This special issue of First Monday, 29(2) 2024, entitled “Governance by infrastructure”, was edited by Léa Stiefel, Morgan Currie, Francesca Musiani, Alain Sandoz, Antti Silvast, and Robin Williams. Articles are available in full text.
Image credit: Scaffolding, CC0 1.0 Deed license.
Abstract
While infrastructures are governed by institutions and rules, they also govern us, as social actors, by their very design. This special issue is dedicated to the study of the governance embedded in infrastructures, as opposed to the governance of the effects they might produce. From machine learning to artificial intelligence, from gig economy platforms to the infrastructures used by governments for advertising or social security, the articles in this special issue highlight the digital governance we are subject to, while exploring alternatives we might consider.