Judicial Ruins: An Archaeology of Public Innovation in Chilean Courts

Description

What happens to all those digital records and pilot projects that end too soon? Do they simply disappear, or do they lie dormant, waiting to be reactivated? Is there a kind of cemetery for digital artifacts created by failed public innovation projects, or do these artifacts hibernate, ready to resurface? What do we do with discarded platforms, prototypes, and interfaces that continue to linger online, gradually forming an informational geology with latent, volcano-political potential? We examine the case of thousands of video recordings of judicial hearings stored on platforms like Facebook or YouTube, remnants of Facebook Live’s streaming service once used by the Chilean judiciary. This innovation allowing users to comment on these judicial hearings livestreams was shut down after a prosecutor’s private address was widely shared among thousands of comments, leading to armed right-wing groups showing up at her home to threaten her and her family. By viewing public innovation as radically open-ended, we propose that citizens and communities might appropriate, remix, and reinterpret these recordings from past innovation projects. These abandoned digital layers become raw material for political action, allowing new meanings to emerge from public trials and reconfiguring notions of justice in unexpected ways. Our proposal for an archaeology of public innovation opens up new forms of political action at a time when public institutions, like the judiciary, may appear increasingly ruined by the innovation imperatives.

Period	13 Mar 2025
Event title	STS Hub Conference 2025: Diffracting the Crtitical
Event type	Conference
Degree of Recognition	International