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Paper Number
1739
Paper Type
Short
Description
The growing relevance of algorithmic systems, including artificial intelligence, for processes of value creation raise theoretical and practical interest in the conceptualization of actorhood and the balancing of human and technological agencies within socio-technical ensembles. Prominent theories of the IS discipline still reflect a human-centric conceptualization of agency, which we deem challenged by advances in machine learning technology. We therefore motivate a revised theorizing of the concept of agency with a socio-technical lens. For that, we apply an inductive top-down theorizing approach. In this short paper, we present the first inductive step by describing tensions, oppositions and contradictions in the discourse on agency in IS literature of the last 30 years in the AIS Senior Scholars’ Basket of journals. The preliminary findings uncover a conceptual and ontological incoherence surrounding the concept of agency in IS scholarship, and a gap between reviewed publications and the agency claims of algorithmic systems.
Recommended Citation
Meske, Christian and Kuss, Pauline M., "Theorizing the Concept of Agency in Human-Algorithmic Ensembles with a Socio-Technical Lens" (2022). ICIS 2022 Proceedings. 6.
https://aisel.aisnet.org/icis2022/adv_methods/adv_methods/6
Theorizing the Concept of Agency in Human-Algorithmic Ensembles with a Socio-Technical Lens
The growing relevance of algorithmic systems, including artificial intelligence, for processes of value creation raise theoretical and practical interest in the conceptualization of actorhood and the balancing of human and technological agencies within socio-technical ensembles. Prominent theories of the IS discipline still reflect a human-centric conceptualization of agency, which we deem challenged by advances in machine learning technology. We therefore motivate a revised theorizing of the concept of agency with a socio-technical lens. For that, we apply an inductive top-down theorizing approach. In this short paper, we present the first inductive step by describing tensions, oppositions and contradictions in the discourse on agency in IS literature of the last 30 years in the AIS Senior Scholars’ Basket of journals. The preliminary findings uncover a conceptual and ontological incoherence surrounding the concept of agency in IS scholarship, and a gap between reviewed publications and the agency claims of algorithmic systems.
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Comments
18-Theory