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CORNELL INFORMATION SCIENCE TENURE-TRACK AND TENURED FACULTY SEARCH, ITHACA CAMPUS
by Palashi Vaghela 27 Oct '20

27 Oct '20

The Cornell University Department of Information Science (IS) in the college of Computing and Information Science (CIS) has tenure track and tenured faculty positions available at its Ithaca, NY campus. The IS Department spans Cornell’s Ithaca and New York City campuses; faculty hired in this year's search will have their teaching and research based in Ithaca. This year’s search is primarily focused on hiring candidates who have a computational/technical focus on research areas within information science, including computational social science, network science, visualization, and technical approaches to HCI. We are especially interested in candidates whose scholarship and service further the department’s goals around diversity and inclusion. Exceptional candidates in other areas related to the department’s research (see https://infosci.cornell.edu/research) may also be considered, though we plan to prioritize candidates who connect to the focal areas above. Ithaca IS faculty are located in Cornell’s Gates Hall and the department has strong connections with several other units on campus, including Computer Science (also in Gates), Communication, Economics, Sociology, Science and Technology Studies, Operations Research and Information Engineering, and Cognitive Science. These connections support the IS department’s mission to advance its understanding of how people and society interact with computing and information. The department also strives to offer a high quality of life, providing a collegial and supportive atmosphere on campus. Beyond campus, Ithaca is in the heart of the Finger Lakes region, and both Cornell and Ithaca offer a vibrant cultural life and a wide range of sporting and outdoor activities close at hand. Cornell also seeks to meet the needs of dual career couples, with both its own Dual Career program and membership in the Upstate New York Higher Education Recruitment Consortium to assist in dual career searches. Candidates must hold a Ph.D. or equivalent degree by August, 2021. Assistant Professor candidates must demonstrate the potential to achieve excellence in research and teaching at both the graduate and undergraduate levels. More senior candidates must have an established record of outstanding research and excellent teaching at both the graduate and undergraduate levels; salary, rank, and tenure status will be commensurate with qualifications and experience. Candidates should submit a cover letter, curriculum vitae (CV), and research and teaching statements. The letter, CV, or research statement should identify a small set of their most significant pieces of work. Candidates should also submit a statement of diversity, equity, and inclusion, as diversity and inclusion are a key part of Cornell University’s heritage, and we are a recognized employer and educator valuing AA/EEO, protected veterans, and individuals with disabilities. Fostering an inclusive environment is also a core value of IS and CIS. In line with Cornell’s historical commitment to educating “…any person…in any study…”, we seek candidates who will create a climate that helps attract and is inclusive of all students, including students from historically underrepresented groups and students who have overcome personal challenges. The statement of contribution to diversity, equity and inclusion is an opportunity for candidates to describe how their research, teaching, and/or service will contribute to a diverse, inclusive climate. See https://facultydevelopment.cornell.edu/department-resources/recruitment/con… for more information, including suggestions for elements we look for in such statements, as well as https://cis.cornell.edu/diversity for information about related CIS activities and resources. The above application materials should be submitted online at https://academicjobsonline.org/ajo/jobs/16872, along with the names of at least three people who will provide reference letters. To ensure full consideration, complete applications (including reference letters) should be received by December 1, 2020, but applications will be accepted until the search has concluded. Inquiries about your application may be directed to fac_recruit(a)infosci.cornell.edu. Diversity and Inclusion are a part of Cornell University’s heritage. We are a recognized employer and educator valuing AA/EEO, Protected Veterans and Individuals with Disabilities. We also recognize a lawful preference in employment practices for Native Americans living on or near Indian reservations. Cornell University is an innovative Ivy League university and a great place to work. Our inclusive community of scholars, students, and staff impart an uncommon sense of larger purpose, and contribute creative ideas to further the university's mission of teaching, discovery, and engagement. *Application Materials Required:**Submit <https://academicjobsonline.org/ajo?apply-128-16872> the following items online at this website to complete your application:* - Cover letter - Curriculum Vitae - Research statement - Teaching statement - Diversity Statement - Three references (actual letters acceptable but not required, just names and email addresses) *And anything else requested in the position description.* *Further Info:* https://academicjobsonline.org/ajo/jobs/1687 <https://academicjobsonline.org/ajo/jobs/16872> https://infosci.cornell.edu/[image: email] Cornell University Information Science Department 236 Gates Hall Ithaca, NY 14853 *--* *Palashi* she/her Currently @Microsoft Research India PhD Candidate, Information Science, Cornell University infosci.cornell.edu | palashi.github.io 219 Gates Hall Ithaca, NY 14853

