Suchergebnisse

Over the last decades, and in particular since the widespread adoption of the Internet, encounters with algorithmic procedures for 'information retrieval' – the activity of getting some piece of information out of a col-lection or repository of some kind – have become everyday experiences for most people in large parts of the world.

Abstract
This paper develops a critique of Big Data and associated analytical techniques by focusing not on errors - skewed or imperfect datasets, false positives, underrepresentation, and so forth - but on data mining that works. After a quick framing of these practices as interested readings of reality, I address the question of how data analytics and, in particular, machine learning reveal and operate on the structured and unequal character of contemporary societies, installing "economic morality" (Allen 2012) as the central guiding principle. Rather than critiquing the methods behind Big Data, I inquire into the way these methods make the many differences in decentred, non-traditional societies knowable and, as a consequence, ready for profitable distinction and decision-making. The objective, in short, is to add to our understanding of the "profound ideological role at the intersection of sociality, research, and commerce" (van Dijck 2014: 201) the collection and analysis of large quantities of multifarious data have come to play. Such an understanding needs to embed Big Data in a larger, more fundamental critique of the societal context it operates in.

Considering the remarkable power of search engines as attention brokers on the Internet, this text endeavors to sketch out what "democratizing" search could mean. Several lines of reasoning are explored in order to illustrate the practical and intellectual stance of what we call "society-oriented design". ; Face au pouvoir des moteurs de recherche, importants distributeurs d'attention sur l'internet, nous essayons, dans ce texte, d'explorer ce qu'une « démocratisation » de la recherche pourrait impliquer. Dans cette ligne nous explorons plusieurs voies pour illustrer la posture pratique et intellectuelle d'une « conception orientée-société ».

Considering the remarkable power of search engines as attention brokers on the Internet, this text endeavors to sketch out what "democratizing" search could mean. Several lines of reasoning are explored in order to illustrate the practical and intellectual stance of what we call "society-oriented design". ; Face au pouvoir des moteurs de recherche, importants distributeurs d'attention sur l'internet, nous essayons, dans ce texte, d'explorer ce qu'une « démocratisation » de la recherche pourrait impliquer. Dans cette ligne nous explorons plusieurs voies pour illustrer la posture pratique et intellectuelle d'une « conception orientée-société ».

Considering the remarkable power of search engines as attention brokers on the Internet, this text endeavors to sketch out what "democratizing" search could mean. Several lines of reasoning are explored in order to illustrate the practical and intellectual stance of what we call "society-oriented design". ; Face au pouvoir des moteurs de recherche, importants distributeurs d'attention sur l'internet, nous essayons, dans ce texte, d'explorer ce qu'une « démocratisation » de la recherche pourrait impliquer. Dans cette ligne nous explorons plusieurs voies pour illustrer la posture pratique et intellectuelle d'une « conception orientée-société ».

Considering the remarkable power of search engines as attention brokers on the Internet, this text endeavors to sketch out what "democratizing" search could mean. Several lines of reasoning are explored in order to illustrate the practical and intellectual stance of what we call "society-oriented design". ; Face au pouvoir des moteurs de recherche, importants distributeurs d'attention sur l'internet, nous essayons, dans ce texte, d'explorer ce qu'une « démocratisation » de la recherche pourrait impliquer. Dans cette ligne nous explorons plusieurs voies pour illustrer la posture pratique et intellectuelle d'une « conception orientée-société ».

In this dissertation, we use the concept of delegation to critically examine the man-machine relationship under the light of questions of power and control. Certain new technologies, like those programs we have called "metatechnologies", which filter, structure, organize and fusion information and communication streams, perform – in an automatic fashion – tasks that are quite similar to those of mass-media. Through analyzing a series of examples, we show in which sense these software tools mix social and technical theories in order to take on functions that are increasingly cultural in nature. From this observation, we argue that the hybridization of culture and technology is forcing us to reconsider our methods in software development in order to open up to a critical technical practice. ; Dans ce texte, nous utilisons le concept de délégation pour problématiser le rapport homme-machine sous l'angle du pouvoir et du contrôle. Certaines nouvelles technologies, dont ces logiciels que nous avons appelé « métatechnologies », qui filtrent, structurent, organisent et fusionnent des flux d'information et de communication, réalisent – de manière automatique – un travail qui s'approche de celui des média de masse. A travers l'analyse d'une série d'exemples, nous montrons en quel sens ces dispositifs informatiques mélangent théories sociales et théories techniques afin de remplir des fonctions toujours plus culturelles. Partant de ce constat, nous argumentons que l'hybridation entre culture et technique nous force à reconsidérer nos méthodes de développement du logiciel afin de les ouvrir vers une pratique critique de la technique.

