Adversarial risks in social experiments with new technologies

This chapter aims to point out the necessity of including adversarial risks in risk analyses of social experiments with new technologies. Our typology contributes to improved identification of such risks, to identification of methods for learning about these risks in pilots, and ways to manage adversarial risks. The origin of this risk arises not from probabilistic natural or accidental events but from the strategic behavior of actors with conflicting goals. The Bitcoin social experiment thus entails adversarial risks that involve violations of moral goals and harm to stakeholder goals caused by intentional activities. Actor-network theory makes it possible to consider adversarial risks in social experiments from the perspective of new alliances between actors made possible by the deployment of the technology, thereby changing action possibilities. The chapter develops typology that can be used to identify adversarial risks, and the terminology of translation, composition, black-boxing, and delegation can be used to describe these risks.