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- Convenors:
-
Milena Geisa dos Santos Martins
(Universidade Federal Rural do Rio de Janeiro - UFRRJ)
Jyotirmoy Mukherjee (IIM INDORE)
Indrani Mukherjee (Indian Anthropological Association)
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- Formats:
- Panel
- Mode:
- Online
- Sessions:
- Thursday 18 July, -, -
Time zone: Europe/Madrid
Short Abstract:
Sociotechnical world of the Digital is a confluence of multiple imaginaries, which are being continuously (re)envisioned, (re)defined, questioned and challenged. The panel brings together commentaries on perceptions, practices, ideologies, voices, rights, responsibilities, regulations and controls.
Long Abstract:
Digitalization, has become central to societal (trans)formation, providing power of action through efficient access in geographies across the globe. In this the socio-technical world of the Digital is a confluence of multitude of imaginaries that include actors and agencies at different levels of local, national and global. These imaginaries create the possibilities of an interconnected world, access to information and knowledge. They have ensured socio-economic revolutions through access and availability of commercial goods/commodities over conglomerate marketing platforms; individualization of services and self-help with the use of apps/platforms, virtual spaces for offices and education, employability alternatives as content creators, influencers, gig workers; virtual and augmented reality; anthropomorphic experiences of varying degrees; and social platforms for interaction. Alternately, they are also visualized as effective spaces for global social movements and support groups; identity assertion of ethnic and marginalized groups and so on. These imaginaries, are on one hand creating the foundation of the virtual space, while they are being constantly re-imagined and redefined through technological advancements, competitive/innovative ideas, power lobbies and pressure groups in a race against time. The imaginaries are being equally questioned and challenged on issues of surveillance capitalism, privacy breaches and cybercrime; governmental digital surveillance and control; echo chambers of hate, violence and cyberbullying; and social manipulation through fake news, targeted communication and misinformation. Within this context, the panel hopes to bring together reflections and commentary on the sociotechnical imaginaries of the digital world in terms of perceptions, practices, rights and responsibilities, regulation and control.
Accepted papers:
Session 1 Thursday 18 July, 2024, -Prateek Khanna (Amity University, Ranchi)
Paper short abstract:
The paper explores the intricate interplay of sociotechnical imaginaries in the digital world and aims to serve as a guide for stakeholders to foster an ecosystem that prioritizes inclusivity, ethical considerations, and the collective well-being of humanity.
Paper long abstract:
The paper explores the intricate interplay of sociotechnical imaginaries in the digital world, dissecting perceptions, practices, rights and responsibilities, and regulation and control. In the realm of perceptions, diverse perspectives unfold, showcasing technology as both an empowering force and a source of concern. The framing of technologies in public discourse further shapes societal views, steering policy decisions and technological development. Delving into practices, the paper examines the integration of technology into daily life, uncovering nuanced user behaviours and the consequential digital divide. Emerging technology adoption trends, particularly in Artificial Intelligence and IoT, exemplify the delicate balance between innovation and ethical considerations.
The discussion then shifts to the digital rights landscape, emphasizing the fundamental importance of privacy, freedom of expression, and protection from discrimination. As technology permeates every aspect of society, the paper contends that the ethical responsibilities of both corporations and users become paramount. Corporate responsibilities extend to adopting ethical design practices, ensuring data protection, and upholding transparency. The governance of this dynamic digital landscape requires ethical frameworks and regulations to strike a balance between innovation and protecting the public interest.
The paper calls for a nuanced understanding of the evolving relationship between technology and society. The reflections serve as a guide for individuals, institutions, and policymakers to navigate the digital frontier, fostering an ecosystem that prioritizes inclusivity, ethical considerations, and the collective well-being of humanity. This journey, marked by continual reflection and adaptation, aims to shape technology into a force for positive societal transformation in the ongoing digital revolution.
Sovik Mukherjee (St. Xavier's University, Kolkata (INDIA))
Paper short abstract:
In this paper, case decisions of the Competition Commission of India (CCI) will be discussed in the light of a theoretical Industrial Organisation (IO) model involving buyers, sellers and a dominant platform.
