How to make the perfect citizen?" This has been one of the questions driving the construction of ... more How to make the perfect citizen?" This has been one of the questions driving the construction of the Chinese Social Credit System: a technology-driven project that aims to assess, evaluate, and steer the behavior of Chinese citizens. After presenting social credit systems in China's public and private sectors (Part II), the Article provides normative standards to distinguish the Chinese system from comparable systems in liberal democracies (Part III). It then discusses the concept of civic virtue, as implemented by the Social Credit System, claiming that it creates a new form of governance, "cybernetic citizenship," which fundamentally
Recent developments in responsible innovation have focused on the governance of innovation proces... more Recent developments in responsible innovation have focused on the governance of innovation processes. The dimension of virtue in innovation processes has thereby been largely overlooked, and more significantly the constitutive relation between virtue and governance that enables responsible innovation. To understand responsible innovation in terms of this relation, this paper turns to Hannah Arendt's ontology of the Vita Activa. First, it problematises responsible innovation in Arendt's work, but then points at a hitherto undiscussed possibility of responsible innovation as 'work in the mode of action'. Second, it explores this possibility as it arises out of nine modes for human activity in Arendt's work, arguing that it constitutes a hybrid activity between world and plurality, durability and fragility, and the firm and the public sphere. Third, it explains how the 'web of stories' links virtuous action and governance, which points at a novel understanding of the role of narrative for responsible innovation.
This special issue introduces the study of financial technologies and finance to the field of phi... more This special issue introduces the study of financial technologies and finance to the field of philosophy of technology, bringing together two different fields that have not traditionally been in dialogue. The included articles are: Digital This special issue introduces studies of financial technologies and finance to the field of philosophy of technology, bringing together two different fields that have not traditionally been in dialogue.
In this paper, we engage in a philosophical investigation of how blockchain technologies such as ... more In this paper, we engage in a philosophical investigation of how blockchain technologies such as cryptocurrencies can mediate our social world. Emerging blockchain-based decentralised applications have the potential to transform our financial system, our bureaucracies and models of governance. We construct an ontological framework of Bnarrative technologies^that allows us to show how these technologies, like texts, can configure our social reality. Drawing from the work of Ricoeur and responding to the works of Searle, in postphenomenology and STS, we show how blockchain technologies bring about a process of emplotment: an organisation of characters and events. First, we show how blockchain technologies actively configure plots such as financial transactions by rendering them increasingly rigid. Secondly, we show how they configure abstractions from the world of action, by replacing human interactions with automated code. Third, we investigate the role of people's interpreta-tive distances towards blockchain technologies: discussing the importance of greater public involvement with their application in different realms of social life.
Florence: European University Institute, RSCAS 2019/94, 2019
Is China's Social Credit System leading the way to a dystopian future? ‘Yes’, claims Wessel Reije... more Is China's Social Credit System leading the way to a dystopian future? ‘Yes’, claims Wessel Reijers, who identifies dangerous dictatorial tendencies that do not live up to the promise of cultivating civic virtue. ‘No’, argues Jens van 't Klooster, who sees it as a promising way to enhance distributive justice and an alternative for price mechanisms in market economies. In an online symposium, we have asked several eminent scholars to take sides in this timely controversy concerning an unparalleled effort of social engineering that will soon influence the lives of over a billion citizens. Is the Social Credit System a ‘digital dictatorship’ or a ‘digital republic’? How unique it is in a comparative and historical perspective? Is a social credit system good for women? And what are the implications of the system on the institution of citizenship?
Kickoffs by Wessel Reijers and Jens van 't Klooster; contributions by Yongxi Chen, Jiahong Chen, John Cheney-Lippold, Jeremy Daum, Costica Dumbrava, Jelena Dzankic, Joshua Fairfield, Primavera de Filippi, Cristie Ford, Francesca Lagioia, Miriam Müller, Liav Orgad, Alberto Romele, Giovanni Sartor, Mathias Siems, Mac Sithigh.
