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- Convenors:
-
ginger coons
(Hogeschool Rotterdam)
Friso Van Houdt (Erasmus University Rotterdam)
Gabriele Jacobs (Erasmus University Rotterdam)
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- Format:
- Traditional Open Panel
Short Abstract:
Nature has historically been figured as apart from humanity. AI is often seen as ethereal. But computation requirements can be enormous and have an impact on the planet. We consider how nature-cultures contribute to understanding interrelations between humans and our kin in an era of rampant AI use.
Long Abstract:
This panel starts from the increasingly-common premise that humans are not distinct from nature, and that separating us from some kind of "out there" natural world is flawed and alienating. The hype surrounding AI treats it as ethereal and not of the physical world. Scholars and activists engaged with infrastructure studies and environmental impacts of computing show something different: the scale of computation required for AI deployment is enormous and can have a real effect on the planet. We ask: What does the concept of nature-cultures contribute to an understanding of the interrelations between humans and the rest of our kin, as we move into an era of rampant AI use? Can existing concepts from the confluence of research and policy, like the quintuple helix (government, academia, private sector, civil society, nature), support a nuanced treatment of nature-as-stakeholder in AI development? And what can the critical and attentive sensibilities of STS contribute to the relationship between humans, the rest of nature, and the current AI-hype? This panel explores the relationship between imaginaries of future AI landscapes and the importance of seeing humans and the things we make as part of nature.
We embrace the idea that nature can be part of sociotechnical systems in a non-instrumental way. STS concerns are relevant in reconciling the desire for action with the importance of avoiding the language of "impact" and other un-problematized views of progress. The convenors are concerned about this in the framework of, for example, multi-disciplinary projects addressing grand societal challenges, within the logic of funding instruments which stress the importance of multi-stakeholder collaboration while requiring codification of anticipated impacts. The inclusion of nature as a stakeholder is a necessary but thorny issue, and we see special relevance in viewing this concern through the lens of AI research and adoption.
Accepted papers:
Session 1Eric Deibel (Maynooth University and ADAPT) Talya Deibel (University College Cork)
Short abstract:
Once STS invoked microbes that disrupted how things were done. So does AI in its anthropomorphism and as an interpretive relation to nature. "To let nature back in” should, again, be about the nature-cultures of AI and how they invoke STS as a specific relation to political and democratic theory.
Long abstract:
The fascination with AI recalls how STS pointed to the laboratory as the principle setting where to understand the persuasiveness, the ability to circulate and the disruptiveness of science and technology. Now it is ChatGPT that is breaking out of a controlled environment, showing its ability to unsettle established ways of thinking and acting.
Like laboratory studies revolve around an interpretive relation to life forms and nature, AI is consistently framed in anthropomorphic terms. AI is seen in terms of its ability to train, learn and think, while there is something natural about language processing. Consequently the approach could still be the same: establish proximity to cases but remain detached from hype and speculation. This holds even though the sociology of expectations increasingly can be extended to STS itself: having raised expectations about the ability to meaningfully redesign and govern AI. The tables turn.
What makes a good case responsible rather than disruptive, open rather than opaque, trustworthy rather than persuasive, human-centric rather than being excessive about non-humans in environmental terms? Is it once more about “letting nature back in”, perhaps with a bigger variety of settings? Or is AI the moment that STS recalls that its “nature-cultures” were once about social contract theory (mostly Hobbes), about constitutionalism, and a democratic theory that revolves around the ability to experiment?
This paper affirms that AI needs STS, as the billions pour into OpenAI, ConstitutionalAI and similar entities. It also argues that now is the time to return to conventional political theory.
ginger coons (Hogeschool Rotterdam) Friso Van Houdt (Erasmus University Rotterdam) Gabriele Jacobs (Erasmus University Rotterdam)
Short abstract:
Extractivism has led to a moment of catastrophe. Taking nature-cultures seriously is a necessary step to reconceptualize the role of the human in a more sustainable world. Multi-species, multi-partyinvolvement in urban AI development needs methods which includes the more-than-human.
Long abstract:
The conceptual distance between humans and nature in cities is exacerbated by the influx of AI-based systems into the urban situation. We address the why and the how of ensuring that multi-species entanglements are included in the design and development of future cities. We put nature-cultures and the quintuple helix in relation to one another in order to consider the role of more-than-human actors in the way cities are and will be designed and grown. The extractivism which has led to the socio-natural catastrophes currently prevalent is an example of human alienation from nature – modernist humans have spent hundreds of years viewing "nature" as something out-there, rather than as something we are a part of. Taking nature-cultures seriously is an important step in re-conceptualizing the role of the human in a more sustainable world, but multi-species, multi-party, multi-stakeholder involvement with the quintuple helix model needs methods which allow the more-than-human to have a voice that speaks for interests or concerns beyond ourselves. We draw on developments in the field of smart cities, especially relating to the emerging use of AI in modelling and running cities, with a particular focus on public safety. The consideration of nature-cultures leads to the redevelopment of existing research methods, such as participatory methods and research through design.
Lijiaozi Cheng (The University of Sheffield)
Short abstract:
This presentation examines AI's role as a dynamic narrative agent in worldmaking in recent art projects. It then extends this exploration through speculative posthumanism, highlighting AI's potential to redefine interactions among humans, non-human animals, and the planet.
Long abstract:
This presentation delves into 'ReCollection', an art project by Weidi Zhang and Jieliang (Rodger) Luo, which employs artificial intelligence (AI) to transmute language inputs into visual narratives encapsulating collective memories. Beyond traditional memory retrieval methodologies in dementia research, 'ReCollection' innovatively merges memory with imagination, leveraging AI as a dynamic, non-human narrative agent in collaborative worldmaking. It vividly demonstrates AI's capacity to enable diverse and evolving self-perceptions through inter-embodied subjectivity.
The installation and user engagement of 'ReCollection' subtly open avenues to reflect on AI's material implications. While the project primarily showcases AI's potential in reshaping narratives and identities, the physicality of its installation — from the hardware running AI algorithms to the interactive interfaces facilitating user engagement — serves as a tangible manifestation of AI's presence in our material world, prompting an investigation into how technology-mediated experiences are deeply intertwined with the physical dimensions of AI's operation, including resource consumption and environmental impact.
Through the lens of speculative posthumanism, the discussion broadens, urging a profound reconceptualization of AI's role within our interconnected ecosystems. This perspective challenges the anthropocentric view of technology, advocating for an understanding of AI that recognizes its agency and entanglements in a web of relations encompassing humans, non-human beings, and the environment. Speculative posthumanism invites us to consider AI not merely as a tool or an extension of human will but as a participant in the broader ecological and social fabric, capable of influencing and being influenced by multiple actors within this network.