Paper long abstract:
Platform based markets or two-sided platforms refer to a market situation where two distinct groups interact with each other by means of a common platform. Digitalisation and globalisation waves have increased the induction of platforms in our country and the growth of such platforms has made names like Flipkart, eBay, Snapdeal, Amazon, OLA, Uber, etc. familiar in every household. Along with their development, implications for analysing anti-trust and regulatory policies on anti-competitive strategies have simultaneously cropped up. Concentration of power, abuse of dominant position in relevant geographical market and predatory pricing has been common allegations on these platform markets, India is not an exception. Competition Commission of India as the sectoral regulator receives and decides on cases related to platform markets and their anti-competitive practices. Dynamics of platform markets are high, and the regulator has to keep pace with the changing times. In this paper, case analysis and the decisions of the Competition Commission of India (CCI) will be discussed in the light of the theoretical Industrial Organisation (IO) model involving buyers, sellers and a dominant platform. The model has been developed to analyse the approach of the regulator and highlight the cross-roads of competition given the global pedagogy of growth and the multiplication of two-sided markets in generating a large share of contribution to any economy’s growth. India as a developing economy needs these platform markets but at the same time one of the core requirements of healthy growth is uniform competition and the same should not be compromised.
Jyotirmoy Mukherjee (IIM INDORE)
Paper short abstract:
This research explores the contradiction on why the unregistered finfluencers despite not being regulated, have higher subscribers and followers as compared to registered and regulated entities /advisors. It endeavours to inform financial education and awareness while protecting consumer interest.
Paper long abstract:
India has seen a boom in the popularity of finfluencers since 2020, this has been augmented by multiple socio technical realities including-
-Digital India program and multi-fold access to information
-Uncertainties and lack of financial security magnified by crisis’s like covid-19
-A burgeoning middle class that is young, aspirational and consumption driven and is inclined to make their money work as hard as they do
-Trading being democratised by new-age broking firms easy-to-use apps
In a country that has a financial literacy of 27% (NCEF,2019) finfluencers can play a significant role in creating interest around personal finance. However, the credibility of investment advice remains an area of contention. Kakhbod et al. (2023) in their study based on twitter feeds from USA point out that “antiskilled finfluencers have more followers and more influence on retail trading than skilled finfluencers”. India has witnessed similar trends, where non-regulated influencers have greater following than the recognised and regulated entities/advisors (Anupam & Anupam, 2023). This becomes especially significant in light of SEBI’s consultation paper on finfluencers (2023), which mandates strict restrictions on collaborations between regulated entities and unregistered finfluencers.
The current research, based on netnography and in-depth customer interviews, aims to explore the contradiction on why the unregistered finfluencers despite not being regulated, have higher subscribers and followers as compared to regulated entities/advisors. It endeavours to inform effective engagement for financial education and awareness while protecting consumer interest, learning from financial advisers and finfluencers, with the hope of informing policy.
Sreekuttan E (Jayasree Arts and Science College)
Paper short abstract:
The world changes through technological advancement, In this world different communities use technology to a different level of degree and that makes them connect with the socio-technical world and its imaginaries. This study attempts to understand the role of ICT among the Kadar of Kerala.
Paper long abstract:
The world runs with different technologies in different times, now it's playing with Artificial Intelligence and its applications. Availability of technology is still a major problem in today's world, most of the individuals and groups using different digital technology and devices but still a short number of people achieving its complete availability, tribal and other ethnic groups are included in it. The study is an attempt to understand the role of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) among the Kadar, a Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group of Sasthampoovam forest area in Thrissur district of Kerala, India. The ethnographic fieldwork was conducted among the Kadar of Sasthampoovam during the year 2022 and
The data was collected through observation, narratives and interviewing methods. Through this we can understand the role and influence of ICT among the Kadar community and how that runs in their life.
Andrus Tins (Estonian Literary Museum)
Paper short abstract:
AI folklore presents a facet of understanding what it means to be human in today's technological world. In my presentation, I will examine the attitudes and views of Estonian people regarding the use of AI technology in various areas of life based on the folklore of Estonian online communities.
Paper long abstract:
As a thinking and feeling being, human has been searching for meaningfulness and clarity in life and the world throughout the ages. René Descartes' centuries-old statement "Cogito, ergo sum" ("I think, therefore I am") could also be transferred today to the philosophical baggage of, for example, artificial intelligence (AI). However, as long as AI does not have an independent consciousness, the task and privilege of making sense of life remains to humans.
