AI and Society Series: ‘New Media Literacy and Politics’ Online Seminar

AI and Society Series: ‘New Media Literacy and Politics’ (Online Seminar)
in association with ICCE, Goldsmiths, University of London

Held: Wednesday June 9, 2021

Artificial intelligence is increasingly becoming ubiquitous in our society. Media and Cultural Studies scholars critically discuss its implications in the era of digital information society.

Speakers

Prof Kaori Hayashi (The Graduate School of Interdisciplinary Information Studies, Vice President of the University of Tokyo): Challenges for a Gender-Equal Society in the AI Era (PowerPoint presentation)

Prof Shin Mizukoshi (The Interfaculty Initiative in Information Studies, the University of Tokyo): New Literacy for Media Infrastructure and “Media Biotope” (Dropbox Paper)

Atsushi Udagawa (The Graduate School of Interdisciplinary Information Studies, the University of Tokyo): Google Search Engine as "AI": Historical Discourses about Search Engine Optimization (SEO) in Japan (Dropbox Paper)

Discussant
Prof Matthew Fuller (Department of Media, Communications and Cultural Studies, Goldsmiths, University of London)

Convenor & Chair
Dr Tomoko Tamari (Institute for Creative & Cultural Entrepreneurship, Goldsmiths, University of London)

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The purpose of the event is to explore questions of new media ethics and literacy arising from the increasing use of immersive AI technologies in society. As big data penetrate into various types of systems that have a profound impact on decision-making processes and practices in social life, the investigation of the ethics and politics around AI technologies become increasingly relevant. This becomes a particularly pressing issue in the current pandemic situation which has led to a major expansion of internet usage. As Bernard Stiegler remarks, AI is a ‘pharmakon’. A notion which reflects the paradoxical double meaning: cure and poison. While AI can be used to augment human capacities and to create new opportunities for social development, it also entails new risks. AI is generally both invisible and unintelligible (how it works) and carries ambiguous responsibilities and politics (how/who assesses its efficacy). This is because the new regulations and ethical frameworks of rapid technological innovations are insufficiently grounded, and people can’t adopt quickly enough to the radical technical transformations. To be more helpful and empowering, AI technologies need to be made intelligible for the wider public. People need to understand the political and technological decision-making processes of AI by sharing their experiences, practices and knowledge in order to produce new forms of digital media literacy. Creating AI literacy requires a multi-stakeholder approach, which includes AI producers, consumers, rule-makers and intermediaries. This event in particular aims to shed light on scholars who act as intermediaries between people and the practices of AI technologies. We invite Professor Kaori Hayashi to discuss the ethical framework of AI and Professor Shin Mizukoshi and a project researcher Atsushi Udagawa to examine the educational practices for new media literacy. Professor Matthew Fuller will join as a discussant to open up the broader implications of AI in the era of digital information society.