The knowledge associated with the term autonomy has entered for a long time already the it-world. In order to safe energy and computing power, peripherals can do some number crunching before entering the main CPU. So-called autonomous peripheral operations (APO) can run in external devices. The degree of autonomy from the main computing system becomes a matter of design. We have imagined networks in sociological research mostly in terms of strong and weak ties. Theoretical models of networks have largely neglected the features of autonomous peripheries as we learn from IT hardware design. The autonomous peripheries have entered social science research more in form of “sleeping cells” or individuals who understand themselves as part of a larger network, but act in an autonomous fashion, which makes it difficult to detect them. Core and, or versus peripheries opens a whole additional research agenda.