AI folklore presents a facet of understanding what it means to be human in today's technological world. In my presentation, I will examine the attitudes and views of Estonian people regarding the use of AI technology in various areas of life based on the folklore of Estonian online communities. In addition, I will analyze what strengths and weaknesses emerge in people's dialogue with technology.
Based on the analyzed material, it can be said that the attitudes towards AI are mostly strongly polarized. The dominant narratives can be summed up by the keywords 'technological fascination' and 'technological fear'. As possible reasons following aspects can be mentioned. The vast majority of people do not understand the essential nature (and/or potentials) of AI, they do not have the opportunity to actively influence its possible developments, they do not see sufficient direct benefits for themselves from the use of this technology, etc. This can be the reason for deeply sceptic narrations. I also present typology of AI folklore based on Estonian data.
Nadezhda Khokholkova
Paper short abstract:
With the rise of the Internet, the mechanisms of communication and socialization, the ways of self-perception and self-presentation, and the patterns of perception of the past have changed. Many new phenomena have emerged, one of which is a digital commemoration.
Paper long abstract:
An American writer and journalist Tracy Kidder said: "We live in an era flooded with memories." Now, memoirs are not only written by famous people, but also come in a wide variety of forms created by individuals from different backgrounds and with different beliefs. Moreover, in today's conditions, anyone can share their personal memoirs with a broad audience.
Digital commemorative practices are forms and methods of constructing, preserving, and transferring historical memory and activities aimed at representing past events associated with the use of technologies. These practices might appear as memorial websites, virtual flash mobs, hashtags, and memes, which can be classified as “new types of decentralized archival regimes of memory” (Zalewska, 2017).
Among the main features of digital commemorations, it's important to highlight their open-ended nature and interactivity. Narratives can be edited an unlimited number of times. This is not just about using photos, videos, and graphics, but also engaging the audience in the co-creation process. Comments and reposts have the potential to transform personal memoirs into a collective metanarrative.
The paper examines how historical memory is depicted in the narratives created by Africans and members of the African Diaspora, highlighting both common and unique characteristics. The author focuses on interactive digital narratives and digital commemorations, which have developed in line with two opposite paradigms: "memory as celebration" (celebration of national and ethnic pride) and "memory as a remedy".
Indrani Mukherjee (Indian Anthropological Association)
Paper short abstract:
Silicon valley’s spatio-technical imaginary of WhatsApp as ‘digital living room’ is critically reflected upon in this paper which looks at a women’s WhatsApp group of a housing complex, in terms of the domestication of WhatsApp and negotiation of gendered sociopolitical digital-physical continuum.
Paper long abstract:
WhatsApp was referred to by Mark Zuckerberg (2019) as a ‘digital living room’, especially in contrast to Facebook which he called a ‘town square’. The resulting idealised (digital) spatial imaginary rests on an assumed universal characteristic of the “living room” (Watkins, 2015), a utopic imagination of a privacy-focused communications platform, where the spatial metaphor evokes the idea of a space of security, trust, intimacy and familiarity in and through which people can come together, share news and information, and nurture feelings of belonging (Williams et al.,2022). However, McDonald (2015) talks about “domestication” of digital technology in a particular culturally specific context and everyday life. In this, Williams et al. (2022) reflect on how the Western spatio-technical imaginary unfolds when it lands in India, in terms of the ‘domestication’ of what is evoked as “the domestic” (living room) and “reflect or reinforce the politics of society and/or the state” (Pine 2018). With this as a point of departure the present paper looks at a women’s WhatsApp group of a housing complex as a continuity between the digital and the physical space, in terms of the domestication of WhatsApp and the negotiation of the gendered sociopolitical digital-physical continuum. It highlights how on one hand the WhatsApp group reflects the politics of the housing complex and the gendered space, while on the other it reflects women’s agency within the larger ambit of socio-political negotiations.
Diya Koshy George (Indira Gandhi National Open University)
Paper short abstract:
In recent times, and especially in the aftermath of the pandemic, there has been a significant increase in online hate speech, including extreme online misogyny. This paper aims to understand gendered hate speech on the Internet, the reasons for its proliferation, and how it can be regulated.
