The C!S and CTS were glad to host 25 students of Philosophy of Science, Technology & Society from the University of Twente for an afternoon workshop on Critical Algorithm Studies.
The event on May 5, 2022 was organized as part of a study trip by the “W.T.S. Ideefiks” Study Association for students interested in the interplay of technology and society.
They described their trip as follows:
“We are a group of twenty-four master students at the Philosophy of Science, Technology and Society (PSTS) program at the University of Twente, the Netherlands. It is a two-year degree where students learn to reflect critically on the role of technology in society. Together with two of our teachers, we are coming to Vienna in the first week of May. The goal of this trip is to get a better perspective on possible career opportunities, to expand our network internationally and also to simply have a good time together with our fellow students. Next to the CTS / C!S and the aspen.mobil.lab, we plan to visit the University of Vienna (specifically their STS group), the Austrian Institute for Technology (AIT), the Smart City department at the municipality and a start-up focussing on sustainable trading. We are very much looking forward to meeting you soon and engage in an inspiring coming-together!”
The workshop was organized and hosted by the C!S and the CTS. After a welcome by CTS Organizational Director Anna Franzkowiak, Florian Cech gave an introductory talk on the field of Critical Algorithm Studies (CAS), and presented a case study of the AMS Algorithm. The interactive part of the workshop included group work on various issues related to the case study, including the future imaginary purported by the system, its cultural impact, issues of fairness, bias and discrimination as well as transparency and accountability, and the overarching politics of the system.
The C!S//CTS is grateful to the students for their active and enthusiastic participation!
