Web science

Human behavior co-constituting the web.

Web science is an emerging interdisciplinary field concerned with the study of large-scale socio-technical systems, particularly the World Wide Web.[1][2] It considers the relationship between people and technology, the ways that society and technology co-constitute one another and the impact of this co-constitution on broader society. Web Science combines research from disciplines as diverse as sociology, computer science, economics, and mathematics.[3]

An earlier definition was given by American computer scientist Ben Shneiderman: "Web Science" is processing the information available on the web in similar terms to those applied to natural environment.[4]

The Web Science Institute describes Web Science as focusing "the analytical power of researchers from disciplines as diverse as mathematics, sociology, economics, psychology, law and computer science to understand and explain the Web. It is necessarily interdisciplinary – as much about social and organizational behaviour as about the underpinning technology."[5] A central pillar of Web science development is Artificial Intelligence or "AI". The current artificial intelligence that in development at the moment is Human-Centered, with goals to further professional development courses as well as influencing public policy. Artificial intelligence developers are focused on the most impactful uses of this technology, while also hoping to expedite the growth and development of the human race.[5]

  1. ^ Berners-Lee, T.; Hall, W.; Hendler, J.; Shadbolt, N.; Weitzner, D. (2006). "Computer Science: Enhanced: Creating a Science of the Web". Science. 313 (5788): 769–771. doi:10.1126/science.1126902. PMID 16902115. S2CID 5104030. Archived from the original on 2021-04-24. Retrieved 2021-11-26.
  2. ^ Hendler, Jim; Shadbolt, Nigel; Hall, Wendy; Berners-Lee, Tim; Weitzner, Daniel (2008). "Web science: an interdisciplinary approach to understanding the web" (PDF). Communications of the ACM. 51 (7). doi:10.1145/1364782.1364798. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2021-01-23. Retrieved 2021-11-26.
  3. ^ "Why Do We Need Web Science Research?". 6 December 2009. Archived from the original on 19 October 2012. Retrieved 29 June 2011.
  4. ^ Shneiderman, Ben (2007). "Web science". Communications of the ACM. 50 (6): 25–27. doi:10.1145/1247001.1247022. S2CID 37743564.
  5. ^ a b "What is Web Science? – Web Science Institute – University of Southampton". Archived from the original on 2021-11-22. Retrieved 2021-11-26.