Living in the Laboratory: Opting In and Opting Out in Test Bed Scenarios

• In Event: Co-creating or Testing Scalable Societies? Test Beds and Living Labs as Emerging Innovation Policy Instruments - II

Abstract

Test beds and living labs are emerging as prominent innovation instruments that frequently use public spaces for testing and accelerating emerging technologies and new sociotechnical arrangements, frequently used in connection with discussions about regulatory exceptions and forms of experimental governance. Examples range from smart or sustainable cities, to zones testing autonomous or electrical vehicle, all the way to the local release of genetically modified mosquitos to fight malaria. However, these test beds or living labs are frequently imposed as wholesale arrangements on entire (test) populations. Those who live in, or pass through, these test beds frequently have no way of individually opting in or opting out. In this paper, we explore different legal conceptualizations on how to enroll or withdraw from living in a “lab”. We sketch three different legal regimes under which test beds and living labs could be potentially framed, each corresponding to different claims to legitimacy, accountability, and protection of individual and collective rights: (1) a quasi-scientific regime, where legal instruments are centered on informed consent and ways opting out to safeguard against bodily harm and privacy infringements; (2) an infrastructural regime, where potential participation is usually based on impact assessment and standing; and (3) a delegate democratic regime, where engagement is enacted through elected representatives who act on behalf of their constituent public. We discuss how actors strategically shift between these regimes to justify test bed and living lab implementations and preempt contestation. We conclude with a discussion how legal instruments could be used more deliberately to shape test beds in socially desirable directions. 

Authors

• Iris Eisenberger, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna

• Sebastian Michael Pfotenhauer, Technical University Munich