The Power of Absence: Thinking with Archival Theory in Algorithmic Design

TL;DR

This paper advocates for using archival theory to reframe and understand bias in algorithmic design, emphasizing absence as a form of power and presence to inspire more nuanced and creative approaches.

Contribution

It introduces archival theory as a novel framework for analyzing and addressing bias in algorithms, moving beyond mitigation to understanding bias as a form of absence and power.

Findings

Archival theory offers a new perspective on algorithmic bias.

Reframing bias as absence can lead to more creative solutions.

The approach connects technical, social, and political aspects of bias.

Abstract

This paper explores the value of archival theory as a means of grappling with bias in algorithmic design. Rather than seek to mitigate biases perpetuated by datasets and algorithmic systems, archival theory offers a reframing of bias itself. Drawing on a range of archival theory from the fields of history, literary and cultural studies, Black studies, and feminist STS, we propose absence-as power, presence, and productive-as a concept that might more securely anchor investigations into the causes of algorithmic bias, and that can prompt more capacious, creative, and joyful future work. This essay, in turn, can intervene into the technical as well as the social, historical, and political structures that serve as sources of bias.