An introduction to critical AI studies

Rachel Bergmann

Social Media Collective, Microsoft Research New England

BU Guest Lecture Fall 2020

1. Who am I?
2. What is critical AI studies?
3. Deep dive into current project

Microsoft Research New England

Social Media Collective

Science & Tech Studies
Comm & Cultural Studies

Anthropology

Sociology

History

Information science

Political theory, governance

Critical Algorithm Studies & Critical AI Studies

https://socialmediacollective.org/reading-lists/critical-algorithm-studies/

Room for data scientists in our field!

Undergraduate and PhD internships at Microsoft Research

  • NYC: FATE PhD internships (link)
  • Cambridge: Undergraduate internships (link)
  • Both: Postdocs and PhD internships in cryptography, accessibility, computational social science, ML bio/healthcare, CS econ, math, ML/stats, and internet studies-- my field! (link) deadlines soon

Whose SharedPlans? Scripts, Collaboration, and Feminist AI Research

Rachel Bergmann

Social Media Collective, Microsoft Research New England

BU Guest Lecture Fall 2020

Critical histories of computing

Credit: flashbak.com

Sidner, Candace. “On Being a Woman at MIT: Or, How to Miss the Stumbling Blocks in Graduate Education.” Association for Women in Mathematics Newsletter 12, no. 1 (February 1982): 13–17.

Sidner, Candace. “On Being a Woman at MIT: Or, How to Miss the Stumbling Blocks in Graduate Education.” Association for Women in Mathematics Newsletter 12, no. 1 (February 1982): 13–17.

Schank & Abelson (1977):

Scripts, goals and understanding

1. John went into the restaurant.

2. He ordered a hamburger and a coke.

3. He asked the waitress for the check and left.

Schank and Abelson's Scripts

Did John eat the hamburger?

Schank and Abelson's Scripts

Schank & Abelson's SAM Program

Schank and Abelson's Scripts

Searle's "Chinese Room Argument"

SharedPlans

SharedPlans

SharedPlans

NLP for conversations, not just Q & A pairs

 

Incorporated different knowledge and beliefs of users

 

Assumes user will go

"off-script"

Resonances in Science & Technology Studies

Epistemological limitations

Tech worker movements

In conclusion

These women worked to make computer science departments more open and welcoming spaces.

Reflecting on historical precedents can help us imagine paths for building technologies in new and more equitable directions.

Their feminist AI protocol included research methods, values, and practices rooted in community, interdisciplinarity, and care.

Thank you!

Rachel Bergmann

@rachbgm

Social Media Collective, Microsoft Research

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