Fourth Industrial Revolution and algorithms: New challenges for policy design
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
4-8-2022
Department
Department of Social Sciences
Abstract
The fourth industrial revolution has produced a wide array of technologies, largely based on algorithms, that have a profound influence on society, including public policies and the processes we employ to create them. Algorithms produce decisions that are often removed from human control, raising important questions about the effects and implications of algorithmic policy making. Yet, little attention has been paid to such questions in the policy design scholarship. In this chapter we identify several key themes and research topics that merit more systematic research around algorithmic policy making. In particular, we offer examples of how algorithms are used in policy tools, such as nudging and co-design, as well as the potential impacts of algorithms on policy design processes, including policy labs, collaborative processes and learning. Additionally, we discuss how these algorithm-based policy tools and processes can shape key policy outcomes such as trust and public value, and the implications for policy design scholarship.
Publication Title
Research Handbook of Policy Design
ISBN
9781839106606,9781839106590
Recommended Citation
Wellstead, A.,
Heikkila, T.,
&
Wood, M.
(2022).
Fourth Industrial Revolution and algorithms: New challenges for policy design.
Research Handbook of Policy Design, 194-211.
http://doi.org/10.4337/9781839106606.00020
Retrieved from: https://digitalcommons.mtu.edu/michigantech-p/16407