Algorithmic Uses of Cybernetic Memory: Google Photos and a Genealogy of Algorithmically Generated “Memory”

JeongHyun Lee, (2020). Algorithmic Uses of Cybernetic Memory: Google Photos and a Genealogy of Algorithmically Generated “Memory”. Social Media + Society, 6(4), 1-12

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UNU in Macau Journal Articles

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  • Sub-type Journal article
    Author JeongHyun Lee
    Title Algorithmic Uses of Cybernetic Memory: Google Photos and a Genealogy of Algorithmically Generated “Memory”
    Appearing in Social Media + Society
    Volume 6
    Issue No. 4
    Publication Date 2020-12-18
    Place of Publication New York
    Publisher SAGE journals
    Start page 1
    End page 12
    Language eng
    Abstract When algorithmic media are becoming more independent in their ability to select, organize, and create what and how we remember daily life, this article examines the genealogical pre-condition of algorithmically generated “memory” through a case study of Google Photos. I argue that the algorithmic conceptualization of memory is rooted in the history of cybernetics, which is a contrast to the socially constructed memory. I first investigate older phenomenological questions around “memory” in the science of cybernetics and then examine a genealogy of cybernetic memory. Finally, I illustrate how cybernetic memory is animated in Google Photos. This article historically examines what “memory” is understood to be in algorithmic media and how the science of cybernetics has integrated our current understanding of memory into algorithmic memory practices—the socio-technical imaginary of the past.
    Keyword algorithmic media
    Artificial Intelligence
    cybernetics
    Google Photos
    memory
    Copyright Holder The Author
    Copyright Year 2020
    Copyright type Creative commons
    ISSN 20563051
    DOI https://doi.org/10.1177%2F2056305120978968
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    Created: Wed, 17 Mar 2021, 04:15:20 JST by Zachary Karaul on behalf of UNU CS