1
00:00:08,330 --> 00:00:09,269
Welcome back.

2
00:00:09,269 --> 00:00:14,870
In this video I will discuss the social dimension
of the complexity of infrasystems.

3
00:00:14,870 --> 00:00:19,880
This social complexity interferes with the
technical complexity,

4
00:00:19,880 --> 00:00:23,060
which we discussed in the previous video.

5
00:00:23,060 --> 00:00:30,060
Social and technical complexity result in
a complex sociotechnical system.

6
00:00:31,050 --> 00:00:36,480
Complex behaviour in the social part of the
system arises from interactions between the

7
00:00:36,480 --> 00:00:40,100
actors operating in infrasystems.

8
00:00:40,100 --> 00:00:46,110
The number of actors involved in infrasystems
has grown significantly in recent years,

9
00:00:46,110 --> 00:00:49,839
and with it the variety of the actions and
interactions.

10
00:00:49,839 --> 00:00:55,510
I will successively discuss the changes in
the actor configuration,

11
00:00:55,510 --> 00:01:02,460
the actions these actors take and the resulting
interaction patterns.

12
00:01:02,460 --> 00:01:06,600
Until recently,
social complexity was limited.

13
00:01:06,600 --> 00:01:12,670
The production chain was characterized by
the full integration of activities.

14
00:01:13,790 --> 00:01:18,370
All links in the production chain used to
be integrated.

15
00:01:18,370 --> 00:01:24,930
This integration was justified by the fact
that certain technical facilities - the networks -

16
00:01:24,930 --> 00:01:29,110
had the character of a natural monopoly.

17
00:01:29,110 --> 00:01:35,200
It was economically unacceptable to duplicate
this infrastructure.

18
00:01:35,200 --> 00:01:39,850
In combination with the integration of all
activities,

19
00:01:39,850 --> 00:01:46,900
which was deemed necessary, this resulted in
a vertically integrated monopolistic organization.

20
00:01:47,730 --> 00:01:53,710
In many countries these were public organizations,
while in other countries,

21
00:01:53,710 --> 00:01:57,890
including the USA,
these were private organizations overseen

22
00:01:57,890 --> 00:01:59,870
by a regulator.

23
00:01:59,870 --> 00:02:05,049
I will present a number of change processes below,

24
00:02:05,049 --> 00:02:13,200
all of which resulted in an increase in the number
of actors in infrasystems as well as their variety.

25
00:02:13,470 --> 00:02:18,510
This all started to change in the 1980s.

26
00:02:18,510 --> 00:02:23,130
The concept of unbundling was born.

27
00:02:23,130 --> 00:02:27,890
Unbundling is the separation of activities
and roles in the production chain,

28
00:02:27,890 --> 00:02:32,860
where possible,
a vertical decoupling.

29
00:02:32,860 --> 00:02:37,610
In many infrastructures,
a separation was applied between the operation

30
00:02:37,610 --> 00:02:43,560
of the infrastructure and the operation of
the services provided over the infrastructure.

31
00:02:43,560 --> 00:02:49,970
An example is railway companies,
where the operation of the railways and the

32
00:02:49,970 --> 00:02:55,430
operation of train services are usually separated.

33
00:02:55,430 --> 00:03:00,540
Such separations have also been implemented
in the telecom industry and,

34
00:03:00,540 --> 00:03:04,750
to a lesser extent,
in the energy sector.

35
00:03:04,750 --> 00:03:09,030
The separation can take on many different
forms.

36
00:03:09,030 --> 00:03:16,030
Mild forms include accounting separations,
while the most severe forms are those in which

37
00:03:16,310 --> 00:03:22,930
completely different companies are responsible
for these operations with the companies having

38
00:03:22,930 --> 00:03:29,930
nothing to do with one another legally,
financially and as far as ownership is concerned.

39
00:03:30,890 --> 00:03:35,170
After unbundling,
it may turn out that competition is indeed

40
00:03:35,170 --> 00:03:38,780
possible in a number of links in the production
chain.

41
00:03:38,780 --> 00:03:42,950
For example,
competition is often possible at the level

42
00:03:42,950 --> 00:03:46,530
of services provided over the infrastructure.

43
00:03:46,530 --> 00:03:50,629
However,
in practice the number of competitors remains

44
00:03:50,629 --> 00:03:55,330
limited,
with duopolies or oligopolies being frequently

45
00:03:55,330 --> 00:03:57,940
occurring market forms.

46
00:03:57,940 --> 00:04:03,099
Nevertheless,
the number of players is increasing compared

47
00:04:03,099 --> 00:04:07,519
to the monopoloid configuration.

48
00:04:07,519 --> 00:04:12,660
Competition was introduced in the electricity
production chain at both the producer and

49
00:04:12,660 --> 00:04:18,129
supplier level,
but often in oligopoloid configurations.

