Risk, Innovation, and Democracy in the Digital Economy
| dc.contributor.author | Curran, Dean | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2018-03-09T19:11:59Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2018-03-09T19:11:59Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 2017-06-01 | |
| dc.description | The original source of this content is: Curran, Dean ‘Risk, Innovation, and Democracy in the Digital Economy’ European Journal of Social Theory. Pp 1–20. http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1368431017710907 Copyright © [2017] (Dean Curran). Reprinted by permission of SAGE Publications | en_US |
| dc.description.abstract | The study of digital economies and the sociology of risk have, with few exceptions, a relationship of benign mutual neglect despite possible important connections between the two. This article aims to bridge the gap between these two fields using Beck’s theory of risk society to explore how the digital economy’s momentum of innovation is generating risks and limiting the scope of existing democratic decision-making via the power of the digital economy to create social faits accomplis outside of democratic control. Three specific risks emerging from the dynamics of innovation of digital economies are discussed as vignettes to illustrate these developments: (1) the remaking of interpersonal co-presence and solitary life; (2) the growing threats of AI to intensify unemployment and inequality; and (3) the impact on the environment of an ‘always on’ and ‘always upgrading’ digital communication ecosystem. With the gap between the potential and the actual use value of the digitalization of the infrastructure of life continuing to grow, this article argues that a different relationship between digital innovation and private and public spheres needs to be established to protect the effectiveness of contemporary democracy. | en_US |
| dc.description.grantingagency | Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council - Insight Development Grant | en_US |
| dc.identifier.citation | Curran, D. (2017). Risk, innovation, and democracy in the digital economy. European Journal of Social Theory, 1368431017710907. | en_US |
| dc.identifier.doi | http://dx.doi.org/10.11575/PRISM/13612 | |
| dc.identifier.uri | http://hdl.handle.net/1880/106426 | |
| dc.language.iso | en | en_US |
| dc.publisher | Sage | en_US |
| dc.publisher.department | Sociology | en_US |
| dc.publisher.faculty | Arts | en_US |
| dc.publisher.hasversion | Pre-print | en_US |
| dc.publisher.institution | University of Calgary | en_US |
| dc.publisher.policy | https://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/journal-author-archiving-policies-and-re-use | en_US |
| dc.rights | Unless otherwise indicated, this material is protected by copyright and has been made available with authorization from the copyright owner. You may use this material in any way that is permitted by the Copyright Act or through licensing that has been assigned to the document. For uses that are not allowable under copyright legislation or licensing, you are required to seek permission. | en_US |
| dc.rights.uri | https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 | en_US |
| dc.title | Risk, Innovation, and Democracy in the Digital Economy | en_US |
| dc.type | journal article |