Democratizing science, technology, and innovation — what do we mean?

Abstract

An edited collection recently published in this journal focuses on ‘critique in, for, with, and of responsible innovation.’ The editors characterize responsible innovation (RI) as a critique of dominant technocratic and economic regimes aiming to facilitate democratization of science, technology, and innovation (STI). In this response to the edited collection, I point out that the call for democratization remains ambiguous. To kick-start reflections on the scope and nature of democratization, I review and reflect on different takes on ‘democracy’ in the context of RI, explore potential alternatives, and point out some implications of engaging with multiple ways of thinking about ‘democracy’ for future RI research and practice.