Data and society

Algorithmic Identity

A data-based version of you that replaces your real identity and is used to predict/control you (John Cheney-Lippold, We Are Data)

Measurable Types

Simple data categories that reduce people into labels (ex: “at risk”, “consumer”) (John Cheney-Lippold, We Are Data)

Algorithmic Governmentality

Controlling people through data and statistics instead of direct interaction (John Cheney-Lippold, We Are Data)

Dividuals

A person broken into pieces of data that can be analyzed separately (John Cheney-Lippold, We Are Data)

Modulation

Your identity constantly changes based on new data inputs (John Cheney-Lippold, We Are Data)

Dataveillance

Monitoring people through their data instead of watching them directly (John Cheney-Lippold, We Are Data)

Soft Biopolitics

Hidden control through algorithms that shape behavior without you knowing (John Cheney-Lippold, We Are Data)

Hylomorphism

The idea that matter is shaped by form or design (John Durham Peters, Information: Notes Toward a Critical History)

Morphogenesis

The natural growth and formation of shapes and structures (John Durham Peters, Information: Notes Toward a Critical History)

Empiricism

Knowledge based on observation and measurable data (John Durham Peters, Information: Notes Toward a Critical History)

Knowledge without the body

Information separated from human experience or emotion (John Durham Peters, Information: Notes Toward a Critical History)

Leviathan

Society as an artificial system created to maintain order (John Durham Peters, Information: Notes Toward a Critical History)

Rewrite the chain of being

Understanding all life (humans, DNA) as data or code (John Durham Peters, Information: Notes Toward a Critical History)

Colonize zones of action

Systems and data expanding control into all parts of life (John Durham Peters, Information: Notes Toward a Critical History)

Black Box

A system where inputs/outputs are visible but the decision process is hidden (Frank Pasquale, The Black Box Society)

One-Way Mirror

Powerful systems see everything about you, but you can’t see them (Frank Pasquale, The Black Box Society)

Scopaesthesia

The feeling of being watched even if you can’t see who is watching (Frank Pasquale, The Black Box Society)

Negation as Failure

If data is missing, the system assumes something is false or negative (Frank Pasquale, The Black Box Society)

Cybernetics

The study of systems of control and communication between humans and machines (Norbert Wiener, Cybernetics)

Information Feedback

Systems adjust behavior based on past results (Norbert Wiener, Cybernetics)

Weaver’s Information Theory

Focuses on sending signals, not the meaning of messages (Warren Weaver, “A Mathematical Theory of Communication”)

Memex

An early idea of a machine that stores and links all human knowledge (Vannevar Bush, “As We May Think”)

Unbounded good and evil

Technology has the potential for both positive and harmful outcomes (Norbert Wiener, Cybernetics)

System failure vs social problems

Blaming technology for issues instead of addressing social inequalities (Cybernetics/Cold War systems thinking)

Digital Economy

An economy based on data, platforms, and online activity (Tiziana Terranova, “Free Labor”)

Free Labor

Unpaid online activity (posting, liking) that creates value for companies (Tiziana Terranova, “Free Labor”)

Immaterial Labor

Non-physical work like thinking, creating, and interacting online (Tiziana Terranova, “Free Labor”)

Social Factory

The idea that all of life (not just jobs) produces economic value (Tiziana Terranova, “Free Labor”)

Postindustrial Society

A society where information and services replace manufacturing (Postindustrial theory / Terranova context)

Branding

Turning yourself or identity into a marketable product (Digital economy context)

Posthumanism

The idea that information is more important than the human body (N. Katherine Hayles, How We Became Posthuman)

How information lost its body

Information became seen as separate from physical form (N. Katherine Hayles, How We Became Posthuman)

Platonic Backhand

Creating a simplified model of reality (N. Katherine Hayles, How We Became Posthuman)

Platonic Forehand

Using that model to define and control reality (N. Katherine Hayles, How We Became Posthuman)

Virtuality

Living between digital and physical worlds (N. Katherine Hayles, How We Became Posthuman)

Information must always exist

Information always needs a physical form (like servers or bodies) (N. Katherine Hayles, How We Became Posthuman)

Three waves of cybernetics

1: control systems, 2: self-regulating systems, 3: human-machine integration (N. Katherine Hayles, How We Became Posthuman)

Digital Epidermalization

Technology assigns racial identity based on physical features (Simone Browne, Dark Matters)

Biometrics

Using bodily data (face, fingerprints) to identify people (Simone Browne, Dark Matters)

Critical Biometric Consciousness

Awareness that biometric systems can be biased (Simone Browne, Dark Matters)

White Racial Frame

Systems built around and favoring whiteness (Simone Browne, Dark Matters)

Screening Technologies

Tools used to monitor and control people (ex: scanners, surveillance) (Simone Browne, Dark Matters)

Enemy Detection Media

Technology used to identify threats or enemies (Cold War media studies context)

Friend-Enemy Expansion

The world becomes a data-field where everyone is a potential target or a verified ally until the algorithm decides otherwise (Joshua Reeves, Killer Apps: War, Media, Machine)

Camouflage and Subterfuge

Hiding or deceiving systems to avoid detection (Military/media studies context)

Radiographic Episteme

Using technology to see what is normally invisible ex: x-rays (Killer Apps: War, Media, Machine, Packer and Reeves)

SAGE

A Cold War computer system used for large-scale surveillance and defense (Cold War cybernetics history)

Ground Observer Corps

Citizens helping monitor the sky for threats (Cold War surveillance history)

Empathy Box

A device that allows people to share emotions collectively (Philip K. Dick, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?)

Mercerism

A religion based on shared empathy and suffering (Philip K. Dick, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?)

Mood Organ

A machine that lets people choose and control their emotions (Philip K. Dick, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?)

Voight-Kampff Test

A test that measures emotional responses to determine if someone is human (Philip K. Dick, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?)

Buster Friendly

A fake media personality used to manipulate the public (Philip K. Dick, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?)

Omelas

A perfect society that depends on the suffering of one child (Ursula K. Le Guin, “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas”)

The Ones Who Walk Away

People who reject a system built on injustice (Ursula K. Le Guin, “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas”)