Cyber-physical Forgetting in socio-digital Systems

• Applicants: Professor Dr.-Ing. Norbert Gronau; Professorin Dr. Annette Kluge
• Subject Area: Social Psychology, Industrial and Organisational Psychology ; Data Management, Data-Intensive Systems, Computer Science Methods in Business Informatics
• Term: from 2016 to 2023
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 317987159

Over the course of six years, the SPP 1921 pursues the goals of applying the mechanisms of human forgetting to a technical-organizational context. In the upcoming second funding phase, based on the results of the first phase, operational application systems will be developed that will forget. The “cyber-physical forgetting” project has four goals. Objective 1: to investigate how cyber-physical systems (CPS) can forget, how actors experience the handling of forgetting CPS, and how working with a forgetting CPS can help intentional forgetting in manufacturing routines. Objective 2: investigating intentional forgetting in continuous change processes Objective 3: extending the results found in the experimental setting of the AZI to organizational actors using a long-term Experience Sampling Study in the field, and Objective 4: model intentional forgetting in business processes. The following work packages (WP) are planned: In WP 1, 1) the description and implementation of a CPS memory, 2) adaptation of methods for manipulating the knowledge base to CPS, 3) integration of methods for filtering the perception by smart sensors and actions by inhibited actuators, 4) implementation of isolation and networking of distributed knowledge bases will be conducted.WP 2 examines the effects that forgetting CPS have on trust and intentional forgetting of actors. An experiment in a 2x2 design (Factor 1: Transparency, Factor 2: Autonomy) with 88 subjects is carried out. In WP 3, intentional forgetting is investigated in episodic versus continuous change. We hypothesize that a continuous change will result in lower subjective and objective switching costs than in an episodic change. In this way, we are building on the experiments of Phase 1 and carrying out a 1-factorial experimental design (factor levels: change continuous / episodic) with 72 subjects.WP 4, to achieve Goal 3, implements an Experience Sampling Study. We provide three letter-of-intent from four organizations that intent to participate. In WP 4, the results on the significance of the retrieval cues from the laboratory experiments are being investigated in a long-term study in an authentic context. The hypotheses for Goal 3 are: Forgetting routines is supported by eliminating any salient retrieval cues that can activate the forgotten routine, and by strikingly implementing the cues that support the new routine. WP 5 develops a modeling approach for forgetting business processes to achieve Goal 4. The WP 6 finally includes the research data management activities.

• DFG Programme: Priority Programmes
• Subproject of: SPP 1921: Intentional Forgetting