This hybrid training event, combining lecture and workshop-style elements, offers a pragmatic introduction to the sociological study of algorithms, focusing on digital risk profiling tools increasingly used in housing markets.

Alongside practical guidance on researching algorithmic power in housing and urban policy, the session will examine the political economy behind some of these technologies. It will explore how firms such as Palantir and Clearview AI—whose founders and investors are associated with neoreactionary and post-neoliberal ideologies—are advancing forms of pre-emption, where risk is anticipated and governed through data-driven systems.

Participants will be encouraged to critically analyse how these technologies function not only as instruments of prediction and triage, but as vehicles for specific ideological and political agendas.

The event will be led by Professor Roger Burrows, Professor in Global Inequalities at the School of Policy Studies, University of Bristol.

Please note:

This hybrid event will take place online and at the University of York (Piazza Building, Campus East). You will need to specify whether you will be attending online or in person, and you will receive a joining link/room information in advance.
Places on this course are limited. We therefore ask that you only book a place if you are sure that you will be able to attend.
When booking, you must use your institutional (.ac.uk) email address and complete all fields of the booking form. Your booking will otherwise be cancelled, and you will need to re-book.
Bookings will close at 9am on Friday 25th April.

Researching Algorithms in the Wild