On 15 June 2026, Associate Professor Dong-Hyu Kim from the Adam Smith Business School at the University of Glasgow delivered a guest lecture entitled ‘Coding the Social: Standardisation and Digitalisation through the Lens of Luhmann's Social Systems Theory’, as part of the institutional DIGI-HR project and the doctoral programmes at the Faculty of Croatian Studies, University of Zagreb.
Held in the Faculty of Croatian Studies Library, the lecture offered an interdisciplinary perspective on standardisation and digitalisation through German sociologist Niklas Luhmann's social systems theory. Starting from the proposition that contemporary society operates through different systems of communication – law, politics, the economy, science and others – Associate Professor Kim analysed how standards provide stability and predictability in an increasingly complex digital environment.
A particularly interesting part of the lecture concerned the fact that standards are almost everywhere, although we rarely notice them. His examples included traffic signs, technical standards, digital file formats, keyboard layouts, building regulations and even rules governing how people move on escalators. Standards enable compatibility between different systems and devices, facilitate communication and create shared frameworks of expectations in everyday life.
Discussing the lasting influence of standards, Kim presented the familiar example of the QWERTY keyboard. Although more efficient layouts exist, such as the Dvorak keyboard, QWERTY has survived thanks to the so-called ‘lock-in’ effect: a situation in which an existing standard becomes so widespread that it is difficult to replace. This example shows that standards do not always emerge as the best solutions, but often become dominant because of historical circumstances, compatibility and users' habits.
The lecture also covered the social consequences of standardisation. Drawing on George Ritzer's theory of McDonaldisation, Kim highlighted how contemporary organisations increasingly pursue efficiency, measurability, predictability and control. These processes enable faster and more efficient service delivery, but can also reduce flexibility, creativity and individuality.
One of the key themes was the role of standards in developing contemporary technological systems. He recalled the Great Baltimore Fire of 1904, during which fire brigades from different cities were unable to use the same equipment because their technical standards were incompatible. The event became a historical example illustrating why compatibility and shared standards are essential to the functioning of complex systems.
Discussing digitalisation and artificial intelligence, Kim argues that, from Luhmann's perspective, digitalisation does not remove social boundaries but makes them less stable, requiring their constant redefinition. The boundaries between products and services, public and private, voluntary and compulsory, and human and machine are becoming increasingly blurred. He illustrated this with digital platforms such as Uber, which can simultaneously be viewed as technological applications, transport services, market intermediaries and regulatory challenges.
In this context, standardisation takes on a new function. It no longer serves only technical compatibility, but becomes a mechanism through which different social systems temporarily align their expectations. Law, the economy, politics and science often view the same digital technologies differently, and standards help establish shared reference points for decision-making.
The guest from the University of Glasgow emphasised that artificial intelligence is no longer merely a tool for processing information, but is increasingly involved in classification, assessment and decision-making. AI systems operate according to their own criteria, thresholds and assessment models, thereby helping to shape social reality. According to the argument presented, artificial intelligence is increasingly involved in the very process of ‘coding’ society: creating the criteria by which we distinguish the relevant from the irrelevant, the permissible from the impermissible, and the reliable from the unreliable.
Questions and comments from the audience prompted an engaging discussion, confirming the relevance of the issues Dong-Hyu Kim raised during the lecture.