Acceptance of ICT-intensive socio-technical infrastructure systems: Smart metering case in the Netherlands

AlAbdulkarim, Layla; Molin, Eric; Lukszo, Zofia; Fens, Theo

doi:10.1109/icnsc.2014.6819659

Cited by 10 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 3 publications

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“…3 Discussions about "empowerment" also point in the direction of the capacity to act [75,76]. 4 In Germany, such "associations" are often comparable to American non-profit organizations. 5 Likewise, Ashby [77] characterizes machines as "law-abiding," because no machine can be called "self-organizing," as it cannot automatically change its way of organization.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…They include major technology companies, transmission service operators, federal and local business associations, and consumer and environmental associations. 4 The narratives of these experts, combined with extensive document reviews, provide the main source for our descriptions of the German ES visions. Moreover, they guided our research toward the inclusion of complexity and the resulting challenges in the three case studies.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…If consumer behavior becomes a critical factor for system operation, then the risk of cumulated effects (like collective distrust against the new grid or parts of it) will rise. During the initial phases of transition in the Netherlands and California (USA), distrust was manifested by protest against the installation of smart meters [4,12]. 11 In 2011, the US Government Accountability Office [64] concluded in its report on Electricity Grid Modernization that "consumers are not adequately informed about the benefits, costs, and risks associated with smart grid systems."…”

Section: Self-healing Networkmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…"Smart" technologies and behavior, like smart grids, smart markets, or demand side management (DSM), are supposed to support the implementation of multiple alternative energy sources, in order to increase efficiency and sustainability of the provision, distribution, and consumption of energy. 1 From the systems perspective, the potential of technological developments cannot be exploited without the public's active participation: "Consumers represent a cornerstone in the fulfillment of goals such as energy efficiency and savings, by their active participation through their actual utilization of the system" [4]. Proponents of smart grids assume that the public will adapt to the new technological reality once the opportunities become clear.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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“Trust” and “confidence” as socio-technical problems in the transformation of energy systems

Büscher

Sumpf

2015

Energ Sustain Soc

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Background: For the development of a sustainable energy system, the public's contribution to the sustainment of the system's current operations will become vital. The public's role is expected to change from that of passive service abiders to active service providers, as anticipated by visions of prosumers, smart grids, demand side management, virtual power plants, and electric vehicle management. Smart technology and new business models will increase system complexity and the experience of uncertainty and risk for all parties. Actionability of the public's participation in the opportunities arising from the transformation of energy systems will become a problem. Methods: With a qualitative functionalist method, we analyze the prerequisites of the public's participation: the capacity of social mechanisms, such as trust, for the solution of social problems. Functional problems affect the continuation of communication, i.e., the possibility of the sustainment of social reality. We isolate three case studies that illustrate concrete effects of trust, distrust, and confidence on three parties, respectively: consumers, investors, and those affected by grid extensions. Results and conclusions: We argue that the social mechanisms of trust and confidence are more vital for consumers, investors, and those affected than previous research has noticed. These mechanisms determine the achievement of sustainability in energy systems by sustaining actionability as a favorable expectation (trust, confidence), or an unfavorable expectation (lack of trust, distrust). Even lack of trust and distrust can be valuable contributors on the road to sustainability, since they uncover flaws and setbacks of a fledgling smart grid.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Self-healing Networkmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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“Trust” and “confidence” as socio-technical problems in the transformation of energy systems

Büscher

Sumpf

2015

Energ Sustain Soc

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“…We propose to consider the deployment of security-sensitive technologies as social experiments, in the sense of society being subject to a test with uncertain outcome. 1 We argue that (i) the deployment of such technologies is by definition a social experiment, and that (ii) much can be learnt about real-world security by designing such experiments consciously. This paper is therefore not primarily about experimentation with security solutions (such as cryptographic protocols), yet with technologies in a wider sense in which security controls appear as important building blocks.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cyber Security as Social Experiment

Pieters

Hadžiosmanović

Dechesne³

2014

Proceedings of the 2014 New Security Paradigms Workshop

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Lessons from previous experiences are often overlooked when deploying security-sensitive technology in the real world. At the same time, security assessments often suffer from a lack of real-world data. This appears similar to general problems in technology assessment, where knowledge about (side-)effects of a new technology often only appears when it is too late. In this context, the paradigm of new technologies as social experiments was proposed, to achieve more conscious and gradual deployment of new technologies, without losing the ability to steer the developments or make changes in designs. In this paper, we propose to apply the paradigm of new technologies as social experiments to security-sensitive technologies. This new paradigm achieves (i) inherent attention for the ethics of deploying securitysensitive systems in the real world, and (ii) more systematic extraction of real-world security data and feedback into decision making processes.

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