Paper short abstract:

This study explores what happens when algorithms are designed to take on tasks in the arena of physical rehabilitation.

Paper long abstract:

As human life becomes increasingly entangled with digital technologies, algorithmic systems are becoming a significant part of everyday life. The delegation of tasks to algorithms and their ability to make decisions without (or with little) human intervention has been characterised as a process of algorithmic authority, where algorithms increasingly shape 'who we are and what we see'(Steiner 2012). This paper engage with the concept of algorithmic authority by way of analysing the complex, practical and affective processes through which algorithmic authority is created, negotiated and sometimes broken down. The study is based on an ethnographic exploration of the design and implementation of a smart phone application for the promotion of home-training for patients who have undergone hip replacement surgery in Denmark, and explores what happens when algorithms are designed to take on tasks in the arena of physical rehabilitation. I argue that the tendency among scholars to center on algorithms as the main actor producing authority, may overlook the dynamic material, social and affectual relations involved in the process of producing and maintaining algorithmic authority over time.