Rules in Form, Rules in Use, and Rules in Tech: Contemplating the Administrative Consequences of Algorithmic Governance.
Center on Technology, Data and Society (CTDS) hosts Dr. Brad A. M. Johnson. Dr. Johnson will be presenting on the topic: Rules in Form, Rules in Use, and Rules in Tech: Contemplating the Administrative Consequences of Algorithmic Governance. The program will be from 1:30-3:00 pm on 01/19/2023 at Room 822A, University Center, Downtown Phoenix.
Dr.Brad A. M. Johnson is an assistant professor of public administration at the University of Nevada, Reno. His work focuses on bridging organizational and policy theories through the lenses of local government, technology and civic engagement. As part of his research, he constructs novel datasets from government records, develops typologies from those datasets and uses various methods (quantitative, computational and qualitative) to better understand the organizations that produce them. His work has been published in numerous academic journals such as Public Administration Review, State and Local Government Review and Public Personnel Management (Source: https://www.unr.edu/political-science/people/brad-johnson).
Abstract
In this talk I will discuss how our tradition of rule conceptualization is modified and challenged by information technology. A recent surge in scholarship about algorithms in public administration has contemplated and built upon extensive scholarship in algorithmic governance. Process shifts to information and communication technologies over the last three decades have placed rules into literal black boxes, translating rules both formal and informal into memory drives where they become artifacts . Advances in storage have meant that rule-sets (procedures) can be nearly infinite - far beyond even the most bloated written policy manual. The emergence of artificial intelligence (AI), relying on increased processing power and storage capacity, allow tools construct their own rules based on patterns to achieve preferred results often with reduced human oversight. What does this mean for the public organization of the future? Do human rules have an impact and how do they integrate into the day-to-day operations of the organization? How should we teach our public administrators to think of rules when a good portion of them are hidden or incomprehensible? And what skills are needed to effectively govern rules embedded in algorithms?