Gesellschaft als Labor. Die Erzeugung sozialer Risiken durch experimentelle Forschung

Abstract

In many cases the implementation of new technologies provides 'implicit experiments' with either these technologies or their interaction with their social and economical environment. While one accepted view states that risks implied in the production of knowledge are or should be confined to the laboratory, it is argued that society is being turned into an 'experimental society', in which scientifically observed and controlled knowledge production takes place 'on line'. The risks of theoretical error and experimental failure are shifted toward society and become an irreversible part of its development. Case studies are presented which emphasize different aspects of legal problems, decision dilemmas and conditions of negotiation, with which society is confronted by implicit experimenting.