Algorithmic Awareness: Media Literacy in the Age of Algorithms

Catalog description

This course explores how our technological experiences are increasingly mediated by algorithms - the code and computational processes embedded into our software. Recent work by scholars, such as Dr. Safiya Umoja Noble, have shown how algorithms exhibit implicit biases and reify societal prejudices. Moreover, the technical nature of algorithms and the lack of transparency surrounding them can be a challenge for novices. We routinely engage in systems that predict, recommend, and speculate about our interests based on the digital fingerprint we provide with our link clicks and “likes”, but we all struggle understanding how and why those systems work as