Abstract Digital commons such as Wikipedia, open-source software, and hospitality exchanges are f... more Abstract Digital commons such as Wikipedia, open-source software, and hospitality exchanges are frequently seen as forms of resistance to capitalist modes of production and consumption, as elements of alternative economies. In this article, however, we argue that the digital commons cannot by themselves constitute genuine forms of resistance for they are vulnerable to what we call ‘the illusion of the digital commons’, which leads to a form of ‘false consciousness’ that Sloterdijk designates as deep-rooted cynicism. This cynicism, we argue, ties in with the contemporary discontent with practices in the ‘sharing economy’, in which we pay particular attention to the practice of hospitality exchange on platforms such as BeWelcome, Couchsurfing, and Airbnb. We utilize Georg Simmel’s theory of money to explicate how exchange relations are mediated by technologically enabled explicit and implicit price mechanisms. Accordingly, we argue that the technologically mediated practice of digital commoning can constitute the ‘illusion of the commons’, an apparent form of commoning through digital exchanges that is inherently vulnerable to foster non-emancipatory practices. We argue that this results in a form of cynicism: of commoners that are disillusioned by ‘the power of things’. Only a ‘politics of the digital commons’, a democratic governance that keeps a check on the vulnerability of digital exchanges, and a free relation to technologies can help in avoiding the illusion of the digital commons. Keywords: Alternative economies, capitalism, cynicism, digital commons, false consciousness, postcapitalism
This paper provides a systematic literature review, analysis and discussion of methods that are p... more This paper provides a systematic literature review, analysis and discussion of methods that are proposed to practise ethics in research and innovation (R&I). Ethical considerations concerning the impacts of R&I are increasingly important, due to the quickening pace of technological innovation and the ubiquitous use of the outcomes of R&I processes in society. For this reason, several methods for practising ethics have been developed in different fields of R&I. The paper first of all presents a systematic search of academic sources that present and discuss such methods. Secondly, it provides a categorisation of these methods according to three main kinds: (1) ex ante methods, dealing with emerging technologies, (2) intra methods, dealing with technology design, and (3) ex post methods, dealing with ethical analysis of existing technologies. Thirdly, it discusses the methods by considering problems in the way they deal with the uncertainty of technological change, ethical technology d...
In this paper, we engage in a philosophical investigation of how blockchain technologies such as ... more In this paper, we engage in a philosophical investigation of how blockchain technologies such as cryptocurrencies can mediate our social world. Emerging blockchain-based decentralised applications have the potential to transform our financial system, our bureaucracies and models of governance. We construct an ontological framework of “narrative technologies” that allows us to show how these technologies, like texts, can configure our social reality. Drawing from the work of Ricoeur and responding to the works of Searle, in postphenomenology and STS, we show how blockchain technologies bring about a process of emplotment: an organisation of characters and events. First, we show how blockchain technologies actively configure plots such as financial transactions by rendering them increasingly rigid. Secondly, we show how they configure abstractions from the world of action, by replacing human interactions with automated code. Third, we investigate the role of people’s interpretative distances towards blockchain technologies: discussing the importance of greater public involvement with their application in different realms of social life.
This special issue introduces the study of financial technologies and finance to the field of phi... more This special issue introduces the study of financial technologies and finance to the field of philosophy of technology, bringing together two different fields that have not traditionally been in dialogue. The included articles are: Digital Art as 'Monetised Graphics': Enforcing Intellectual Property on the Blockchain, by Martin Zeilinger; This special issue introduces studies of financial technologies and finance to the field of philosophy of technology, bringing together two different fields that have not traditionally been in dialogue.
Contemporary philosophy of technology, in particular mediation theory, has largely neglected lang... more Contemporary philosophy of technology, in particular mediation theory, has largely neglected language and has paid little attention to the social-linguistic environment in which technologies are used. In order to reintroduce and strengthen these two missing aspects we turn towards Ricoeur's narrative theory. We argue that technologies have a narrative capacity: not only do humans make sense of technologies by means of narratives but technologies themselves co-constitute narratives and our understanding of these narratives by configuring characters and events in a meaningful temporal whole. We propose a hermeneutic framework that enables us to categorise and interpret technologies according to two hermeneutic distinctions. Firstly, we consider the extent to which technologies close in on the paradigm of the written text by assessing their capacity to actively configure characters and events into a meaningful whole; thereby introducing a linguistic aspect in the theory of technological mediation. Secondly, we consider the extent to which technologies have the capacity to abstract from the public narrative time of actual characters and events by constructing quasi-characters and quasi-events, thereby introducing the social in our conception of technological mediation. This leads us to the outlines of a theory of narrative technologies that revolves around four hermeneutic categories. In order to show the merits of this theory, we discuss the categories by analysing paradigmatic examples of narrative technologies: the bridge, the hydroelectric power plant, video games, and electronic money.
