Towards the Socio-Algorithmic Construction of Fairness: The Case of Automatic Price-Surging in Ride-Hailing

TL;DR

This paper explores how algorithms influence social perceptions of fairness, especially in controversial cases like ride-hailing price surges, proposing a socio-algorithmic framework for understanding moral construction.

Contribution

It introduces the concept of socio-algorithmic construction, analyzing how algorithms shape social notions of fairness and moral standards in public discourse.

Findings

Algorithms impact fairness assessments and expectations.

Social discourse is influenced by algorithmic decisions.

Algorithms are subject to social adjustments and interpretations.

Abstract

Algorithms take decisions that affect humans, and have been shown to perpetuate biases and discrimination. Decisions by algorithms are subject to different interpretations. Algorithms' behaviors are basis for the construal of moral assessment and standards. Yet we lack an understanding of how algorithms impact on social construction processes, and vice versa. Without such understanding, social construction processes may be disrupted and, eventually, may impede moral progress in society. We analyze the public discourse that emerged after a significant (five-fold) price-surge following the Brooklyn Subway Shooting on April 12, 2022, in New York City. There was much controversy around the two ride-hailing firms' algorithms' decisions. The discussions evolved around various notions of fairness and the algorithms' decisions' justifiability. Our results indicate that algorithms, even if not explicitly addressed in the discourse, strongly impact on constructing fairness assessments and notions. They initiate the exchange, form people's expectations, evoke people's solidarity with specific groups, and are a vehicle for moral crusading. However, they are also subject to adjustments based on social forces. We claim that the process of constructing notions of fairness is no longer just social; it has become a socio-algorithmic process. We propose a theory of socio-algorithmic construction as a mechanism for establishing notions of fairness and other ethical constructs.