4.10: Ronald E. Robertson

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Doctoral student, Network Science, Northeastern University http://ronalderobertson.com

The impact of an algorithm is inherently tied to the people who designed it, the information systems it operates on top of, and the people who use it. For example, financial incentives often dictate what algorithms are optimized for, historical data are often biased in ways that perpetuate injustice, and users often have dynamic strategies which guide their behavior. It’s important to know that algorithms built upon existing sociotechnical systems, and examining their components in isolation will never tell the whole story. Attempting to do so is like trying to explain tides without considering the moon.

Interdisciplinary research collaborations are therefore essential to understanding the impact of an algorithm. Digital trace data is useful but insufficient. We must also understand who is using them, how they are using them, the information ecosystem they operate in, and how the biases in these dynamic elements interact. However, interdisciplinary research is hard, and we should expect growing pains. Indeed, computer scientists often miss or neglect important theoretical work, social scientists are often not equipped with the technical skills to gather digital trace data that could ground their theories, and both groups are often critical of one another.

In order to effect change, we will need to bridge this gap — by fostering collaborations, acknowledging the shortcomings of our approaches, and building an appreciation for the value of theoretically-driven mixed methods. As we wait on legislation for protecting users, and on industry collaborations for obtaining data, change will come from independent algorithm audits. Under the incentives of capitalism, and with growing user privacy concerns, we cannot expect or wait upon corporations to cooperate. We must come together to identify the values embedded in their algorithms, spread awareness of their impacts, and develop tools for exposing those impacts and empowering users to overcome them.

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