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GDPN & SSN Data Cultures Event: COVIDSafe(R): tracing, surveillance, and other organised irresponsibilities
by Thao Phan 26 Oct '20

26 Oct '20

Please join us for this special Deakin University Global Digital Public Network & Science and Society Network event. *Register here*: https://covidsafe-tracing-surveillance-irresponsibilities.eventbrite.com.au *Date/time:* Thursday October 29th, 10am - 11:30am (Australian Eastern Daylight Time, GMT+11) *Title: *COVIDSafe®: tracing, surveillance, and other organised irresponsibilities *Description:*This panel discussion builds on Dr. Monique Mann <https://youtu.be/6_zHhCfyKhg>’s provocations on the limits and liabilities of COVIDSafe—the app promoted by the Commonwealth Government of Australia to trace and track people who have been exposed to the COVID-19 virus. While the COVIDSafe app continues to be used, imperfect as it is, this panel considers how other, privately owned digital tracking applications are now also emerging in response to the wave of public health concerns, such as PwC’s “Check-in” application for workforces and the Apple-Google API. This panel discusses the emergence of privatised solutions to this public health crisis and places them within the context of criticisms and concerns of state-based surveillance. *This event is presented by Deakin University's Global Digital Publics Network (GDPN) & the Science and Society Network's Data Cultures research theme.* *Scheduled speakers include:* *Jessica Glenn*, AIM, who first detailed the code of COVIDSafe; *Vanessa Teague*, CEO of Thinking Cybersecurity and A/Prof at ANU; *Graham Greenleaf*, Professor of Law & Information Systems, University of New South Wales; *Peta Mitchell*, A/Prof at QUT Digital Media Research Centre; *Luke Heemsbergen*, Lecturer in Communication, Deakin University; *Monique Mann*, Senior Lecturer in Criminology, Deakin University. Each speaker will give a short (5-10 mins) presentation and chart how they think the issues uncovered in app-based (public health) governance might inflect further into specific social, legal, political, or technical concerns. Dr Mann will then provide concluding remarks. The session will be chaired by Dr Radhika Gorur, SSN Data Cultures theme leader. *Watch the seminar:* Seminar will be available to stream on YouTube live. Access using the live link: https://youtu.be/4DicVQMIooA Date/time: Thursday October 29th, 10am - 11:30am (Australian Eastern Daylight Time, GMT+11) Q&A with the speaker to follow. To send questions/participate in the chat, you'll need to sign-in using a YouTube account. The seminar will be recorded and available to watch on the SSN YouTube channel after the Livestream. If you have any questions, please send to ssn-...(a)deakin.edu.au <https://groups.google.com/>.

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GigaNet annual symposium program + registration! Monday, 2nd November (remote)
by Carmi, Elinor 26 Oct '20

26 Oct '20

Dear all, I hope you're doing well, apocalypse considered. We're thrilled to share with you the GigaNet symposium program, happening next week! The GigaNet Annual Symposium will take place on Day 0 of the IGF, this year due to the pandemic it will be remote via Zoom. Please notice that you have to register to the conference - https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSc0apZyD5ca71xKOWDeVO-NL-eJ6rsy-z_… AND the IGF website as well to be able to participate - https://www.intgovforum.org/multilingual/content/igf-2020-registration To check out the full program go to this link -> https://www.giga-net.org/2020-annual-giganet-symposium-program-katowice-pol… but we wanted to give you a teaser of what's on-> <https://www.giga-net.org/2020-annual-giganet-symposium-program-katowice-pol…> GigaNet Symposium at IGF – Monday, 2nd November, 2020 Join the debate on our live tweeting-> @Giganetr #GigaNet 13:40-13:55 UTC – Welcome and Introductory Remarks Dmitry Epstein, GigaNet Chair Roxana Radu, GigaNet Program Chair 2020 14:00-15:15 UTC – parallel sessions 1 panel A1: Platform governance Panel B1: Internet governance and the Covid-19 pandemic 15:20-16:35 UTC – parallel sessions 2 Panel A2: Data Governance Panel B2: Stakeholders and their role in internet governance 16:40-17:55 UTC – parallel sessions 3 Panel 3: Governing standards and infrastructure Panel B3: Cyberconflict and Cybersecurity 18:00-19:00 UTC – GigaNet meeting Take care and best wishes, Dr. Elinor Carmi, Postdoc Research Associate - Digital Media & Society, Department of Communication and Media, Faculty of the Humanities and Social Sciences, School of the Arts, Liverpool University, UK. https://elinorcarmi.com<https://elinorcarmi.com/> Twitter: @Elinor_Carmi

