4.4: Andrea L. Guzman

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Assistant Professor, Department of Communication, Northern Illinois University https://andrealguzman.net

An ongoing challenge regarding algorithms and related technologies, such as artificial intelligence, is demystifying these technologies so that people can act upon knowledge grounded in the reality of the technology instead of its imagined nature. Because algorithms lack a concrete form, people often struggle to clearly articulate what algorithms are and what they do. Conceptualizations of algorithms also may vary from person-to-person. This abstract nature of algorithms contributes to some of the attitudes captured within this study: that algorithms are technological actors that are too difficult to even try understanding or that are beyond the control of the average person. Efforts to help people understand algorithms need to continue moving away from a focus on building awareness of algorithms — people increasingly know about “those things called algorithms” — and toward explaining algorithms in such a way that people have a more consistent conceptualization of what algorithms are, what algorithms do, and — what often is overlooked — what algorithms cannot do.

Key to these efforts is delineating between the role and power of humans in relation to that of the algorithm, so that people understand that algorithms are technologies produced by humans and enacted within human systems. Discourse surrounding algorithms must be careful to not overplay the agency of the algorithm relative to that of people, which often is the result of anthropomorphizing algorithms and their actions. Furthermore, while people need an understanding of algorithms that enables them to take practical actions regarding their personal technology use, such educational efforts should not place the entire onus of taking advantage of or mitigating the effects of algorithms on the individual. There are implications of algorithms, both positive and negative, that are well outside the control of an individual that may be better addressed within institutions, among community members, or by the government.

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