50
00:04:18,129 --> 00:04:21,579
The grids,
high voltage grid and low voltage grid,

51
00:04:21,579 --> 00:04:24,169
remained monopolies.

52
00:04:24,169 --> 00:04:29,069
Along with this unbundling and the introduction
of competition,

53
00:04:29,069 --> 00:04:34,699
many of the relevant organizations were hived
off from the government.

54
00:04:34,699 --> 00:04:38,319
In fact,
a large number of players were privatized

55
00:04:38,319 --> 00:04:42,879
altogether,
particularly in the links in which competition

56
00:04:42,879 --> 00:04:45,740
was introduced.

57
00:04:45,740 --> 00:04:49,740
In countries in which regulators were not
yet active,

58
00:04:49,740 --> 00:04:56,740
the legislature often introduced regulators
to monitor the markets and the hived-off or

59
00:04:57,589 --> 00:05:00,449
privatized actors.

60
00:05:00,449 --> 00:05:06,789
This hiving-off operation resulted in an increase
in the variety of actors,

61
00:05:06,789 --> 00:05:12,800
resulting in a more complex system as a whole.

62
00:05:12,800 --> 00:05:19,800
Networks are increasingly linked across national
borders to the networks in neighboring countries.

63
00:05:21,689 --> 00:05:28,659
This applies to rail networks,
energy networks and telecom networks.

64
00:05:28,659 --> 00:05:32,889
The internet has been a global network from
the start.

65
00:05:32,889 --> 00:05:39,650
As a result of these transnational links,
foreign players are also starting to play

66
00:05:39,650 --> 00:05:43,710
a role in the domestic networks.

67
00:05:43,710 --> 00:05:47,559
In addition,
global players are emerging who,

68
00:05:47,559 --> 00:05:51,629
although initially based and legally administered
in a particular country,

69
00:05:51,629 --> 00:05:56,789
in fact appear as truly global players.

70
00:05:56,789 --> 00:06:02,249
Examples include the major oil companies and Google.

71
00:06:02,249 --> 00:06:09,800
The gradual development of a system of systems
is an important factor in the increasing complexity

72
00:06:09,800 --> 00:06:12,400
of infrasystems.

73
00:06:12,400 --> 00:06:19,600
Previously separated infrasystems play a substantial
role in facilitating the proper functioning

74
00:06:19,639 --> 00:06:22,189
of other infrasystems.

75
00:06:22,189 --> 00:06:26,999
For example,
energy is an infrasystem that is essential

76
00:06:26,999 --> 00:06:30,949
for the proper functioning of other infrasystems.

77
00:06:30,949 --> 00:06:35,869
Without energy,
transport is impossible! The internet has

78
00:06:35,869 --> 00:06:39,409
also become indispensable for many systems.

79
00:06:39,409 --> 00:06:40,860
And,
of course,

80
00:06:40,860 --> 00:06:46,300
energy and the internet are mutually dependent
on each other.

81
00:06:46,300 --> 00:06:50,069
There can be no internet without energy,
of course,

82
00:06:50,069 --> 00:06:52,529
but the opposite is also true.

83
00:06:52,529 --> 00:06:57,999
As energy networks become smarter,
they are increasingly web based.

84
00:06:57,999 --> 00:07:05,900
A failing energy supply or a failing internet
operation will paralyze other infrastructures.

85
00:07:06,000 --> 00:07:09,000
This has two consequences.

86
00:07:09,000 --> 00:07:14,270
One: infrasystems are becoming
smarter and smarter.

87
00:07:14,270 --> 00:07:21,270
Two: problems in one infrasystem
are propagated to other infrasystems.

88
00:07:21,659 --> 00:07:28,659
By convergence we mean that infrastructures
that used to be dedicated to one product or

89
00:07:28,659 --> 00:07:33,460
one service are finding more applications.

90
00:07:33,460 --> 00:07:38,679
Mono-functional infrastructures are becoming
multifunctional.

91
00:07:38,679 --> 00:07:45,679
The electricity cable and the television cable
can also be used for telephony or the internet.

92
00:07:46,309 --> 00:07:52,659
It goes without saying that convergence increases
complexity.

93
00:07:52,659 --> 00:07:57,270
Because multiple types of services are provided
over an infrastructure,

94
00:07:57,270 --> 00:08:06,100
you draw all the actors involved in those
other services into the infrasystem's arena as it were.

95
00:08:06,439 --> 00:08:10,969
The number of actors grows significantly as
a result and,

96
00:08:10,969 --> 00:08:17,969
because they have different backgrounds,
the variety among the actors will also increase.

97
00:08:18,550 --> 00:08:25,399
Thank you for your attention! The next lecture
we will discuss what this means for the complexity

98
00:08:25,399 --> 00:08:26,580
of infrasystems.