This paper is placed in the context of a growing number of social and political critiques of bloc... more This paper is placed in the context of a growing number of social and political critiques of blockchain technologies. We focus on the supposed potential of blockchain technologies to transform political institutions that are central to contemporary human societies, such as money, property rights regimes, and systems of democratic governance. Our aim is to examine the way blockchain technologies can bring about-and justify-new models of governance. To do so, we draw on the philosophical works of Hobbes, Rousseau, and Rawls, analyzing blockchain governance in terms of contrasting social contract theories. We begin by comparing the justifications of blockchain governance offered by members of the blockchain developers' community with the justifications of governance presented within social contract theories. We then examine the extent to which the model of governance offered by blockchain technologies reflects key governance themes and assumptions located within social contract theories, focusing on the notions of sovereignty, the initial situation, decentralization and distributive justice.
The COVID19 crisis has triggered a new wave of digitalization of the lives of citizens. To counte... more The COVID19 crisis has triggered a new wave of digitalization of the lives of citizens. To counter the devastating effects of the virus, states and corporations are experimenting with systems that trace citizens as an integral part of public life. In China, a comprehensive sociotechnical system of citizenship governance has already in force with the implementation of the Social Credit System—a technology-driven project that aims to assess, evaluate, and steer the behavior of Chinese citizens.
After presenting social credit systems in China’s public and private sectors (Part I), the article provides normative standards to distinguish the Chinese system from comparable Western systems (Part II). It then shows the manner in which civic virtue is instrumentalized in China, both in content (“what” it is) and in form (“how” to cultivate it) (Part III), and claims that social credit systems represent a new form of citizenship governance, “cybernetic citizenship,” which implements different conceptions of state power, civic virtue, and human rights (Part V). On the whole, the article demonstrates how the Chinese Social Credit System redefines the institution of citizenship and warns against similar patterns that are mushrooming in the West.
The article makes three contributions: empirically, it presents China’s Social Credit Systems and reveals their data sources, criteria used, rating methods, and attached sanctions and rewards. Comparatively, it shows that, paradoxically, China’s Social Credit System is not fundamentally different than credit systems in Western societies, yet indicates four points of divergence: scope, authority, regulation, and regime. Normatively, it claims that China’s Social Credit System creates a form of cybernetic citizenship governance, which redefines the essence of citizenship.
How to make the perfect citizen?" This has been one of the questions driving the construction of ... more How to make the perfect citizen?" This has been one of the questions driving the construction of the Chinese Social Credit System: a technology-driven project that aims to assess, evaluate, and steer the behavior of Chinese citizens. After presenting social credit systems in China's public and private sectors (Part II), the Article provides normative standards to distinguish the Chinese system from comparable systems in liberal democracies (Part III). It then discusses the concept of civic virtue, as implemented by the Social Credit System, claiming that it creates a new form of governance, "cybernetic citizenship," which fundamentally
Recent developments in responsible innovation have focused on the governance of innovation proces... more Recent developments in responsible innovation have focused on the governance of innovation processes. The dimension of virtue in innovation processes has thereby been largely overlooked, and more significantly the constitutive relation between virtue and governance that enables responsible innovation. To understand responsible innovation in terms of this relation, this paper turns to Hannah Arendt's ontology of the Vita Activa. First, it problematises responsible innovation in Arendt's work, but then points at a hitherto undiscussed possibility of responsible innovation as 'work in the mode of action'. Second, it explores this possibility as it arises out of nine modes for human activity in Arendt's work, arguing that it constitutes a hybrid activity between world and plurality, durability and fragility, and the firm and the public sphere. Third, it explains how the 'web of stories' links virtuous action and governance, which points at a novel understanding of the role of narrative for responsible innovation.
