Toward a Sociology of Artificial Intelligence: A Call for Research on Inequalities and Structural Change
This article outlines a research agenda for a sociology of artificial intelligence (AI). The authors review two areas in which sociological theories and methods have made significant contributions to the study of inequalities and AI: (1) the politics of algorithms, data, and code and (2) the social...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
SAGE Publishing
2021-03-01
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| Series: | Socius |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1177/2378023121999581 |
| _version_ | 1818862571916099584 |
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| author | Kelly Joyce Laurel Smith-Doerr Sharla Alegria Susan Bell Taylor Cruz Steve G. Hoffman Safiya Umoja Noble Benjamin Shestakofsky |
| author_facet | Kelly Joyce Laurel Smith-Doerr Sharla Alegria Susan Bell Taylor Cruz Steve G. Hoffman Safiya Umoja Noble Benjamin Shestakofsky |
| author_sort | Kelly Joyce |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | This article outlines a research agenda for a sociology of artificial intelligence (AI). The authors review two areas in which sociological theories and methods have made significant contributions to the study of inequalities and AI: (1) the politics of algorithms, data, and code and (2) the social shaping of AI in practice. The authors contrast sociological approaches that emphasize intersectional inequalities and social structure with other disciplines’ approaches to the social dimensions of AI, which often have a thin understanding of the social and emphasize individual-level interventions. This scoping article invites sociologists to use the discipline’s theoretical and methodological tools to analyze when and how inequalities are made more durable by AI systems. Sociologists have an ability to identify how inequalities are embedded in all aspects of society and to point toward avenues for structural social change. Therefore, sociologists should play a leading role in the imagining and shaping of AI futures. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-19T10:01:59Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-4bb9a97c2d054445bed8b752d9cec857 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2378-0231 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-19T10:01:59Z |
| publishDate | 2021-03-01 |
| publisher | SAGE Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Socius |
| spelling | doaj.art-4bb9a97c2d054445bed8b752d9cec8572022-12-21T20:26:36ZengSAGE PublishingSocius2378-02312021-03-01710.1177/2378023121999581Toward a Sociology of Artificial Intelligence: A Call for Research on Inequalities and Structural ChangeKelly Joyce0Laurel Smith-Doerr1Sharla Alegria2Susan Bell3Taylor Cruz4Steve G. Hoffman5Safiya Umoja Noble6Benjamin Shestakofsky7Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA, USAUniversity of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA, USAUniversity of Toronto, Toronto, ON, CanadaDrexel University, Philadelphia, PA, USACalifornia State University, Fullerton, CA, USAUniversity of Toronto, Toronto, ON, CanadaUniversity of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USAUniversity of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USAThis article outlines a research agenda for a sociology of artificial intelligence (AI). The authors review two areas in which sociological theories and methods have made significant contributions to the study of inequalities and AI: (1) the politics of algorithms, data, and code and (2) the social shaping of AI in practice. The authors contrast sociological approaches that emphasize intersectional inequalities and social structure with other disciplines’ approaches to the social dimensions of AI, which often have a thin understanding of the social and emphasize individual-level interventions. This scoping article invites sociologists to use the discipline’s theoretical and methodological tools to analyze when and how inequalities are made more durable by AI systems. Sociologists have an ability to identify how inequalities are embedded in all aspects of society and to point toward avenues for structural social change. Therefore, sociologists should play a leading role in the imagining and shaping of AI futures.https://doi.org/10.1177/2378023121999581 |
| spellingShingle | Kelly Joyce Laurel Smith-Doerr Sharla Alegria Susan Bell Taylor Cruz Steve G. Hoffman Safiya Umoja Noble Benjamin Shestakofsky Toward a Sociology of Artificial Intelligence: A Call for Research on Inequalities and Structural Change Socius |
| title | Toward a Sociology of Artificial Intelligence: A Call for Research on Inequalities and Structural Change |
| title_full | Toward a Sociology of Artificial Intelligence: A Call for Research on Inequalities and Structural Change |
| title_fullStr | Toward a Sociology of Artificial Intelligence: A Call for Research on Inequalities and Structural Change |
| title_full_unstemmed | Toward a Sociology of Artificial Intelligence: A Call for Research on Inequalities and Structural Change |
| title_short | Toward a Sociology of Artificial Intelligence: A Call for Research on Inequalities and Structural Change |
| title_sort | toward a sociology of artificial intelligence a call for research on inequalities and structural change |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1177/2378023121999581 |
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