Computational and algorithmic methods in human and social sciences

Workshop coorganized by Walter Dean, Associate Professor of Philosophy at the University of Warwick, 2022-2023 Paris IAS Fellow, and Alberto Naibo, Université Paris I Panthéon-Sorbonne & Institut d'Histoire et de Philosophie des Sciences et des Techniques, in collaboration with the Paris IAS and the ANR project "The Geometry of Algorithms".

Workshop in presence.
Free entrance upon mandatory registration, see form at the bottom of this page.

Presentation

The notions of algorithm and mechanical computation have been a focus of investigation in logic and philosophy of mathematics since the 1930s as well as inspiring the founding of computer science in the 1950s.  On the other hand, recent developments in artificial intelligence and big data have required that we reconsider our understanding of the role which computational methods have come to play in our daily lives as well as the nature and scope of these methods themselves.   What were once regarded as foundational questions about the mathematical definability of algorithms and effective or feasible computation have thus come to have practical significance in the human and social sciences. The aim of this workshop is twofold.  We first aim to bring together researchers from subjects such as law, sociology, social choice theory, and economics which have a stake in these developments.   And second, we hope to explore whether there are indeed univocal notions of algorithm and computation studied in these fields or whether different notions are at play.

Program

9:30-9:45 Welcome (Walter Dean & Alberto Naibo)

9:45-10:45
Maël Pegny (Independent Scholar)
"Does the social scientist need to understand the computation? Lessons from topic modeling"

10:45-11:00 Coffee break

11:00-12:00
Luc Pellissier (LACL, Département d’Informatique, Faculté des Sciences et Technologie, Université Paris-Est Créteil)
"Amendement, consolidation, codification : le texte juridique, un objet calculatoire?"

12:00-13:00
Marie Alauzen (LISIS, Laboratoire Interdisciplinaire sciences innovation société)
"What can sociology say about administrative algorithms? Elements for a political dialogue between the social sciences and logic"

13:00-14:30 Lunch break

14:30-15:30
Célia Zolynski (IRSJ, Institut de recherches juridiques de la Sorbonne)
"Du calcul du sujet à sa mise en pouvoir d'agir"

15:30-16:30
Benedict Eastaugh (University of Warwick, Department of Philosophy)
"Social choice in infinite societies"

16:30-16:45 Coffee Break

16:45-17:45
Jérôme Lang ( LAMSADE, Université Paris-Dauphine)
"Computational Social Choice"