This special issue introduces the study of financial technologies and finance to the field of phi... more This special issue introduces the study of financial technologies and finance to the field of philosophy of technology, bringing together two different fields that have not traditionally been in dialogue. The included articles are: Digital This special issue introduces studies of financial technologies and finance to the field of philosophy of technology, bringing together two different fields that have not traditionally been in dialogue.
In this paper, we engage in a philosophical investigation of how blockchain technologies such as ... more In this paper, we engage in a philosophical investigation of how blockchain technologies such as cryptocurrencies can mediate our social world. Emerging blockchain-based decentralised applications have the potential to transform our financial system, our bureaucracies and models of governance. We construct an ontological framework of Bnarrative technologies^that allows us to show how these technologies, like texts, can configure our social reality. Drawing from the work of Ricoeur and responding to the works of Searle, in postphenomenology and STS, we show how blockchain technologies bring about a process of emplotment: an organisation of characters and events. First, we show how blockchain technologies actively configure plots such as financial transactions by rendering them increasingly rigid. Secondly, we show how they configure abstractions from the world of action, by replacing human interactions with automated code. Third, we investigate the role of people's interpreta-tive distances towards blockchain technologies: discussing the importance of greater public involvement with their application in different realms of social life.
Florence: European University Institute, RSCAS 2019/94, 2019
Is China's Social Credit System leading the way to a dystopian future? ‘Yes’, claims Wessel Reije... more Is China's Social Credit System leading the way to a dystopian future? ‘Yes’, claims Wessel Reijers, who identifies dangerous dictatorial tendencies that do not live up to the promise of cultivating civic virtue. ‘No’, argues Jens van 't Klooster, who sees it as a promising way to enhance distributive justice and an alternative for price mechanisms in market economies. In an online symposium, we have asked several eminent scholars to take sides in this timely controversy concerning an unparalleled effort of social engineering that will soon influence the lives of over a billion citizens. Is the Social Credit System a ‘digital dictatorship’ or a ‘digital republic’? How unique it is in a comparative and historical perspective? Is a social credit system good for women? And what are the implications of the system on the institution of citizenship?
Kickoffs by Wessel Reijers and Jens van 't Klooster; contributions by Yongxi Chen, Jiahong Chen, John Cheney-Lippold, Jeremy Daum, Costica Dumbrava, Jelena Dzankic, Joshua Fairfield, Primavera de Filippi, Cristie Ford, Francesca Lagioia, Miriam Müller, Liav Orgad, Alberto Romele, Giovanni Sartor, Mathias Siems, Mac Sithigh.
Abstract Digital commons such as Wikipedia, open-source software, and hospitality exchanges are f... more Abstract Digital commons such as Wikipedia, open-source software, and hospitality exchanges are frequently seen as forms of resistance to capitalist modes of production and consumption, as elements of alternative economies. In this article, however, we argue that the digital commons cannot by themselves constitute genuine forms of resistance for they are vulnerable to what we call ‘the illusion of the digital commons’, which leads to a form of ‘false consciousness’ that Sloterdijk designates as deep-rooted cynicism. This cynicism, we argue, ties in with the contemporary discontent with practices in the ‘sharing economy’, in which we pay particular attention to the practice of hospitality exchange on platforms such as BeWelcome, Couchsurfing, and Airbnb. We utilize Georg Simmel’s theory of money to explicate how exchange relations are mediated by technologically enabled explicit and implicit price mechanisms. Accordingly, we argue that the technologically mediated practice of digital commoning can constitute the ‘illusion of the commons’, an apparent form of commoning through digital exchanges that is inherently vulnerable to foster non-emancipatory practices. We argue that this results in a form of cynicism: of commoners that are disillusioned by ‘the power of things’. Only a ‘politics of the digital commons’, a democratic governance that keeps a check on the vulnerability of digital exchanges, and a free relation to technologies can help in avoiding the illusion of the digital commons. Keywords: Alternative economies, capitalism, cynicism, digital commons, false consciousness, postcapitalism
This paper provides a systematic literature review, analysis and discussion of methods that are p... more This paper provides a systematic literature review, analysis and discussion of methods that are proposed to practise ethics in research and innovation (R&I). Ethical considerations concerning the impacts of R&I are increasingly important, due to the quickening pace of technological innovation and the ubiquitous use of the outcomes of R&I processes in society. For this reason, several methods for practising ethics have been developed in different fields of R&I. The paper first of all presents a systematic search of academic sources that present and discuss such methods. Secondly, it provides a categorisation of these methods according to three main kinds: (1) ex ante methods, dealing with emerging technologies, (2) intra methods, dealing with technology design, and (3) ex post methods, dealing with ethical analysis of existing technologies. Thirdly, it discusses the methods by considering problems in the way they deal with the uncertainty of technological change, ethical technology d...