In this dissertation, we use the concept of delegation to critically examine the man-machine relationship under the light of questions of power and control. Certain new technologies, like those programs we have called "metatechnologies", which filter, structure, organize and fusion information and communication streams, perform – in an automatic fashion – tasks that are quite similar to those of mass-media. Through analyzing a series of examples, we show in which sense these software tools mix social and technical theories in order to take on functions that are increasingly cultural in nature. From this observation, we argue that the hybridization of culture and technology is forcing us to reconsider our methods in software development in order to open up to a critical technical practice. ; Dans ce texte, nous utilisons le concept de délégation pour problématiser le rapport homme-machine sous l'angle du pouvoir et du contrôle. Certaines nouvelles technologies, dont ces logiciels que nous avons appelé « métatechnologies », qui filtrent, structurent, organisent et fusionnent des flux d'information et de communication, réalisent – de manière automatique – un travail qui s'approche de celui des média de masse. A travers l'analyse d'une série d'exemples, nous montrons en quel sens ces dispositifs informatiques mélangent théories sociales et théories techniques afin de remplir des fonctions toujours plus culturelles. Partant de ce constat, nous argumentons que l'hybridation entre culture et technique nous force à reconsidérer nos méthodes de développement du logiciel afin de les ouvrir vers une pratique critique de la technique.

In this dissertation, we use the concept of delegation to critically examine the man-machine relationship under the light of questions of power and control. Certain new technologies, like those programs we have called "metatechnologies", which filter, structure, organize and fusion information and communication streams, perform – in an automatic fashion – tasks that are quite similar to those of mass-media. Through analyzing a series of examples, we show in which sense these software tools mix social and technical theories in order to take on functions that are increasingly cultural in nature. From this observation, we argue that the hybridization of culture and technology is forcing us to reconsider our methods in software development in order to open up to a critical technical practice. ; Dans ce texte, nous utilisons le concept de délégation pour problématiser le rapport homme-machine sous l'angle du pouvoir et du contrôle. Certaines nouvelles technologies, dont ces logiciels que nous avons appelé « métatechnologies », qui filtrent, structurent, organisent et fusionnent des flux d'information et de communication, réalisent – de manière automatique – un travail qui s'approche de celui des média de masse. A travers l'analyse d'une série d'exemples, nous montrons en quel sens ces dispositifs informatiques mélangent théories sociales et théories techniques afin de remplir des fonctions toujours plus culturelles. Partant de ce constat, nous argumentons que l'hybridation entre culture et technique nous force à reconsidérer nos méthodes de développement du logiciel afin de les ouvrir vers une pratique critique de la technique.

In this dissertation, we use the concept of delegation to critically examine the man-machine relationship under the light of questions of power and control. Certain new technologies, like those programs we have called "metatechnologies", which filter, structure, organize and fusion information and communication streams, perform – in an automatic fashion – tasks that are quite similar to those of mass-media. Through analyzing a series of examples, we show in which sense these software tools mix social and technical theories in order to take on functions that are increasingly cultural in nature. From this observation, we argue that the hybridization of culture and technology is forcing us to reconsider our methods in software development in order to open up to a critical technical practice. ; Dans ce texte, nous utilisons le concept de délégation pour problématiser le rapport homme-machine sous l'angle du pouvoir et du contrôle. Certaines nouvelles technologies, dont ces logiciels que nous avons appelé « métatechnologies », qui filtrent, structurent, organisent et fusionnent des flux d'information et de communication, réalisent – de manière automatique – un travail qui s'approche de celui des média de masse. A travers l'analyse d'une série d'exemples, nous montrons en quel sens ces dispositifs informatiques mélangent théories sociales et théories techniques afin de remplir des fonctions toujours plus culturelles. Partant de ce constat, nous argumentons que l'hybridation entre culture et technique nous force à reconsidérer nos méthodes de développement du logiciel afin de les ouvrir vers une pratique critique de la technique.

A recent innovation in the field of machine learning has been the creation of very large pre-trained models, also referred to as 'foundation models', that draw on much larger and broader sets of data than typical deep learning systems and can be applied to a wide variety of tasks. Underpinning text-based systems such as OpenAI's ChatGPT and image generators such as Midjourney, these models have received extraordinary amounts of public attention, in part due to their reliance on prompting as the main technique to direct and apply them. This paper thus uses prompting as an entry point into the critical study of foundation models and their implications. The paper proceeds as follows: In the first section, we introduce foundation models in more detail, outline some of the main critiques, and present our general approach. We then discuss prompting as an algorithmic technique, show how it makes foundation models programmable, and explain how it enables different audiences to use these models as (computational) platforms. In the third section, we link the material properties of the technologies under scrutiny to questions of political economy, discussing, in turn, deep user interactions, reordered cost structures, and centralization and lock-in. We conclude by arguing that foundation models and prompting further strengthen Big Tech's dominance over the field of computing and, through their broad applicability, many other economic sectors, challenging our capacities for critical appraisal and regulatory response.

The growing power of digital platforms raises the question of democratic control or at least containment. In light of the transforming impact of platforms on markets, the public sphere, elections, and employment conditions, governments, and civil society alike are demanding more transparency and accountability. Shedding light on the principles and practices of algorithmic ordering promises to limit the power of platforms by subjecting their hidden operations to regulatory inspection. This article questions the popular image of an openable 'black box'. Based on a critical reflection on transparency as a panacea for curtailing platform power, we propose the concept of observability to deal more systematically with the problem of studying complex algorithmic systems. We set out three broad principles as regulatory guidelines for making platforms more accountable. These principles concern the normative and analytical scope, the empirical and temporal dimension, and the necessary capacities for learning and knowledge generation.