The ethics of algorithmic leadership and the game of business

Topic: The ethics of algorithmic leadership and the game of business

When: 22 May at 12.00-13.15

Where: Online

Speaker: Sverre Spoelstra, Senior lecturer, Organisational Studies, Lund University

Moderator: Anamaria Dutceac Segesten, European Studies, Strategic Communication, Lund University

Spoken language: English

Abstract

Algorithms are playing an increasingly important role in organisations. My guiding question in this presentation concerns the role of ethical judgement in what has recently been termed ‘algorithmic leadership’, a concept that implies an equal partnership between human leaders and machines. The literature on algorithmic leadership suggests that humans and machines both contribute to an organisation’s success through their respective unique capacities, such as ethical judgement (on the side of humans) and data processing (on the side of the machines). Instead, I will suggest that this partnership is more complex than this literature recognises. The real shift that is happening today is that machines are becoming better at playing the algorithmic game of optimisation that business leaders have been playing for decades, just as AI chess engines are surpassing their human counterparts.