A story of nimble knowledge production in an era of academic capitalism

A rise of academic capitalism over the past four decades has been well documented within many research-intensive universities. Largely missing, however, are in-depth studies of how particularly situated academic groups manage the uncertainties that come with intermittent and fickle commercial funding streams in their daily research practice and problem choice. To capture the strategies scientists adopt under these conditions, this article provides an ethnographically detailed (and true) story about how a single project in Artificial Intelligence grew over several years from a peripheral idea to the very center of an academic lab's commercial portfolio. The analysis theorizes an epistemic form-nimble knowledge production-and documents three of its lab-level features: 1) rapid prototyping to keep sunk costs low, 2) shared search for real world problems rather than theoretical ones, and 3) nimble commitment to research problem choice. While similar forms of academic knowledge transfer have been lauded as mode 2, innovative, or hybrid for initiating cross-institutional collaboration and pushing science beyond disciplinary silos, this case suggests it can rely on fleeting attention to problems resistant to a quick fix.

Automated summary

This article explores the rise of academic capitalism in research-intensive universities and how scientists manage uncertainties in research practice and problem choice under commercial funding streams. Through a detailed case study, it identifies three lab-level features of scientists' strategies and theorizes a nimble knowledge production approach.