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On Algorithmic Management: The Importance of Debate on Future Research
Full text linkA surge of research interest in platform work and the gig economy has seen debates around worker resistance and algorithmic management frequently come to the forefront. Many researchers will now be accustomed to reviewing journal submissions and taking in conference papers that cover these issues. The breadth of the emerging literature means that it builds upon various starting points, theoretical approaches, and histories. Pleasingly, research on work over the past decade has transformed from a relatively marginal pursuit to a highly popular focus across many disciplines, deepening and extending our collective understanding of the topic. This has the potential to introduce fresh ideas and new approaches. However, it does risk research failing to relate to and build upon historical debates in the field. This short article first presents some of the key arguments that have emerged in the research on algorithmic management and considers how knowledge has developed in relation to platform work. It examines some of the strengths and weaknesses of the literature in this area, especially the lack of theoretical debate in an exponentially expanding body of literature. The article finishes by suggesting some key areas in which future research needs to be directed, particularly interrogating the production, practice, and limits of algorithmic management.The Weizenbaum Institute is funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF
Dreaming of AI: environmental sustainability and the promise of participation
Full text linkThere is widespread consensus among policymakers that climate change and digitalisation constitute the most pressing global transformations shaping human life in the 21st century. Seeking to address the challenges arising at this juncture, governments, technologists and scientists alike increasingly herald artificial intelligence (AI) as a vehicle to propel climate change mitigation and adaptation. In this paper, we explore the intersection of digitalisation and climate change by examining the deployment of AI in government-led climate action. Building on participant observations conducted in the context of the “Civic Tech Lab for Green”—a government-funded public interest AI initiative—and eight expert interviews, we investigate how AI shapes the negotiation of environmental sustainability as an issue of public interest. Challenging the prescribed means–end relationship between AI and environmental protection, we argue that the unquestioned investment in AI curtails political imagination and displaces discussion of climate “problems” and possible “solutions” with “technology education”. This line of argumentation is rooted in empirical findings that illuminate three key tensions in current coproduction efforts: “AI talk vs. AI walk”, “civics washing vs. civics involvement” and “public invitation vs. public participation”. Emphasising the importance of re-exploring the innovative state in climate governance, this paper extends academic literature in science and technology studies that examinesOpen Access funding enabled and organized by Projekt DEAL. This work was partly funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research of Germany (BMBF) under grant no. 16DII131 (“Deutsches Internet-Institut”)
Power to All or Few People? An Exploration of Power Dynamics in Holacracy
Full text linkPower is key to all organizing. It allows actors to perform actions, make decisions and assign tasks to others. In bureaucratic organizations power is mainly associated with the position that the actor holds. Because actors compete for power, change their position within an organization or leave an organization, power is dynamically changing. We refer to these changes in power as power dynamics. Many New Forms of Organizing, such as Holacracy, claim that individuals have more decision-making capacity, i.e., that power is more equally distributed within the organization. In this paper, we use a unique dataset from a holacratic organization to empirically examine how power dynamics in Holacracy evolve over time. In particular, we use temporal network analysis to reconstruct and contrast two related networks that capture information on how decisions in Holacracy are made. Our findings indicate that also in Holacracy power is not equally distributed, but that few individuals hold most power
Purple Code – With Basma Mostafa
No full textIn this episode, we speak with Basma Mostafa, a journalist from Egypt living in exile in Germany. We speak about the role of journalism and the use of digital technologies including social media during and following the Egyptian revolution. We learn about the increasing threats to press freedom and military violence against journalists, lawyers and activists in the country, and hopes of fighting the Egyptian regime from exile. Basma’s story is reflective of the struggles faced by exiled diaspora in Germany and what it means to miss ‘home’ when the home of one’s memory and imagination no longer exists. We ask Basma about what different movements can learn from the Egyptian revolution that started more than 13 years ago and if there is potential in building international diasporic movements in Germany
Organisationswandel und Wahrnehmung der Akzeptanz von Digitalisierungsprozessen in Unternehmen infolge der COVID-19-Pandemie
Full text linkDer vorliegende Beitrag befasst sich mit der Akzeptanz von Digitalisierungs- und Automatisierungsprozessen. Untersucht wird, welche Digitalisierungsmaßnahmen während der Covid-19-Pandemie vorangetrieben wurden, inwieweit und wie diese Maßnahmen mit organisatorischen Veränderungen kombiniert wurden und wie sich die Akzeptanz der Digitalisierung durch die Beschäftigten aus der Sicht des Managements und der Betriebsräte während der Covid-19-Pandemie entwickelt hat. Für die Analyse wurden Daten aus zwei Wellen einer Unternehmensbefragung von jeweils 500–600 Unternehmen sowie 34 Fallstudien in sechs Branchen ausgewertet: der Automobilindustrie, der Chemieindustrie, dem Maschinen- und Anlagenbau, der Logistikbranche, der Gesundheitsbranche und dem Finanzdienstleistungssektor
Digital Democracy — Do Social Media Steer Opinion Formation?
