TOPIC
&
RELEVANCE
Big
data has been
a major issue
in
internet-related
public debate
for several
years now and
it is yet
unclear what
impact big
data has on
societies,
politics and
markets. We
conceive big
data as
constituted by
three
components:
the automatic
generation of
very large and
diverse data
sets which are
mainly the
result of the
digitisation
of modern
societies,
their
processing by
algorithms and
their use for
decision-making
and
regulation, in
the private or
public sector.
This includes
purposes such
as profiling,
monitoring,
predictive
analysis and
risk
calculation.
Mayer-Schönberger
& Cukier
claim that big
data is a
“revolution
that will
transform how
we live, work,
and think”
(2014). But
whereas
revolutions
imply a
profound shift
in power
relations,
there is
little
scientific
evidence about
whether and,
if so, how big
data affects
power
relations.
We
understand
power as the
production, in
and through
social
relations, of
effects that
shape the
capacities of
actors to
determine
their fate.
Power opens up
or closes off
options to act
for parties
involved and
it is
multi-dimensional:
it is
influence over
others,
empowerment,
the capacity
to act and to
self-discipline.
SCOPE
OF THE SPECIAL
ISSUE
The
aim of the
special issue
in the
Internet
Policy Review
is to explore
the extent to
which big data
shapes society
by influencing
power
relations and,
in return, how
the
development of
big
data-related
phenomena is
itself shaped
by power
relations.
We
welcome
proposals that
address power
relations
linked to big
data phenomena
in various
fields, as
long as they
bear a
relevance to
European
societies and
highlight
policy
implications
or make a
reference to
regulatory
debates.
Papers can
have both a
more
conceptual or
a more
empirical
focus. This
call for
papers is open
to researchers
from the
fields of
policy
studies,
sociology,
law,
philosophy,
data,
information
and technology
studies,
economics and
management and
related
fields.
Emerging
scholars are
particularly
encouraged to
submit a
proposal.
FOCUS
OF THE PAPERS
As
stated above,
scientific
knowledge
about which
power
relations
shape the big
data society
is still
scarce. Yet
much has been
said about the
many promising
and worrying
aspects of a
society built
on predictive
analysis,
machine
learning and
algorithmic
regulation,
and various
implicit and
explicit
hypotheses
about the
power effects
of big data
have emerged
in the
academic and
public debate.
- Empowerment
of
users/citizens/patients:
Will big data
empower users,
citizens and
patients
through
applications
and services
(tailored
services,
e-participation,
e-health)?
- Power
shifts and
conflicts over
power between
actors:
- Does big
data alter the
power relation
between states
and citizens
(‘surveillance
society’,
‘governing the
poor’,
manipulation
of voters by
individualised
election
campaigns)?
- Do
personalised
marketing and
the monitoring
of staff
affect the
power
relations
between
companies and
users or
employees?
- Do new
power
relations
between
companies,
political
candidates/parties
or states
arise due to
unequal access
to big data
applications?
- Does big
data influence
the relative
importance of
scientific
disciplines or
professions
(data analysts
versus lawyers
and
economists)?
- Different
modes of
decision-making
and knowledge
production:
Are current
norms and
practices
threatened by
‘algorithmic
regulation’
and the ‘end
of theory’?
- Power
relations
shaping big
data: How do
power
relations
shape the
development of
big data and
the precise
big data
related
practices,
modes of
production and
application
fields?
- Narratives:
How are big
data related
power
relations
addressed,
problematized
or, on the
contrary,
masked?
- Regulation
of big data:
What
regulations
are relevant
for big data
related power
relations?
What
alternative
regulations
are proposed?
BEST
PAPER AWARD
In
addition to
the special
issue the
authors
selected for
the best paper
award will be
invited to
speak at the
closing
lecture of the
Alexander von
Humboldt
Institute for
Internet and
Society-lecture
series Big
data: big
power shifts?
The lecture is
set to be held
in Berlin in
April 2016 in
cooperation
with the
Vodafone
Institute for
Society and
Communications.
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