Experiments and the social configuration of the contemporary

Abstract

Once secluded withing the laboratory, the experiment overflowed its walls and now takes residence far beyond these traditional specialized locations. In recent decades, we have witnessed the proliferation of trials, tests, and experiments of all kinds across our societies. The experiment seems to have become a response to an epoch in which how to live seems to be at stake. Thao Phan's paper contributes to this debate through an empirically grounded discussion that illustrates how experiments—specifically tests-in-the-wild—have become central to the expansion and transformation of digital technologies in contemporary societies. This wave of experimentation in our social worlds highlights that experimentation is a central activity in the reconfiguration of our societies.