Algorithmic Culture
2015, European Journal of Cultural Studies
https://doi.org/10.1177/1367549415577392Abstract
Over the last 30 years or so, human beings have been delegating the work of culture – the sorting, classifying and hierarchizing of people, places, objects and ideas – increasingly to computational processes. Such a shift significantly alters how the category culture has long been practiced, experienced and understood, giving rise to what, following Alexander Galloway, I am calling ‘algorithmic culture’. The purpose of this essay is to trace some of the conceptual conditions out of which algorithmic culture has emerged and, in doing so, to offer a preliminary treatment on what it is. In the vein of Raymond Williams’ Keywords, I single out three terms whose bearing on the meaning of the word culture seems to have been unusually strong during the period in question: information, crowd and algorithm. My claim is that the offloading of cultural work onto computers, databases and other types of digital technologies has prompted a reshuffling of some of the words most closely associated with culture, giving rise to new senses of the term that may be experientially available but have yet to be well named, documented or recorded. This essay, though largely historical, concludes by connecting the dots critically to the present day. What is at stake in algorithmic culture is the gradual abandonment of culture’s publicness and the emergence of a strange new breed of elite culture purporting to be its opposite.
FAQs
AI
What does the term 'algorithmic culture' signify in contemporary usage?
The paper explains that algorithmic culture reflects a shift in cultural authority towards algorithms, which now guide decision-making and social interactions. This trend suggests a privatization of cultural processes, increasingly distancing them from public oversight.
How has the semantic definition of 'information' evolved historically?
The study reveals that 'information' transitioned from spiritual and legal connotations in the 12th century to an object-oriented definition by the 20th century, which abstracts its essence from human experience. This shift emphasizes information as data rather than inherent qualities.
What historical context surrounds the term 'crowd' in cultural studies?
The text shows that 'crowd' evolved from early modernity, acquiring pejorative meanings associated with masses and unthinking behavior, particularly in works like Charles Mackay's and Gustave Le Bon's. Modern interpretations, however, are more favorable, embracing concepts like 'crowd wisdom' and 'collective intelligence'.
How does the notion of 'algorithm' connect to culture and information?
The paper indicates that ‘algorithm’ links back to its Arabic roots in arithmetic and has become a pivotal concept for understanding data processing in culture. As the paper notes, algorithms are increasingly seen as tools that shape cultural practices, often alongside the management of public data.
What implications does algorithmic culture have for cultural studies?
The study suggests that algorithmic culture complicates traditional notions of cultural production, revealing a tension between democratization and privatization in decision-making processes. It highlights the necessity to scrutinize how algorithmic systems govern cultural values and social interactions today.
References (77)
- 'Algorism', n. (n.d.) OED Online. Oxford University Press. Available at: http://www.oed.com (accessed 18 October 2010).
- 'Algorithm', n. (n.d.) Dictionary.com. Available at: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/ algorithm?s=t (accessed 8 February 2011).
- 'Algorithm' (n.d.) Google Books Ngram Viewer. Available at: https://books.google.com/ngrams/ graph?content=algorithm&year_start=1800&year_end=2000&corpus=15&smoothing=3& share=&direct_url=t1%3B%2Calgorithm%3B%2Cc0 (accessed 5 May 2014).
- Arnold M (1993 [1869]) Culture and Anarchy and Other Writings (ed S Collini). Cambridge; New York: Cambridge University Press.
- Bateson G (2000 [1971]) Steps to an Ecology of Mind: Collected Essays in Anthropology, Psychiatry, Evolution, and Epistemology. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.
- Beniger JR (1986) The Control Revolution: Technological and Economic Origins of the Information Society. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
- Bennett T, Grossberg L and Morris M (eds) (2005) New Keywords: A Revised Vocabulary of Culture and Society. Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing.
- Bergson H (1992) The Creative Mind: An Introduction to Metaphysics (trans. M Andison). New York: Citadel Press.
- Berlant L (2011) Cruel Optimism. Durham, NC: Duke University Press.
- Burke E (1999 [1790]) Reflections on the Revolution in France (ed LG Mitchell). Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press.
- 'Cipher, Cypher', n. (n.d.) OED Online. Oxford University Press. Available at: http://www.oed. com (accessed 18 October 2010).
- Crossley JN and Henry AS (1990) Thus spake al-Khwārizmī: A Translation of the Text of Cambridge University Library Ms. Ii.vi.5. Historia Mathematica 17(2): 103-131.
- 'Crowd' (n.d.) Google Books Ngram Viewer. Available at: https://books.google.com/ngrams/ graph?content=crowd&year_start=1800&year_end=2000&corpus=15&smoothing=3&share =&direct_url=t1%3B%2Ccrowd%3B%2Cc0 (accessed 5 May 2014).
