Data-driven Democracy? Automated Decision-making, Difference and Preferences

The mass adoption of the Internet has produced a deluge of data, a phenomenon termed as the 'new oil' of the digital economy. When this data is combined with algorithms, it enables the creation of computer systems capable to take decisions depending on context. Initially used as 'expert' systems in controlled environments only, they are now starting to enter the public space in the form of devices such as self-driving cars or drones, but also increasingly as part of decision making systems with direct political effects. In this paper, we evaluate the destabilization potential of algorithmic decision making looking at the normative foundations of the theory of democracy, focusing on the contributions of preference formation with an emphasis on diversity and inclusion.