Data Equals
Democratic Equality and Technological Hierarchy
9780226842257
9780226842240
9780226842264
Data Equals
Democratic Equality and Technological Hierarchy
An expansive vision for data equality that goes beyond algorithmic fairness.
When we gave algorithms power over our world, we hoped that the apparent neutrality of machine thinking would create a more egalitarian age. Yet we are more divided than ever, staring down threats to democracy itself. In Data Equals, Colin Koopman argues that data technologies fail us so often because we built them around a deficient notion of equality.
It is not enough, Koopman explains, that algorithms engage everyone’s data with the same measuring stick. The data themselves are all too often structured in ways that obscure and exacerbate stratifying distinctions. Koopman contends that we must also work to ensure that those people subject to computational assessment enter data systems on equal terms. Part philosophical argument, part practical guide (replete with case studies from education technology), Data Equals offers novel methods for realizing democratic equality in a digital age.
When we gave algorithms power over our world, we hoped that the apparent neutrality of machine thinking would create a more egalitarian age. Yet we are more divided than ever, staring down threats to democracy itself. In Data Equals, Colin Koopman argues that data technologies fail us so often because we built them around a deficient notion of equality.
It is not enough, Koopman explains, that algorithms engage everyone’s data with the same measuring stick. The data themselves are all too often structured in ways that obscure and exacerbate stratifying distinctions. Koopman contends that we must also work to ensure that those people subject to computational assessment enter data systems on equal terms. Part philosophical argument, part practical guide (replete with case studies from education technology), Data Equals offers novel methods for realizing democratic equality in a digital age.
296 pages | 2 tables | 6 x 9 | © 2025
Philosophy: Ethics, Political Philosophy
Political Science: Political and Social Theory
Reviews
Table of Contents
Introduction: Reconstructing Democratic Equality in Data Technology from Paper Records to Artificial Intelligence
Part 1: Data Equality
1. Data Hierarchy, Technological Neutrality, and Algorithmic Fairness: Some Obstacles
2. Data Equality in Social Structure: An Opening
Part 2: Equality
3. Structural Equality: A Pragmatist Account of Democratic Equality
4. Equal Treatment: Equitable Entry + Fair Processing
Part 3: Data
5. Structural Data: Formats + Algorithms
6. Format Anatomies: A Methodology for Dissecting Data
Part 4: Democratic Equality in Education Data
7. Artificial Intelligence for Personalized Learning: An Anatomy of Learner-Model Formats
8. Collaboration versus Personalization in Democratic Education: Evaluating Equality in Learner Data
Conclusion: Becoming Data Equals
Acknowledgments
Notes
Bibliography
Index
Part 1: Data Equality
1. Data Hierarchy, Technological Neutrality, and Algorithmic Fairness: Some Obstacles
2. Data Equality in Social Structure: An Opening
Part 2: Equality
3. Structural Equality: A Pragmatist Account of Democratic Equality
4. Equal Treatment: Equitable Entry + Fair Processing
Part 3: Data
5. Structural Data: Formats + Algorithms
6. Format Anatomies: A Methodology for Dissecting Data
Part 4: Democratic Equality in Education Data
7. Artificial Intelligence for Personalized Learning: An Anatomy of Learner-Model Formats
8. Collaboration versus Personalization in Democratic Education: Evaluating Equality in Learner Data
Conclusion: Becoming Data Equals
Acknowledgments
Notes
Bibliography
Index