Journal ArticleDOI
Algorithmic Accountability: Journalistic investigation of computational power structures
TLDR
The notion of algorithmic accountability reporting as a mechanism for elucidating and articulating the power structures, biases, and influences that computational artifacts exercise in society is studied.Abstract:
Every day automated algorithms make decisions that can amplify the power of businesses and governments. Yet as algorithms come to regulate more aspects of our lives, the contours of their power can remain difficult to grasp. This paper studies the notion of algorithmic accountability reporting as a mechanism for elucidating and articulating the power structures, biases, and influences that computational artifacts exercise in society. A framework for algorithmic power based on autonomous decision-making is proffered and motivates specific questions about algorithmic influence. Five cases of algorithmic accountability reporting involving the use of reverse engineering methods in journalism are then studied and analyzed to provide insight into the method and its application in a journalism context. The applicability of transparency policies for algorithms is discussed alongside challenges to implementing algorithmic accountability as a broadly viable investigative method.read more
Citations
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Journal ArticleDOI
The ethics of algorithms: Mapping the debate:
Brent Mittelstadt,Patrick Allo,Mariarosaria Taddeo,Mariarosaria Taddeo,Sandra Wachter,Luciano Floridi,Luciano Floridi +6 more
TL;DR: This paper makes three contributions to clarify the ethical importance of algorithmic mediation, including a prescriptive map to organise the debate, and assesses the available literature in order to identify areas requiring further work to develop the ethics of algorithms.
Journal ArticleDOI
The algorithmic imaginary: exploring the ordinary affects of Facebook algorithms
TL;DR: It is argued that the algorithmic imaginary – ways of thinking about what algorithms are, what they should be and how they function – is not just productive of different moods and sensations but plays a generative role in moulding the Facebook algorithm itself.
Journal ArticleDOI
Algorithms at Work: The New Contested Terrain of Control
TL;DR: This work uses Edwards’ (1979) perspective of “conteste... to explore how algorithms may reshape organizational control in the rapidly changing environment.
Proceedings ArticleDOI
"I always assumed that I wasn't really that close to [her]": Reasoning about Invisible Algorithms in News Feeds
Motahhare Eslami,Aimee Rickman,Kristen Vaccaro,Amirhossein Aleyasen,Andy Vuong,Karrie Karahalios,Kevin Hamilton,Christian Sandvig +7 more
TL;DR: A system, FeedVis, is developed to reveal the difference between the algorithmically curated and an unadulterated News Feed to users, and used it to study how users perceive this difference.
Proceedings ArticleDOI
Questioning the AI: Informing Design Practices for Explainable AI User Experiences
TL;DR: An algorithm-informed XAI question bank is developed in which user needs for explainability are represented as prototypical questions users might ask about the AI, and used as a study probe to identify gaps between current XAI algorithmic work and practices to create explainable AI products.
References
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Journal ArticleDOI
Reverse engineering and design recovery: a taxonomy
E.J. Chikofsky,James H. Cross +1 more
TL;DR: The authors define and relate six terms: forward engineering, reverse engineering, redocumentation, design recovery, restructuring, and reengineering to apply to the underlying engineering processes, regardless of the degree of automation applied.
Journal ArticleDOI
The Parable of Google Flu: Traps in Big Data Analysis
David Lazer,Ryan Kennedy,Ryan Kennedy,Ryan Kennedy,Gary King,Alessandro Vespignani,Alessandro Vespignani +6 more
TL;DR: Large errors in flu prediction were largely avoidable, which offers lessons for the use of big data.
The Relevance of Algorithms
TL;DR: This chapter contains section titled: Patterns of Inclusion, Cycles of Anticipation, The Evaluation of Relevance, The Promise of Algorithmic Objectivity, Entanglement with Practice, and The Production of Calculated Publics.
Book
The Filter Bubble: How the New Personalized Web Is Changing What We Read and How We Think
TL;DR: Pariser et al. as discussed by the authors describe a new trend in how we consume information, one that will shape how we learn, what we know, and even how our democracy works, revealing that the race to collect as much personal data about us as possible, and to tailor our online experience accordingly is now the defining battle for todays internet giants like Google, Facebook, Apple and Microsoft.
Journal ArticleDOI
Bias in computer systems
Batya Friedman,Helen Nissenbaum +1 more
TL;DR: It is suggested that freedom from bias should by counted the select set of criteria—including reliability, accuracy, and efficiency—according to which the quality of systems in use in society should be judged.