Lo spettro dell’algoritmo e le scienze sociali. prospettive critiche su macchine intelligenti e automazione delle disuguaglianze [The ghost of the algorithm and the social sciences. Critical perspectives on intelligent machines and the automation of inequalities]

The last decade has seen a proliferation of journalistic reportages, monographies and academic papers analyzing algorithmic systems and artificial intelligence from a critical perspective. This article reviews four books published in 2018, not yet translated in Italian. They all share the same topic, that is, the socio-political implications of intelligent machines and automating systems. Based on the joint reading of these contributions, The conclusion discusses a series of research directions for a sociology of algorithms. That is: demystifying the code; contextualizing the algorithm; historicizing technology; examining user-machine interactions.