ADM Network

Network on Automated Decision-Making in the Public Sector 2020 – 2021

In a world where automation is thought to increase productivity and efficiency with less effort and at lower costs, what happens to democratic institutions when this logic is deployed to support decisions in the welfare sector? This network investigates the extensive implementation of automated decision-making in the welfare sector in Sweden to meet contemporary challenges including increasing costs and decreasing resources. Data-based infrastructures for public administration are shaping the welfare provision and state-citizen relations highlighting questions of ethics and accountability, human agency in relation to complex socio-technical systems as well as the enhancement of long-standing biases and inequalities. 

Recently, a number of research projects have started to investigate this process from different perspectives in Sweden. The ADM network will gather central researchers and practitioners of the field to exchange knowledge and establish a platform to discuss the implications of automated decision-making. Inviting international keynote speakers to the meetings, the network opens up for international perspectives and exchanges. The network gathers during three workshops over a period of two years.

Participants

Martin Berg, Professor, Malmö universitet

Mariana S. Gustafsson, Postdoc, Linköpings universitet

Anne Kaun, Professor, Södertörns högskola

Kettil Nordesjö, Associate Senior Lecturer, Malmö universitet

Lovisa Näslund, Researcher, Stockholms universitet

Agneta Ranerup, Professor in Informatics, Göteborgs universitet

Gabriella Scaramuzzino, Researcher, Lunds universitet

Lupita Svensson, Associate Professor, Lunds universitet

Renita Thedwall, Associate Professor, Stockholms universitet

Rickard Ulmestig, Associate Professor, Linnéuniversitetet

Activities

8 June 2020, Workshop 1: Conceptualizing Automation in the Welfare Sector (zoom)

9.30 – 10.30    Open Keynote lecture Prof Alison Powell (LSE) Understanding Automated Decisions

10.30 – 16.00  Closed network meeting on conceptualizing automation of the welfare sector: theoretical approaches

16 November 2020, Workshop 2: Methodological approaches to studying automated decision-making (zoom)

10.30 – 16.00 Closed network meeting on researching automated decision-making: empirical approaches

14.00 – 15.00    Open Keynote lecture Prof Karen Yeung (University of Birmingham) From the New Public Management to the New Public Analytics

9 March 2021, Workshop 3: Sharing knowledge on automated decision-making (zoom)

11.00 – 12.00   Open Keynote lecture Dr. Doris Allhutter (Österreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften, Vienna, Austria)

13.00 – 14.00 Closed network meeting

15.00 – 16.00 Open Keynote lecture Prof Joanna Redden (Western University, London, Canada):  Investigating Cancelled Systems: Considering the Politics of Automated Decision-Making Systems in Government