In this paper, we engage in a philosophical investigation of how blockchain technologies such as ... more In this paper, we engage in a philosophical investigation of how blockchain technologies such as cryptocurrencies can mediate our social world. Emerging blockchain-based decentralised applications have the potential to transform our financial system, our bureaucracies and models of governance. We construct an ontological framework of “narrative technologies” that allows us to show how these technologies, like texts, can configure our social reality. Drawing from the work of Ricoeur and responding to the works of Searle, in postphenomenology and STS, we show how blockchain technologies bring about a process of emplotment: an organisation of characters and events. First, we show how blockchain technologies actively configure plots such as financial transactions by rendering them increasingly rigid. Secondly, we show how they configure abstractions from the world of action, by replacing human interactions with automated code. Third, we investigate the role of people’s interpretative distances towards blockchain technologies: discussing the importance of greater public involvement with their application in different realms of social life.
This special issue introduces the study of financial technologies and finance to the field of phi... more This special issue introduces the study of financial technologies and finance to the field of philosophy of technology, bringing together two different fields that have not traditionally been in dialogue. The included articles are: Digital Art as 'Monetised Graphics': Enforcing Intellectual Property on the Blockchain, by Martin Zeilinger; This special issue introduces studies of financial technologies and finance to the field of philosophy of technology, bringing together two different fields that have not traditionally been in dialogue.
Contemporary philosophy of technology, in particular mediation theory, has largely neglected lang... more Contemporary philosophy of technology, in particular mediation theory, has largely neglected language and has paid little attention to the social-linguistic environment in which technologies are used. In order to reintroduce and strengthen these two missing aspects we turn towards Ricoeur's narrative theory. We argue that technologies have a narrative capacity: not only do humans make sense of technologies by means of narratives but technologies themselves co-constitute narratives and our understanding of these narratives by configuring characters and events in a meaningful temporal whole. We propose a hermeneutic framework that enables us to categorise and interpret technologies according to two hermeneutic distinctions. Firstly, we consider the extent to which technologies close in on the paradigm of the written text by assessing their capacity to actively configure characters and events into a meaningful whole; thereby introducing a linguistic aspect in the theory of technological mediation. Secondly, we consider the extent to which technologies have the capacity to abstract from the public narrative time of actual characters and events by constructing quasi-characters and quasi-events, thereby introducing the social in our conception of technological mediation. This leads us to the outlines of a theory of narrative technologies that revolves around four hermeneutic categories. In order to show the merits of this theory, we discuss the categories by analysing paradigmatic examples of narrative technologies: the bridge, the hydroelectric power plant, video games, and electronic money.
This paper is placed in the context of a growing number of social and political critiques of bloc... more This paper is placed in the context of a growing number of social and political critiques of blockchain technologies. We focus on the supposed potential of blockchain technologies to transform political institutions that are central to contemporary human societies, such as money, property rights regimes, and systems of democratic governance. Our aim is to examine the way blockchain technologies can bring about-and justify-new models of governance. To do so, we draw on the philosophical works of Hobbes, Rousseau, and Rawls, analyzing blockchain governance in terms of contrasting social contract theories. We begin by comparing the justifications of blockchain governance offered by members of the blockchain developers' community with the justifications of governance presented within social contract theories. We then examine the extent to which the model of governance offered by blockchain technologies reflects key governance themes and assumptions located within social contract theories, focusing on the notions of sovereignty, the initial situation, decentralization and distributive justice.
