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Contribution Details

Type Journal Article
Scope Discipline-based scholarship
Title Towards the Socio-Algorithmic Construction of Fairness: The Case of Automatic Price-Surging in Ride-Hailing
Organization Unit
Authors
  • Mateusz Dolata
  • Gerhard Schwabe
Item Subtype Original Work
Refereed Yes
Status Published in final form
Language
  • English
Journal Title International Journal of Human-Computer Interaction
Publisher Taylor & Francis
Geographical Reach international
ISSN 1044-7318
Volume 40
Number 1
Page Range 55 - 65
Date 2024
Abstract Text Algorithms take decisions that affect humans, and have been shown to perpetuate biases and discrimination. Decisions by algorithms are subject to different interpretations. Algorithms’ behaviors are basis for the construal of moral assessment and standards. Yet we lack an understanding of how algorithms impact on social construction processes, and vice versa. Without such understanding, social construction processes may be disrupted and, eventually, may impede moral progress in society. We analyze the public discourse that emerged after a significant (five-fold) price-surge following the Brooklyn Subway Shooting on April 12 2022, in New York City. There was much controversy around the two ride-hailing firms’ algorithms’ decisions. The discussions evolved around various notions of fairness and the algorithms’ decisions’ justifiability. Our results indicate that algorithms, even if not explicitly addressed in the discourse, strongly impact on constructing fairness assessments and notions. They initiate the exchange, form people’s expectations, evoke people’s solidarity with specific groups, and are a vehicle for moral crusading. However, they are also subject to adjustments based on social forces. We claim that the process of constructing notions of fairness is no longer just social; it has become a socio-algorithmic process. We propose a theory of socio-algorithmic construction as a mechanism for establishing notions of fairness and other ethical constructs.
Free access at Official URL
Official URL https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10447318.2023.2210887
Digital Object Identifier 10.1080/10447318.2023.2210887
Other Identification Number merlin-id:23716
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