Tiltrædelsesforelæsning med Christian Borch

Christian Borch, der efter sommerferien tiltrådte som ny professor på Sociologisk Institut, giver sin tiltrædelsesforelæsning tirsdag den 25. oktober fra kl. 10-12 på Det Samfundsvidenskabelige Fakultetsbibliotek (se boks).

Alle er velkomne til arrangementet, som bliver afholdt på engelsk. Programmet er:

• Præsentation ved institutleder Benedikte Brincker
• ’Toward a Sociology of Algorithmic Systems’, forelæsning ved Christian Borch
• Reception

I sin forelæsning vil Christian Borch under overskriften ’Toward a Sociology of Algorithmic Systems’ diskutere, hvordan sociologer har bidraget til forståelsen af algoritmiske systemer og systemernes samfundsbetydning.

Samtidig vil han identificere sider ved de algoritmiske systemer, der efter hans vurdering har fået for lidt sociologisk opmærksomhed. Det gælder ikke mindst betydningen af nye maskinlæringssystemer (kunstig intelligens), der på egen hånd træffer beslutninger og derved kan erstatte den menneskelige beslutningsproces.

Hele abstractet for tiltrædelsesforelæsningen:

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?