writing

articles in peer-reviewed academic journals

Valuating Words: Semantic Practices in Web Search Advertising

Jobin, A. (2023). Valuating Words: Semantic Practices in Web Search Advertising. Social Media + Society. DOI: 10.1177/20563051231195549

From the abstract: Much like in traditional media contexts, advertising is a key source of revenue in digital media industries. One popular form is web search advertising, which is targeted based on words. But there has been little critical empirical research into how web search advertising is achieved in practice. Based on in-depth interviews with web search advertising professionals, this article examines how these professionals make sense of Google’s “linguistic capitalism.”

Subnational AI Policy: Shaping AI in A Multi-Level Governance System

Liebig, L., Guettel, L., Jobin, A. & C. Katzenbach (2022). Subnational AI Policy: Shaping AI in A Multi-Level Governance System. AI & Society. DOI: 10.1007/s00146-022-01561-5

From the abstract: […] AI is connected to many policy areas, where the competences are already distributed between the national and subnational level, such as research or economic policy. […] Our qualitative analysis of 34 AI [German] policy documents issued on the subnational level demonstrates that subnational efforts focus on knowledge transfer between research and industry actors, the commercialization of AI, different economic identities of the German states, and the incorporation of ethical principles. Because federal states play an active role in AI policy, analysing AI as a policy issue on different levels of government is necessary and will contribute to a better understanding of the developments and implementations of AI strategies in different national contexts.

How Informed are the Swiss about Covid-19 and Prevention Measures? Results of a Survey on Information Awareness, Behaviour, and Deficits

Kessler, S. H., Cano Pardo M. S., Jobin, A. & F. Georgi (2022). How Informed are the Swiss about Covid-19 and Prevention Measures? Results of a Survey on Information Awareness, Behaviour, and Deficits. European Journal of Health Communication, 3 (3), 118-142. DOI: 10.47368/ejhc.2022.306

From the abstract: […] analysis of the open answers revealed that vaccination and its potential side effects, aspects related to political measures, psychological and social aspects, as well as science and research topics deserved more attention in the eyes of the respondents, mostly from politics or media. […] Notably, the number of measures mentioned was related to the degree to which the pandemic affected individuals subjectively, trust in public institutions, and their individual level of science-related populism. Swiss residents with less trust in public institutions and who consume less news media on Covid-19 are more likely to believe misinformation on (in)effective measures against the virus. Most respondents encountered Covid-19 misinformation and could name examples, including sources.

Ethical Issues with Using Internet of Things Devices in Citizen Science Research: A Scoping Review

Scheibner, J., Jobin, A. & E. Vayena (2021). Ethical Issues with Using Internet of Things Devices in Citizen Science Research: A Scoping Review. Frontiers in Environmental Science (ISSN 2296-665X), vol. 9, article no. 629649, February 15, 2021. DOI: 10.3389/fenvs.2021.629649

From the abstract: Digital innovation is ever more present and increasingly integrated into citizen science research. However, smartphones and other connected devices come with specific features and characteristics and, in consequence, raise particular ethical issues. This article addresses this important intersection of citizen science and the Internet of Things by focusing on how such ethical issues are communicated in scholarly literature. […] A full text analysis […] identified three main categories of ethical issues being communicated: autonomy and data privacy, data quality, and intellectual property. Based on these categories, this review offers an overview of the legal and social innovation implications raised. This review also provides recommendations for researchers who wish to innovatively integrate citizen scientists and Internet of Things devices into their research based on the strategies researchers took to resolve these ethical issues.

What we talk about when we talk about trust: Theory of trust for AI in healthcare

Gille, F., Jobin, A. & M. Ienca (2020). What we talk about when we talk about trust: Theory of trust for AI in healthcare. Intelligence-Based Medicine (ISSN 2666-5212), vol. 1-2, article no. 1000001, July 13, 2020. DOI: 10.1016/j.ibmed.2020.100001

From the abstract: […] Researchers and AI developers have often claimed that "trust" is a critical determinant of the successful adoption of AI in medicine. Despite the pivotal role of trust and the emergence of an array of expert-informed guidelines on how to design and implement "trustworthy AI" in medicine, we found little common understanding across these guidelines on what constitutes user trust in AI and what the requirements are for its realization. In this article, we call for a conceptual framework of trust in health-related AI which is based not just on expert opinion, but first and foremost on sound empirical research and conceptual rigor. Only with a well-grounded and comprehensive understanding of the trust construct, we will be able to inform AI design and acceptance in medicine in a meaningful way.

