Black Boxes at Work: Approaches to Studying Corporate Software in the Wild

Session Submission Type: Traditional (Closed) Panel

Abstract

Interlinked, opaque algorithmic systems are increasingly integrated into working life. At the same time, we’ve seen methods and questions from science and technology studies migrate to communications, sociology, and information studies in order to study the design and impact of algorithms, particularly on political debate. Meanwhile, STS has taken part in the renewed interest in labor studies in a variety of fields, and a variety of work sites besides the factory. Our panel sits at the intersection of these trends, focusing on the digital sorting, and often automation, not just of work but the management of work. We combine a materialist approach to software’s design and use with a systemic concern for the changing nature of work.

The objects of our concern range from the empirical challenges of automated systems and ever-changing platforms to the conceptual challenges of interpreting corporate finance or valuing secrets. We will offer brief descriptions of our research methods, challenges, and findings in support of a larger discussion on the conceptual and empirical challenges to researching black-boxed software and closed firms. Our goal is to offer both tricks of the trade for researchers interested in these topics, and provocations that help our emergent community of researchers to learn from each other. Questions we plan to address include: How to study design without access to raw code? How to study the history of systems whose development is often a trade secret? And how to disentangle designers’ pitches for these technologies from their actual use on the ground?

Sub Unit

• 4S Annual Meeting

Chair

• Daniel M. Greene, Microsoft Research

Discussant

• Laura Forlano, Illinois Institute of Technology

Individual Presentations

• The Archives of Automated Hiring - Daniel M. Greene, Microsoft Research; Ifeoma Ajunwa, The Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University

• Studying Stickiness: WeChat’s Platform Economy - Yujie Chen, Chinese University of Hong Kong

• Fantasies of Finance: Researching Inequality Through Technological Institutions - Tressie McMillan Cottom, Virginia Commonwealth University

• Against Access - Nick Seaver, Tufts University