For the ninth episode of ▶▶FAST FORWARD, we are joined by Caroline Sinders, a machine-learning-design researcher and artist.

For the past few years, she has been examining the intersections of technology’s impact in society, interface design, artificial intelligence, abuse, and politics in digital, conversational spaces. Sinders is the founder of Convocation Design + Research, an agency focusing on the intersections of machine learning, user research, designing for public good, and solving difficult communication problems. As a designer and researcher, she has worked with Amnesty International, Intel, IBM Watson, the Wikimedia Foundation, and others.

In her talk Carline looks at how AI’s creation is a multi-layered process, often seamlessly waving together technological advancement with the values (and biases) of people and organisations who stand behind these processes. In times when we are re-evaluating many of the power structures that lay the ground of our societies, how - through the tools of design - can we make AI transparent and understandable? How can AI be both an intimate and safe technology?

The talk was followed by a Q&A moderated by AC Coppens, CEO/Founder of THE CATALYSTS.

▶▶ More about Caroline

Caroline’s research and expertise spans a range of topics including Ethical Design, AI, Human Equality, Women's Empowerment, Surveillance, Art and Technology.

She has held fellowships with the Harvard Kennedy School, the Mozilla Foundation, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, Eyebeam, STUDIO for Creative Inquiry, and the International Center of Photography. Her work has been supported by the Ford Foundation, Omidyar Network, the Open Technology Fund and the Knight Foundation. Her work has been featured in the Tate Exchange in Tate Modern, Victoria and Albert Museum, MoMA PS1, LABoral, Ars Electronica, the Houston Center for Contemporary Craft, Slate, Quartz, Wired, as well as others. Sinders holds a Masters from New York University’s Interactive Telecommunications Program.

References, links and resources from Caroline’s talk:

▶▶ “Like writing code, I view design as necessary tool for making how I want to interact with the internet” remarks Caroline “design is as political as code and policy”.

▶▶ Arte Útil (utilitarian art), initiated by Tania Brugerua, draws on artistic thinking to imagine, create and implement tactics that change how we act in society, heavily focused on usefulness, on tool building, and on communities. Read more about how art allows for confrontation, exploration, and systematic problem solving in this article by Caroline: In Defense of Useful Art

▶▶ How to create a safer online environment?

Check out Caroline’s writing for The Verge about how Periscope should redesign its interface to reduce abuse and An Incomplete (but growing) History of Harassment Campaigns since 2003.

Some of the artists, projects and inspiration mentioned in Caroline’s talk:

▶▶ American Artist’s works “I’m Blue (If I was ______ I Would Die)” and “My Blue Window”

▶▶ The Hidden Life of an Amazon User by Joanna Moll

▶▶ Adam Harvey’s VFrame research, a result of his numerous collaborations with the human rights archiving group, the Syrian Archive

▶▶ Forensic Architecture’s investigative work

▶▶ Mimi Onuoha “The Library of Missing Data” “A People’s Guide to AI”, co-written with Diana J. Nucera

▶▶ Thomas Thwaites’s “Toaster Project”

▶▶ Homebaked is a co-operative bakery and community land trust located in Anfield, just opposite Liverpool’s football club on the premises of the former Mitchell’s Baker.

Caroline’s projects include:

▶▶ Social Media Break Up Coordinator

▶▶ Care B0t is a response to studying online harassment

▶▶ Higher Resolutions, created in a collaboration with Hyphen Labs

▶▶ Feminist Data Set is open source tool kit

▶▶ TRK helps show how underpriced data labeling or data training tasks are

▶▶ Find out more about Caroline’s work