New TATuP Special topic “Technology hype: Dealing with bold expectations and overpromising”
This TATuP Special topic collects research articles discussing ‘hypes’ and ‘overpromising’, extending from false claims to inappropriate exaggerations, whether intentional or not. The aim is to support a deeper understanding of hyping language and practices and its underlying dynamics and mechanisms. Hype shall be transformed from a buzzword to a reflected and applicable working concept for different fields and constellations of technology assessment (TA).
The full issue is available here.
To date, the study of hype has become a productive but also eclectic field of research. This introduction provides an overview of the core characteristics of technology hype and distinguishes it from other future-oriented concepts. Further, the authors present promising approaches from various disciplines for studying, critiquing, and dealing with hype. The special issue assembles case studies, methodological and theoretical contributions that analyze tech hypes’ temporality, agency, and institutional dynamics. It provides insights into how hypes are triggered and fostered, but also how they can be deconstructed and anticipated.
Special topic editors of this issue are Jascha Bareis (Institute for Technology Assessment and Systems Analysis, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology & Humboldt Institute for Internet and Society, Germany), Maximilian Roßmann (Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, Maastricht University (UM), Netherlands), and Frédérique Bordignon (Ecole des Ponts ParisTech & Laboratoire Interdisciplinaire Sciences Innovations Sociétés lab, France).
Interview with Danielle Shanley on Responsible Innovation and Hype
The interview with Danielle Shanley, conducted by Maximilian Roßmann, explores the origins of Responsible Innovation (RI) and technology assessment in the 1960s, revealing early visions of collaboration and interdisciplinarity a decade before the Office of Technology Assessment was founded in the United States. Shanley highlights the significance of history in understanding hype and identifying with the intellectual movement despite its contested concepts and folk history. She suggests proactive engagement to ensure RI’s continuity beyond buzzwords.
Also in the current issue: research articles on Chatbots as an educational challenge for School and Teching, on the Mirke Neighbourhood Panel as well as conference reports, book reviews, and news from the TA community.
