Assigning meaning to NEST by technology futures: extended responsibility of technology assessment in RRI

Abstract

ABSTRACTObjects of responsibility reflections in responsible research and innovation (RRI) emerge at the intersection of projections about future technology and future society. They intersect in a more or less distant future that can be called ‘technology futures’. These are the main medium of assigning social, ethical, and cultural meaning to new and emerging science and technology (NEST) fields – and it is exactly this meaning which gives rise to public, political, and ethical debates on NEST. This assignment of meaning is, it is argued, the most upstream point reachable in RRI: it is simply the origin of respective debates and reasoning. As such, initial assignments of meaning can have high influence on subsequent debate, for example, in determining what is regarded as chance or risk. This perspective gives rise to a major conclusion concerning the scope of responsibilities in RRI. While usually the responsibility for the possible future consequences of NEST is made an issue to RRI, I will argue for extending the scope of responsibility: the assignment of meaning to NEST must itself be made an object of responsibility. This extension has consequences for the roles of technology assessment in RRI.