New TATuP issue on “Converging Infrastructures”

Digitalization allows networks for energy, mobility, and information to be linked ever more closely. How these “converging infrastructures” can be used for social transformation is addressed in the current TATuP.

The coupling of different sectors such as energy, transport, and heating or cooling promises a more efficient use of resources, reduced greenhouse gas emissions, and thus a significant contribution to the transformation toward a sustainable energy system. However, this requires profound social, organizational, and institutional integration. As the editors of the current Special Topic suggest, this could lead to manifold socio-technical problems.

Converging infrastructures exacerbate socio-technical problems

Against this background, the authors of the TATuP Special Topic “Converging Infrastructures” examine the opportunities and risks of converging infrastructures from a variety of perspectives. In addition to theoretical considerations for the analysis of socio-technical problems and possible approaches for TA, the authors compare, for example, technologies for the coupling of gas, electricity, and heating networks from an economic and ecological point of view. The focus is also on first results of a pilot project on residential buildings with smart energy supply in Austria, as well as on questions of data protection and democratic control using the example of the increasingly digitalized energy system in the Netherlands.

Interview on India’s Green Revolution

In the TATuP interview, Jack Loveridge explains how technology and international cooperation have contributed to India’s “Green Revolution”. The historian of technology from Harvard University’s Weatherhead Center for International Affairs specifically addresses the challenges related to population control, social and economic inequality, and environmental issues.

Also in the current TATuP: a study on the evaluation of care, therapy, and sex robots, a presentation of research results on 5G wireless communication and health effects, as well as reviews and news from the TA community. (21.07.2020)

Further links:

Full issue (PDF/HTML)