Can hype be a force for good?
Date
2020
Authors
Roberson, Tara
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Hype takes the form of visions and stories, articulated through optimistic or pessimistic expectations. Visions of desirable futures to work towards, or undesirable futures to work against, help to motivate support for research and gather necessary resources, including funding and political capital. From research proposal through to commercialisation, science hype occurs at all stages of the research process. It is produced by all manner of science and technology actors as they imagine and invent technoscientific futures. To investigate the role of science hype in this thesis, I construct a conceptual framework that adopts research on sociotechnical imaginaries, anticipatory governance, and notions of convening publics. I use this framework to argue that hype is a communicative device that can spark unexpected engagement with science and technology futures. I test this framework using three cases studies in which hype is used to advance support for science and technology. In these case studies, hype helps shape the future of scientific research and technology development within the contexts of: human exploration of Mars; quantum-enabled technologies; and grand challenge-driven mandates for research. Hype, in a sense, prototypes those futures by establishing the viability and potential of the topic at hand. Within these case studies, hype is adopted to advance rhetoric concerned with competition, global leadership, and societal benefits. The events documented in these case studies affirm the ideal of science and technology ensuring progress and advancement. However, within the last case study, a different narrative emerges. This narrative suggests a new role for hype; one which draws on anticipatory governance. It opens the way for discussion on how hype might be repurposed in aid of science and technology that is created with, rather than for, society. In this scenario, the use of hype invites response, agreeable and otherwise, to potential shared futures.
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