You Can't Get There From Here: Redefining Information Science to address our sociotechnical futures
This perspective piece aims to redefine Information Science to better address sociotechnical challenges from AI, though it is incremental as it builds on existing definitions.
The paper argues that current definitions of Information Science are inadequate for addressing problems from intelligent technologies, advocating for an expanded definition that includes sociotechnical impacts to stimulate interdisciplinary conversation.
Current definitions of Information Science are inadequate to comprehensively describe the nature of its field of study and for addressing the problems that are arising from intelligent technologies. The ubiquitous rise of artificial intelligence applications and their impact on society demands the field of Information Science acknowledge the sociotechnical nature of these technologies. Previous definitions of Information Science over the last six decades have inadequately addressed the environmental, human, and social aspects of these technologies. This perspective piece advocates for an expanded definition of Information Science that fully includes the sociotechnical impacts information has on the conduct of research in this field. Proposing an expanded definition of Information Science that includes the sociotechnical aspects of this field should stimulate both conversation and widen the interdisciplinary lens necessary to address how intelligent technologies may be incorporated into society and our lives more fairly.