About

(Posthuman) Feminist AI Projects: Bits & Bytes Exploring embodiment in AI design, while re-imagining AI systems through collaborative making.

With the rise of consumer facing systems, AI, has the potential to combat or spread new forms of discrimination, through fundamental choices in representation, design and development. Bits and Bytes emerged from Feminist Posthuman AI Art Projects and engages with communities across Los Angeles to fight discrimination in AI through community workshops held across Los Angeles. 

Philosophy: Our approach is to collaboratively design with voices who have not been heard in Artificial Intelligence creation. Our focus is to include embodiment in AI design, incorporating sensory, cultural and emotional considerations. All are welcome to join at any point in the process - tech experience is not necessary. All knowledge is equally valued. 

What are we doing? We have multiple AI Art and Design Projects, but our primary project is looking at ways we can use intelligent interfaces for collaborative protest and civic engagement. We call this project XR Intelligent Protests. In the first part of the Intelligent Protest project, we used an an intelligent interface to protest with face movements instead of voices. In the second phase of the project, we implement the face protest into physical, virtual and augmented environments.

Challenges in this space.  Through our making, we consider questions like:

  1. How can we positively inform AI design by recognizing cultural and social assumptions and biases that lead to discrimination?
  2. How can we ensure that our approach to feminism is both transnational and posthuman?
  3. As we have multiple selves across physical, web, virtual and augmented realities, how can we think about designing in a new way? Using one behavior across realities?