Weak Systems: Exploring bias, bugs and the vulnerability of digitization
18-20 de Junio de 2020
Università di Trieste, Italia
After two decades in which enthusiastic (if not ecstatic) visions of digitization have prevailed in the public sphere, the so-called critical turn has challenged the propensity of digital technologies to strengthen the mechanisms of protection of the individual and the democratic organization of contemporary societies. The Snowden case and the turmoil following the Cambridge Analytica controversy, for example, have inspired debates and discussions about Internet surveillance, the perils of the data economy and potential “weaponization” of social media platforms.
The supposed “horizontal” architecture of the Web has been subverted by centralizing actors such as digital media corporations and national governments. Moreover, news about hacks, data breaches and systemic failures of digital platforms and devices have become topics of frequent media coverage. Nevertheless, a systemic and articulated reflection on how different kinds of “vulnerabilities" in digital technologies impact directly or indirectly on individuals and social groups has not emerged yet. For instance, the literature about platforms manipulation, data hacks, bugs and bias in technological systems has just started providing insights about how technologies may actually raise serious democratic concerns and actually work against citizens’ rights, needsand desires.
