Anticipatory Alignment Work: The Politics of Anticipation in an Emerging Innovation Ecosystem of Neuromorphic Computing

The alignment of science, technology, and innovation with societal values and concerns is a key objective of governance approaches that include technology assessment, responsible (research and) innovation, and anticipatory governance. Such alignment is supposed to take place, inter alia, in anticipatory practices involving technoscientific experts, stakeholders, and publics, whose views are then integrated into research and development. However, we lack knowledge on how alignment is accomplished in practice, and the conditions under which it perpetuates or challenges the anticipation of technocratic and market-oriented futures, especially in commercially competitive environments. This article aims to fill this gap by introducing the concept of anticipatory alignment work. Through a case study on an innovation ecosystem emerging around neuromorphic computing technology, the article demonstrates the analytical potential of the concept. In analyzing different modes of anticipatory alignment work, the study reveals how politics shapes alignment and keeps anticipation locked in dominant constructions of the past and present. The article casts doubt on the optimism typically implicit in science, technology, and innovation governance approaches that promise the advancement of societal alignment, while also discussing opportunities for these approaches to foster novel forms of anticipation.