2024.Dec.19

REPORTS

Report on Lecture by Dr. Jiré Emine Gözen
“From “Data Made Flesh in the Mazes” to “A Vessel that Accepts Nature as It Is”: Media Environments as Infrastructures and Experimental Assemblages to Imagine and Re-imagining AI”

The term “artificial intelligence,” coined in 1955 by John McCarthy, initially described machines mimicking human thought. Today, the discourse on AI is more extensive and speculative, driven by the development of language model-based systems integrated into daily life. These systems, such as chatbots, perform tasks that give the impression of possessing human-like intelligence, a quality highly valued in Western epistemology.

The lecture focused on providing a meta-analysis that questioned the underlying conditions shaping our views on AI, particularly challenging Western epistemologies that heavily influence modern knowledge systems. Dr. Gözen incorporated insights from her experience in Japan, aiming to move beyond a Eurocentric viewpoint. She highlighted the need for reconceptualizing AI by considering different epistemologies.

One approach is hydrofeminism, which reimagines knowledge and consciousness through the fluid and interconnected nature of water, challenging traditional Western concepts. Indigenous futurisms also offer alternative perspectives, envisioning future scenarios from indigenous knowledge systems, contrasting with Eurocentric views that justify exploitation and discrimination. Including diverse epistemologies can help avoid past mistakes and create more inclusive and ethical AI systems.

The current direction of AI research often mirrors colonial and exploitative practices. Integrating other knowledge systems and narratives is crucial to prevent further exploitation and ensure AI development benefits all people. Critical post-humanist perspectives, informed by feminist theory, challenge traditional binaries and propose new forms of subjectivity that connect previously separated categories. This approach emphasizes the interconnectedness of humans, nature, and technology.

Artistic and literary works provide unique methods for producing knowledge and generating new perspectives on AI. Dr. Gözen provides a great example by discussing how Rei Naito’s artwork, featured at the Teshima Art Museum in Japan, exemplifies this perspective by integrating art, nature, and technology, challenging traditional notions of intelligence and consciousness. Such works reveal the structures leading to global issues like climate change and colonialism.

Engaging with indigenous epistemologies, which view humans as part of a broader kinship network, offers an ethical commitment to valuing diverse knowledge systems. Dr. Gözen concludes that understanding the entanglements shaping our relationship with AI is crucial to avoid perpetuating harmful narratives and biases. While Western perspectives on AI often perpetuate traditional binaries and anthropocentric views, critical post-humanist approaches offer alternative visions that emphasize interconnectedness and the active role of non-human entities. The lecture concluded by highlighting that this inclusive approach to AI conceptualization aligns with ethical principles that promote the well-being of all life forms on Earth.