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Call for nominations: International Journal of Press/Politics Best Book Award, deadline 1 March 2021
by Cristian Vaccari 26 Oct '20

26 Oct '20

Call for Nominations The International Journal of Press/Politics Best Book Award 2021 Deadline: 1 March 2021 Also available at https://journals.sagepub.com/pb-assets/cmscontent/HIJ/2021IJPPbookawardfina… -- please share! Nominations are invited for the annual International Journal of Press/Politics Best Book Award, to be sent to committee members no later than March 1. Rationale The International Journal of Press/Politics Best Book Award honors internationally oriented books that advance our theoretical and empirical understanding of the linkages between news media and politics in a globalized world in a significant way. It is given annually by the International Journal of Press/Politics and sponsored by Sage Publications. The award committee will judge each nominated book on several criteria, including the extent to which the book goes beyond analyzing a single case country to present a broader and internationally oriented argument, the significance of the problems addressed, the strength of the evidence the book relies on, conceptual innovation, the clarity of writing, and the book’s ability to link journalism studies, political communication research, and other relevant intellectual fields. Eligibility Books written in English and published within the last ten years will be considered. Monographs as well as edited volumes of exceptional quality and coherence will be considered for the award. Books by current members of the award committee are ineligible and committee members will recuse themselves from discussion of books by members of their own department, works published in series that they edit, and similar circumstances. Award committee The award committee consists of Cristian Vaccari (the editor of the International Journal of Press/Politics), Sophie Lecheler (chair of the Political Communication Division of ICA), and Seth Lewis (chair of the Journalism Studies Division of ICA). Nominations Nominations including a rationale of no more than 350 words should be emailed by March 1 to Cristian Vaccari at c.vaccari(a)lboro.ac.uk. Self-nominations are accepted. The nomination must specify why the book should receive the award by outlining the importance of the book to the study of media and politics and by identifying its international contribution and relevance. Please include links to or copies of relevant reviews in scholarly journals. Arrangements should be made with the publishers of nominated books for one hard copy or e-book (i.e., the full book in PDF form) to be sent by March 1 to each of the three committee members at the following addresses: - Cristian Vaccari, School of Social Sciences and Humanities, Brockington Building U.3.19, Loughborough University, Epinal Way, Loughborough, Leicestershire, LE11 3TU, United Kingdom. Email: c.vaccari(a)lboro.ac.uk. - Sophie Lecheler, Department of Communication, University of Vienna, Kolingasse 14-16, 1090 Vienna, Austria. Email: sophie.lecheler(a)univie.ac.at - Seth Lewis, School of Journalism and Communication, 1275 University of Oregon, Allen Hall Room 219, Eugene, OR 97403-1275, USA . Email: sclewis(a)uoregon.edu Presentation The award will be presented at the 2021 Annual Meeting of the International Communication Association and will be announced on the IJPP website. The awarded book will also receive recognition in issue 4/2021 of the journal. Past winners of the award 2020: Thomas Hanitzsch, Folker Hanusch, Jyotika Ramaprasad, and Arnold S. de Beer (Editors), Worlds of Journalism: Journalistic Cultures Around the Globe (Columbia University Press, 2019). 2019: Maria Repnikova, Media Politics in China: Improvising Power Under Authoritarianism (Cambridge University Press, 2017). 2018: Erik Albæk, Arjen van Dalen, Nael Jebril, and Claes H. de Vreese, Political Journalism in Comparative Perspective (Cambridge University Press, 2014). 2017: Katrin Voltmer, The Media in Transitional Democracies (Polity Press, 2013). 2016: Andrew Chadwick, The Hybrid Media System: Politics and Power (Oxford University Press, 1st edition 2013). 2015: Rodney Benson, Shaping Immigration News (Cambridge University Press, 2014). Cristian Vaccari ****************************************************** Professor of Political Communication, Loughborough University <http://www.lboro.ac.uk/departments/socialsciences/staff/cristian-vaccari/> Co-Director, Centre for Research in Communication and Culture <https://www.lboro.ac.uk/research/crcc/> Editor-in-Chief, International Journal of Press/Politics <http://hij.sagepub.com/> ****************************************************** Personal website: https://cristianvaccari.com/ Google Scholar profile <http://scholar.google.com/citations?user=3_TethEAAAAJ&hl=en> Twitter: @prof_vaccari <https://twitter.com/prof_vaccari>

