2023.Nov.09

REPORTS

Report on the 23rd B’AI Book Club
Minna Ruckenstein (2023) The Feel of Algorithms.

On October 24, 2023, the 23rd meeting of the B’AI Book Club took place. This book club is a book review session organized by project members of the B’AI Global Forum. During this book club meeting, Associate Prof. Ai Hisano conducted a review of Minna Ruckenstein (2023) The Feel of Algorithms. The book explores the emotional responses and experiences of individuals in relation to algorithmic technologies. The book examines how algorithms shape everyday practices and interactions, and how people feel excited, afraid, frustrated, and other emotions in their engagement with these algorithms. It also discusses the cultural shift towards affectively charged technology relations and talks about the need to consider these emotional responses in the design and discussions of algorithmic systems.

The book discusses three structures of feelings:

1. The dominant structure of feeling that focuses on the positive aspects of the algorithms emphasizing the convenience and efficiency algorithms can offer.
2. The oppositional structure of feeling, focuses on the fear associated with the algorithms such as privacy concerns, surveillance, lack of transparency, etc.
3. The third structure is the emergent structure of feeling that looks into the frustrations and annoyances of people because of imperfections of the algorithmic systems.

The author suggests that emotional responses can serve as a guide when developing improved algorithmic relationships, emphasizing the importance of understanding the affective dimensions of these systems.

Hisano raised several critical questions about the ambiguity of the idea of ‘algorithmic culture,’ such as questioning how the ‘dominant structure of feeling’ became ‘dominant’ in the first place. The discussion on the ‘digital geography of fear’ raises questions about the concept of geography in human-algorithm interaction. Professor Hisano also highlighted an important point: how do ‘individual’ feelings translate into ‘collective’ feelings? In other words, do one’s feelings (pleasure, irritation, fear, etc.) about an algorithmic system affect the feelings and practices of others?

During the discussion, several important points were raised. How can we take advantage of this research? How can the study of emotions guide algorithmic design thinking? How can technology influence our behavior? The discussion also highlighted concepts such as the collective psyche, algorithmic folklore, the pursuit of the ideal, and the geography of judgment, including the fear of judgment. These discussions raised issues about reducing emotions to categories such as fear and anger, urging the need for a deeper examination of our relationship with algorithms we encounter in our everyday lives.