TY - JOUR
T1 - Machine Learning and Postcolonial Critique
T2 - Homologous Challenges to Sociological Notions of Human Agency
AU - Borch, Christian
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s) 2023.
PY - 2023
Y1 - 2023
N2 - This article discusses two seemingly unrelated but homologous challenges to established sociological thinking, namely machine learning technologies and postcolonial critique. Both of these confront conventional human-centric sociological notions. Where the rise of machine learning should prompt sociologists to take the agency of nonhuman systems seriously, postcolonial critique challenges the idea of Eurocentric human agency. I discuss whether this dual agency challenge can be addressed through Latour’s actor-network theory and Luhmann’s sociological systems theory – both of which explicitly aim to transcend classical human-centric approaches. I argue that Latour’s work can align with postcolonial sociology. However, despite broadening the notion of agency, his actor-network concept remains strongly human-centric. It merely expands the range of actors with which humans engage rather than analysing interactions among nonhuman actants, such as machine learning systems. In contrast, such interactions can be understood through Luhmann’s theorisation, which, however, can be subjected to postcolonial critique.
AB - This article discusses two seemingly unrelated but homologous challenges to established sociological thinking, namely machine learning technologies and postcolonial critique. Both of these confront conventional human-centric sociological notions. Where the rise of machine learning should prompt sociologists to take the agency of nonhuman systems seriously, postcolonial critique challenges the idea of Eurocentric human agency. I discuss whether this dual agency challenge can be addressed through Latour’s actor-network theory and Luhmann’s sociological systems theory – both of which explicitly aim to transcend classical human-centric approaches. I argue that Latour’s work can align with postcolonial sociology. However, despite broadening the notion of agency, his actor-network concept remains strongly human-centric. It merely expands the range of actors with which humans engage rather than analysing interactions among nonhuman actants, such as machine learning systems. In contrast, such interactions can be understood through Luhmann’s theorisation, which, however, can be subjected to postcolonial critique.
KW - actor-network theory
KW - agency
KW - Latour
KW - Luhmann
KW - machine learning
KW - postcolonial critique
KW - sociological systems theory
U2 - 10.1177/00380385221146877
DO - 10.1177/00380385221146877
M3 - Journal article
AN - SCOPUS:85147502646
VL - 57
SP - 1450
EP - 1466
JO - Sociology
JF - Sociology
SN - 0038-0385
IS - 6
ER -