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Global Media and China Webinar: Mediating Borders: New Boundaries for Hong Kong Studies
by Xiao Han 25 Oct '20

25 Oct '20

Dear All, The SAGE journal Global Media and China, sponsored by the Communication University of China, is pleased to announce its webinar series. The first webinar will take place on ZOOM: Join Zoom Meeting https://cuhk.zoom.us/j/91865769066?pwd=VW9selYvN1FTMWhTYzNLUDlLVFFCUT09 <https://cuhk.zoom.us/j/91865769066?pwd=VW9selYvN1FTMWhTYzNLUDlLVFFCUT09> Meeting ID: 918 6576 9066 Passcode: 236266 Time: October 29, 20.30 - 22.30 (Beijing/HK Time) October 29, 14.30 - 16.30 (UTC/GMT) Theme There are myriad methods and tactics to study and examine Hong Kong as a former crown colony and a current Chinese special administrative region. Using the idea of border as a critical tool as well as the subject of critique, this webinar highlights and addresses a political and historical fact that the bordering, debordering and transbordering of Hong Kong, as long taken-for-granted through the media, has never been a fixed and stable boundary. To think of the borderscape of Hong Kong is to see border as always in process, which will generate new possibilities in sustaining and reconfiguring the city’s cultural infrastructure to meet new demands and challenges. If political binarism and cultural parochialism have walled up Hong Kong cultures from national or transnational transformations, this webinar seeks to initiate new discussions and revisit old discovery of Hong Kong amid the ebb and flow of nationality, transnationality and globality. Speakers Prof. Yiu-Wai Chu, Professor and Director, Hong Kong Studies Programme, The University of Hong Kong Dr. Helena Wu, Lecturer and Research Fellow, Institute of Asian and Oriental Studies, University of Zurich, Switzerland Dr. Danny Weng-kit Chan, Lecturer, College of Professional and Continuing Education, Hong Kong Polytechnic University Abstracts Yiu-Wai Chu, “Hong Kong (in China) Studies: Hong Kong Popular Culture as Example” Hong Kong’s integration into the Mainland has become a topic that is pertinent to the consideration of the future of Hong Kong culture and the city as a whole. Through the cross-border ventures of Hong Kong cultural industries, this talk examines the implications of a new version of “northbound imaginary” in Hong Kong cinema, television and popular songs. It endeavors to use these cross-border experiences as examples to contribute an additional dimension to Hong Kong studies, which is seen as important as the worlding of Hong Kong culture. Hopefully, this will also shed light on a cultural studies response to the new configuration of the Greater Bay Area. Helena Wu, “Sports as a Lens: The Making of Athletes' and Spectators' Identities in Postmillennial Hong Kong” This talk explores the trajectories of local and national belonging in various forms and degrees, which, in turn, bespeak the evolving Hong Kong-China relationship in the larger socio-political context of post-handover Hong Kong. It examines the multifarious articulations of local and national identifications registered in the athletes’ and the spectators’ performing bodies, their mediated images and embodiments. Through the media representation and repercussion of cross-border sports competitions and athletes’ image, the talk explores the athletes’ and the spectators’ performing bodies and their mediated identities and embodiments, in order to tease out the body and identity politics embedded in sports practice and viewership partaken in different scenarios. Danny Wen-kit Chan, “Beyond Nationhood: Border and Coming of Age in Hong Kong Cinema” The 50s of Hong Kong manifests the initiation of a communal imagination oscillating in between the sovereignty of a British colony and the reality of a Chinese territory. The influx of immigrants from the north and, as a result, the establishment of a border during the 50s not only restructured the demographic composition of the city, but also brought along new momentum for mass cultural productions. Capitalizing on two titles produced in the early 50s and in the late 90s of Hong Kong cinema, namely Fung Fung’s The Kid (1950) and Fruit Chan’s Little Cheung (1999), this talk aims to explore the correlation between border, community and nationality through the life adventures of the child protagonists, whose transitions and explorations are entangled with a political and territorial border that polarizes our Sinophonic imagination in the ongoing present of China-Hong Kong division. Dr HAN Xiao Research Associate, Social Media Centre, Communication University of China (CUC) Commissioning Editor, Global Media and China http://journals.sagepub.com/home/gch <http://gch.sagepub.com/>

