Abstract
In the age of ubiquitous computing and artificially intelligent applications, social machines serves as a powerful framework for understanding and interpreting interactions in socio-algorithmic ecosystems. Although researchers have largely used it to analyze the interactions of individuals and algorithms, limited attempts have been made to investigate the politics in social machines. In this study, I claim that social machines are per se political machines, and introduce a five-point framework for classifying influence processes in socio-algorithmic ecosystems. By drawing from scholars from political theory, I use a notion of influence that functions as a meta-concept for connecting and comparing different conceptions of politics. In this way, I can associate multiple political aspects of social machines from a cybernetic perspective. I show that the framework efficiently categorizes dimensions of influence that shape interactions between individuals and algorithms. These categories are symbolic influence, political conduct, algorithmic influence, design, and regulatory influence. Using case studies, I describe how they interact with each other on online social networks and in algorithmic decision-making systems and illustrate how the framework is able to guide scientists in further research.
Highlights
The consolidation of the internet as society’s main communication network, the development of hardware with increasing computational efficiency, the invention of the smartphone, and general social datafication (Mayer-Schönberger and Cukier 2013) have created new communication and information processes that impact all aspects of society
This study develops the theoretic foundation for answering questions such as the above, by introducing a framework that classifies the politics of socio-algorithmic ecosystems
What remains constant in such human-algorithmic ecosystems is not the materiality of humans and algorithms, where computability and sociability become interchangeable (Murray-Rust and Robertson 2015), but the system behaviours formed by communication processes, which are dependent on how humans and algorithms interact and influence each other (Hall et al 2008; Katz 2017)
Summary
The consolidation of the internet as society’s main communication network, the development of hardware with increasing computational efficiency, the invention of the smartphone, and general social datafication (Mayer-Schönberger and Cukier 2013) have created new communication and information processes that impact all aspects of society. Algorithmic decision-making systems, artificially intelligent algorithms, online social networking platforms, data sharing systems and predictive tools invade everyday life, leading to the transformation of human behavior, socialization, economic markets and political conduct. One of the most intensive reformations caused by technological advancement is the degree of digitization of social processes. The new computational and storing capabilities lead to the constant transformation of individual behavior
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
