Redress and worldmaking: Differing approaches to algorithmic reparations for housing justice
A reparative approach to algorithmic justice provides a compelling alternative to existing fairness-based frameworks, which are often inadequate for challenging the technological perpetuation of unjust social hierarchies. The definition of “reparations,” however, is philosophically contested. I disc...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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SAGE Publishing
2023-07-01
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| Series: | Big Data & Society |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1177/20539517231202983 |
| _version_ | 1827345364978499584 |
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| author | Aurora Zhang |
| author_facet | Aurora Zhang |
| author_sort | Aurora Zhang |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | A reparative approach to algorithmic justice provides a compelling alternative to existing fairness-based frameworks, which are often inadequate for challenging the technological perpetuation of unjust social hierarchies. The definition of “reparations,” however, is philosophically contested. I discuss two interrelated but distinct notions of reparations: reparations as accountability and redress for past injustice, and reparations as a constructive worldmaking project focused on present and future justice. Each of these perspectives offers different recommendations and provocations for how to implement algorithmic reparations. I apply this to a case study of housing injustice in the US and offer three interpretations of “algorithmic reparations” in context: first, we can litigate instances of algorithmic discrimination in housing. Second, we can use computational methods to compute damages and demand redress for structural housing injustice in the past. Finally, we can repurpose algorithmic methods to imagine more radical resistance efforts that connect incremental reform to large-scale structural change for the future. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-07T23:05:36Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-e79ca2a600214e048a7a88f51a18c27f |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2053-9517 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-07T23:05:36Z |
| publishDate | 2023-07-01 |
| publisher | SAGE Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Big Data & Society |
| spelling | doaj.art-e79ca2a600214e048a7a88f51a18c27f2024-02-22T05:03:38ZengSAGE PublishingBig Data & Society2053-95172023-07-011010.1177/20539517231202983Redress and worldmaking: Differing approaches to algorithmic reparations for housing justiceAurora ZhangA reparative approach to algorithmic justice provides a compelling alternative to existing fairness-based frameworks, which are often inadequate for challenging the technological perpetuation of unjust social hierarchies. The definition of “reparations,” however, is philosophically contested. I discuss two interrelated but distinct notions of reparations: reparations as accountability and redress for past injustice, and reparations as a constructive worldmaking project focused on present and future justice. Each of these perspectives offers different recommendations and provocations for how to implement algorithmic reparations. I apply this to a case study of housing injustice in the US and offer three interpretations of “algorithmic reparations” in context: first, we can litigate instances of algorithmic discrimination in housing. Second, we can use computational methods to compute damages and demand redress for structural housing injustice in the past. Finally, we can repurpose algorithmic methods to imagine more radical resistance efforts that connect incremental reform to large-scale structural change for the future.https://doi.org/10.1177/20539517231202983 |
| spellingShingle | Aurora Zhang Redress and worldmaking: Differing approaches to algorithmic reparations for housing justice Big Data & Society |
| title | Redress and worldmaking: Differing approaches to algorithmic reparations for housing justice |
| title_full | Redress and worldmaking: Differing approaches to algorithmic reparations for housing justice |
| title_fullStr | Redress and worldmaking: Differing approaches to algorithmic reparations for housing justice |
| title_full_unstemmed | Redress and worldmaking: Differing approaches to algorithmic reparations for housing justice |
| title_short | Redress and worldmaking: Differing approaches to algorithmic reparations for housing justice |
| title_sort | redress and worldmaking differing approaches to algorithmic reparations for housing justice |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1177/20539517231202983 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT aurorazhang redressandworldmakingdifferingapproachestoalgorithmicreparationsforhousingjustice |