What is 'undone computer science'?

2026-05-25

AI Summary

This study introduces the “undone science” framework into computer science for the first time, revealing how structural, socioeconomic, and political factors—alongside dominant paradigms—systematically marginalize critical epistemological and ethical issues within the field. By employing an interdisciplinary critical approach that integrates Science and Technology Studies (STS) with social movement theory, the work identifies research directions that, though sidelined, are vital to the discipline’s integrity and societal impact. The findings not only expose significant blind spots in computer science’s knowledge production but also provide a foundational basis for ethical and epistemological reflection, thereby fostering a more inclusive, responsible, and socially accountable trajectory for the field’s future development.

Abstract

The concept of 'undone science' emerged in the 2010s in research in social sciences at the intersection of studies on social movements and of science and technology studies. It refers to research questions that are neglected, ignored, or left unfunded, even though they deserve to be explored. The aim of this special issue is to apply this concept to computer science, by examining whether the way this discipline is structured (including its sociological, economic, and political dimensions), as well as the paradigms that shape it, make it possible to identify epistemological and ethical questions that are crucial for its development and conception.

Problem

• undone science
• computer science
• epistemological questions
• ethical questions
• research neglect

Innovation

• undone science
• computer science
• research agenda
• epistemology
• ethics