Algorithmic Governance: Theories, Perspectives and Lived Realities

Module Title: Algorithmic Governance: Theories, Perspectives and Lived Realities

Module Leader: Dr Ashwin Varghese

Overview:

Our everyday lives are increasingly regulated and governed by digital and algorithmic infrastructures. Crime, security, labour, workforce, state services, climate management, domestic work, healthcare, public welfare, wildlife protection and so on are increasingly being governed through algorithmic infrastructures powered by ‘pure’ data and ‘evidence’ significantly regulating our daily lives. This phenomenon is often referred to as ‘algorithmic governance’, as a new mode of social ordering that relies on algorithms and computational procedures to automate decision-making and regulate social behaviour. This new form of social ordering functions by implementing black-boxed systems of automated-decision making often obscuring the operation of dominant power relations and social inequalities behind the veneer of ‘objectivity’ and ‘neutrality’.

This module introduces students to key theories and perspectives on the theme of algorithmic governance, in the context of the rapid ongoing digital transformations, to understand not only what is happening in the contemporary world but also to engage with speculations about where this is headed. We will locate the concept within science and technology studies and political sociology by identifying precursors to algorithmic governance; take a close look at key concerns pertaining to algorithmic governance focusing on digital sovereignty, welfare, surveillance, and control in contemporary society; engage with speculations of algorithmic infrastructures and its futures; and ground them in lived realities of algorithmic infrastructures focusing on varying global experiences.

The overall focus of the module will be to connect theories of algorithmic governance to empirical studies documenting actual experiences of surveillance, digital labour, and platformisation and resistance to algorithmic power, from a global context, highlighting how power relations and social inequalities condition the varying experiences of algorithmic governance. Each seminar in the module is geared towards addressing a series of questions, that cumulatively represent key debates populating the dominant discourse on algorithmic governance.