ACTOR-NETWORK THEORY, SCIENTIFIC PRACTICE AND CASE STUDY: CONTROVERSIES IN THE MAN VERSUS MACHINE DISPUTE BETWEEN THE COMPUTER “DEEP BLUE” AND THE CHESS CHAMPION KASPAROV

Abstract

Actor-Network Theory proposes to tell narratives about how science and technology are socially constructed through the relationships of human and non-human actors who associate, constituted by their culture, history, economy, and politics, forming sociotechnical networks. One of the techniques for describing associations in sociotechnical networks is ethnography, as used by Bruno Latour and Steve Woolgar in "Laboratory Life." Laboratory investigations are important for understanding local power within institutions and their status in knowledge production. This article provides an example of a case study applying actor-network theory to the controversies surrounding what has become known as the "Man versus Machine Contest," in this case, the confrontation between then-world chess champion Gary Kasparov and the artificial intelligence computer, "Deep Blue." The objective of this article is to explore Actor-Network Theory, its concepts, and critiques, and to present the "Man versus Machine" case study as an example in the field of sociology of knowledge.