Algorithms and their others: Algorithmic culture in context

Algorithms, once obscure objects of technical art, have lately been subject to considerable popular and scholarly scrutiny. What does it mean to adopt the algorithm as an object of analytic attention? What is in view, and out of view, when we focus on the algorithm? Using Niklaus Wirth's 1975 f...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inBig data & society Vol. 3; no. 2
Main Author Dourish, Paul
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published London, England SAGE Publications 01.08.2016
SAGE Publishing
Subjects
practice
Algorithms
code
visibility
configurations
materiality
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Summary:Algorithms, once obscure objects of technical art, have lately been subject to considerable popular and scholarly scrutiny. What does it mean to adopt the algorithm as an object of analytic attention? What is in view, and out of view, when we focus on the algorithm? Using Niklaus Wirth's 1975 formulation that “algorithms + data structures = programs” as a launching-off point, this paper examines how an algorithmic lens shapes the way in which we might inquire into contemporary digital culture.
ISSN:2053-9517
2053-9517
DOI:10.1177/2053951716665128