Post-modern dance performance and a group conversation about responsible design and social impact of AI
Abstract: This is an artistic intervention. Building on the dance work that I am doing as a Fellow with the Edgelands Institute, I will present a post-modern dance, and I will guide a group conversation about responsible design and social impact of AI. The choreography has been built from the gestures of ordinary people (in the US, Europe, and South America) as they consider the impact of AI on daily life as well as the gestures of technologists as they strive to enact responsible design. (For more on post-modern dance, see Cunningham's "50 Looks".) The moves of the dance are suitable for every body; no special dance skills are needed and everyone regardless of age or ability can participate. Because dance is not a verbal means of communication, it transcends language differences. It provides an embodied means for people to experience the perspectives of other people. Dance – especially post-modern dance -- provides a unifying platform to discover different priorities and perceptions. Dance can alert people to other ways of knowing and sensitize them to other people’s concerns. Improving people’s awareness of experiences beyond their own is a foundational step towards more socially just AI design practices. After watching the dance, audience members in pairs/small groups will be asked to try on one or more of the moves from the dance. After doing the move, they will be asked to discuss what the gesture expresses and why someone might be feeling that way in conjunction with AI. Drawing on the theories and methods of dance anthropology, this work integrates concepts such as embodiment and kinesthesia in order to support more inclusive design practices in AI. As such, the project offers a new approach to addressing issues of social justice in AI design practices.
Author bio: An ethnomethodologist and artist, Dr. Betsy Campbell studies the practices of innovation teams. She is a Fulbright Specialist and the winner of two Academy of Management awards for her research and teaching related to social justice in innovation contexts. In 2022-23, she is a Fellow with the Edgelands Institute where she is using the arts to advance research on the responsible design and social impact of AI. Earlier in her career, Campbell founded high-tech companies, helped create a business unit within an established company (acquired by Lucent for $1.5B), and launched a 501(c)(3) (Harvard Alumni Entrepreneurs) which she grew to over 5,000 members worldwide before leaving to get her PhD. She also was the co-director for the MIT Community Innovation Lab. She is the author of several books – including Practice Theory in Action and The Innovator's Discussion -- as well as plays for the stage. She is an affiliate of the Penn State Arts and Design Research Incubator, an appointed director to the Harvard Graduate School of Education's Alumni Council, and an active member of the Explorers Club. In the past, she has had a residency at Jacob's Pillow, served as a visiting scholar at the Hastings Center, and been an invited participant in the Smithsonian Apollo Dialogues workshop.
Recorded Presentation | 26 April 2023
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