Algorithmic Knowledge Gaps: A New Horizon of (Digital) Inequality

Authors

  • Kelley Cotter Michigan State University
  • Bianca C. Reisdorf University of North Carolina at Charlotte

Keywords:

algorithms, algorithmic knowledge, algorithmic literacy, knowledge gaps, digital divides, digital inequality, digital literacy

Abstract

Algorithms serve as gatekeepers and arbiters of truth online. Understanding how algorithms influence which information individuals encounter better enables them to properly calibrate their reception of the information. Yet, knowledge of platform algorithms appears to be limited and not universally distributed. In line with the long history of knowledge inequities, we suggest that algorithmic knowledge varies according to socioeconomic advantage. We further argue that algorithms are experience technologies in that they are more easily understood through use. Nevertheless, socioeconomic background continues to shape information and communication technology use, thereby further influencing disparities in algorithmic knowledge. Using data from a survey of a random sample of Internet users in the United States, we found support for the relationship between algorithmic knowledge and socioeconomic background in the context of online search. The findings provide preliminary evidence that extant structural inequalities underlie algorithmic knowledge gaps in this domain.

Author Biographies

Kelley Cotter, Michigan State University

Kelley Cotter is a doctoral candidate in the Department of Media & Information at Michigan State University. Her work explores how individuals make sense of the sociotechnical systems they occupy, as well as how they mobilize this knowledge and to what ends. She particularly focuses on how people become aware of and construct knowledge about algorithms.

Bianca C. Reisdorf, University of North Carolina at Charlotte

Bianca C. Reisdorf is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Communication Studies at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. Her research examines digital inequalities in highly technologized countries with a focus on marginalized communities, often comparing populations across various countries. Recent publications have focused on the potential of digital media for prison populations reentering society as well as how attitudes affect Internet use. She obtained her D.Phil. in Information, Communication, and the Social Sciences from the Oxford Internet Institute, University of Oxford. Reisdorf worked as a Lecturer and Director of Distance Learning at the University of Leicester, and as an Assistant Professor at the Department of Media and Information and the Assistant Director of the Quello Center at Michigan State University before joining UNC Charlotte.

Downloads

Published

2020-01-28

Issue

Vol. 14 (2020)

Section

Articles

License

The International Journal of Communication is an academic journal. As such, it is dedicated to the open exchange of information. For this reason, IJoC is freely available to individuals and institutions. Copies of this journal or articles in this journal may be distributed for research or educational purposes free of charge and without permission. However, commercial use of the IJoC website or the articles contained herein is expressly prohibited without the written consent of the editor. Authors who publish in The International Journal of Communication will release their articles under the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial No Derivatives (by-nc-nd) license. This license allows anyone to copy and distribute the article for non-commercial purposes provided that appropriate attribution is given. For details of the rights authors grants users of their work, see the "human-readable summary" of the license, with a link to the full license. (Note that "you" refers to a user, not an author, in the summary.) This journal utilizes the LOCKSSsystem to create a distributed archiving system among participating libraries and permits those libraries to create permanent archives of the journal for purposes of preservation and restoration. The publisher perpetually authorizes participants in the LOCKSS system to archive and restore our publication through the LOCKSS System for the benefit of all LOCKSS System participants. Specifically participating libraries may:
  • Collect and preserve currently accessible materials;
  • Use material consistent with original license terms;
  • Provide copies to other LOCKSS appliances for purposes of audit and repair.
 

Fair Use

The U.S. Copyright Act of 1976 specifies, in Section 107, the terms of the Fair Use exception: Notwithstanding the provisions of sections 106 and 106A, the fair use of a copyrighted work, including such use by reproduction in copies or phonorecords or by any other means specified by that section, for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching (including multiple copies for classroom use), scholarship, or research, is not an infringement of copyright. In determining whether the use made of a work in any particular case is a fair use the factors to be considered shall include:
  1. the purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of a commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes;
  2. the nature of the copyrighted work;
  3. the amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole; &
  4. the effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work.

The fact that a work is unpublished shall not itself bar a finding of fair use if such finding is made upon consideration of all the above factors. In accord with these provisions, the International Journal of Communication believes in the vigorous assertion and defense of Fair Use by scholars engaged in academic research, teaching and non-commercial publishing. Thus, we view the inclusion of “quotations” from existing print, visual, audio and audio-visual texts to be appropriate examples of Fair Use, as are reproductions of visual images for the purpose of scholarly analysis. We encourage authors to obtain appropriate permissions to use materials originally produced by others, but do not require such permissions as long as the usage of such materials falls within the boundaries of Fair Use.

The International Journal of Communication encourages authors to employ fair use in their scholarly publishing wherever appropriate. Fair use is the right to use unlicensed copyrighted material (whether it is text, images, audio-visual, or other) in your own work, in some circumstances. We consult the Code of Best Practices in Fair Use for Scholarly Research in Communication, created by the International Communication Association and endorsed by the National Communication Association, and you should too. If you have any questions about whether fair use applies to your uses of copyrighted material (whether it is text, images, audio-visual, or other) in your scholarship, simply include your rationale, grounded in the Best Practices, as a supplementary document with your submission.