ESRC Centre for Sociodigital Futures

数字技术、设备和数据现已融入当代社会的结构。为了描述这一点，我们可以说我们生活在一个“社会数字”的世界。这一点在COVID-19大流行期间尤为明显，在此期间，我们目睹了在线教育、医疗保健和工作的迅速转变，政府算法决策的扩展（例如A' Level结果），以及可能永远改变商业街的购物习惯的变化。社会科学为理解迄今为止发生的变化提供了极好的资源。问题仍然存在：我们的社会数字化未来会是什么样子？什么样的未来正在形成？谁或什么正在塑造可能的未来，这对目前日益扩大的社会和经济不平等以及气候变化危机意味着什么？这些都是具有挑战性的问题。我们从过去就知道，我们不能对新技术做出确定性的假设，也不能有任何把握地预测社会数字化的未来。然而，这并不意味着我们应该放弃对未来的关注。相反，风险从未如此之高。随着全球经济衰退的逼近，社会经济不平等的扩大和潜在的气候危机，我们必须建立一种新的方法，这种方法将为反思，包容和可持续的社会数字未来创造可操作的知识。ESRC社会数字未来中心的前提是，虽然未来是不可知的，但未来如何在现在制定-话语，物质和谁-非常重要。这将注意力的焦点转移到现在的未来社会关系：关于社会数字未来的主张是什么，这些主张如何推动投资，政策和预期？什么样的未来会打开，然后关闭？通过社区、企业、政策制定者和其他人不断变化的做法，这些因素中的哪一个开始塑造“实际的未来”？提出这些问题提出了一个雄心勃勃的议程，并为英国和国际社会科学的独特主张。为了解决这一议程，我们将提供一个高影响力的实证研究和能力建设的独特方案，通过汇集四种不同形式的专业知识：（一）在日常生活的具体领域的专业知识-照顾，消费，学习，移动和组织;（二）在理论，方法和未来的实践的专业知识。（iii）人工智能、虚拟/替代现实、机器人和高性能网络方面的技术专长;以及（iv）共同制作专业知识，以推动参与性、包容性和可持续的未来创造。该中心的设计和实施将与战略伙伴合作，以创造包容和可持续的社会数字未来。我们的合作伙伴对环境有重大影响（英国农业、环境和农村事务部），数字服务交付（英国电信-服务170个国家），安全国家网络安全中心（National Cybersecurity Centre）（当地- 1300名会员支持307，000+人/周），教育和文化（联合国教育、科学及文化组织-通过国际合作支持和平，以及联合国森林网络领导人）。与这些合作伙伴合作，我们将建设参与社会数字未来的能力，预测可能的风险和机遇，并将平衡推向更积极的未来。

Digital technologies, devices and data are now woven into the fabric of contemporary societies. To describe this, we can say that we live in a 'sociodigital' world. This has become especially visible during the COVID-19 pandemic, during which we have seen rapid shifts to online education, healthcare and work, the extension of algorithmic decision making by government (e.g. A' Level results), and changes to shopping habits that may transform the high street for ever. Social Science provides excellent resources for understanding the changes that have taken place to date. The question remains: what will our sociodigital futures look like? What kinds of futures are in the making? Who or what is shaping possible futures and what will this mean for currently widening social and economic inequalities and for the climate change crisis? These are challenging questions. We know, from the past, that we cannot make deterministic assumptions about new technologies or predict sociodigital futures with any certainty. However, this does not mean that we should abandon attention to the future. To the contrary, the stakes have never been higher. With a global recession looming, widening socio-economic inequalities and an underlying climate crisis, it is essential that we establish a new approach, one that will create actionable knowledge for reflexive, inclusive and sustainable sociodigital futures. The ESRC Centre for Sociodigital Futures begins from the premise that while the future is unknowable, how the future is enacted in the present - discursively, materially and by whom - matters enormously. This shifts the focus of attention towards the social relations of future making in the present: what claims are made about sociodigital futures, how do these drive investments, policies and expectations? What futures do these open up, and close down? And which of these start to shape 'actual futures', through the changing practices of communities, businesses, policy makers and others? Answering these questions presents an ambitious agenda, and a unique proposition for UK and international Social Science. To address this agenda we will deliver a distinctive programme of high impact empirical research and capacity building, by drawing together four distinct forms of expertise: (i) expertise in specific domains of everyday life - caring, consuming, learning, moving and organizing; (ii) expertise in the theories, methodologies and practices of future making; (iii) technical expertise in Artificial Intelligence, Virtual/Alternative Realities, Robotics and High Performance Networks; and (iv) co-production expertise to drive participatory, inclusive and sustainable future-making. The Centre has been designed and will be implemented with strategic partners well-placed to deliver on the creation of inclusive and sustainable sociodigital futures. Our partners have a significant influence on the environment (UK Department for Farming, Environment and Rural Affairs), digital service delivery (British Telecom -serving 170 countries), security (the National Cybersecurity Centre), community (Locality - 1300 members support 307,000+ people/week), education and culture (the United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization - supporting peace through international cooperation, and leaders of the UN Foresight Network). Working with these partners, we will build the capacity to engage with sociodigital futures-in-the-making, to anticipate possible risks and opportunities, and tip the balance towards more positive futures.