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Oxford Global Media Policy Seminar Series - Upcoming Online Talks!
by Kira Allmann 24 Oct '20

24 Oct '20

Dear all, We’re excited to announce a wonderful list of speakers for our PCMLP Global Media Policy Seminar series this term! Please register to attend online: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/programme-in-comparative-media-law-and-polic… *We have seen the enemy…and he is us: When engineering culture collides with human rights advocacy online* Corinne Cath-Speth (University of Oxford) November 3rd, 14:00 (UTC) *When good is the enemy of great: Rural broadband in a time of COVID*Christopher Ali (University of Virginia) November 10th, 16:00 (UTC) *Technology Does Not Operate in a Vacuum: The Impact of Women’s Mobile Phone Ownership on Economic Well-being in Tanzania*Philip Roessler (The College of William and Mary) November 17th, 16:00 (UTC) *The role of norms in the Internet infrastructure: the infrastructural norm of interconnection and human rights*Niels ten Oever (University of Amsterdam) December 3rd, 16:00 (UTC) **More details on these talks and links to register: http://pcmlp.socleg.ox.ac.uk/events/** Best wishes, Kira *Dr Kira Allmann*Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Media Law & Policy Centre for Socio-Legal Studies Faculty of Law University of Oxford kira.allmann(a)csls.ox.ac.uk

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NEW: The Financial Times ties to Cambridge Analytica
by Dr. Emma Briant 23 Oct '20

23 Oct '20

Dear Colleagues, A year long investigation from my upcoming book on Cambridge Analytica 'Propaganda Machine' - excerpt now available in Byline Times examines the Financial Times relationship with CA and their attempts to cover it up during the scandal. One of Britain’s most respected media companies, the *Financial Times,* published an article on 7 October asserting in its headline that ‘Cambridge Analytica probe finds no evidence it misused data to influence Brexit’. They neglected to mention the FT's concerning ties with Cambridge Analytica - My article based on important new documents, interviews and emails reveals the FT's cover-up of their own links to the company. Can they even tell readers what happened to the FT's US subscriber list? READ NOW: DARK IRONIES The Financial Times AND Cambridge Analytica <https://emma-briant.us10.list-manage.com/track/click?u=e7f9f1379bf0f0311ebb…> OR SHARE ON TWITTER <https://emma-briant.us10.list-manage.com/track/click?u=e7f9f1379bf0f0311ebb…> Thank you for checking it out. Best wishes to all, Emma -- Dr Emma L Briant Independent Researcher/Author/Analyst Associate Researcher at Human Rights Program Bard College, Annandale on Hudson New York Website: www.emma-briant.co.uk Author of: *Propaganda and Counter-Terrorism: Strategies for Global Change *from Manchester University Press Co-Author of: *Bad News for Refugees* with Prof. Greg Philo and Dr. Pauline Donald from Pluto Press. Follow me on Twitter @emmalbriant <https://www.avast.com/sig-email?utm_medium=email&utm_source=link&utm_campai…> Virus-free. www.avast.com <https://www.avast.com/sig-email?utm_medium=email&utm_source=link&utm_campai…> <#DAB4FAD8-2DD7-40BB-A1B8-4E2AA1F9FDF2>

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PostDoc in Copenhagen: Natural language processing of legal texts and bias
by Sebastian Felix Schwemer 23 Oct '20

