Technological Niche Disruptions (TEND) 

TEND develops an ecological account of the phenomenon of technological disruption.

The niches of human beings are inherently technological and as such prone to disruption by technological innovation (and exnovation). TENDs (Technological niche disruptions) are understood as the interruption of currently prevailing, entrenched social norms, practices, and habits. Such disruptions force us to adapt both at the individual and group levels. Niche disruptions can inflict immediate harm on a stakeholder and prompt adaptive pressures with potential long-term effects, both positive and negative. A central aim of our project is to examine strategies for adapting to niche disruptions and explore the opportunities and risks they entail from an interdisciplinary angle. TEND is an international multi-disciplinary project involving philosophers, historians, social scientists, linguists, and AI researchers.

Research Themes:

• Theoretical Foundations: What constitutes niches? How do personal and social disruptions through technologies manifest within these niches? How useful is the notion of an ecological niche, and how does it relate to the notion of affordances? What does the notion of a niche add?

• The Dark Side of Niche Disruption: What are the negative effects of niche disruptions, such as increased individual suffering and exacerbation of social injustice?

• The Bright Side of Niche Disruption: What are the positive effects of niche disruptions, such as advancements in cumulative culture and potential for moral progress?

• Adapting to Disruptions: What opportunities exist for adapting to technological niche disruptions, particularly concerning cultural, intercultural, and material constraints? What are the risks and opportunity costs of different strategies to adapt to niche disruptions?

• Detection and Prediction: What qualitative and quantitative methods can be employed to study and detect or even predict niche disruptions and subsequent adaptations? Which disruptions are underway, and which adaptations lead to progress?

• Moral progress and Normativity: How should we responsibly and morally progressively navigate and adapt to technological disruptions while upholding ethical standards and normative principles? How can we use the notion of a niche for normative assessments of disruptions?

• Imperialism and niche disruption: How can we prevent the perpetuation of post-colonialist and imperialist powers from disrupting epistemic and moral niches in the global south? 

• Learning from History: What insights can we gain from past instances of niche disruptions and the subsequent adaptations throughout human history? How can we think about it from the perspective of post-colonialist studies?

• Applications and Use Cases: How do the concepts of niche disruption and adaptation apply to particular instances, such as those related to AI, social robotics, or climate change?

News:

• We received funding for workshops and a PhD student! https://vu.nl/nl/nieuws/2025/sgw-open-competitie-m-financiering-voor-veelbelovende-onderzoekers 

• We received more money for our conference from the Academy of the Sciences in the Netherlands

• Our workshop on Technological Niche Disruptions has received funding from CLUE+

• Lukas Fuchs and Guido Löhr's paper on technological exnovation was accepted by OZSW conference

• Our panel proposal was accepted by the Esdit Conference (Esdit.nl)