Tech in the Trenches of Society

The growing role for citizens whose personal data are acted upon – and even commodified – in order to conduct professional work activities (e.g. in law enforcement) raises new questions on how citizens can retain personal autonomy. Research in algorithmic decision-making has brought renewed focus on technology as a mediator of citizen-government collaboration, taking into account the perspective of government (e.g. data as a measure for ensuring efficiency and transparency in decision-making) as well as citizens and their strategies utilizing the processes around public service provision. These settings are important for their broad impact across society and because they put into greater relief the challenges of working across the deeply asymmetrical relationships of lay citizenry and appointed officials.