Silicon Valley revisited: On Californian ideologies and the differences they make

Abstract

While research has highlighted the ties between algorithms and culture, this article focuses on how cross-cultural encounters shape developers’ perceptions of their algorithmic work. I ask: How do cultural transitions and intercultural encounters influence people’s perceptions of their algorithms? How do key issues regarding algorithmic production get translated and reinterpreted? Based on 50 semi-structured interviews with Israelis who immigrated to Silicon Valley, I show that their interpretation of the cultural differences between Israeli and Silicon Valley cultures—and their culturally specific logic of difference —informs how they perceive the algorithms they develop and their ethical implications. I argue that these perceptions stem from deep-seated cultural tropes but are also potentially ameliorated by their encounter with Silicon Valley’s culture. Thus, this article calls for a more diverse view of Silicon Valley’s ideologies, showing that attention to cross-cultural encounters can both reveal and complicate the performative logics sustaining Silicon Valley’s liberal image.