23 Oct '20

Dear Air-L community, I am looking for a Postdoc to join me at the Centre for Information and Innovation Law (University of Copenhagen) on a project on natural language processing of legal texts and questions on bias etc. The deadline is really tight (6 November), but I would highly appreciate if you could disseminate this to relevant candidates or ping me if you have someone in mind who I should reach out to ☺. The job ad (excerpt below) can be found here: https://jobportal.ku.dk/videnskabelige-stillinger/?show=152568 Thank you and best regards, Sebastian ==== *LegalTech PostDoc at the Faculty of Law, University of Copenhagen* A 2-year (with possible extension of one year) full-time PostDoc position is available at the Centre for Information and Innovation Law (CIIR) of the Faculty of Law at the University of Copenhagen. The position is part of the GrandSolutions project “LEGALESE – Danish language Processing for Legal Texts” and financed by the Innovation Fund Denmark. The position is available from 1 December 2020 or later and for the duration of 2 years (with possible extension of one year). Job description We are seeking an enthusiastic and outstanding post-doctoral candidate with a strong interest on the intersection of law and computer science. LEGALESE is a joint venture by the University of Copenhagen’s Faculty of Law and Department of Computer Science, the private company Schultz, and Ankestyrelsen. The aim of LEGALESE is to research and develop a product that facilitates efficient legal information retrieval and automated recommendation using cutting-edge natural language processing (NLP). Bias detection and removal (debiasing) are essential for the trustworthiness and legality of such NLP system. The PostDoc will work on the related cutting-edge legal issues with a view to establishing a standard for NLP implementations in terms of both privacy and bias and shall focus research on how debiasing may be implemented in operational NLP systems. The research will be conducted in ongoing collaboration with the Department of Computer Science as well as the involved practice partners, Schulz and Ankestyrelsen. Applicants are encouraged to familiarize themselves with the faculty's research areas and education programmes by visiting the Faculty’s website: www.jura.ku.dk<https://www.jura.ku.dk/>. The Faculty actively supports the effort to learn Danish. Questions For further information about the position, please contact Associate Professor Sebastian Felix Schwemer, sebastian.felix.schwemer(a)jur.ku.dk. For further information on the employment procedure, please contact HR South and City e-mail: hrsc(a)hrsc.ku.dk<mailto:hrsc@hrsc.ku.dk>. Qualifications * Candidates must have obtained a PhD degree in law (or closely related areas) and a demonstrated interest in relevant areas such as at the digitalization of law or administration, legal informatics, LegalTech, bias in automated decision making, or legal/ethical challenges in relation to automation of legal services and the use of AI. * Excellent English communication skills, both oral and written, are prerequisite for the successful candidate. Danish or another Scandinavian language is not a requirement but advantageous. * The successful candidate will have the ambition to produce high quality research and a keen interest in interdisciplinary work bridging research and practice. * The successful candidate will have a solution-oriented, organizational and positive mindset. The ability to work in a collaborative environment both independently and as part of the team is essential. Application The University wishes our staff to reflect the diversity of society and thus welcomes applications from all qualified candidates regardless of personal background. The application (in English or a Scandinavian language), must be submitted electronically by clicking APPLY NOW below. The application must include: * Motivation letter; * Research plan (maximum 5 pages; it should describe your research ideas and goals in relation to the LEGALESE project as well your long-term research vision); * Curriculum vitae; * List of publications; * Copy of diplomas/degree certificate(s) (foreign applicants are advised to attach an explanation of their university's grading system); and * Three references (incl. e-mail and phone number). The recruitment process Further information on the recruitment process at University of Copenhagen can be found here: https://employment.ku.dk/faculty/recruitment-process/ Terms of Employment * Further information on qualification requirements as postdoc can be found in the Memorandum on Job Structure for Academic Staff at Danish Universities 2019 here: https://employment.ku.dk/faculty/criteria-for-recognising-merit/dokumenter/… * Terms of appointment and salary is in accordance with the Danish Confederation of Professional Associations (Akademikerne). * The salary range starts at DKK 34,655 per month + a 17.1 % contribution to the pension scheme. It is possible to negotiate salary supplements on an annual basis. An Equal Opportunity Workplace The University of Copenhagen is committed in its pursuit of academic excellence to equality of opportunity and to creating an inclusive working environment and therefore encourages all qualified candidates to apply, regardless of personal background, gender, sexual orientation, age, disability, ethnicity etc. For more on the diverse working place environment at the University and the University’s participation in the HRS4R HR Excellence in Researrch, see https://employment.ku.dk/working-at-ucph/eu-charter-for-researchers/ International applicant? The University of Copenhagen offers a broad variety of services for international researchers and accompanying families, including support before and during your relocation and career counselling to expat partners. Please find more information about these services as well as information on entering and working in Denmark here: https://ism.ku.dk/<https://ism.ku.dk/%20> The closing date for applications is 23:59 CET, 6 November 2020. Applications or enclosures received thereafter will not be considered. @schwemer<https://twitter.com/schwemer> +45 35 33 10 16

