Rule of the algorithm: Exploring an ill-posed problem for democracy

Abstract

We are entering a new epoch, the epoch of rule by algorithm. This new way of governing poses significant challenges for the wide-ranging scope of democratic functions and practices. This is through the deployment of complex automated decision-making algorithms (ADA) in public institutions that are changing the way that citizens and governments interact with each other, acting as a systematic medium for making public good entitlement and intervention decisions. Although the technical capacities of ADA systems embed nominal challenges that are directly problematic to democratic practices of accountability and transparency, the current research emphasises that the key problems stem from institutionalised mechanisms and decision- making processes. These highlighted challenges underlie the current debates that situate technological innovation and governance to regime specific qualities of either an autocratic or democratic nature. Moreover, it realises that a complex ideological competition exists between democracy and efficiency, which ties into a discussion on the incompatibility of democracy and capitalism. The research narrows in on the current scope and nature of either phenomena by utilising the United States and the United Kingdom as case studies for contextualisation and situational analysis. It...