“Robots taking over the world… fantastic!” Understanding social representations, familiarity and visions of experiments with autonomous public transportation

Abstract

Autonomous public transport (APT) represents a potentially important innovation in the transition to a low-carbon transport system. Niche operators around the world are currently starting to experiment with forms of APT in urban environments. In these experiments visions and shared expectations are believed to play a pivotal role. However, such visions are not easily communicated to the local public, and experimenting can evoke and amplify different views. This study applies a novel combination of social representation theory and multi-level perspective (MLP) to explore the local social understandings of APT in an incumbent-led experiment in a Norwegian municipality. Based on a qualitative analysis, the study identifies three emerging social representations of the APT technology, where two oppose the niche vision. A general lack of information about the purpose and mission of the pilot evoked ambivalent and critical representations, drawing on pre-existing images and metaphors from a landscape level. We argue that social representations of technologies can help explain the complexity of the socially embedded reactions that emerge when niche experimentation takes place. We also discuss how such reactions may influence socio-technical transition processes.