Contested delegation: Understanding critical public responses to algorithmic decision-making in the UK and Australia

Detalhes bibliográficos
Autor(a) principal: Mead, Geoffrey
Data de Publicação: 2022
Outros Autores: Barbosa Neves, Barbara
Tipo de documento: Artigo
Idioma: eng
Título da fonte: Repositório Científico de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (Repositórios Cientìficos)
Texto Completo: http://hdl.handle.net/10400.5/30369
Resumo: In public and private sectors alike, decision-making is increasingly carried out through the employment of ‘algorithmic actors’ and artificial intelligence. The apparent efficiency of these means in the eyes of politicians and the public has made recourse to them possible. Along with this belief in their efficiency, however, fears emerge that nonhuman actors have displaced judicious human decision-making. This article examines this belief and its contestation, drawing on overlapping notions of ‘delegation’ in the political sociologies of Bruno Latour and Pierre Bourdieu. We undertake two case studies of attempts to delegate decision-making to algorithms: the 2020 UK ‘A-level’ grade determination and the Australian ‘robodebt’ welfare fundsrecovery scheme. In both cases, the decision-making delegated to algorithms was publicly discredited as critics invoked a different form of fairness than the one used by those deploying the technology. In the ‘A-level’ case, complainants drew on a grammar of individual merit, while complainants in the ‘robodebt’ case made a technical critique of the algorithm’s efficiency. Using a theory of delegation, we contribute to understanding how publics articulate resistance to automated decision-making.
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spelling Contested delegation: Understanding critical public responses to algorithmic decision-making in the UK and AustraliaA-level; algorithm; Bruno Latour; Delegation; Pierre BourdieuIn public and private sectors alike, decision-making is increasingly carried out through the employment of ‘algorithmic actors’ and artificial intelligence. The apparent efficiency of these means in the eyes of politicians and the public has made recourse to them possible. Along with this belief in their efficiency, however, fears emerge that nonhuman actors have displaced judicious human decision-making. This article examines this belief and its contestation, drawing on overlapping notions of ‘delegation’ in the political sociologies of Bruno Latour and Pierre Bourdieu. We undertake two case studies of attempts to delegate decision-making to algorithms: the 2020 UK ‘A-level’ grade determination and the Australian ‘robodebt’ welfare fundsrecovery scheme. In both cases, the decision-making delegated to algorithms was publicly discredited as critics invoked a different form of fairness than the one used by those deploying the technology. In the ‘A-level’ case, complainants drew on a grammar of individual merit, while complainants in the ‘robodebt’ case made a technical critique of the algorithm’s efficiency. Using a theory of delegation, we contribute to understanding how publics articulate resistance to automated decision-making.Repositório da Universidade de LisboaMead, GeoffreyBarbosa Neves, Barbara2024-03-13T17:51:00Z2022-08-082022-08-08T00:00:00Zinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersioninfo:eu-repo/semantics/articleapplication/pdfhttp://hdl.handle.net/10400.5/30369engMead, G., & Barbosa Neves, B. (2022). Contested delegation: Understanding critical public responses to algorithmic decision-making in the UK and Australia. The Sociological Review, 71(3), 601-623. https://doi.org/10.1177/0038026122110538010.1177/00380261221105380metadata only accessinfo:eu-repo/semantics/openAccessreponame:Repositório Científico de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (Repositórios Cientìficos)instname:Agência para a Sociedade do Conhecimento (UMIC) - FCT - Sociedade da Informaçãoinstacron:RCAAP2024-03-17T01:34:03Zoai:www.repository.utl.pt:10400.5/30369Portal AgregadorONGhttps://www.rcaap.pt/oai/openaireopendoar:71602024-03-20T04:01:47.573766Repositório Científico de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (Repositórios Cientìficos) - Agência para a Sociedade do Conhecimento (UMIC) - FCT - Sociedade da Informaçãofalse
dc.title.none.fl_str_mv Contested delegation: Understanding critical public responses to algorithmic decision-making in the UK and Australia
title Contested delegation: Understanding critical public responses to algorithmic decision-making in the UK and Australia
spellingShingle Contested delegation: Understanding critical public responses to algorithmic decision-making in the UK and Australia
Mead, Geoffrey
A-level; algorithm; Bruno Latour; Delegation; Pierre Bourdieu
title_short Contested delegation: Understanding critical public responses to algorithmic decision-making in the UK and Australia
title_full Contested delegation: Understanding critical public responses to algorithmic decision-making in the UK and Australia
title_fullStr Contested delegation: Understanding critical public responses to algorithmic decision-making in the UK and Australia
title_full_unstemmed Contested delegation: Understanding critical public responses to algorithmic decision-making in the UK and Australia
title_sort Contested delegation: Understanding critical public responses to algorithmic decision-making in the UK and Australia
author Mead, Geoffrey
author_facet Mead, Geoffrey
Barbosa Neves, Barbara
author_role author
author2 Barbosa Neves, Barbara
author2_role author
dc.contributor.none.fl_str_mv Repositório da Universidade de Lisboa
dc.contributor.author.fl_str_mv Mead, Geoffrey
Barbosa Neves, Barbara
dc.subject.por.fl_str_mv A-level; algorithm; Bruno Latour; Delegation; Pierre Bourdieu
topic A-level; algorithm; Bruno Latour; Delegation; Pierre Bourdieu
description In public and private sectors alike, decision-making is increasingly carried out through the employment of ‘algorithmic actors’ and artificial intelligence. The apparent efficiency of these means in the eyes of politicians and the public has made recourse to them possible. Along with this belief in their efficiency, however, fears emerge that nonhuman actors have displaced judicious human decision-making. This article examines this belief and its contestation, drawing on overlapping notions of ‘delegation’ in the political sociologies of Bruno Latour and Pierre Bourdieu. We undertake two case studies of attempts to delegate decision-making to algorithms: the 2020 UK ‘A-level’ grade determination and the Australian ‘robodebt’ welfare fundsrecovery scheme. In both cases, the decision-making delegated to algorithms was publicly discredited as critics invoked a different form of fairness than the one used by those deploying the technology. In the ‘A-level’ case, complainants drew on a grammar of individual merit, while complainants in the ‘robodebt’ case made a technical critique of the algorithm’s efficiency. Using a theory of delegation, we contribute to understanding how publics articulate resistance to automated decision-making.
publishDate 2022
dc.date.none.fl_str_mv 2022-08-08
2022-08-08T00:00:00Z
2024-03-13T17:51:00Z
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dc.relation.none.fl_str_mv Mead, G., & Barbosa Neves, B. (2022). Contested delegation: Understanding critical public responses to algorithmic decision-making in the UK and Australia. The Sociological Review, 71(3), 601-623. https://doi.org/10.1177/00380261221105380
10.1177/00380261221105380
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