Sociology of Big Data: Algorithms, Robots, and Digital Societies

In recent decades, most societies around the world have experienced an explosion in the production, circulation, and consumption of data. This ongoing revolution, often associated with the rise of digital technologies and the term big data, is having unprecedented social, economic, and cultural consequences. This course explores some of these consequences by looking at technological tools and social groups that interact with such data, including algorithms, artificial intelligence, machine learning, biotechnology, robots, cryptocurrencies, NFTs, the metaverse, social media, and digital influencers. Areas that are examined include the body, the environment, labor markets, the platform economy, social inequality and mobility, and political policies. Guest speakers (who are practitioners) discuss their professional experiences with big data. Students conclude this course with a better understanding of the current relationship between society and technology, and especially the social implications surrounding the use of big data.