Distributed Epistemic Responsibility in a Hyperconnected Era

Simon, Judith

doi:10.1007/978-3-319-04093-6_17

Cited by 49 publications

(26 citation statements)

References 23 publications

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“…In the entangled contexts of data-driven research, however, the consciousness and adaptability that come from readiness may seem ineffective when the individual researcher might play only a minor role-working in large teams, encountering only whatever has been scraped and filtered by an API, or studying data long removed from its human origins. We argue that despite the challenges posed by automated systems, returning to a baseline definition of method as a series of axiological choices can help us move toward more appropriate understandings of how epistemological responsibility (Simon, 2015) moves from being assigned (or distributed) to being enacted, in that we turn our focus toward the specificities of the actions that constitute choices that matter.…”

Section: Ethics Methods and Accountabilitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Ethics as Methods: Doing Ethics in the Era of Big Data Research—Introduction

Markham

Tiidenberg

Herman

2018

Social Media + Society

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This is an introduction to the special issue of “Ethics as Methods: Doing Ethics in the Era of Big Data Research.” Building on a variety of theoretical paradigms (i.e., critical theory, [new] materialism, feminist ethics, theory of cultural techniques) and frameworks (i.e., contextual integrity, deflationary perspective, ethics of care), the Special Issue contributes specific cases and fine-grained conceptual distinctions to ongoing discussions about the ethics in data-driven research. In the second decade of the 21st century, a grand narrative is emerging that posits knowledge derived from data analytics as true, because of the objective qualities of data, their means of collection and analysis, and the sheer size of the data set. The by-product of this grand narrative is that the qualitative aspects of behavior and experience that form the data are diminished, and the human is removed from the process of analysis. This situates data science as a process of analysis performed by the tool, which obscures human decisions in the process. The scholars involved in this Special Issue problematize the assumptions and trends in big data research and point out the crisis in accountability that emerges from using such data to make societal interventions. Our collaborators offer a range of answers to the question of how to configure ethics through a methodological framework in the context of the prevalence of big data, neural networks, and automated, algorithmic governance of much of human socia(bi)lity

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Section: Ethics Methods and Accountabilitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Ethics as Methods: Doing Ethics in the Era of Big Data Research—Introduction

Markham

Tiidenberg

Herman

2018

Social Media + Society

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“…First, despite a wealth of literature addressing the moral responsibility and agency of algorithms, insufficient attention has been given to distributed responsibility, or responsibility as shared across a network of human and algorithmic actors simultaneously (cf. Simon, 2015). The reviewed literature (see 'Traceability leading to moral responsibility' section) addresses the potential moral agency of algorithms, but does not describe methods and principles for apportioning blame or responsibility across a mixed network of human and algorithmic actors.…”

Section: Points Of Further Researchmentioning

confidence: 99%

The ethics of algorithms: Mapping the debate

et al. 2016

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In information societies, operations, decisions and choices previously left to humans are increasingly delegated to algorithms, which may advise, if not decide, about how data should be interpreted and what actions should be taken as a result. More and more often, algorithms mediate social processes, business transactions, governmental decisions, and how we perceive, understand, and interact among ourselves and with the environment. Gaps between the design and operation of algorithms and our understanding of their ethical implications can have severe consequences affecting individuals as well as groups and whole societies. This paper makes three contributions to clarify the ethical importance of algorithmic mediation. It provides a prescriptive map to organise the debate. It reviews the current discussion of ethical aspects of algorithms. And it assesses the available literature in order to identify areas requiring further work to develop the ethics of algorithms.

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“…Simon [61] argues that the design of systems is a question of governance because system design shapes individual action and ought to be handled in such a way that users can act responsibly (implying that many systems are designed to prevent users from acting responsibly). Bauman [5] argues that system designs that remove social proximity dissipate responsibility and prevent a person from feeling implicated in harsh or unjust decisions.…”

Section: Decency and Dignitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Design for Existential Crisis in the Anthropocene Age

Light

Powell

Shklovski

2017

Proceedings of the 8th International Conference on Communities and Technologies

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1What should be our orientation to the socio-technical as climate predictions worsen; ecological crises and wars escalate mass migration and refugee numbers; right-wing populism sweeps through politics; automation threatens workers' jobs and austerity policies destabilize society? What is to be done when it is not "business as usual" and even broken concepts of progress seem no longer to be progressing? We ask how to design for the common good, focusing on human needs for meaning, fulfillment, dignity and decency, qualities which technology struggles to support but can easily undermine. We juxtapose the design of computing that offers hope with that which offers only distraction, propose four modes to design for (being attentive, critical, different and in it together) and conclude with a plea to avoid tools that encourage a blinkered existence at a time of great uncertainty and change.

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Distributed Epistemic Responsibility in a Hyperconnected Era

Cited by 49 publications

References 23 publications

Ethics as Methods: Doing Ethics in the Era of Big Data Research—Introduction

Ethics as Methods: Doing Ethics in the Era of Big Data Research—Introduction

The ethics of algorithms: Mapping the debate

Design for Existential Crisis in the Anthropocene Age

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