Drawing Algorithms
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An algorithm, drawn by a 41-year-old female university research staff member in Hungary.

I think that you've already addressed them, health and yep. Okay so I have another, we're almost done, I just have another drawing question. Let me give you another sheet. So this one is, if you could please draw how an algorithm works. [laughing] How an algorithm works. Mm-hmm (affirmative). Oh my God. I'm thinking, how an algorithm works. Oh by the way I want to add this, I'm a sociologist so maybe I'm just infected. But I'm in a privileged position, so I hate this idea that I'm in a privileged position, and for me these things may not be as scary and dangerous as they are for some people who are more vulnerable, socially, but also because they don't know as much about this and they're not as aware, they're not as conscious. So the racial bias, or the gender bias, or the class bias of these systems is infuriating to me. Even though I'm probably benefiting from this. Okay so I have to draw how the algorithm works. You can talk throughout. So you're putting dots on there? Yeah this is supposed to be data, right? Okay. I'm producing this data. I'm here and I'm making all this data. Then, this is not going to be very good, a lot of people are producing a lot of data. And then, there is a system which is, even though it's created by people- Who have three legs. Three legged people, what's so strange about that? So it's, I don't know how to, like let's say it's like a filter. Is that data again? No this is a filter. Or it's a filter, okay. Or something that organizes, shelves. Okay. Okay so I'm sorry, so these people create the filter? They create the filter and the shelves, but then they have a life on their own and I don't know how to draw that. And- What has a life on their own, the shelf or the- Both. The filter and the shelf, okay. So these systems that, these tools that these people created. And then they organize, they start organizing this data. The they being? They these systems, these machines start organizing data that I produced and other people produced. And based on that ... [laughing] Can you say filter here just so I know the- Yeah. Okay. And maybe systems or something, shelves and systems, yeah. What's the- Machines, systems, and machines and they end up in more organized ... So the data goes through this, and, what, why are you laughing? It's good, it's good. Okay so- It's really good, right? ... I was just wondering if the dots were data again, okay, yes. It's data again but now it's information. I see, now it's information. So here maybe can you write- So it's all organized. ... data here, maybe. So- I mean can you write me? Yeah. Okay people, okay good. So information which then ends up on my plate. Me again, and I have this, yeah I have information organized in the, I guess, but this is, I would have to think about it. No that's fine, thank you. And then you mentioned algorithms a few times during our conversation, I'm just wondering how you've learned about algorithms. Oh my God I don't know how I learned about them, they're everywhere. Where do you hear about them or? I don't remember the first time I heard about them. Yeah you read about them a lot, even in just articles, news articles or newspapers. But also, I do, yeah at conferences and workshops about big data, about datafication, about, yeah.