Tom van Nuenen

University of California, Berkeley | UCB · College of Letters and Science

This paper reports on empirical work conducted to study perceptions of unfair treatment caused by automated computational systems. While the pervasiveness of algorithmic bias has been widely acknowledged, and perceptions of fairness are commonly studied in Human Computer Interaction, there is a lack of research on how unfair treatment by automated...

This paper reports on empirical work conducted to study perceptions of unfair treatment caused by automated computational systems. While the pervasiveness of algorithmic bias has been widely acknowledged, and perceptions of fairness are commonly studied in Human Computer Interaction, there is a lack of research on how unfair treatment by automated...

Language carries implicit human biases, functioning both as a reflection and a perpetuation of stereotypes that people carry with them. Recently, ML-based NLP methods such as word embeddings have been shown to learn such language biases with striking accuracy. This capability of word embeddings has been successfully exploited as a tool to quantify...

When it comes to understanding experiences of illness, humanities and social sciences research have traditionally reserved a prominent role for narrative. Yet, depression has characteristics that withstand the form of traditional narratives, such as a lack of desire and an impotence to act. How can a ‘datafied’ approach to online forms of depressio...

Operating at a large scale and impacting large groups of people, automated systems can make consequential and sometimes contestable decisions. Automated decisions can impact a range of phenomena, from credit scores to insurance payouts to health evaluations. These forms of automation can become problematic when they place certain groups or people a...

We present a data-driven approach using word embeddings to discover and categorise language biases on the discussion platform Reddit. As spaces for isolated user communities, platforms such as Reddit are increasingly connected to issues of racism, sexism and other forms of discrimination, signalling the need to monitor the language of these groups....

This article discusses the concomitant processes of increasing familiarisation, responsiveness and responsibility that digital technology enables in the realm of tourism. We reflect on the influence of the proliferation of interactive digital platforms and solutions within tourism practice and behaviour through a range of lenses, from user generate...

Centered on the controversial idea that police forces are often a focal point for conflict in today's societies, this chapter takes an interest in big data policing in Amsterdam as a contested development. Looking at the socio-technical preconditions of such new, algorithmic forms of policing brings to the surface that police forces employ certain...

Artificial intelligence decision making can cause discriminatory harm to many vulnerable groups. Redress is often suggested through increased transparency of these systems. But for what group are we implementing it? This article seeks to identify what transparency means for technical, legislative, and public realities and stakeholders.

Language carries implicit human biases, functioning both as a reflection and a perpetuation of stereotypes that people carry with them. Recently, ML-based NLP methods such as word embeddings have been shown to learn such language biases with striking accuracy. This capability of word embeddings has been successfully exploited as a tool to quantify...

In this article, we advocate for a new kind of renaissance person, a humanistic data scientist capable of profound cultural analysis and critique. A person able to critique from deep within the technical infrastructure and someone who understands an age-old wisdom within the humanities-that knowledge is always a pursuit and never a completed journe...

With the widespread and pervasive use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) for automated decision-making systems, AI bias is becoming more apparent and problematic. One of its negative consequences is discrimination: the unfair, or unequal treatment of individuals based on certain characteristics. However, the relationship between bias and discriminatio...

We present a data-driven approach using word embeddings to discover and categorise language biases on the discussion platform Reddit. As spaces for isolated user communities, platforms such as Reddit are increasingly connected to issues of racism, sexism and other forms of discrimination. Hence, there is a need to monitor the language of these grou...

We present a data-driven approach using word embeddings to discover and categorise language biases on the discussion platform Reddit. As spaces for isolated user communities, platforms such as Reddit are increasingly connected to issues of racism, sexism and other forms of discrimination. Hence, there is a need to monitor the language of these grou...

AI decision-making can cause discriminatory harm to many vulnerable groups. Redress is often suggested through increased transparency of these systems. But who are we implementing it for? This article seeks to identify what transparency means for technical, legislative and public realities and stakeholders.

In an online sphere characterized by terms such as post-truth, clickbait and filter bubbles, quantitative data analysis needs to be grounded more than ever in solid interpretative frameworks. Based on experiences in university education in different geographical contexts, this paper explores the opportunities and challenges in teaching hermeneutic...

This article discusses the touristic production of authenticity in the context of algorithmic culture. It notes that the dominant sociological framework of authenticity has, in the last decades, shifted from an objectivist to a constructionist one, a central issue becoming “who has the right to authenticate.” I argue here that “who” needs to be sup...

The Cambridge History of Travel Writing - edited by Nandini Das January 2019

The practice of designing Interactive Digital Narratives [IDN] is often described as a challenge facing issues such as the “narrative paradox” and avoid-ing the unintentional creation of “ludonarrative dissonance”. These terms are expressions of a perspective that takes narrative and interactivity as dichotomic ends of a design trajectory, mirrorin...

The Assassin’s Creed videogame series, developed by Ubisoft, is known for its representation of historical places and eras, such as Jerusalem during the Crusades and Paris during the French Revolution. The current article takes an interest in the games’ chronotopic appropriation of touristic attitudes: the ways in which the gameplay and game world...

A recurrent subject in modern travel discourses is formed by anti-tourism: a desire of travellers to reach beyond the allegedly superficial experiences that the tourism industry fosters. This paper explores the anti-touristic attitude in the context of online peer-to-peer platforms: collaborative services enabling barter in labour, skills, knowledg...

This article explores the procedural means through which videogames can simulate travel experiences. It focuses on Journey, a highly acclaimed game in which the player embarks on an archetypical trek to a mountain in the distance, thus offering a virtual take on the complex play of sensorial and locomotive aspects of pilgrimage. Through a close rea...

This article examines the discursive structure of several popular travel blogs to understand the relationship between authenticity and self-branding. Instances of present-day “canonical” blogs are examined, showing up high on Google searches, attracting significant audiences, and featuring on “best of” lists presented by other websites. Through a d...

This article investigates discursive procedures in From Software’s 2011 videogame Dark Souls. By combining procedural rhetorics, discourse analysis, and autoethnographical research play, it is argued that Dark Souls features post-Panoptical gameplay mechanics of both continuous surveillance and playful exhibitionism and a hybrid gameplay experience...