The Data Fix with Dr. Mél Hogan

Steph Maj Swanson, aka Supercomposite and I discuss the spooky Loab phenomenon, generative adversarial network, negative prompts and the demons (maybe?) lurking in large datasets. Recorded Jan 19, 2024. Released March 11, 2024. What I Learned from Loab: AI as a creative adversaryThe artist behind the viral cryptid "Loab" reflects on her critical relationship to AI art toolshttps://media.ccc.de/v/37c3-12052-what_i_learned_from_loab_ai_as_a_creative_adversary Original Twitter thread:https://twitter.com/supercomposite/status/1567162288087470081?lang=enInstahttps://www.instagram.com/supercomposite/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Kyriaki Goni - an artist with a background in social and cultural anthropology - and I start our conversation reflecting back on the lockdowns of April 2020 in Athens; what this signified, and how it shaped her art, which ultimately manifested as "The Portal or Let’s Stand Still for the Whales", which was a reflection on the tensions between the darkness of pandemic realities and the quiet restoration of natural things in her surroundings, and beyond. We also talk about "Perfect Love #couplegoals #AIgenerated, 2020,2022", as an exploration of intimacy, doomscrolling and isolation. We finish our conversation on "Not Allowed for Algorithmic Audiences, 2021" which focuses more specifically on 'audio assistant' tech, and the way algorithms pull audio from social media and various corners of the internet to then classify and reorganize the way we're listened to and heard. One of the (MANY) things I love about Kyriaki's work is that it is decidedly not preachy -- instead it holds a mirror to the audience to reflect gently, and in their own time, on the significance of technology in various contexts. Recorded Jan 12, 2024. Released Feb 26, 2024.KYRIAKI GONIhttps://kyriakigoni.com/ANTHROPOCENE ON HOLDhttps://www.pcai.gr/anthroposcene-on-holdNOT ALLOWED FOR ALGORITHMIC AUDIENCESMarch 23, 2023–April 29, 2023The Breeder Feederhttps://thebreedersystem.com/uncategorized/kyriaki-goni_-not-allowed-for-algorithmic-audiences/ studio international: Kyriaki Goni – interview: ‘For me, technology is an existential discussion’https://www.studiointernational.com/index.php/kyriaki-goni-interview-for-me-technology-is-existential-discussion-data-garden-blenheim-walk-gallery-leeds-arts-university Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Anne Pasek, data center researcher and expert in environmentally impactful internet, joins Dr. Mél Hogan to discuss the environmental impact of the internet and the challenges of accessing industry data. They explore the differences between bottom-up and top-down approaches in studying the environmental impact of the digital sector. They also discuss the concept of collective action in pressuring platforms to switch to renewable energy sources and propose a more relational approach to accounting for environmental impact.

Teaching in times of generative AI is weird, and sometimes wonderful. Tobias Williams and I discuss what it means to make art and teach art at this juncture and the conflicted feelings that emerge from resisting with the tools of creation. Recorded Oct 10, 2023. Released Dec 25, 2023.Profilehttp://tobiasjwilliams.comInstagramhttps://www.instagram.com/getrichnever/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Irene Niet and I have a conversation about how researchers might consider the environmental impacts of AI in relation to their social consequences, and in relation to their impacts on democracy. Recorded Oct 16, 2023. Released Dec 11, 2023.Research profilehttps://research.tue.nl/en/persons/irene-a-nietDigital (Un)sustainability - Routledgehttps://crowdusg.net/2022/06/06/digital-unsustainabilities-call-for-chapters/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ever wonder about the microchips in your car? MC Forelle and I talk about the “chipification” process of cars, since the 70s and 80s, and how these processes and logics see to increased corporate control and surveillance, while making opting out and DIY tinkering more difficult. We briefly touch on subscription model for automotive features — like BMW did for its heated seats not long ago — remember that? Recorded Oct 5, 2023. Released Nov 27, 2023.The material consequences of “chipification”: The case of software-embedded carshttps://journals-sagepub-com.ezproxy.lib.ucalgary.ca/doi/full/10.1177/20539517221095429 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this delightful hour, anthropologist Steven Gonzalez Monserrate discusses ethnographic research in data centers and post-climate disaster sites. Topics include the empathy and feeling in his writing, the staggering ecological impacts of computation and the cloud, settler acoustics, and emerging technologies for future information storage.

While efforts to make “AI” more “open” have gained momentum lately, it seems like both concepts are worth scrutinizing and historicizing so that we can better understand how these marketing terms become a focus (and distraction), as material conditions are downplayed. With David Gray Widder, we discuss where “ethics” are located and how “AI” workers of all kinds imagine responsibility to be someone else’s problem, or somewhere else down the chain. Recorded Sept 12, 2023. Released Oct 23, 2023.The Myth of ‘Open Source’ AIhttps://www.wired.com/story/the-myth-of-open-source-ai/ Open (For Business): Big Tech, Concentrated Power, and the Political Economy of Open AIhttps://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4543807 Limits and Possibilities for “Ethical AI” in Open Source: A Study of Deepfakeshttps://davidwidder.me/deepfakes.pdf Dislocated accountabilities in the “AI supply chain”: Modularity and developers’ notions of responsibilityhttps://davidwidder.me/supply-chain.pdf Computer scientists designing the future can’t agree on what privacy meanshttps://www.technologyreview.com/2023/04/03/1070665/cmu-university-privacy-battle-smart-building-sensors-mites/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Josh Lepawsky, an expert in e-waste and global waste industries, discusses the misconceptions of e-waste, the complexities of recycling, the impact of chemicals in manufacturing, and the power of collective action to address electronic waste and pollution.

A truly delightful conversation with creative technologist and artist, Mirabelle Jones. Their work uses generative AI – early iterations of it – to make compelling observations about intimacy. Jone’s work is iterative, where reactions to projects invite new forms of self-reflection, and makes us wonder if we even have a ‘true’ self, if continuity is real, and what quantum alternatives might be out there. Recorded Aug 2, 2023. Released Sept 25, 2023.Translating Traumahttps://www.instagram.com/p/CvF3Nkqrc_H/ Mirabelle Joneshttps://www.mirabellejones.com/ It’s time We Talked https://www.mirabellejones.com/digital-alchemy-its-time-we-talked/ Artificial Intimacyhttps://www.mirabellejones.com/artificial-intimacy/ Embodying the Algorithmhttps://aiperformance.space/mirabelle-jones-ill-be-very-nervous/ Zoom Reads Youhttps://www.mirabellejones.com/zoom-reads-you/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.