Chapter 23: Science and Technology
- On Sociology and STS - This article explores the development of Science, Technology and Society in the UK, highlighting the changes within the field.
1. Why was Kuhn's work crucial to science studies?
2. What is actor-network theory?
3. What contributions has feminist thought made to the field of STS?
- The Political Process of Inscribing a New Technology - This article argues that technology use is shaped by political processes and demonstrates how technical inscriptions are continually contested and resisted.
1. What factors shape technology use?
2. How do users attempt to shape technology use?
3. Are technological inscriptions static?
- Will Algorithms Blind People? The Effect of Explainable AI and Decision-Makers’ Experience on AI-supported Decision-Making in Government - This article demonstrates that algorithms are not uniform and can produce different outcomes. It is useful for revealing how algorithms can be influenced by social factors as well as demonstrating how technology can influence governmental decision-making.
1. How has the scale of the use of algorithms in the public and private sectors changed in recent years?
2. Are algorithms value-free?
3. According to this research can governments solely rely on algorithms to make decisions?