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Please join us for the AoIR 2020 Pre-conference: Algorithms and the future of agency
by Jakob Linaa Jensen 23 Oct '20

23 Oct '20

Dear all Our AoIR pre-conference: "Algorithms and the future of agency" will take place online Monday October 26th at 17.00 UTC. Descriptions and program below. Organizers are: Jakob Linaa Jensen, Stefania Milan, Mark Andrejevic, Dylan Wittkover, Andrew Iliadis, Emiliano Treré, Aline Shakti Franzke. Sign up here: https://forms.gle/sS64W8MXX8ej3AsQ8 Zoomlink to be provided to participants the day before Idea: As more and more daily and social life is mediated through platforms, algorithms play an increasing role determining our information and capacity for action. For instance, the increasing use of automated decision-making, by insurance companies, hospitals, police and government in general raises important ethical and philosophical questions on the future of agency. First, in algorithmic procedures and decision-making, it is difficult to ascribe agency and thereby responsibility. Second, if our independent agency, also known as the free will, is severely limited by algorithmic decision-making and algorithmically defined horizons of information (for instance on Facebook and Google), it bears important and far-reaching consequences for liberal democracy as we know it. Responsibility, accountability and agency are fundamental prerequisites of democracy. If it is impossible to identify power and keep certain actors accountable, democracy and individual rights are at stake. In this pre-conference, we invite participants to explore and discuss such issues. To initiate and facilitate the discussions, a range of scholars with different background and interests, but all interested and engaged in the topic, will provide igniting talks discussing aspects of algorithmic agency. The first four talks sketch the problems from political, democratic, semantic and ethical perspectives. The last three talks sketch possible solutions, both conceptual and practical. We hope by the talk to inspire discussions based on specific experiences with algorithmic agency and to provoke suggestions for possible solutions in order to save agency and, ultimately, life and democracy as we know it in an increasingly algorithmic world. Program In the first half we will discuss the problems of algorithmic agendy and the first four organizers will give igniting talks (app. 10 minutes each followed by questions and comments from the audience). In the second half, we will discuss possible solutions to the problems, based on the igniting talks by the last three organisers. At the end of the session we will try to draw a map of these issues and questions that might form a backbone of a coming joint publication for interested participants. PART I – The problems of algorithmic agency Political agency in the age of AI: The case of facial recognition tech Stefania Milan How does artificial intelligence, and facial recognition technology in particular, alter the exercise of political agency? Taking the perspective of ordinary citizens, the contribution will touch upon two key aspects of democratic life, namely political participation and the relation between the state and its citizens. Briefly teasing out the possibilities and the perils for active citizenship entrenched in the expansion of AI into society, this contribution will raise questions on the future of democracy in relation to a technology which will have unparalleled consequences on human life. Semantic Agency: Graphing Knowledge on Web Infrastructures Andrew Iliadis Agency is tied to the power to name, classify, categorize, and organize. In today’s web infrastructures, knowledge about entities and relationships that exist in the world is codified into semantic web code/syntax that undergird countless information products, from Google knowledge panels to the Wikidata that feeds into virtual assistants. Such graphing of knowledge impacts areas as diverse as news consumption, fact checking, advertising, and logistics. This contribution draws on recent theoretical work on the philosophy and politics of web semantics (Monea 2016; Hui 2016; Thomas 2018) while also drawing on empirical research and case studies that focus on the work of platform companies and organizations who build and maintain semantic infrastructures on the internet. Algorithmic agency and the future of democracy Jakob Linaa Jensen Agency is closely related to the power we willingly or unwillingly impose towards ourselves in the platform economy, for instance when we sacrifice privacy for convenience. But such power is blurred and difficult to identify. It is a fundamental democratic principle that actors can be held responsible for their actions. If this is not possible, it has far-reaching consequences for liberal democracy as we know it. Ethical challenges of algorithmic agency Aline Shakti Franzke Agency has been a key term of ethics since Aristotle. In order to hold something accountable classical definitions have ever since focused on intentionality and mental representation. These human centered definitions, however, are stressed when applied to algorithms. Therefore, new ethical challenges occur along three lines a) meta-ethical concerns b) the agency of algorithms themselves and c) the implications of algorithms for human agency. The talk will map existing ethical debates along these axes. PART II – Possible solutions >From autonomy to respectful interdependence Dylan Wittkower Postphenomenological analysis is less frequently used by Internet researchers, and offers distinctive contributions to an understanding of the future of agency. Postphenomenology avoids the reductive extremes of technological neutrality or technological determinism by offering descriptions of the lifeworld as constituted by hybridized human-technology agents (in embodiment technics) that interact with hybridized technology-world objects (in hermeneutic technics). I argue that this postphenomenological description of technological mediation encourages us to seek the future of agency not in autonomy or control, but in in respectful interdependence as articulated by feminist ethics of care. How “smart” technologies bypass subjective agency Mark Andrejevic Recent Foucault-inflected work on "environmentality" explores the ways in which environmental level monitoring and modulation (as envisioned in some versions of the "smart" city, for example) can operate as a strategy for control that bypasses subjective agency. The so-called libertarian paternalism of "nudge" economics, for example, might be described as a popularized form of environmentality that manipulates behavior below the threshold of reflexive consciousness. Such forms of manipulation come to rely on increasingly comprehensive forms of data capture designed to generate correlational predictions about future behavior under modulated circumstances. These developments emerge alongside ongoing attempts to bypass mediation by tapping straight into the human brain (as in the case, for example, of Elon Musk's Neuralink). I'll talk about possible alternatives and challenges to such developments. Resisting algorithms Emiliano Treré & Tiziano Bonini In this talk, we propose a conceptual framework to map the practices that citizens perform to shape, interfere and resist algorithms. Mobilizing the concept of the moral economy, we first situate the various forms of algorithmic agency along a continuum shaped by the two competing moral economies of the users and the platforms. Secondly, we bring into the equation the type of power held by those who enact specific forms of algorithmic resistance, adding the strategic vs. tactical poles. Finally, we discuss our framework drawing on examples including data obfuscation, streaming frauds, audience boosting, rating improvement, profile optimization, visibility enhancing, engagement groups, etc.

