Artificial Intelligence (AI) is the name given to an emergent set of computer technologies that affect individuals, communities, and societies at a global scale. Though AI is often described as "revolutionary," it is nonetheless, poorly understood and subject to hype, misinformation, and anxiety. Despite increasing talk about making AI “ethical,” “democratic,” and “human-centered,” scholars in the humanities seldom shape these discussions. The result is conversations about AI that lack fundamental understanding of this profoundly social and cultural phenomenon.
At the same time, AI research and implementation need collaborative and interdisciplinary approaches to envision new thinking, anticipate social and environmental outcomes, shape forward-thinking policies, engage broad publics, and educate a new generation of students and citizens.
Since its inception as a CCA working group, Critical AI @ Rutgers has developed into an established interdisciplinary initiative, organized and led through a steering committee with support from the Center for Cultural Analysis and the Rutgers Center for Cognitive Science.
To read "Data Worlds," the first issue of our new Duke UP journal, Critical AI click here; to browse the associated Critical AI weblog, click here; and to watch the recorded videos of our 10/6/2023 event, CRITICAL AI LITERACY IN A TIME OF CHATBOTS: A Public Symposium for Educators, Writers, and Citizens, click here.
Critical AI @ Rutgers is also the recipient of several grants, including our DESIGN JUSTICE AI global humanities institute, which will take place at the University of Pretoria in 2024. To learn and apply to join us as an early career scholar, click here.
For more information, please see https://ruccs.rutgers.edu/research/critical-ai