The global landscape of AI ethics guidelines.

Jobin, A., M. Ienca & E. Vayena (2019). The global landscape of AI ethics guidelines. Nature Machine Intelligence (ISSN 2522-5839), vol. 1, pp. 389-399, September 2, 2019. DOI: 10.1038/s42256-019-0088-2

From the abstract: […] despite an apparent agreement that AI should be ‘ethical’, there is debate about both what constitutes ‘ethical AI’ and which ethical requirements, technical standards and best practices are needed for its realization. To investigate whether a global agreement on these questions is emerging, we mapped and analysed the current corpus of principles and guidelines on ethical AI. Our results reveal a global convergence emerging around five ethical principles (transparency, justice and fairness, non-maleficence, responsibility and privacy), with substantive divergence in relation to how these principles are interpreted, why they are deemed important, what issue, domain or actors they pertain to, and how they should be implemented.

Also included in the One year anniversary collection of Nature Machine Intelligence.

Additional information on my blog.

La mémoire kaléidoscopique: l’histoire au prisme des algorithmes d'autocomplétion [The kaleidoscopic memory: history as seen through the algorithms of autocompletion].

Jobin, A., S. Prezioso, O. Glassey & F. Kaplan (2019). La mémoire kaléidoscopique: l’histoire au prisme des algorithmes d'autocomplétion. Geschichte und Informatik – Histoire et Informatique (ISSN 1420-5955). Zurich: Chronos.

English abstract: When looking up information online, people encounter algorithmic output not only on the results pages of web search engine: already during the process of typing a query, autocompletion algorithms suggest what to look for. By analyzing such suggestions for search queries related to the First World War this contribution shows how historical information online is constantly recalculated and rexconfigured according to different algorithmic logics. Ultimately, autocompletion produces a hybrid form of collective memory that is subtly shaped by both technology and social processes.

Les services numériques grand public et leurs utilisateurs : trois approches sociotechniques contemporaines [Digital services for the general public and their users: three contemporary sociotechnical approaches].

Jobin, A. & L. Bilat (2016). Les services numériques grand public et leurs utilisateurs: trois approches sociotechniques contemporaines. A contrario. Lausanne: BNS Press. 22(1)

English abstract: Digital services such as Google, Facebook, YouTube and Twitter are among the most popular websites in many parts of the world. Starting out from three quotes, this article highlights some important aspects of the relationship between these services and the individuals using them, with each quote pointing to a particular way of thinking about this relationship. The three perspectives are complementary without claiming to give a complete overview, and aim at shedding light on certain sociotechnical issues around usage of contemporary digital platforms.

French abstract: Les services tels que Google, Facebook, YouTube et Twitter comptent parmi les sites web les plus populaires dans une grande partie du monde. Ce texte propose de mettre en lumière quelques aspects du rapport entre ces services et les individus qui les utilisent en prenant comme point de départ trois citations qui, chacune à sa façon, proposent une certaine manière de penser ce rapport. Sans viser l’exhaustivité, les trois approches abordées se veulent complémentaires et ont comme objectif d’ouvrir quelques pistes de réflexion sur certains enjeux sociotechniques liés à l’utilisation des plateformes numériques contemporaines.

AI reflections in 2020

Jobin , A., Man, K., Damasio, A., Kaissis, G., Braren, R., Stoyanovich, J., Van Bavel, J. J., West, T. V., Mittelstadt, B., Eshraghian, J., Costa-jussà, M. R., Tzachor, A., Jamjoom, A. A. B., Taddeo, M., Sinibaldi, E., Hu Y. & M. Luengo-Oroz (2021). AI reflections in 2020. Nature Machine Intelligence (ISSN 2522-5839), 3(1), 2-8.

a crowdsourced sociology of covid-19

Davis, J. L., Altmann, E., Barnes, N., Chouinard, J., Compton, D'L. R., Crowell, A. R., Cook, P. S., Copland, S., Dunstan, L., Gray, K., Jobin, A., Julien, C., Keane, H., Killen, G., Lê, H., Lê, J., Lockie, S. D., Lyall, B., Maitahitui, Maddox, A., Mallon, A., Manago, B., Maughan, L., Morrison, D., Murphy, C. J., Novak, M., Olson, R., Pratley, E., Ransan-Cooper, H., Recuber, T., Rohlinger, D., Rose, J., Schrijnder, S., Smith, N., Thorpe, H., Tripodi, F., Vilkins, S., Wade, M., Williams, A., Wiltshire, N., and M. Wong (2020). A Crowdsourced Sociology of COVID-19. Contexts. Availble at: https://contexts.org/blog/covid-19-and-the-future-of-society/#jenny

A collective piece for the online special issue on COVID-19 by the public sociology magazine Contexts, masterfully assembled by Jenny Davis.

