research-article

Blockchain Assemblages: Whiteboxing Technology and Transforming Infrastructural Imaginaries

Authors:

Pernille BjørnAuthors Info & Claims

CHI '19: Proceedings of the 2019 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems

Paper No.: 266, Pages 1 - 13

https://doi.org/10.1145/3290605.3300496

Published: 02 May 2019 Publication History

Abstract

In this paper we unpack empirical data from two domains within the Blockchain information infrastructure: The cryptocurrency trading domain, and the energy domain. Through these accounts we introduce the relational concepts of Blockchain Assemblages and Whiteboxing. Blockchain assemblages comprise configurations of digital and analogue artefacts that are entangled with imaginaries about the current and future state of the Blockchain information infrastructure. Rather than being a black box, Blockchain assemblages alternate between being dynamic and stable entities. We propose Whiteboxing as the sociomaterial process which drives blockchain assemblages in their dynamic state to be (re)configured, while related artefacts and imaginaries are simultaneously transformed, creating dynamic representations. Whiteboxing is triggered during disconfirming events when representations are discovered as problematic. Complementing existing historical accounts demonstrating technologies in the making, the contribution of this paper, proposes whiteboxing as an analytical concept which allows us to unpack how contemporary technologies are created through entrepreneurial activities.

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Cited By

Duckert MLee CBjørn P(2025)The Ripple Effect of Information InfrastructuresComputer Supported Cooperative Work (CSCW)10.1007/s10606-024-09509-7Online publication date: 4-Jan-2025
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10606-024-09509-7
Secher KJensen VJensen ROvergaard MChristiansen I(2024)A Case Study of Situating Energy Temporality towards Designing for Communal EnergyProceedings of the 13th Nordic Conference on Human-Computer Interaction10.1145/3679318.3685484(1-11)Online publication date: 13-Oct-2024
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3679318.3685484
Jensen VLaursen KJensen RSmith R(2024)Imagining Sustainable Energy Communities: Design Narratives of Future Digital Technologies, Sites, and ParticipationProceedings of the 2024 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems10.1145/3613904.3642609(1-17)Online publication date: 11-May-2024
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Index Terms

Blockchain Assemblages: Whiteboxing Technology and Transforming Infrastructural Imaginaries
1. Human-centered computing
  1. Collaborative and social computing
    1. Collaborative and social computing theory, concepts and paradigms
    2. Empirical studies in collaborative and social computing

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cover image ACM Conferences

CHI '19: Proceedings of the 2019 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems

May 2019

9077 pages

ISBN:9781450359702

DOI:10.1145/3290605

General Chairs:
Stephen Brewster
University of Glasgow, Scotland, UK
,
Geraldine Fitzpatrick
TU Wien, Austria
,
Program Chairs:
Anna Cox
University College London, UK
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Vassilis Kostakos
University of Melbourne, Australia

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Published: 02 May 2019

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Cited By

Duckert MLee CBjørn P(2025)The Ripple Effect of Information InfrastructuresComputer Supported Cooperative Work (CSCW)10.1007/s10606-024-09509-7Online publication date: 4-Jan-2025
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10606-024-09509-7
Secher KJensen VJensen ROvergaard MChristiansen I(2024)A Case Study of Situating Energy Temporality towards Designing for Communal EnergyProceedings of the 13th Nordic Conference on Human-Computer Interaction10.1145/3679318.3685484(1-11)Online publication date: 13-Oct-2024
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3679318.3685484
Jensen VLaursen KJensen RSmith R(2024)Imagining Sustainable Energy Communities: Design Narratives of Future Digital Technologies, Sites, and ParticipationProceedings of the 2024 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems10.1145/3613904.3642609(1-17)Online publication date: 11-May-2024
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3613904.3642609
Montakhabi MMadhusudan AMustafa MVanhaverbeke WAlmirall Evan der Graaf S(2023)Leveraging blockchain for energy transition in urban contextsBig Data & Society10.1177/2053951723120550310:2Online publication date: 28-Nov-2023
https://doi.org/10.1177/20539517231205503
Peña ÈJensen R(2023)The Character of Eco-feedback Systems for Energy CommunitiesProceedings of the 11th International Conference on Communities and Technologies10.1145/3593743.3593783(203-214)Online publication date: 29-May-2023
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3593743.3593783
Jensen VJensen R(2023)Exploring Values of Energy Justice: A Case Study of a Burgeoning Energy CommunityExtended Abstracts of the 2023 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems10.1145/3544549.3573864(1-9)Online publication date: 19-Apr-2023
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Svangren MPersson JNielsen PSkov M(2022)Power to the Electric Car People: The Infrastructuring of ChargingNordic Human-Computer Interaction Conference10.1145/3546155.3546680(1-12)Online publication date: 8-Oct-2022
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Jensen RRaptis DSiksnys LPedersen TSkov M(2022)Design Visions for Future Energy Systems: Towards Aligning Developers’ Assumptions and Householders’ ExpectationsNordic Human-Computer Interaction Conference10.1145/3546155.3546655(1-13)Online publication date: 8-Oct-2022
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Coutinho ENeto MAbreu AMoreira LPinto Jdo Nascimento RFelici-Castell SSamper Zapater J(2022)An Analysis on the Use of Blockchain by Developers and Application UsersProceedings of the 11th Euro American Conference on Telematics and Information Systems10.1145/3544538.3544648(1-8)Online publication date: 1-Jun-2022
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Froehlich MWaltenberger FTrotter LAlt FSchmidt A(2022)Blockchain and Cryptocurrency in Human Computer Interaction: A Systematic Literature Review and Research AgendaProceedings of the 2022 ACM Designing Interactive Systems Conference10.1145/3532106.3533478(155-177)Online publication date: 13-Jun-2022
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