Building, Shifting, & Employing Power: A Taxonomy of Responses From Below to Algorithmic Harm

Abstract

A large body of research has attempted to ensure that algorithmic systems adhere to notions of fairness and transparency. Increasingly, researchers have highlighted that mitigating algorithmic harms requires explicitly taking power structures into account. Those with power over algorithmic systems often fail to sufficiently address algorithmic harms and rarely consult those directly harmed by algorithmic systems. Left to their own devices, people respond to algorithmic harms they encounter in a wide variety of ways, but we lack broader, overarching understandings of these responses. In this work, we synthesize documented, historical cases into a taxonomy of responses "from below"to algorithmic harm. Our taxonomy connects different types of responses to existing theorizations of power from fields including anthropology, human-computer interaction, and communication, centering how people employ, shift, and build power in their responses to algorithmic harm. Based on our taxonomy, we highlight an opportunity space for the FAccT community to engage with and support such action from below.