Christian Borch to give inaugural lecture

On Tuesday 25 October Christian Borch will give his inaugural lecture as new professor at the Department of Sociology.

The lecture will be held at the Faculty Library of Social Sciences from 10-12 (see box). All are welcome.

Programme:

• Introduction by Benedikte Brincker, head of department
• ’Toward a Sociology of Algorithmic Systems’, lecture by Christian Borch
• Reception

In his lecture titled ’Toward a Sociology of Algorithmic Systems’, Christian Borch is going to discuss various ways in which sociologists have contributed insights into algorithmic systems and their societal consequences. Moreover, he will identify key dimensions of algorithmic systems that have received insufficient sociological attention.

Read the full abstract of the inaugural lecture:

Toward a Sociology of Algorithmic Systems

Algorithmic systems, including machine learning-based technologies, are seeing an ever-wider deployment in society. As these systems transform everyday life and entire industries in profound ways, the design, deployment, and implications of algorithmic systems constitute important objects of study.

In this lecture, I discuss various ways in which sociologists have contributed insights into algorithmic systems and their societal consequences. However, I also identify key dimensions of algorithmic systems that have received insufficient sociological attention. Specifically, I argue that novel machine learning-based systems have the capacity to make independent decisions, transforming their use from one where they assist human decision-making to one where they replace it.

Taking seriously this shift prompts a discussion of the continued adequacy of sociology’s human-anchored notions: does a proper sociological understanding of algorithmic systems demand a new conceptualization, which doesn’t have recourse to a human self?