What is sociotechnical co-evolution, and which four questions should you ask of any picture of the future?
Technology and society shape each other, so futures can be designed and negotiated. Ask: Who designed this future? Who benefits, and who bears the costs? What changes in everyday life, not just in the device? Which other futures does it make invisible?
Co-evolution is the alternative to technological determinism. Society shapes technology (through funding, regulation, markets, adoption, protest, repurposing), and technology shapes society. Because neither side is fixed, the future is not something to wait for but something that can be shaped and negotiated (gestaltbar und verhandelbar).
The four questions make that negotiation possible:
- Who designed this future? Every vision has an author with a perspective and interests.
- Who benefits, and who bears the costs? Futures distribute advantages and burdens.
- What changes in everyday life, not just in the device? This counters the gadget future.
- Which other futures become invisible? A dominant vision crowds out alternatives.
Go deeper:
Wikipedia: Social construction of technology — how social groups shape which technologies win.- Wikipedia: Sociotechnical system — treating people and technology as one interacting system.