Non-peer-reviewed articles in academic journals

Book chapters

The Becoming of AI: A Critical Perspective on the Contingent Formation of AI

Jobin, A. & C. Katzenbach (in press). The Becoming of AI: A Critical Perspective on the Contingent Formation of AI. In: Lindgren, S. (ed.) Handbook of Critical Studies of Artificial Intelligence. Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd. (preprint on osf.io)

Internet of Things devices, Citizen Science Research, and the Right to Science: Ethical and Legal Issues

Scheibner, J., Jobin, A. & E. Vayena (2022). Internet of Things devices, Citizen Science Research, and the Right to Science: Ethical and Legal Issues. In: Ienca, M., Pollicino, O., Liguori, L., Stefanini, E. & Andorno, R. (eds.) The Cambridge Handbook of Information Technology, Life Sciences and Human Rights. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press

Ethische Künstliche Intelligenz -- von Prinzipien zu Prozessen

Jobin, A. (2020). Ethische Künstliche Intelligenz -- von Prinzipien zu Prozessen. In: Markus Hengstschläger und dem Rat für Forschung und Technologieentwicklung (ed.), Digitaler Wandel und Ethik. Vienna, Austria: Austrian Council for Research and Technology Development.

Diagnose: Ambivalenz. Freiheit im digitalen Zeitalter

Jobin, A. (2019). Diagnose: Ambivalenz. Freiheit im digitalen Zeitalter. In: Marti, M. L. & J.-D. Strub (eds.), Freiheit. Baden: hier + jetzt.

Von A(pfelkuchen) bis Z(ollkontrolle): weshalb Algorithmen nicht neutral sind

Jobin, A. (2017). Von A(pfelkuchen) bis Z(ollkontrolle): weshalb Algorithmen nicht neutral sind. In: A. Fichter (ed.), Die Smartphone-Demokratie. Zurich: NZZ Libro.

'I am not a web search result! I am a free word.' The categorization and commodification of 'Switzerland' by Google

Jobin, A. & O. Glassey (2014). 'I am not a web search result! I am a free word.' The categorization and commodification of 'Switzerland' by Google.
In König, R. & M. Rasch (eds.), INC Reader #9: Society of the Query. Amsterdam, Netherlands: Institute of Network Cultures.

Conference papers
(peer-reviewed)

Liebig, L., Jobin, A., Guettel, L. & C. Katzenbach (2022). AI Federalism: How Subnational Policy Tackles a ‘Global’ Technology. International Association for Media and Communication Research Conference IAMCR 2022. Bejing (online), China.

Einstein, M., Yeo, SJ., Turow, J. & A. Jobin (2020). The dynamics of digital capture: How industries tie audiences to emerging technologies. Association of Internet Researchers Conference. Dublin (online), Ireland. October 2020. DOI: 10.5210/spir.v2020i0.11116

Banks, J., Edwards, A., Edwards, C. Guzman, A. L., Jobin, A., Lewis, S. C., Spence, P. R. & D. K. Westerman (2017). Posthuman publics: Emerging research in human-machine communication. Association of Internet Researchers Conference. Tartu, Estonia. October, 2017.

Jobin, A. (2015). An imaginary algorithmic public: How media report on search query metrics. Association of Internet Researchers Conference. Phoenix (AR), USA. October 22, 2015.

Jobin, A. & F. Kaplan (2013). Are Google's linguistic prosthesis biased towards commercially more interesting expressions? A preliminary study on the linguistic effects of autocompletion algorithms. International annual conference of Digital Humanities. Lincoln: Center for Digital Research in the Humanities.

Jobin, A. (2012). Research Notes: Information demand about the US presidential candidates in Switzerland. Investigating information retrieval via the Google AdWords platform. Proceedings of the International workshop on Just-in-time Sociology, http://jitso.org.

Conference presentations

Listed under “events”

The Future of Digital Health Ethics

Ferretti, A. & A. Jobin (2019). The future of digital health ethics. Bioethica Forum, 12(1/2): 11-13.
DOI: 10.24894/BF.2019.12005

A report on a 2018 symposium on the future of digital health ethics held at ETH Zurich .

