The Silences of (Big) Data: Cancelled

Due to weather-related travel delays, we are sorry to report that today’s talk by Kendra Albert has been cancelled. We are hoping to reschedule, and if we do, we will keep you apprised of the new date and time. Thanks for your interest in this event, and we apologize for the inconvenience. We are disappointed too!

As bigger and bigger datasets become the substrate for human and algorithmic decision-making, data speaks louder and louder. But what can we infer when data is silent? Or should we infer anything at all?

In this talk, Kendra Albert, a lawyer and critical technology scholar, will build on the concept of “archival silence” to explain how silences translate from curated collections to datasets where collection and retention is, at least theoretically, automatic and complete. Using examples drawn from their own experience, Albert will show how silence is a technique used by folks from historically marginalized groups to maintain some measure of control against the systems that govern their lives. Furthermore, creating space for silences requires a respect for tacit domain knowledge of the very type that is most often dismissed by technology evangelists.

Kendra Albert is a technology lawyer and an affiliate research associate at the Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society at Harvard University, where they teach students and advise clients on legal matters related to copyright, privacy, and computer security. Their scholarship focuses on applying critical legal theory to modern day technology issues, and understanding how power shapes and is shaped by technology systems.

This talk is co-sponsored by the Scholars’ Lab, UVA Library Scholarly Communication Team and Research Data Services.

Questions?

Contact Scholars' Lab Assistant Director for Public Services Laura Miller.