Dr. Stefania Milan bietet für Studierende der Medienwissenschaft das englischsprachige Seminar „The Datafied Society“ an. Die Anmeldung erfolgt über die Plattform Alma.
The Datafied Society
Today notions like big data, smart city and artificial intelligence (AI) are frequently evoked in the narratives of the industry and policymakers alike. They yield the promise of efficiency, empowerment, and a better life. Yet, they are not free from risks for privacy and citizen agency.
“The Datafied Society” explores the theoretical frameworks that allow us to capture and interpret the technological changes at the core of contemporary society and their societal consequences. The course has four components:
- Theorizing the datafied society, defining the interdisciplinary theoretical toolbox to study society at the age of AI;
- Political agency in the datafied society, where we will analyze, e.g., the evolution of contemporary social movements;
- Decolonizing data studies, investigating non-Western approaches to the study of the datafied society, and
- Methods for algorithmic accountability, where we will look at innovative methods to study the datafied society and the theory implications of this type of research.
Upon completion of this course, you will be able to understand the datafied society and critically evaluate its consequences on political agency, describe the opportunities and challenges for citizens on the basis of theory and concrete examples, deconstruct mainstream theoretical approaches, and reflect on the methodological challenges of studying algorithmic-mediated phenomena. This course will be taught in English and engaged participation is expected. Readings will be made available through ILIAS.