Hybrid materialities, power, and expertise in the era of general purpose technologies
This article proposes three distinct perspectives on and approaches to the study of hybridisation across society, industries, and academia enabled by General Purpose Technologies like AI and blockchain. The term hybridisation is frequently invoked to describe and prescribe human-machine interaction and technological interoperability. Critically assessing processes of hybridisation through the perspectives of (1) materiality, (2) power and (3) expertise, we argue that the language of hybridity smoothens out frictions between human judgment, on the one hand, and automated decision-making, on the other, and that processes of hybridisation veil technology-induced epistemic and economic inequalities. In each of these perspectives, we draw on fieldwork conducted at different sites where general-purpose technologies are in play.
Authors
- Ludovico Rella (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5468-9526)
- Daivi Rodima‐Taylor (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0749-7489)
- Ruowen Xu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3849-497X)
- Alex Preda (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2456-2713)
- Till Straube (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2195-2380)
- Malcolm Campbell‐Verduyn (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1081-5417)
- Kristian Bondo Hansen (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9536-6050)
- Nanna Bonde Thylsturp
Institutions
- Goethe University Frankfurt (DE)
- University of Copenhagen (DK)
- Lingnan University (HK)
- University of Groningen (NL)
- Copenhagen Business School (DK)
- Durham University (GB)
- University of Warwick (GB)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Distinktion Journal of Social Theory
- Published
- 2024-10-22
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1080/1600910x.2024.2414312
- Citations
- 6
- Primary Topic
- Ethics and Social Impacts of AI
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 3.16
Funders
- Danmarks Frie Forskningsfond
- Economic and Social Research Council