Technology assessment in the mobility sector: What can we learn from social network analysis?

Many experts assume that increasing automation will lead to far-reaching changes in the mobility system. The pace and direction of this transition are a matter of great social interest. Therefore, the inclusion of citizens’ perspectives is called for. However, similar as with other research approaches in technology assessment, there are two major challenges: the self-selection bias of such formats and the fact that automated driving cannot yet be experienced in the reality of people’s lives. To tackle these challenges, we present a novel two-step research approach in this article. In the first step, a social network analysis is used to examine how people organize their everyday lives and the extent to which the mobility transition will affect them as a result. In the second step, representatives of different everyday configurations discuss the advantages and disadvantages of the transformation.