- Deleuze G and Guattari F (1983) Anti-Oedipus: Capitalism and Schizophrenia (trans. R Hurley, M Seem and HR Lane). Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press.
- Flusser V (2011) Into the Universe of Technical Images (trans. NA Roth). Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press.
- Foucault M (1971 [1970]) The Order of Things: An Archaeology of the Human Sciences. New York: Vintage Books.
- Foucault M (1972) The Archaeology of Knowledge (trans. AM Sheridan). New York: Pantheon Books. Fuller M (ed.) (2008) Software Studies: A Lexicon. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press.
- Galloway AR (2006) Gaming: Essays on Algorithmic Culture. Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press.
- Gillespie T (2007) Wired Shut: Copyright and the Shape of Digital Culture. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press.
- Gillespie T (2010) The politics of 'platforms'. New Media & Society 12(3): 347-364.
- Gillespie T (2011) Our misplaced faith in Twitter Trends. Salon. Available at: http://www.salon. com/2011/10/19/our_misplaced_faith_in_twitter_trends/ (accessed 12 May 2014).
- Gillespie T (2014) Algorithm (Digital Keywords). Available at: http://culturedigitally.org/2014/06/ algorithm-draft-digitalkeyword/ (accessed 6 November 2014).
- Gleick J (2011) The Information: A History, A Theory, A Flood. New York: Pantheon Books.
- Gramsci A (1971) Selections from the Prison Notebooks. Reprint ed. (eds Q Hoare and GN Smith). New York: International Publishers Co.
- Guattari F (1995) Chaosmosis: An Ethico-Aesthetic Paradigm. Bloomington, IL: Indiana University Press.
- Hall G (2002) Culture in Bits: The Monstrous Future of Theory. London; New York: Continuum.
- Hallinan B and Striphas T (2014) Recommend for you: The Netflix Prize and the production of algorithmic culture. New Media & Society. Epub ahead of print 23 June 2014. DOI: 10.1177/1461444814538646.
- Hartley RVL (1928) Transmission of Information. Bell System Technical Journal 7(3): 535-563.
- Hayek FA (2007 [1944]) The Road to Serfdom: Text and Documents -Definitive Edition (ed Caldwell B). Chicago, IL: University Of Chicago Press.
- Howe J (2008) Crowdsourcing: Why the Power of the Crowd Is Driving the Future of Business (1st edn). New York: Crown Business.
- 'Information', n. (n.d.) OED Online. Oxford University Press. Available at: http://www.oed.com (accessed 18 October 2010).
- James A (2009a) Amazon calls mistake 'embarrassing and ham-fisted'. In: Seattle Post Intelligencer Blog. Available at: http://blog.seattlepi.com/amazon/2009/04/13/amazon-calls- mistake-embarrassing-and-ham-fisted/ (accessed 25 October 2010).
- James A (2009b) AmazonFail: An inside look at what happened. Seattle Post Intelligencer Blog. Available at: http://blog.seattlepi.com/amazon/2009/04/13/amazonfail-an-inside-look-at- what-happened/ (accessed 25 October 2010).
- Jenkins H (2006) Convergence Culture: Where Old and New Media Collide. New York: New York University Press.
- Kahn D (1967) The Codebreakers: The Story of Secret Writing. New York: The Macmillan Company.
- Karpinski LC (1914) The algorism of John Killingworth. English Historical Review 29(116): 707-717.
- Karpinski LC (1915) Introduction. In: Karpinski LC (ed.) Robert of Chester's Latin Translation of the Algebra of Al-Khowarizmi. New York: The Macmillan Company.
- Kellog C (2009) Amazon de-ranks so-called adult books, including National Book Award win- ner. In: LA Times Blogs -Jacket Copy. Available at: http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/jacket- copy/2009/04/amazon-deranks-gayfriendly-books-the-twitterverse-notices.html (accessed 25 October 2010).
- Kelly K (1995) Out of Control: The New Biology of Machines, Social Systems, & the Economic World. Reading, MA: Basic Books.
- Kittler F (2006) Thinking colour and/or machines. Theory, Culture, & Society 23(7-8): 39-50.
- Latour B (2005) Reassembling the Social: An Introduction to Actor-Network Theory. Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press.
- Lavallee A (2009) Blogs and Twitter coin 'AmazonFail'. Wall Street Journal -Digits. Available at: http://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2009/04/13/blogs-and-twitter-coin-amazonfail/ (accessed 25 October 2010).
- Le Bon G (2002 [1895]) The Crowd: A Study of the Popular Mind (Reprint edition). Mineola, NY: Dover Publications.
- Levy P (1999) Collective Intelligence: Mankind's Emerging World in Cyberspace (trans. R Bononno). Cambridge, MA: Basic Books.
- Levy S (2010) How Google's algorithm rules the web. Wired. Available at: http://www.wired. com/magazine/2010/02/ff_google_algorithm/ (accessed 17 September 2012).
