Blog: ‘The power to be free from algorithmic governance experimentation.’

Antonia Stanojević and Jurgen Goossens wrote a blog for the Montaigne Centre about algorithmic governance experimentation. From algorithms used in policing and the judicial system, to numerous social welfare fraud detection cases, examples of implementation of algorithms in public governance amass in recent years. Algorithmic governance can rely on surveillance, for instance in cases of spatial crime forecasting, or on censorship, such as when used for repression of protests. In this regard, many have invoked the panopticon metaphor to describe algorithmic governance, whereby constant surveillance causes self-censorship. Moreover, the exploitation aspect of crime prevention and detection cannot be neglected, given the amount of data extraction it requires. While we are all subjected to socio-technical experimentation with algorithmic governance, due to the subtle cultural effects related to its increased prevalence, some are certainly more directly affected than others. This contribution presents the argument that primarily affected are those individuals who enjoy the least power, as mainly determined by their socio-economic status (SES). As such, it analyses algorithmic governance experimentation through the lens of interconnectedness of power, defined as the ability to achieve the desired outcome, and freedom, defined as the absence of domination.

Read the blog here: https://blog.montaignecentre.com/en/the-power-to-be-free-from-algorithmic-governance-experimentation/