Online Evaluation of Creativity and the Arts

Jobin, A. (2015). Online Evaluation of Creativity and the Arts. Digital Scholarship in the Humanities. Oxford: Oxford University Press. 30(4).
DOI: 10.1093/llc/fqv024

A review of an edited volume by H. C. Suhr (2014).

Conference and book reviews

Reports and other writing

Resilience without accountability holds back transformative change.

Fecher, B., Gümüsay, A. A., Bohn, S. & A. Jobin (2023). Resilience without accountability holds back transformative change. LSE Impact Blog.

AI Federalism: Shaping AI Policy within States

Jobin, A., Güttel, L., Liebig, L. & C. Katzenbach (2021). AI Federalism: Shaping AI Policy within States. Working Paper. HIIG/Uni Bremen. Working Paper. Available at: arxiv.org/abs/2111.04454

Was können wir aus Covid-19 Fake News über die Verbreitung von Fehlinformationen im Allgemeinen lernen? Ein Projekt der Swiss Young Academy.

Kessler, S. H., Jobin, A., Grüninger, S. L. & F. Georgi (2021). Was können wir aus Covid-19 Fake News über die Verbreitung von Fehlinformationen 68 im Allgemeinen lernen? Ein Projekt der Swiss Young Academy. Covid-19 – Wissenschaft und Gesellschaft. swiss academies communications, 16 (5), 68-76.

Why Dr. Timnit Gebru Is Important for All of Us.

Jobin, A. (08.01.2020) Why Dr. Timnit Gebru is important for all of us. The Startup. Available at: medium.com/swlh/why-dr-timnit-gebru-is-important-for-all-of-us

Ethics guidelines in Citizen Science

Jobin, A., Scheibner, J. & E. Vayena (2020). Ethics guidelines in Citizen Sience. Zurich: ETH Zurich, Switzerland. DOI: 10.3929/ethz-b-000428502

The aim of this report is to support the Competence Center Citizen Science Zurich (CCCS). Starting out from the point of research oversight in the Swiss context, it gives an overview of existing ethics guidelines in citizen science as promoted by the Citizen Science Association (CSA), the European Citizen Science Association (ECSA) and similar organizations. It highlights the relative lack of attention to ethical governance and processes in current citizen science guidelines and recommends to set up an intra-institutional process to deal with ambiguities in the future.

Towards an Inclusive Future in AI. A Global Participatory Process.

Belinchon de la Banda, E., B. Bollmann, J. Cussins Newman, A. Jobin & J. Nakonz (2019). Towards an Inclusive Future in AI. A Global Participatory Process. Policy Recipes. Zurich: foraus - Forum Aussenpolitik. DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.3581300

Summary: In response to the accelerating potential of artificial intelligence (AI) to transform our lives, various governments, multilateral bodies, and other organizations have produced high-level principles and guidelines for the ethical use of AI in recent years. Despite the staggering number of such documents (over 90 by October 2019), there appears to be a relatively high degree of convergence on the level of principles. «Inclusiveness» is one of just a handful of principles that most actors seem to agree upon. However, a closer look reveals that the principle is interpreted very differently in terms of the domain, scope and actors it pertains to. As the global community now works on transitioning from principle to practice, there is a clear need to specify what the principles mean in context and how they can be operationalized and evaluated. To respond to this gap, the swissnex Network, foraus, and AI Commons launched the global campaign «Towards an Inclusive Future in AI» with foraus’ new Policy Kitchen methodology. This joint experiment resulted in 11 workshops in 8 countries, involving 10 partner organizations and about 120 participants from a wide range of perspectives, who collaboratively generated 43 ideas for an inclusive future in AI. The preliminary output was presented at the AI for Good Global Summit 2019. This paper presents a more in-depth exploration of ideas and proposals on inclusion collected during the participatory process.

Additional information on my blog (in English or auf Deutsch).

Organic search: how metaphors help cultivate the web.

Jobin, A. & M. Ziewitz (2018). Organic search: how metaphors help cultivate the web. Humboldt
Institut for Internet & Society (HIIG) Blog, available at: https://hiig.de/en/organic-search-
metaphors-help-cultivate-web/  DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.1193276

From the HIIG Series “How metaphors shape the digital society”: Tomatoes, apples and bread can be ‘organic.’ But search results? Anna Jobin and Malte Ziewitz wonder about the currency of agricultural metaphors in web search and show how they do different work for different users.