Autonomous Technology as a Challenge to the Sociological Theory of Action

Authored by Johannes Weyer, Robin D. Fink

Date Published: 2011-04

Sponsors: No sponsors listed

Platforms: Repast

Model Documentation: Other Narrative Flow charts

Model Code URLs: Model code not found

Abstract

The following paper sketches a sociological model which describes the “coaction” of technology in a way that allows an empirical investigation of the question of non-human agency. Bruno Latour's provocative arguments are taken as a starting point to show that a sociological theory of action, based on Hartmut Esser's model of sociological explanation, is able to cope with these questions. In order to describe the interaction of human actors and non-human agents, we have, consequently, constructed a sociological model to explain hybrid systems. A car-driving experiment in which humans have to cooperate with computer-simulated driver assistant systems has been chosen to prove the potential of the model. The data show that human test persons indeed attribute agency to the technical systems. Additionally, they describe the relation of human and machine as symmetrical. Finally, we have discovered that test persons also tend to attribute responsibility for the achievement of certain objectives to the technical system although the rules of the game distribute responsibility equally between humans and non-humans.

Tags

Computer simulation Agent-based modelling and simulation model of sociological explanation Theory of action Actor-Network-Theory Autonomous Technology Experimental Sociology Man-Machine Interaction