Government by algorithm

Government by algorithm[1] (also known as algorithmic regulation,[2] regulation by algorithms, algorithmic governance,[3] algocratic governance, algorithmic legal order or algocracy[4]) is an alternative form of government or social ordering where the usage of computer algorithms is applied to regulations, law enforcement, and generally any aspect of everyday life such as transportation or land registration.[5][6][7][8][9] The term "government by algorithm" has appeared in academic literature as an alternative for "algorithmic governance" in 2013.[10] A related term, algorithmic regulation, is defined as setting the standard, monitoring and modifying behaviour by means of computational algorithms – automation of judiciary is in its scope.[11] In the context of blockchain, it is also known as blockchain governance.[12]

Government by algorithm raises new challenges that are not captured in the e-government literature and the practice of public administration.[13] Some sources equate cyberocracy, which is a hypothetical form of government that rules by the effective use of information,[14][15][16] with algorithmic governance, although algorithms are not the only means of processing information.[17][18] Nello Cristianini and Teresa Scantamburlo argued that the combination of a human society and certain regulation algorithms (such as reputation-based scoring) forms a social machine.[19]

  1. ^ "Government by Algorithm: A Review and an Agenda". Stanford Law School. Retrieved 20 March 2020.
  2. ^ Medina, Eden (2015). "Rethinking algorithmic regulation" (PDF). Kybernetes. 44 (6/7): 1005–1019. doi:10.1108/K-02-2015-0052.
  3. ^ Engin, Zeynep; Treleaven, Philip (March 2019). "Algorithmic Government: Automating Public Services and Supporting Civil Servants in using Data Science Technologies". The Computer Journal. 62 (3): 448–460. doi:10.1093/comjnl/bxy082.
  4. ^ Danaher, John (1 September 2016). "The Threat of Algocracy: Reality, Resistance and Accommodation". Philosophy & Technology. 29 (3): 245–268. doi:10.1007/s13347-015-0211-1. ISSN 2210-5441. S2CID 146674621. Retrieved 26 January 2022.
  5. ^ Yeung, Karen (December 2018). "Algorithmic regulation: A critical interrogation". Regulation & Governance. 12 (4): 505–523. doi:10.1111/rego.12158. S2CID 157086008.
  6. ^ Katzenbach, Christian; Ulbricht, Lena (29 November 2019). "Algorithmic governance". Internet Policy Review. 8 (4). doi:10.14763/2019.4.1424. hdl:10419/210652. ISSN 2197-6775. Retrieved 19 March 2020.
  7. ^ Abril, Rubén Rodríguez. "DERECOM. Derecho de la Comunicación. - An approach to the algorithmic legal order and to its civil, trade and financial projection". www.derecom.com (in European Spanish). Retrieved 20 May 2020.
  8. ^ "Rule by Algorithm? Big Data and the Threat of Algocracy". ieet.org. Retrieved 20 May 2020.
  9. ^ Werbach, Kevin (24 September 2018), The Siren Song: Algorithmic Governance By Blockchain, Social Science Research Network, SSRN 3578610.
  10. ^ Williamson, Ben (January 2013). "Decoding identity: Reprogramming pedagogic identities through algorithmic governance". British Educational Research Association Conference. Archived from the original on 24 June 2021. Retrieved 26 December 2020.
  11. ^ Hildebrandt, Mireille (6 August 2018). "Algorithmic regulation and the rule of law". Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences. 376 (2128): 20170355. Bibcode:2018RSPTA.37670355H. doi:10.1098/rsta.2017.0355. hdl:2066/200765. PMID 30082301.
  12. ^ Lumineau, Fabrice; Wang, Wenqian; Schilke, Oliver (1 March 2021). "Blockchain Governance—A New Way of Organizing Collaborations?". Organization Science. 32 (2): 500–521. doi:10.1287/orsc.2020.1379. ISSN 1047-7039. S2CID 225123270.
  13. ^ Veale, Michael; Brass, Irina (2019). "Administration by Algorithm? Public Management Meets Public Sector Machine Learning". Social Science Research Network. SSRN 3375391.
  14. ^ David Ronfeldt (1991). "Cyberocracy, Cyberspace, and Cyberology:Political Effects of the Information Revolution" (PDF). RAND Corporation. Retrieved 12 Dec 2014.
  15. ^ David Ronfeldt (1992). "Cyberocracy is Coming" (PDF). RAND Corporation. Retrieved 12 Dec 2014.
  16. ^ Ronfeldt, David; Varda, Danielle (1 December 2008), The Prospects for Cyberocracy (Revisited), Social Science Research Network, SSRN 1325809.
  17. ^ Shah, Bimal Pratap (July 4, 2019). "Transparency in governance, through cyberocracy". The Kathmandu Post. Retrieved 25 April 2020.
  18. ^ Hudson, Alex (28 August 2019). "'Far more than surveillance' is happening and could change how government is run". Metro. Retrieved 25 April 2020.
  19. ^ Cristianini, Nello; Scantamburlo, Teresa (8 October 2019). "On social machines for algorithmic regulation". AI & Society. 35 (3): 645–662. arXiv:1904.13316. Bibcode:2019arXiv190413316C. doi:10.1007/s00146-019-00917-8. ISSN 1435-5655. S2CID 140233845.