Full text linkWith the spread of social media in recent years there has been growing concern about their e ects on opinion formation. Key suspects are fake news, radical content, and algorithms that mostly show users what they are already thinking, among others. Accordingly, researchers have worked on numerous studies that investigate the e ects of social media on democracy and its members.
This compact overview focuses on opinion formation on the level of individual users. Opinion formation is the fundamental basis of democracy as a person’s opinion on political, social, or economic issues directly feeds into their voting behavior. The results of elections and referendums in turn determine which people or parties will make decisions during the next legislative period — decisions that are generally binding. If social media a ect this process, it should be clear whether users, for example, no longer perceive di erent opinions or become ever more radical in their own worldviews
Digitalisierung der Arbeitswelten: Zur Erfassbarkeit einer systemischen Transformation
Full text linkDiese Open Access Publikation bündelt Ergebnisse aus der ersten Förderphase des interdisziplinären DFG-Schwerpunktprogramms 2267 „Digitalisierung der Arbeitswelten“. Digitalisierung verändert Arbeit mit vielfältigen Konsequenzen für Arbeit(smarkt) und Qualifizierung. Wie dramatisch und grundsätzlich diese Veränderungen sind, wird seit Jahren kontrovers diskutiert und anwendungsbezogen erforscht. Das Schwerpunktprogramm nimmt die Veränderung der Arbeitsgesellschaft als Ganzes in den Blick – Geschichts-, Sozial- und Wirtschaftswissenschaften analysieren die vielschichtigen und widersprüchlichen Dynamiken als eine systemische Transformation. Leitend ist dabei die These von drei Bewegungsdynamiken: die Durchdringung (z.B. von digitalen Arbeitsprozessen), die Verfügbarmachung (z.B. von Daten über einzelne Arbeitshandlungen) und die Verselbständigung (z.B. von datengetriebenen Wertschöpfungsketten). Methodische Reflexionen zu Erfassbarkeit der Transformation runden den Band ab
Communicative Feedback Loops in the Digital Society
Full text linkContemporary communication is often characterized using metaphors as “echo chambers” or “filter bubbles.” Despite the popularity of these terms, however, growing concerns about vague definitions are complemented by empirical evidence that contests their widespread existence. Nonetheless, today’s media environment offers ample opportunities for human and/or algorithmic selection processes with undesirable outcomes. To reconcile these two observations, I propose taking a feedback-loop perspective. Such a perspective explains how processes can reinforce themselves without producing catastrophic consequences. This can solve the paradox that while extrapolating from typical filter bubble and/or echo chamber models results in full radicalization within a short period, this outcome has not, despite the long-standing presence of the relevant technologies, become omnipresent. After mapping different types of feedback loops in communication research, I review various empirical approaches, discuss how they can improve research on feedback-loop phenomena, and consider how this can enable us to build better theories of communication in the digital society.This publication has been funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research of Germany (BMBF) (grant no.: 16DII121, 16DII122, 16DII123, 16DII124, 16DII125, 16DII126, 16DII127, 16DII128 – “Deutsches Internet-Institut”)
Weizenbaum Panel’s Literature Digest February 2024
No full textDer Literatur Digest ist eine monatlich erscheinende Zusammenstellung des aktuellen Forschungsstandes zu Themen an der Schnittstelle zwischen Digitalisierung und Politik. Er präsentiert die neuesten Erkenntnisse zu Fragen der politischen Partizipation und guter Bürgerschaft in Zeiten der Digitalisierung.The Literature Digest is a monthly compilation of the current state of research on topics at the nexus of digitalization and politics. It presents the latest findings on issues of political participation and good citizenship in times of digitalization
Cascades or salmons? Longitudinal upstream and downstream effects of political participation
Full text linkDigitally networked and new, unconventional activities allow citizens to participate politically in activities that are low in the effort and risks they bear. At the same time, low-effort types of participation are more loosely connected to democratic political systems, thereby challenging established modes of political decision-making. This can set in motion two competing dynamics: While some citizens move closer to the political system in their activities (upstream effects), others engage in political activities more distant from it (downstream effects). This study investigates non-electoral participation trajectories and tests intra-individual change in political participation types over time, exploring whether such dynamics depend on citizens’ exposure to political information. Utilizing a three-wave panel survey (n = 3490) and random intercept cross-lagged panel models with SEM, we find more evidence for downstream effects but detect overall diverse participation trajectories over time and a potentially crucial role of elections for non-electoral participation trajectories