Makhortykh, Mykola; Urman, Aleksandra; Ulloa, Roberto (7 April 2021). Scaling virtual agent-based testing for cross-platform analysis of algorithmic content curation (Unpublished). In: DACH 21: Kommunikation #(R)Evolution. Zürich. 7. bis 9. April 202.
Full text not available from this repository. (Request a copy)The use of virtual agents (i.e., software programmes emulating browsing behaviour) offers new possibilities for studying algorithmic content curation. Compared with human participants, deployment of virtual agents induces fewer costs and can be conducted in a fully controlled research environment that facilitates the investigation of the effects of specific factors (e.g., location or browser type) on content curation. Yet, so far the majority of agent-based studies rely on a small number of agents deployed for a single platform that limits the potential for comparative studies.
In our presentation, we introduce a new approach for scaling agent-based testing that uses distributed cloud infrastructure to simultaneously deploy a large number of virtual agents and then track their interactions with online platforms in a controlled environment. Because of its scalability, this approach enables new possibilities for conducting the analysis of algorithmic content curation across multiple platforms, in particular when such curation is
subjected to randomness (e.g., through the reshuffling of results by information retrieval algorithms for optimization purposes). We examine the advantages and drawbacks of this approach using a large-scale analysis of algorithmic curation by multiple search engines on a selection of topics varying from the US presidential elections to COVID-19.
Item Type: |
Conference or Workshop Item (Paper) |
|---|---|
Division/Institute: |
03 Faculty of Business, Economics and Social Sciences > Social Sciences > Institute of Communication and Media Studies (ICMB) |
UniBE Contributor: |
Makhortykh, Mykola, Urman, Aleksandra |
Subjects: |
000 Computer science, knowledge & systems 300 Social sciences, sociology & anthropology |
Language: |
German |
Submitter: |
Mykola Makhortykh |
Date Deposited: |
05 May 2021 16:06 |
Last Modified: |
05 Dec 2022 15:50 |
Uncontrolled Keywords: |
algorithmic auditing, search engines, automated agents, agent-based testing, algorithmic curation |
URI: |
https://boris.unibe.ch/id/eprint/155729 |
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