Siegen, 8th – 9th December 2022
SFB 1187 „Media of Cooperation, Involved subprojects
A01 - Digital network technologies between specialization and generalization
A02 - The culture of telecommunication standardization in the tensions of the digital and ne-oliberal ‘Double Revolution’
A03 - Navigation in online/offline spaces
B08 - Agentic media: Formations of semi-autonomy
Interoperability is an old topic and one that is widely talked about today. In essence, it is and was about the coupling of infrastructural networks and systems, as well as the mutual inter-changeability of their components at and beyond their external borders, at both technical and territorial interfaces. Interoperability was and is not simply given, but must be actively created and maintained. This always represents a complex, technical as well as legal management problem, by which cooperation between networks and their elements is enabled, extended, reduced, or even discontinued.
An early example of the dynamics of interoperability is the "War of the Currents" of the 19th century. The agreement on alternating current, uniform voltage and frequency on a national level enabled the interoperability of electrical equipment within a country, while internationally this required an increased effort due to different plug formats and diverging standards.
Since the late 1970s, interoperable infrastructures have been a declared goal of (neo-)liberal economic politicians. It has been hoped for interoperability to increase the technical and economic efficiency, lower trade barriers and expand the markets for network components and services. The paradigm that infrastructures, such as railroads and telephones, showed specific incompatibilities at territorial or systemic external borders, to function as barriers to cooperation to protect national producers and providers from competition, should be overcome.
In the telecommunications sector, standards such as ISDN or OSI should no longer only make international telephone calls possible, but also allow for terminal equipment, switching technology and services to be used across borders. In the transport sector, it was the container that opened new potential for cooperation by ship, train and truck, thereby transcending national borders and transportation systems.
In the 21st century, the interoperability of hardware and software is a central part of digital media environments and technologies: a smartphone can be used even when traveling to distant countries, a text document can be created on one computer and edited on another, and with a credit card, one can pay (almost) anywhere in the world.
Nevertheless, interoperability can still not be taken for granted. National governments are still protecting their networks and systems with technical incompatibilities to keep competition and unwanted participants as well as information under control. This also applies to tech companies, which continue to push their own standards – for example for digitally networked software applications – and promote the formation of monopolies through technical incompatibilities in order to gain advantages in markets.
Interoperability at the micro level of technical system components as well as overall system characteristics are therefore system properties that always had to and still must be renegotiated in the context of ever newer technologies, as has been, for example, by the revisions of the EU’s interoperability directive for the European railways.
The workshop has several goals:
(1) It is intended to work on the concept of interoperability. What do we specifically mean when we talk about interoperability? How does the term differ from other concepts, such as compatibility, interconnectivity, integration, or standardization? How has the understanding of interoperability changed? Is interoperability more of a technical, economic, or legal concept? Can different levels of interoperability be distinguished?
(2) It should ask about the (historical) context of origin and the conditions of interoperability in digital as well as analogue media systems. What makes the concept attractive? Does interoperability reflect a 'Zeitgeist' in the design of infrastructural systems? Are social and economic ideas of cooperation reflected in interoperability? What goals, futures and visions of cooperation do the actors associate with interoperability? Which conditions of cooperation promote and hinder interoperability? What is the significance of ''maturity levels'' of technologies? When have interoperability efforts been successful, and when have they not?
(3) Interoperability is not a one-way street: Just as it emerges, it can also disappear again. What are the reasons for the degradation or lack of interoperability? What roles do political breaks, technological disruptions, or economic interests play here?
(4) It shall discuss questions raised for media infrastructures with non-media infrastructures, for example transportation and energy networks, and hereby particularly look at the diverse interdependencies between them. Are there notable differences between media and non-media infrastructures? Have notions of interoperability been transferred from medial to non-medial infrastructures and vice versa?
Information about the organization
The workshop is planned for December 8th-9th, 2022 in Siegen, Germany.
We welcome abstracts of approx. 2000 characters on possible presentations (approx. 15 minutes) by September 2nd. Please send them as a PDF to matthias.roehr@uni-siegen.de.