Digital Polycentricity and Value-Sensitive Operationalization

Abstract

The increasing digitalization of our social systems has led to the development of agentic computational artifacts. If socio-technical systems (STSs) fit for purpose in the digital society are to be designed and operationalized, the theory of polycentric governance (which traditionally considers the interdependency of interactions between the autonomous centers of decision-making within a social system) must be enriched to reflect this digitalization. In this article, we consider the extension of polycentricity to include “the digital” by viewing the concept through four “lenses” (interactional, governmental, architectural, and axiological), which are then synthesized to conclude with a research program for value-sensitive operationalization (VSO). This opens the potential to develop technologies and foster human relationships with these technologies that aim to optimize the human quality of experience.