Normative Technologies and the Web

Kjetil Kjernsmo

http://talks.kjernsmo.net/norms/2022/din1.html

Solid, credentials and DID

Acknowledges and works in the same problem space.

Some technologies are reused in Solid.

Some interoperability between them are likely.

The Case for Optimism

• Exponential data growth
• Often exponential uptake
• Incumbent's useful stuff is a small part of the companies

Solid now

• A thin layer on the Web
• Adds
  • Identity and authentication (currently based on OIDC, designed to be open to others
  • Authorization frameworks (WAC has historical backing, ACP is new, possibly converging)
  • Knowledge graph
  • Basic hierarchical data organization, but open to better knowledge organisation
  • Notification

Solid Soon

• Verifiable Credentials
• Consent architecture (several proposals)
• Query
• Data validation

Personal Data Control

Will it set off a sociotechnological revolution?

Probably not...

Data Vault idea considered harmful

"The big bank vault" by BellaGaia is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

How do democracies make these calls?

Norms can emerge in many different ways

• Laws
• Religion
• Culture
• Technology

Technology does set norms

• Anonymous vs pseudonymous or real identity influences behaviour
• Balancing security needs.
• An algorithm optimizing for engagement sets norms for public debate.
• Autonomous Weapon Systems decide life and death

Technology creates de facto norms today

Introducing the concept of

Normative Technologies

• technologies that have the potential to set societal norms
• non-exclusive, everyone must have access as a right
• open in the sense that everyone is entitled to understand them and participate in their construction.
• development must be guided by legitimate governing bodies
• concrete implementations are powerful, and therefore, it is important to have a tight feedback loop between implementers and other decision makers
• citizens may reject technologies by not using them

Permanent Societal Institutions

• Centre for Normative Technology Development
• Oversight body

Centre for Normative Technology Development

• To develop technology with a democratic mandate rather a commercial one
• Very cross-disciplinary
• set up for practical development
• not a research institution
• Legitimacy from Nation States or similar, but with international technological focus

Societal Scale Technologies

Technologies that are foundational across society

• Identity
• Shared data management
Knowledge organization
...

Mechanisms for Good