A Bridge Too Far?

Mapping Intimacies ◽

10.1093/oso/9780198733249.003.0006 ◽

2018 ◽

Author(s):

Charlotte P. Lee ◽

Kjeld Schmidt

Keyword(s):

Information Systems ◽

Science And Technology Studies ◽

Large Scale ◽

Cooperative Work ◽

Computer Supported Cooperative Work ◽

Practical Action ◽

Systems Research ◽

Information Infrastructures ◽

Information Systems Research ◽

Critical Investigation

The study of computing infrastructures has grown significantly due to the rapid proliferation and ubiquity of large-scale IT-based installations. At the same time, recognition has also grown of the usefulness of such studies as a means for understanding computing infrastructures as material complements of practical action. Subsequently the concept of “infrastructure” (or “information infrastructures,” “cyberinfrastructures,” and “infrastructuring”) has gained increasing importance in the area of Computer-Supported Cooperative Work (CSCW) as well as in neighboring areas such as Information Systems research (IS) and Science and Technology Studies (STS). However, as such studies have unfolded, the very concept of “infrastructure” is being applied in different discourses, for different purposes, in myriad different senses. Consequently, the concept of “infrastructure” has become increasingly muddled and needs clarification. The chapter presents a critical investigation of the vicissitudes of the concept of “infrastructure” over the last 35 years.

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Metahuman systems = humans + machines that learn

Journal of Information Technology ◽

10.1177/0268396220915917 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 026839622091591 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Kalle Lyytinen ◽

Jeffrey V Nickerson ◽

John L King

Keyword(s):

Information Systems ◽

Large Scale ◽

Organization Design ◽

Human Learning ◽

Learning By Doing ◽

Organizational Level ◽

Work Systems ◽

Systems Research ◽

Information Systems Research ◽

New Research

Metahuman systems are new, emergent, sociotechnical systems where machines that learn join human learning and create original systemic capabilities. Metahuman systems will change many facets of the way we think about organizations and work. They will push information systems research in new directions that may involve a revision of the field’s research goals, methods and theorizing. Information systems researchers can look beyond the capabilities and constraints of human learning toward hybrid human/machine learning systems that exhibit major differences in scale, scope and speed. We review how these changes influence organization design and goals. We identify four organizational level generic functions critical to organize metahuman systems properly: delegating, monitoring, cultivating, and reflecting. We show how each function raises new research questions for the field. We conclude by noting that improved understanding of metahuman systems will primarily come from learning-by-doing as information systems scholars try out new forms of hybrid learning in multiple settings to generate novel, generalizable, impactful designs. Such trials will result in improved understanding of metahuman systems. This need for large-scale experimentation will push many scholars out from their comfort zone, because it calls for the revitalization of action research programs that informed the first wave of socio-technical research at the dawn of automating work systems.

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