Section: Application Domains

Social Sciences / Epistemology

Political impacts of the internet and of networks begin to be well known (Cambridge Analytica, Russian trolls, etc.). Hence the public at large begins to be aware of the abuses of the leaders of the internet (privacy by firms and advertising, surveillance by states, fake news by activists, etc.). In the same time, on-line exchanges now give scientific estimations of the political life  [61] and policital sciences begin to consider the internet as a relevant subject of study. As the internet is a technology, philosophy is the best approach to understand what socially happens (or can be made) with the internet. We develop it by two ways:

• political philosophy. Some Dante members are working with Triangle laboratory (social sciences, philosophy and politics; Ens de Lyon and CNRS).

• epistemology, because computer sciences discoveries are related with the evolution of science(s): we discovered that, in the case of the internet, political philosophy can do few if not strongly related to epistemology [62]. Epistemological approach is developped in collaboration with Jean Dhombres (who holds a seminar at Enssib: http://barthes.enssib.fr/cours/Dhombres2018-2019.html and with Hcéres (new relations between social and exact sciences, cf. point 9.2.6).

This approach should help computer scientists to understand how their research may depend on foreign initiatives and to create new links between social sciences and Inria.