Theorising the digital artefact in dark sides research

Loading...
Thumbnail Image
Date
2025
Authors
McCarthy, Stephen
Busch, Peter André
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
AIS Electronic Library (AISeL)
Published Version
Research Projects
Organizational Units
Journal Issue
Abstract
Rapid advancements in the sophistication and diffusion of advanced digital technologies such as AI warrant repose to consider their unintended consequences or ‘dark sides’. While more attention has been directed towards the ethical implications of disruptive technologies, discussions on the underlying materiality of the digital artefacts are often missing. In this article, we call for IS researchers to better conceptualise how technical objects contribute towards the emergence of negative outcomes for users, either intentionally or unintentionally. Examples are provided of conceptual and empirical papers that have sought to open the ‘black box’ of technology to elucidate this issue. We propose sociomateriality as a theoretical lens to guide studies in this area and present a future research agenda that encourages novel methodological approaches such as design science to uncover the dark side of emerging digital artefacts.
Description
Keywords
Digital technologies , Unintended consequences , Sociomateriality , IT artefact , Responsibility , Design science , Research agenda
Citation
McCarthy, S. and Busch, P. A. (2024). 'Theorising the digital artefact in dark sides research', Scandinavian Journal of Information Systems, 36(2), 5, pp. 159-174.
Link to publisher’s version
Copyright
© 2024, Scandinavian Journal of Information Systems.