OUR FOCUS

The visibility of machines, as the Center’s guiding vision, represents a different approach to the relationship between humans and technology. It is rooted in the principles of openness and transparency and calls for the formation of a new socio-technical coexistence contract.

>>goals

AI is not neutral code and data. On the contrary, it is inextricably linked with society: its development incorporates and reproduces power relations, transforms labor and has a decisive impact on the environment. AI algorithms influence and shape decisions in critical areas of contemporary life, while simultaneously being trained on data concerning human behavior and aligned with national and international strategies.

OUR CENTER’S GOALS ARE THE FOLLOWING:

SOCIO-TECHNICAL RESEARCH. Studying the social dimensions of technologies related to AI, such as algorithms, big data, platforms, social networks, technological infrastructures, automation, robotics, and the Internet of Things (IoT).

HIGHLIGHTING BIASES. Exploring emerging biases and demonstrating the risks they pose, including contributing to misinformation, widening social inequalities, labor intensification, and more.

INFORMATION & AWARENESS. Providing accurate and timely information; moving beyond the binary of uncritical technological optimism and technophobia.

CO-CREATION. Promoting the co-design of technological tools guided by social needs and collective practices.

DIALOGUE. Strengthening dialogue with all citizens, including those from the spheres of work, science, art, and politics.

RULE-MAKING. Supporting the establishment of rules for the participatory development and use of AI.

In this direction, we explore the following questions:

How do AI systems affect our lives, both today and in the future?
What is missing from the public discourse on AI?
How can we “open the black box” of AI to understand how it functions?
Which human rights are being violated by the opaque use of AI? How can we ensure transparency, accountability and respect for rights in its design and use?

>>vision

interdisciplinary research and science dissemination

As researchers from diverse scientific fields, we recognize the limitations of research when it is confined to techno-centric models. In response, we adopt an interdisciplinary approach to AI (from the humanities and social sciences to computer science and engineering), aiming to study AI in a way that brings to light the social, cultural, ideological, economic, and political frameworks embedded in new technologies and how they shape everyday life.

Why did the first facial recognition software have trouble recognizing Black skin?

social awareness

At the core of our activities is the dissemination of knowledge and raising public awareness through communication channels that highlight the significant scientific research on AI being conducted across computer science, engineering, as well as the social sciences and the humanities. Central to this effort is dialogue, which we consider a key tool for understanding and co-shaping AI. We aim to empower individuals, collectives, and institutions with the necessary critical thinking skills and digital literacy by intervening in the public sphere, organizing workshops, and promoting science outreach activities in society.

Our goal is for AI to be used as a tool with full awareness of its risks and socio-environmental impacts. We advocate for informed, contextualized, critical, and active engagement with AI, fostering a connection between people and “visible” machines, and understanding our collective participation in these technologies as a society.

What data is used to train foundation models (e.g. LLMs)?

a different framework for human–machine relations

The complex questions posed by AI technologies are not purely technical. Thus, our Center’s vision is not only based on the technical implementation and improvement of AI but also on highlighting the complex relationships each machine learning technology has with humans and society.

Our mission is to cultivate a democratic dialogue about technology, ensuring that any transformations serve the interests of a just and equitable society. In this effort, we aim to offer two things:

We envision a different framework of human–machine relations, in which machines are “visible” to society. We explore the conditions under which such artifacts can be realized. Finally, we investigate the social processes that can contribute to lifting the internal opacity of machines and freeing them from the monopolistic control of large corporations and patent-based intellectual property.