Paper long abstract:
In recent times, and especially in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been a significant increase in racism, Islamophobia, xenophobia, anti-Semitism, homophobia, transphobia, and online misogyny. According to a 2021 UN Women report, in South Asia, data from India, Sri Lanka, and Malaysia showed that misogynistic Facebook posts and tweets, and engagement with them, such as likes, comments and shares, increased 168% from the same period in 2019. More than 50% of misogynistic tweets from India contained specific COVID-related content, the majority of which was posted by self-declared members of misogynist organisations.
This paper aims to understand how gender influences and determines hate speech on the Internet, the reasons for the increase in hate-filled speech, and where and how women are censored online. In addition to understanding if online platforms are scripted to favour the patriarchy, the paper will also examine if suppressing content violates the fundamental principles of free speech, which is the foundation of every democratic, free-thinking society.
Milena Geisa dos Santos Martins (Universidade Federal Rural do Rio de Janeiro - UFRRJ)
Paper short abstract:
Digital media allows writers to expose their products. However, algorithmic rationality brought them challenges. This work talks about content creators, in literature area, and their practices on Instagram. As a methodological scopus, I did this research through (auto)netnography and interviews.
Paper long abstract:
Few months before COVID19 pandemic, I created a literature profile, @Poenoverso, just for fun. I did not know that I was coming into a very interesting field work. Undoubtedly, my training in Social Sciences provided me an analytical and critical view of environments permeated by human relations. Therefore, even inside of a universe considered by myself as a recreative place, my researcher side was activated. So, suddenly, when I realized what was going on, I started to build an anthropological work about writers in the digital environment.
Digital media, when compared to traditional mass media, can be considered a communication and cultural revolution. Not only because of the speed with which information circulates around the world, but mainly because the Internet has allowed individuals to stop being just recipients and start being producers of their own content. (CASTELLS, 2013; MISKOLCI, 2016). That is why writers have started to expose their products, without the need for publishers' agreement. However, algorithmic rationality brought them challenges.
Then, this exploratory research talks about content creators, in literature area, and their practices on Instagram. In other words, I aim to show their strategies and negotiations to expose their work.
It also important to highlight that gender perspective was considerate in my analyses, because female writers have a different and hard path to achieve their goals. Many of them, are suppressed by obligations that manifested mental problems like anxiety and depression.
As a methodological scopus, I have done this research through (auto)netnography and interviews.
Bartosz Hamarowski (Nicolaus Copernicus University, University of Lodz) Sandra Frydrysiak (University of Lodz)
Paper short abstract:
Examining artist viewpoints on future (smart) homes, this paper contrasts accelerationist and techno-skeptics stances. Through mixed methods, including interviews with creators, it studies technology's impact on living and privacy, focusing on power imbalances in home digitalization.
Paper long abstract:
The paper explores diverse technological stances embraced by artists engaged in both the material and imaginative construction for the future of (smart) domestic living. Building upon the ongoing debate between effective accelerationists (e/acc) and techno-skeptics, our study investigates how artists’ visions and personal narratives align with these dichotomous viewpoints, oscillating between the pursuit of unfettered technological progress and a more reserved perspective that seeks to expose the power imbalances and privacy risks afforded by smart technologies.
Through a mixed-methods approach, the research delves into an interpretative analysis of the creative outputs from the array of international artists, architects, and curators, including Lauren Lee McCarthy, Kuba Jekiel, Sarah Douglas, Jeff Wilson, Aideen Barry, Rowan Elselmy, Nnedi Okorafor, and Liam Young. Complementing this, our examination integrates qualitative online interviews with chosen creators and a secondary analysis of their interviews published in various media outlets, offering a comprehensive understanding of their perspectives on technology and its perceived influence on digitally-mediated living.
In discussing the transformation of power dynamics via the digitization of domestic spaces, we also consider the gendered dimension of this discourse. Our analysis dissects the intricate links between technological visions, societal dynamics, and domestic environments, as evidenced in chosen artworks. We posit that both existing and future smart homes are becoming arenas of ideological struggles, instrumental in sculpting the architecture of contemporary technosociety.