Technology, power and democracy

Today we are witnessing significant ethical, societal and political challenges related to the technological revolutions in the early 21st century, including datafication, mediated forms of experience (e.g. via ubiquitous screens, cameras, audio interfaces) and the increasing use of forms of automation and artificial intelligence.

Our work examines algorithmic governance within attention economies and surveillance capitalisms and the impact of technological developments on the conditions for forms of power. We are interested in theoretical, methodological and empirical work that illuminates, questions and challenges our relationships with algorithms, forms of mediation, and data. How do information technological innovations shape the social world, organizations and institutions? How do the politics of algorithms transform the conditions of democracy in society? What kind of ethical questions emerge in new sociotechnical assemblages of the modern digitalized world? How do mediations (e.g. visual, sonic) alter our phenomenal experience of the world?

Keywords: algorithmic governance, artificial intelligence, automation, datafication, digitalization, democracy, mediation, politics, tech ethics, sociotechnical assemblages, surveillance capitalisms

Contact persons: Jaana Parviainen and Asko Lehmuskallio

Researchers: Asko Lehmuskallio, Thomas Olsson, Jaana Parviainen, Virve Peteri, Nelli Piattoeva, Marko Teräs