Unpacking the Algorithm:
Social Science Perspectives on AI

Vol. 2 : No. 3 : November 2020

About the issue

This special issue collects six articles tackling artificial intelligence (AI) from a social science perspective. The diverse set of contributions not only illustrates the potential, importance, and breadth of social science research in this area, but also sketches the outlines of a research agenda developed by Lindgren & Holmström in the special issue introduction.

Highlighting the discursive self-presentation of AI, Lagerkvist's article problematises how AI mythologically constructs its futures as inevitable. Similarly, Svensson and Poveda Guillen's article aligns with a view of data and algorithms as dynamic actants, rather than as objective and firmly-set entities, developing a critique of data-essentialism.

Furthermore, Govia's article targets assumptions of technological determinism and shifts the focus towards everyday interactions with AI systems and processes, thereby contributing to a situated understanding of AI. Similarly Seidel et al., writing about AI in video game design, apply a contextualised perspective where the autonomous design tools are seen as participating agents in the design process. The article by Pop Stefanija and Pierson emphasises how the present data landscape demands continuous adaptation and smart combinations of both new and existing research methods.

We hope that this special issue of JDSR will help define what a social science of AI could and should entail, and that it will also stimulate further discussions about the role of social science perspectives in both intra- and interdisciplinary AI research.