Elena Esposito (Milan 1960) is an Italian sociologist who works in the field of social systems theory. She teaches general sociology at Bielefeld University (Germany) and prediction and the future of public policy at the University of Bologna (Italy). Her research is embedded in Luhmannian social systems theory. Education Elena Esposito studied sociology at the University of Bologna (1983). At the same university she earned a Laurea in Philosophy under the supervision of Umberto Eco (1987). She earned a PhD in Sociology at the Bielefeld University with a thesis on the operation of observation in constructivism. Her PhD supervisor was Niklas Luhmann. Research Elena Esposito's research focuses on five main topics: General systems theory Social memory Fashion Finance Algorithms & web Academic appointments Elena Esposito is Full Professor at the Fakultät für Soziologie of the University Bielefeld and Full Professor at the Department of Political and Social Sciences of the University of Bologna. She was visiting scholar at the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science, Berlin (2017) and Niklas Luhmann Distinguished Visiting Chair in Social Theory, University Bielefeld (2015–16). Elena Esposito is member of the editorial board of Sociologica (since 2014). She was member of the board of Soziale Systeme (2000–2006). She is also evaluator of the Deutscher Akademischer Austausch Dienst (DAAD) (since 2015) and advisor of the Zentrum für interdisziplinären Forschung (ZiF) of the University Bielefeld (since 2014). In 2019 Elena Esposito received an advanced grant by the European Research Council for the research project "The Future of Prediction: Social Consequences of Algorithmic Forecast in Insurance, Medicine and Policing" (PREDICT - ERC-2018-ADG, n. 833749). Publications Books (selection) Artificial Communication: How Algorithms Produce Social Intelligence. Cambridge (MA): The MIT Press, 2022. Ontologien der Moderne (with René John and Jana Rückert-John, eds.), Wiesbaden: Springer VS, 2013. Il futuro dei futures. Il tempo del denaro nella finanza e nella società. Pisa: ETS, 2009. (German translation Die Zukunft der Futures. Die Zeit des Geldes in Finanzwelt und Gesellschaft. Heidelberg: Carl Auer , 2010. English translation The Future of Futures. The Time of Money in Financing and Society. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar, 2011.) Die Fiktion der wahrscheinlichen Realität. Frankfurt a.M.: Suhrkamp 2007 (revised Italian translation Probabilità improbabili. La realtà della finzione nella società moderna. Roma: Meltemi, 2008.) Die Verbindlichkeit des Vorübergehenden. Paradoxien der Mode. Suhrkamp: Frankfurt a.M., 2004. (Italian translation I paradossi della moda. Originalità e transitorietà nella società moderna. Bologna: Baskerville, 2004.)