 see also relational materialism; sociomateriality
matering, 18, 55, 120–21, 122, 125, 146, 147
media, 1, 29 see also algorithmic power and politics; news media; social media
media studies, 15, 68
memories, 103–4
Menlo Park (Facebook HQ), 70
mental models, 96–97, 115
methodological tactics, 15, 16, 42, 59–64, 151
Meyer, Philip, Precision Journalism, 122, 123
Michael, Mike, 49, 58
micropolitics, 94, 116
Microsoft, 152
misidentifications, 102–3, 115
Mol, Annemarie, 3, 15–16, 19, 39, 49, 56, 121, 151
Moses, Robert, 23, 35
multiplicity of algorithms, 19–20, 27, 39, 42, 48 power of algorithms, 32–38 see also algorithmic power and politics social concerns, 29–32 targeting the algorithm, 38–40
music-streaming, 54

naive Bayes classifier, 26, 61
Narrative Science, 124
Naughton, John, 52–53
nearest neighbour algorithm, 27
negative knowledge, 46–47, 59
Netflix, 2, 31, 47, 48, 62, 99, 108

recommender system, 47–48, 105

“taggers,” 53

neural networks, 27, 59

New York Times, 53, 70, 77

news feed algorithms, 2, 3, 72–74 see also Facebook news feed

news media, 6, 17–18, 55, 114, 118, 120–24, 150, 158 see also fake news; journalism; Scandinavian news media computerization and digitization, 120, 122–24

newsworthiness, 26, 53

nonknowledge, 46, 47, 61–62

Norwegian news media, 124, 125, 131, 133, 138 see also Aftenposten; Scandinavian news media

OKCupid, 105 OKCupid, 105

Omni, 18, 125, 133–34, 136–38, 139, 140, 145–46
ontological politics, 3, 16, 18, 39–40, 56, 120, 146, 148, 151, 157–58
ontology of software see under software
operational logics, 12, 17, 21, 60–61, 63, 105, 109, 110, 112, 113, 144 Facebook algorithm, 77, 92
Oremus, Will, 48, 53, 78
orientations, 3, 8, 31, 127, 154–57
page generation algorithm, 47–48
PageRank, 39
Panopticon, 74, 82–84, 85, 92
Papacharissi, Zizi, 98, 99, 115
participatory subjectivity, 17, 88–90, 92, 155
Pasquale, Frank, The Black Box Society, 29, 34–35, 41–42, 45
patern recognition, 25, 57
performativity, 1, 4, 28, 31, 38, 50
personal algorithm stories see encounters with algorithms
personalization, 47, 105, 108–9, 127, 128, 129 see also under journalism
personalized video ranker (PVR), 47
pharmacological objects, 146
phenomenological approach, 61–63, 151
plagiarism algorithms, 37
playful learning, 62, 112–13
Polaris Media, 125, 128, 140
politics, 3, 67 see also algorithmic power and politics; ontological politics
Politiken, 125, 131, 139, 143
popularity, 2, 89–90, 100, 105–9
post-ANT, 49
post-truth, 118, 147
power, 16, 72–73, 153, 155 see also algorithmic power and politics; disciplinary power concepts of, 33, 116–17 see also under Foucault, Michel

198

Index

microphysics of, 68, 94 micropolitics of, 94, 116 practical knowledge, 61–62, 98 precision journalism, 122 predictions, 6, 11, 20, 28, 82 problematic algorithms, 27, 45, 55–56, 102–3, 107–8, 134, 136, 148, 158 see also journalism problematic of the unknown, 42–46, 64 problematization, 120, 142–47 process-relational philosophy, 16, 49, 120–21 profiling, 101–3 profit, 6, 102, 130, 153 programmed algorithms, 23–24 programmed sociality, 1, 4–15, 69, 114, 153, 158–59 see also Facebook friendships programming languages, 21, 22 PYMK feature, 9, 14

Rabinow, Paul, 142–43, 147
“racist” algorithms, 27–28, 36, 51
radar philosophy, 43
Rader, Emilee, 96, 115
Rajchman, John, 73, 84
Ranciére, Jacques, 67, 92, 100
ranking algorithm see under Facebook news feed
regulation, 35, 52, 76
relational agency, 16, 50
relational impulses, 5, 6, 9
relational materialism, 8, 16, 50, 56
relational ontology, 42, 47, 49, 50–51
relational perspective, 52, 53, 54, 68, 116, 155
representational resting points, 97
responsibility, 13, 27, 53–54, 56, 75, 138, 154, 156,
157, 159 see also editorial responsibility
reverse engineering, 59–60, 85, 111, 113
Rieder, Bernhard, 26, 30, 61
robot journalism, 124, 140
robotics, 97
robots, 39, 55, 119, 122, 124, 127, 128, 138

Sandvig, Christian, 43, 45, 58, 60, 93, 97
Sauder, Michael 9, 32
Scandinavian news media (case study), 18, 124–32 beter workflows, 131–34 data sources, 124–25 digital innovation, 128–29 editor-controlled algorithm, 140–41 potential of algorithms, 127–31 problematic algorithms, 134–38
Schibsted, 125, 128, 133, 134, 141
Schibsted Media Platform, 128
Schütz, Alfred, 62, 63, 97
science and technology studies (STS), 3, 15, 23, 29, 43, 72
search engines, 28, 30–31, 34–35, 48, 57, 60, 107 see also Google

Seaver, Nick, 29, 30, 48, 68
secrecy, 41, 42–43, 44–45, 60
security, 29, 37, 57, 91–92, 94
Selbst, Andrew 25–27, 53
sensor technologies, 96
Simondon, Gilbert, 14, 49, 153, 154
Snapchat, 66, 107, 112
social analytics, 63
social concerns, 29–32, 46
social imaginary, 113
social media, 1–2, 4, 5–12, 13, 74, 80, 84
see also Facebook; machine-learning algorithms;
programmed sociality; Twiter
news media, competition with, 143–44
users’ stories see encounters with algorithms
social media production studies, 68
Social Network, The (film), 66
social values see values
sociality, 4 see also programmed sociality
sociology, 29, 31
sociomateriality, 14, 15, 31, 50, 90, 148
software, 2, 3, 22, 68, 153
and sociality see programmed sociality
variable ontology of, 30, 54, 88, 90–91, 151
software studies, 15, 29–30
Solberg, Erna, 58, 152
spam filtering, 26
speech recognition, 27
Spotify, 54, 99
statistical reasoning, 32
statistical society, 9–10
Steinberg, Ari, 77–78
Stewart, Kathleen, 94, 99, 104, 117
strange encounters see encounters with algorithms
strategic unknowns, 56, 58, 59, 63–64
Strathern, Marilyn, 32, 43, 46
Striphas, Ted, 29, 31, 150
structured journalism, 133
structured programming, 22
STS see science and technology studies
Suchman, Lucy, 64, 97, 126, 146, 155, 157–58
surveillance, 17, 29, 35, 82, 83, 88, 91, 92, 114
Svenska Dagbladet, 125, 140, 141
Sveriges Radio, 125, 136, 146
Swedish news media, 124, 125, 133, 140–41
see also Omni; Scandinavian news media
targeting, 38–40
Taste Profiles (Spotify), 54
Tay (Microsoft), 152
Taylorism, 32
technicity, 14, 153–54
technography, 60–61, 77, 151
technologies, interaction with, 96–97
“Terror of War” image controversy
see under Facebook news feed
thing-power, 120

Index

199