Session 4 of the CEPEL Seminar on Current Research Trends for Young Researchers – February 9, 2024

As part of the “CEPEL Seminar on Current Trends in Social Science Research,” we are pleased to invite you to the fourth seminar of the 2023–2024 academic year:

On February 9, from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. in the Linz Room of Building 3 at the University of Montpellier’s School of Law and Political Science, where we will welcome:

Anaïs Theviot,Associate Professor at the Catholic University of the West (teaching remotely), and Guillaume Marrel, Full Professor at the University of Avignon, for presenting their contributions to the anthology:

Governing Through Data? Toward a Political Sociology of the Digital, edited by Anaïs Theviot and published in 2023 by Éditions de l’ENS.

The session will be discussed byJean-Yves Dormagen, Professor at the University of Montpellier, and Tiffany Matias, Ph.D. in Political Science.

Abstract:

This book invites readers to explore the “black box” of algorithms—not from a technical perspective, but from a political-sociological one. Does the proliferation of data available online, coupled with advances in artificial intelligence, have an impact on the ways in which governments operate? Can algorithms “predict” citizens’ behavior? How are these so-called predictive algorithms created, and by whom? Are they neutral and objective? What are the social, ethical, and political issues associated with data exploitation? And what commercial and market strategies are at play? Can we still protect our data?

Behind the use of data lie various worldviews. We must therefore consider the algorithm as a political and social entity, produced by various actors and driven by private—and now also public—mandates. These lines of code and complex calculations cannot be separated from the conditions under which they are produced: they are embedded within a specific organizational and professional framework and driven by political intentions and agendas.

Through a series of case studies and the contribution of in-depth, previously unpublished empirical research, this volume provides a contextual understanding of how our data is used and what potential influences it has on governance models and decision-making. The strength of this book, which lies at the intersection of economic sociology, law, political science, and computer science, is that it lays the groundwork for a political sociology of data and the digital world, aiming to challenge and deconstruct the myths and beliefs perpetuated bybig data.