Thesis Prospectus: Data-Driven Event Sequence Visualization for Rectal Cancer Outcomes; Taxonomizing the Role of Mobile Applications in Sociotechnical Feedback Loops
Published:
In Fall 2024, I completed my thesis prospectus for my B.S. in Computer Science. The prospectus outlines the technical and STS contributions of my thesis. I use Actor-Network Theory to connect these two aspects in the context of social justice, emphasizing how algorithmic systems shape and are shaped by society. Next Spring, I will be conducting an STS research project on algorithmic influence in mobile applications to round-out my thesis. More details about the technical component are described in my capstone research paper.
Excerpt Introducing the STS Perspective
In building a technological system that guides and informs human decisions, I must recognize that I am engaged in an action that is fundamentally political (Green, 2021). My tool encodes normative understandings of the world and applies them to individuals (patients and clinicians). This is an example of how algorithmic systems are actors, which shape and are shaped by social processes (Joyce et al., 2021). An interplay between society and algorithmic systems is evidenced by the social harms, biases, and injustices that are perpetuated by these systems (Burrell & Fourcade, 2021; Eubanks, 2018). Many approaches to addressing these issues have been proposed, with the most promising being algorithmic justice initiatives which seek to understand and ameliorate oppression in its varied yet intersecting forms (Chordia et al., 2024; Dombrowski et al., 2016). Theories, debates, and analyses within algorithmic justice often focus most on high-risk, high-profile cases (e.g. recidivism prediction). In the second half of this prospectus, I will apply actor-network theory (ANT) (Latour & others, 1992) to analyze the role of algorithms as social mediators, and argue for a deeper understanding of how algorithms influence our day-to-day lived experience, and how they may do so (un)justly.