Concepts glossary

• 24 January 2023

  Sociotechnical ensembles

  “An AI system consists of a computational artefact together with the human behaviour and people who make the artefact a useful and meaningful entity. […] Sociotechnical ensembles are combinations of artefacts, human behaviour, social arrangements and meaning. For any computational artefact to be used for a real-world purpose, it has to be embedded into some…

• 30 January 2023

  technological determinism

  “…the view that material forces, and especially the properties of available technologies, determine social events. […] the central idea us that technological changes force social adaptations, and consequently constrain the trajectories of history.” (Sismondo 2010: 96) “Determinism inhibits the development of democratic controls on technology because it suggests that all interventions are futile. This is…

• 5 May 2023

  Umwelt

  Uexküll’s concept of Umwelt proposes that every species inhabits a unique “world” that is constructed based on their own abilities to create and interpret signs. These signs are shaped by their sensory organs and nervous system, which vary greatly between different species. For instance, the sensory apparatus of a fly for creating and receiving signs…