The COVID19 crisis has triggered a new wave of digitalization of the lives of citizens. To counte... more The COVID19 crisis has triggered a new wave of digitalization of the lives of citizens. To counter the devastating effects of the virus, states and corporations are experimenting with systems that trace citizens as an integral part of public life. In China, a comprehensive sociotechnical system of citizenship governance has already in force with the implementation of the Social Credit System—a technology-driven project that aims to assess, evaluate, and steer the behavior of Chinese citizens.
After presenting social credit systems in China’s public and private sectors (Part I), the article provides normative standards to distinguish the Chinese system from comparable Western systems (Part II). It then shows the manner in which civic virtue is instrumentalized in China, both in content (“what” it is) and in form (“how” to cultivate it) (Part III), and claims that social credit systems represent a new form of citizenship governance, “cybernetic citizenship,” which implements different conceptions of state power, civic virtue, and human rights (Part V). On the whole, the article demonstrates how the Chinese Social Credit System redefines the institution of citizenship and warns against similar patterns that are mushrooming in the West.
The article makes three contributions: empirically, it presents China’s Social Credit Systems and reveals their data sources, criteria used, rating methods, and attached sanctions and rewards. Comparatively, it shows that, paradoxically, China’s Social Credit System is not fundamentally different than credit systems in Western societies, yet indicates four points of divergence: scope, authority, regulation, and regime. Normatively, it claims that China’s Social Credit System creates a form of cybernetic citizenship governance, which redefines the essence of citizenship.
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Kickoffs by Wessel Reijers and Jens van 't Klooster; contributions by Yongxi Chen, Jiahong Chen, John Cheney-Lippold, Jeremy Daum, Costica Dumbrava, Jelena Dzankic, Joshua Fairfield, Primavera de Filippi, Cristie Ford, Francesca Lagioia, Miriam Müller, Liav Orgad, Alberto Romele, Giovanni Sartor, Mathias Siems, Mac Sithigh.
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After presenting social credit systems in China’s public and private sectors (Part I), the article provides normative standards to distinguish the Chinese system from comparable Western systems (Part II). It then shows the manner in which civic virtue is instrumentalized in China, both in content (“what” it is) and in form (“how” to cultivate it) (Part III), and claims that social credit systems represent a new form of citizenship governance, “cybernetic citizenship,” which implements different conceptions of state power, civic virtue, and human rights (Part V). On the whole, the article demonstrates how the Chinese Social Credit System redefines the institution of citizenship and warns against similar patterns that are mushrooming in the West.
The article makes three contributions: empirically, it presents China’s Social Credit Systems and reveals their data sources, criteria used, rating methods, and attached sanctions and rewards. Comparatively, it shows that, paradoxically, China’s Social Credit System is not fundamentally different than credit systems in Western societies, yet indicates four points of divergence: scope, authority, regulation, and regime. Normatively, it claims that China’s Social Credit System creates a form of cybernetic citizenship governance, which redefines the essence of citizenship.
Kickoffs by Wessel Reijers and Jens van 't Klooster; contributions by Yongxi Chen, Jiahong Chen, John Cheney-Lippold, Jeremy Daum, Costica Dumbrava, Jelena Dzankic, Joshua Fairfield, Primavera de Filippi, Cristie Ford, Francesca Lagioia, Miriam Müller, Liav Orgad, Alberto Romele, Giovanni Sartor, Mathias Siems, Mac Sithigh.
After presenting social credit systems in China’s public and private sectors (Part I), the article provides normative standards to distinguish the Chinese system from comparable Western systems (Part II). It then shows the manner in which civic virtue is instrumentalized in China, both in content (“what” it is) and in form (“how” to cultivate it) (Part III), and claims that social credit systems represent a new form of citizenship governance, “cybernetic citizenship,” which implements different conceptions of state power, civic virtue, and human rights (Part V). On the whole, the article demonstrates how the Chinese Social Credit System redefines the institution of citizenship and warns against similar patterns that are mushrooming in the West.
The article makes three contributions: empirically, it presents China’s Social Credit Systems and reveals their data sources, criteria used, rating methods, and attached sanctions and rewards. Comparatively, it shows that, paradoxically, China’s Social Credit System is not fundamentally different than credit systems in Western societies, yet indicates four points of divergence: scope, authority, regulation, and regime. Normatively, it claims that China’s Social Credit System creates a form of cybernetic citizenship governance, which redefines the essence of citizenship.