- Led by Dr Sanjay Sharma, University of Warwick
- Partnered with Diverse AI
This fellowship challenges mainstream AI development by amplifying the voices of marginalized communities. It promotes an understanding of AI’s complexities from alternative perspectives by identifying values and future visions aligned with anti-oppression, grounded ethics and societal responsibility. Drawing from abolitionist cultural politics and creative practices, it aims to develop an inclusive ‘responsible AI’ framework.
How can we challenge prevailing debates on AI safety, dominated by tech giants and elite institutions? Despite acknowledgement of ethical concerns, AI technologies continue to be rapidly deployed. This project proposes an alternative framework for ‘Responsible AI,’ creating a space for marginalized voices and values excluded from mainstream AI development. Drawing inspiration from the cultural politics and creative practices of minoritized groups, the project promotes inclusivity, rethinks ethics and transformative shifts in re-imagining AI.
- What concerns do minoritized groups face when dealing with AI systems? How can these be addressed for a more responsible AI?
- How do we navigate the complexity and opacity built into AI systems? How do we develop accessible ways to understand and learn about them from the perspectives of those marginalized in society?
- In re-imagining AI, what alternative values and future scenarios can we identify? How might we reshape AI to align with meaningful ethics, anti-oppression, and societal responsibility?
The project partners with Diverse AI, a volunteer-led organisation working to support and grow diversity in the field of AI by championing and building diverse communities in AI through collaborations, education and research. Diverse AI are committed to drive positive change and promote responsible and ethical AI development. The project also collaborates with the community-based organization BLAST Fest, who promote social justice concerning culture and technology. The organisation employs creative participatory methods rooted in cultural practices. BLAST Fest supports the agency of marginalized communities and stakeholders, enabling them to shape agendas for a responsible AI.
Grounded in the principles of intersectionality, this project recognizes the manifold forms of exclusion persisting in marginalizing groups. Employing an interdisciplinary methodology – inspired by the guiding principles of Afrofuturism, an Ethics of Care, and Abolitionism – the project grapples with re-imagining a responsible AI. Afrofuturism envisions alternative futures that centre the experiences of minoritized groups. The ethical stance of care emphasizes alternative values, inclusive and participatory practices. And an abolitionist approach explores alternatives to oppressive structures, by redefining power dynamics for responsible AI.
Project Aims:
- Address the challenge of unravelling AI technologies, encouraging authentic engagement with complex technological systems.
- Develop insights and practices for responsible AI, disrupting existing power structures in the ethical development of this technology by promoting equity and social justice.
- Imagine possibilities that reclaim technologies and offer alternative futures, which are socially and culturally empowering.
Key Objectives:
- Cultivate a dynamic ‘hub’ for diverse stakeholders to examine responsible AI and co-create strategies to reshape the narrative and outcomes of AI technologies.
- Promote an AI literacy initiative enabling marginalized communities to collaboratively explore inclusive approaches to AI.
- Create an artistic production stimulating audiences to critically engage with the politics of responsible AI.
Potential Impacts:
- Inclusive AI: involving marginalized communities and stakeholders in developing equitable AI practices.
- Transformative AI Literacy: creating a resource able to engage marginalized groups and wider publics.
- AI Engagement: through an interdisciplinary approach and creative co-production, the project contributes knowledge and practices towards reshaping Responsible AI.
Social Media:
Twitter/X: @sanjay_digital
Mastodon: @sanjay_digital@kolektiva.social
