This talk mobilizes the notion of algorithmic folklore to delve into vernacular culture, encompassing beliefs, stories and myths surrounding digital technologies. While algorithmic folklore provides a lens to study the cultural life of algorithms, addressing historically rooted structures of thought and feeling, imaginaries, practices, and anticipations, it aids in resisting the urge to reduce people’s lives to mere landing zones for technologies. By introducing instability and complexity into discussions that often lean towards utopian and dystopian ends, algorithmic folklore opens up possibilities to rethink technological and political-economic aspects of algorithmic systems and to trace alternative collective futures and imaginaries. Attending to these alternatives allows for the consideration of concerns that are currently neglected, and facilitates the bridging of elements that may seem unbridgeable.

Minna Ruckenstein works as professor at the Consumer Society Research Centre. She directs The Datafied Life Collaboratory that studies processes of digitalization/datafication by highlighting emotional, social, political, and economic aspects of current and emerging data practices. The disciplinary underpinnings of the work range from anthropology of technology, science and technology studies and communication to consumer economics.

Currently funded research projects focus on re-humanizing automated decision-making, algorithmic culture, and everyday engagements with algorithmic systems in Helsinki and in Shanghai and Hangzhou. Case studies in these projects deal with everyday and organizational aspects of datafication, in fields ranging from content moderation and advertising to digital health, insurance, and social work.

The talk is organized by the Research Program Future Technology, Culture and Learning Processes and the research projects Algorithms, Data and Democracy and Automated Expertise? Artificial intelligence and algorithmic systems as inter-professional work practices.

Place:

Room D 174, DPU, Aarhus University, Campus Emdrup, Tuborgvej 164, 2400 Copenhagen NV

Videolink to DPU campus Aarhus, Jens Chr. Skous Vej 4, 8000 Aarhus C, Nobelparken, building 1483, room 556.

The talk is open for all. No registration required.