The Future of the Web? An STS Speculation on Alternatives

This paper is concerned with the challenges of online identity as the everyday interaction of individuals and groups with online information and devices, are increasingly being 'datafied' on the Web. At the heart of this are technologies, mechanisms and practices of Online behavioural tracking and advertising (OBTA) that are often represented as the underlying business model for online content production. OBTA have raised concerns in areas such as privacy, discrimination, algorithmic bias, social engineering and that they are increasingly being 'baked into' the Web. We challenge the logic that these are inevitable collateral damage of a free and open Web and use the broad epistemological and methodological approach of STS to imagine an alternative future for the Web. The paper has four parts. First, we describe our theoretical framework inspired by social theory (Haggerty, 2009; Haraway, 2016; Massey, 2005), speculative design (Bardzell & Bardzell, 2013; Dunne & Raby, 2013; Maplass, 2013), concepts of sociotechnical imaginary (Jasanoff, 2015), and theorising affordances (Davies, 2017). Second, we present a new model that conceptualises how the entities (inputs, outputs), agents (human, non-human), and activities (8 phases) influencing or producing a targeted ad could be documented and queried in a hypothetical scenario. Third, we analyse qualitative research with OBTA stakeholders to scope the practicality of this model. Fourth, we use some of the findings to imagine a space where the model could be used for enhancing accountability. We suggest this new imaginary could help positioning the future of the Web on an alternative trajectory.