New Media & Society· 2016Q1
Seeing without knowing: Limitations of the transparency ideal and its application to algorithmic accountability
- 1,630citations
- Q1SCImago
- 2016year
Short summary
Transparency ideals are insufficient for understanding and governing algorithmic systems, as demonstrated by 10 identified limitations, suggesting a need for alternative accountability frameworks.
AI-generated from the title and abstract; the full text is not read.
Key points
- The ideal of transparency, where seeing a system equates to understanding and governing it, is a recurring pattern in discussions of computational systems.
- The article identifies ten specific limitations to the application of transparency ideals.
- Transparency is argued to be inadequate for understanding and governing complex algorithmic systems.
- An alternative typology for algorithmic accountability is proposed, acknowledging the limitations of transparency.
AI-generated from the title and abstract; the full text is not read.
Abstract
Models for understanding and holding systems accountable have long rested upon ideals and logics of transparency. Being able to see a system is sometimes equated with being able to know how it works and govern it—a pattern that recurs in recent work about transparency and computational systems. But can “black boxes’ ever be opened, and if so, would that ever be sufficient? In this article, we critically interrogate the ideal of transparency, trace some of its roots in scientific and sociotechnical epistemological cultures, and present 10 limitations to its application. We specifically focus on the inadequacy of transparency for understanding and governing algorithmic systems and sketch an alternative typology of algorithmic accountability grounded in constructive engagements with the limitations of transparency ideals.
The authors' abstract, as published at the source. New Media & Society, 2016 · DOI ↗
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