PhD student, University of Illinois, Chicago
Contributor, Platypus, The CASTAC Blog
About Doyeon
I am a PhD student at University of Illinois, Chicago. My research interests are technology, labor, mobility, design and senses. My regional interests are South Korea, Japan and East Asia.
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Contributions to Platypus, The CASTAC Blog
View all of Doyeon's posts on Platypus, The CASTAC Blog.
Revisiting Human-Machine Relationships and Efforts of Feminist STS
Alexa, Bixby, the GPS voice, Siri.… AI (Artificial Intelligence) assistants, which operate through algorithms and also produce them, have restructured our everyday lives: from listening to music to getting a sense of where we are (if the GPS is working properly). For users, these “assistants” have become integral parts of our everyday lives. Human-machine communication, in turn, has become more intimate than ever before. However, little effort has been made to understand this intimacy between humans and machines. Instead, much attention has been centered on the increasing obsolescence of technology, as newer models and gadgets enter the market. To recognize machines as sociable and understand human-machine relationships from a different perspective, I revisit feminist STS (Science and Technology Studies) scholars’ works. Furthermore, I look at smartphones, which are usually only considered as hosts for the immaterial AI, as social. (more…) (read more...)