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Phd Program in Info & Media at MSU
by Rabindra Ratan ♬ 23 Oct '20

23 Oct '20

[apologies for cross-posting] Dear Future PhD Students (and scholars who forward emails to them), If you are interested in the field(s) of Information & Media, please consider applying for our PhD program at Michigan State University <https://comartsci.msu.edu/academics/academic-departments/advertising-public…>. We specialize in: - Human-computer interaction, games and meaningful play (e.g., my lab group <https://www.spartielab.comartsci.msu.edu/>) - Social media and social computing - Management info system (policy and economics) - Health (media, ICT and development) For more details, check out our faculty directory <https://comartsci.msu.edu/directory?department=6&type=20> and dept page <https://comartsci.msu.edu/departments/media-and-information>. MSU is now be offering several prestigious fellowship opportunities for outstanding applicants. For our Fall 2020-21 cohort, applicants will compete for these following fellowships, which are offered in addition to our standard stipend, health insurance, tuition remission, and generous travel allowance (last year we funded every doctoral student’s trip to major conventions where they had a refereed paper!): Dean’s Award ($10,000) Brandt Outstanding Doctoral Award ($7,500) Brandt Doctoral Award ($5,000) Thanks for considering/passing this along to any excellent undergrad or MA (or unhappy PhD ;) students in your department! If you have any questions about the program, feel free to reach out to me or the director of our program (Patricia Huddleston, huddles2(a)msu.edu) And hope you're all weathering the pandemic/presidential pandemonium as peacefully as possible. Robby Ratan _ _ __ _ _ Rabindra (Robby) Ratan Associate Professor and AT&T Scholar Dept of Media & Info, Michigan State University robbyratan.com _ _ __ _ _

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