Research

SAIS brings together a multidisciplinary group of researchers situated at the interplay of sociology, political science and Science and Technology Studies. The research group is dedicated to investigating phenomena connected to digital infrastructures and platforms, AI governance, discourses and narratives around evolving digital technologies.

To understand what technology does in society, SAIS looks beyond technological advancements and outputs.  WE study how the social and technical co-produce each other and how digital technologies become are woven into everyday life and institutions. There, they shape meanings, guide actions and practices, and influencepolicies. At the same time, social worlds also shape technological objects themselves, from how they are imagined and built to how they are interpreted, used and contested.

Empirically, this includes mainly qualitative and interpretive work on AI soft law and ethics guidelines, AI strategies and policies at different governance levels, media and platform governance, disinformation and conspiracy theories, hype around emerging technologies, and the social lives of data-driven platforms. Our projects draw on traditional and digital methods such as document and discourse analysis, interviews, and studies of algorithmic ystems and digital infrastructure as sociotechnical and sociomaterial institutions. We also increasingly explore how methodological and technical tools can themselves be part of critical social research on the digital.

Below, you can explore our ongoing and completed projects.