Living Labs: An Interventionist Ethnographic Approach to Technologies of the Future

Living labs are an increasingly important experimental research and innovation method that engage users as co-creators of new technologies in open real-life communities and settings. A lot of hopes are invested in this new form of knowledge production, but we know very little about their effects, the involved researchers and participants, and the experiences and imaginative horizons that they bring about. This research project aims to 1) explore the knowledge practices implied in living labs as a research and development concept for the production of future technologies and analyse the complex interactions between different agents involved (researchers, technicians, public and private organisations, citizens, etc.). 2) We will develop an interventionist ethnographic approach, so that living labs can function as political platforms to deal with technological matters of public concern. The project operates at the intersection of anthropology, science and technology studies and co-design.