Socio-Technical Solutions: Food, Recycling, and Housing in the Anthropocene
By questioning the supposed neutrality of technologies, it is possible to identify the influence of power relations in shaping the political and technological agenda for social development. This perspective is relevant for critically addressing the design, planning, and implementation processes of product, process, and organizational technologies aimed at generating dynamics of social inclusion in Argentina. In this presentation, we examine case studies related to initiatives in food management, recycling, and housing in Argentina. Based on these, we ask:
Why is it necessary to redefine the analytical criteria for addressing social problems? Because constructing problems in a deterministically linear way (technological or social) often leads to inadequate solutions and unintended effects: a reproduction of the original conditions of exclusion by other means.
The meaning of the concept of Social Innovation takes on new implications when characterizing the Anthropocene from the Global South. Not only do geopolitical relations limit the capacity of actors; the available infrastructures also exert agency. By operationalizing STS, it is possible to approach problem-solution relations as part of an integrated approach (both theoretically and methodologically). It is not possible to implement “solutions” that are truly inclusive without incorporating users into the design of the problem. Their sustainability is not only environmental but also demands consideration of the social ties that different actors have with their material surroundings, which include everything from the available artifacts to the organizational forms and the economic, geopolitical, and cultural processes that enable their functioning from a socio-historically situated perspective.