Over the last decade, ‘data scientists’ have burst into society as a novel expert role. They hold increasing responsibility for generating and analysing digitally captured human experiences. The article considers their professionalization not as a functionally necessary development but as the outcome of classification practices and struggles. The rise of data scientists is examined across their discursive classification in the academic and economic fields in both the USA and Germany. Despite notable differences across these fields and nations, the article identifies two common subjectivation patterns. Firstly, data scientists are constructed as hybrids, who combine generally conflictive roles as both generalists and specialists; technicians and communicators; data exploiters and data ethicists. This finding is interpreted as demonstrating a discursive distinction between data scientists and other competing and supposedly more one-dimensional professionals, such as statisticians or computer scientists. Secondly, the article uncovers a discursive construction that interpellates data scientists as discoverers of needs. They are imagined as explorative work subjects who can establish growth for digital capitalism by generating behavioural patterns that allow for personalization, customization and optimization practices.

在过去的十年中，“数据科学家”作为一种新颖的专家角色闯入了社会。他们在生成和分析以数字方式捕获的人类体验方面承担着越来越大的责任。文章认为他们的专业化不是功能上的必要发展，而是分类实践和斗争的结果。在美国和德国的学术和经济领域，数据科学家的兴起通过他们的话语分类得到了检验。尽管这些领域和国家之间存在显着差异，但本文确定了两种常见的主观化模式。首先，数据科学家被构建为混合体，他们结合了作为通才和专家的普遍冲突的角色；技术员和通讯员；数据开发者和数据伦理学家。这一发现被解释为证明了数据科学家与其他竞争性的和据称更多的一维专业人士（例如统计学家或计算机科学家）之间的话语区别。其次，本文揭示了一种将数据科学家视为需求发现者的话语结构。他们被想象为探索性的工作主体，可以通过生成允许个性化、定制和优化实践的行为模式来促进数字资本主义的增长。