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Algorithms are not to be regarded as a technical structure but as a social phenomenon - they embed themselves, currently still very subtle, into our political and social system. Algorithms shape human behavior on various levels: they influence not only the aesthetic reception of the world but also the well-being and social interaction of their users. They act and intervene in a political and social context. As algorithms influence individual behavior in these social and political situations, their power should be the subject of critical discourse - or even lead to active disobedience and to the need for appropriate tools and methods which can be used to break the algorithmic power.
About the author
Sven Quadflieg, geb. 1983, studierte an der Folkwang Universität der Künste und der Zürcher Hochschule der Künste. Er forscht zu politischer und sozialer Gestaltung bzw. zur wechselseitigen Beeinflussung und den Dependenzen zwischen Gestaltung und Gesellschaft und lehrte an diversen Hochschulen.
Summary
Algorithms are not to be regarded as a technical structure but as a social phenomenon – they embed themselves, currently still very subtle, into our political and social system. Algorithms shape human behavior on various levels: they influence not only the aesthetic reception of the world but also the well-being and social interaction of their users. They act and intervene in a political and social context. As algorithms influence individual behavior in these social and political situations, their power should be the subject of critical discourse – or even lead to active disobedience and to the need for appropriate tools and methods which can be used to break the algorithmic power.
Report
»[Es] ist eine Stärke des Bandes, dass er verdeutlicht, dass Algorithmen keine neutralen technischen Verfahren sind [...], sondern dass sie stillschweigend mit Werten, Hoffnungen und Idealen verknüpft werden, aus denen sie ihre gesellschaftliche Überzeugungskraft und Legitimität beziehen.«
Stefan Laube/ Tilo Grenz Soziologische Revue, 47/3 (2024) 20241111