- Mackay C (2001 [1841]) Extraordinary Popular Delusions: And the Madness of Crowds. Amherst, NY: Prometheus Books.
- Mannheim K (1955) Ideology and Utopia: An Introduction to the Sociology of Knowledge (Reprint edn). San Diego, CA: Harcourt.
- Milgram S (2010) Some conditions on obedience and disobedience to authority (3rd edn). In: Blass T (ed.) The Individual in a Social World: Essays and Experiments. London: Pinter & Martin Ltd, pp.128-150.
- Milgram S and Toch H (2010) Crowds. In: Blass T (ed.) The Individual in a Social World: Essays and Experiments (3rd edn). London: Pinter & Martin Ltd, pp.237-305.
- Moretti F (2005) Graphs, Maps, Trees: Abstract Models for a Literary History. London; New York: Verso.
- Olson M (1971) The Logic of Collective Action: Public Goods and the Theory of Groups (Revised edn). Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
- Peters JD (1988) Information: Notes toward a critical history. Journal of Communication Inquiry 12(2): 9-23.
- Probst M (2009) Ramblings from a Literature Lover and Sometimes Writer. Amazon Follies. Available at: http://markprobst.livejournal.com/15293.html (accessed 25 October 2010).
- Rheingold H (1985) Tools for Thought: The History and Future of Mind-Expanding Technology. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press.
- Rheingold H (2002) Smart Mobs: The Next Social Revolution. Cambridge, MA: Basic Books.
- Rich M (2009) Amazon says error removed listings. The New York Times, 14 April. Available at: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/14/technology/internet/14amazon.html (accessed 25 October 2010).
- Sawyer K (2007) Group Genius: The Creative Power of Collaboration. New York: Basic Books.
- Schrödinger E (1967 [1944]) What is Life? The Physical Aspect of the Living Cell. Cambridge; New York: Cambridge University Press.
- Seigworth G (2000) Banality for cultural studies. Cultural Studies 14(2): 227-268.
- Seigworth G (2006) Cultural studies and Gilles Deleuze. In: Birchall C and Hall G (eds) New Cultural Studies: Adventures in Theory. Athens: University of Georgia Press, pp.107-126.
- Shannon C (1945) A Mathematical Theory of Cryptography. Murray Hill, NJ: Bell Labs. Available at: http://www.cs.bell-labs.com/who/dmr/pdfs/shannoncryptshrt.pdf (accessed 27 June 2014).
- Shirky C (2008) Here Comes Everybody: The Power of Organizing Without Organizations. New York: Penguin Press.
- Smith A (1977 [1776]) An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations (ed E Cannan). Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.
- Smith DE and Karpinski LC (1911) The Hindu-Arabic Numerals. Boston, MA; London: Ginn and Co. Striphas T (2009) The Late Age of Print: Everyday Book Culture from Consumerism to Control. New York: Columbia University Press.
- Striphas T (2010) The abuses of literacy: Amazon Kindle and the right to read. Communication and Critical/Cultural Studies 7(3): 297-317.
- Striphas T (2014) The Internet of words. The Chronicle of Higher Education. Available at: http:// chronicle.com/article/The-Internet-of-Words/148179/ (accessed 15 August 2014).
- Surowiecki J (2004) The Wisdom of Crowds: Why the Many Are Smarter Than the Few and How Collective Wisdom Shapes Business, Economies, Societies and Nations. New York: Doubleday.
- Tapscott D and Williams AD (2006) Wikinomics: How Mass Collaboration Changes Everything. New York: Portfolio Hardcover.
- Welcome (n.d.) Digital Keywords: A Scholarly Workshop at the University of Tulsa. Available at: http://orgs.utulsa.edu/dkw/ (accessed 5 May 2014).
- Wiener N (1954) The Human Use of Human Beings: Cybernetics and Society (Revised edn). Cambridge, MA: Da Capo Press.
- Wiener N (1961) Cybernetics or, Control and Communication in the Animal and the Machine. New York: The MIT Press.
- Williams R (1958) Culture and Society, 1780-1950. New York: Columbia University Press.
- Williams R (1976) Keywords: A Vocabulary of Culture and Society (1st edn). New York: Oxford University Press.
- Williams R (1977) Marxism and Literature. Oxford: Oxford University Press (English).
- Williams R (1981) The Sociology of Culture. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.
- Williams R (1983) Keywords: A Vocabulary of Culture and Society (Revised edn). New York: Oxford University Press. Biographical note
- Ted Striphas is Associate Professor in the Department of Communication and Culture, Indiana University, USA. He is the author of The Late Age of Print: Everyday Book Culture from Consumerism to Control (Columbia University Press, 2009) and is currently at work on his next book, Algorithmic Culture. Twitter: @striphas.