1 Virtual Institutions Daniel Memmi University of Quebec in Montreal Canada

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Virtual Institutions

Daniel MemmiUniversity of Quebec in MontrealCanada

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Computers and Sociology

Information Technology (IT) is having a huge social impact

Electronic communication techniques enable new social organizations

These organizational forms deserve closer scrutiny and discussion

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Virtual Communities

Virtual communities are basically computer-mediated social groups ex: forums, newsgroups...

Such groups have already been discussed to a large extent

They often exhibit specific features:impersonal, functional, flexible, with temporary membership

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Virtual Institutions

Recent emergence of computer-mediated social institutions

There has been little discussion so far Yet this new phenomenon demands to

be described and evaluated...

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What is a Social Institution?

Social institutions are goal-oriented social organizations

They have an abstract character They are structured and durable They possess rules, norms and

arbitration procedures

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Examples of Social Institutions

Social institutions have often emerged more or less spontaneously

They are then formally established with explicit rules and procedures

Ex: churches, universities, banks, firms, trade fairs, unions, political parties...

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Examples of Virtual Institutions

We observe the recent emergence of virtual institutions

Wikipedia and Free Software are two remarkable examples

Let’s now describe how they function

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Wikipedia

Wikipedia is an online encyclopedia (started in 2001)

Articles are written and edited by anonymous, free contributors

Enormous size, good quality overall, low cost, continuous update

This is a hugely successful project!

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A Few Figures (in 2012)

Number of Wikepedia articles:4,000,000 (English)

1,430,000 (German)1,270,000 (French) ...

875,000 (Russian)815,000 (Japanese)

82,000 contributors (all languages)

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Wikepedia’s Goals

Wikipedia’s 2 main problems:

Ensure relevant, objective, unbiased, verifiable knowledge

Reach consensus among numerous and diverse contributors

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Wikipedia’s Structure

Explicit social structure(hierarchy of participants)

Explicit rules and norms(writing style, evaluation procedures,

norms of behavior...) Detailed arbitration procedures This is a fully-fledged institution!

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Free Software Projects

Free and Open Source Software movement (ex: Apache, Linux) represents another virtual model

Low-cost, useful, high-quality software Solves neatly an economic dilemma

(high cost of software production, eventual futility of piracy

controls)

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Free Software Model

Free contributions(though largely subsidized in fact)

Highly distributed, collaborative work Clear hierarchical structure

(managers, programmers, critics, users)

But norms and rules remain implicit

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A Few Differences

Free Software is more technical, requiring specialized skills

A tighter organization is necessary Project teams are usually smaller and

more personal Projects are often short-lived

(and not always successful)

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Nature of Virtual Institutions

Is there a specific model common to virtual institutions?

We think there is! But this would just be a general type,

with different variants...

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Features of Virtual Institutions

Voluntary contributions Massively collaborative Highly distributed Informal structure Consensus-oriented Continuous update

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Strengths of Model

Low cost Very reactive Flexible structure Resilient and effective Good results overall

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Weaknesses of Model

Short existence (so far) Unstable structure Potentially fragile Superficiality

These weaknesses are (inevitably?) the other side of the coin!

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Social Needs Fulfilled

Virtual institutions have emerged because they are technically possible

But they also answer social needs: Explosion of content on the Internet Information and knowledge must be

retrieved, evaluated, filtered Virtual institutions are a good answer

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Nothing New under the Sun?

Virtual institutions are not totally new “Classical” institutions have long

performed similar services(production, evaluation, filtering...)

Mass media, publishers, universities are still active and necessary

So what is really new?

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Role of Virtual Institutions

Virtual institutions fulfill similar roles but they are cheaper to operate

They are quicker and more reactive Highly collaborative model can be very

efficient to corrects bugs and errors Virtual institutions will find their place

among other social institutions

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Supporting Virtual Institutions

Virtual institutions are certainly useful but they seem rather fragile

They probably need some help: Social support Economic support Legal support Technical support

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Social and Economic Support

Participation in virtual institutions should be officially encouraged

Contributions to Free Software should be allowed and recognized

This is often the case in academia and in technological firms

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Legal Support

To be sustainable, a free model must be protected against commercial appropriation and copyright fights

Public domain licenses (ex: GPL) have therefore been devised

They seem to hold up so far...

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Technical Support

Technical support for virtual institutions is still rather primitive

Wiki model is useful but minimal Supporting structured discussions,

consensus-building, arbitration, etc, would also be useful

But one should avoid rigid formalisms!

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A Longer View

Computing began with the formalization of arithmetical and logical reasoning

More and more complex procedures and knowledge have been formalized

Social structures are now being formalized and automated

It’s time to formalize social institutions

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Conclusion

Virtual institutions are a remarkable new socio-technical phenomenon

Virtual institutions fulfill specific social needs in novel ways

They deserve more explicit support This is an occasion for the design of

innovative applications

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A Reference

Daniel MemmiInformation overload and virtual

institutions,AI and Society (2012)