Troubling AI Network

Troubling AI – Networking Event

Friday 6 June 2025, 10:30 am - 1pm, Oculus OC1.02

Alt Text : Abstract digital illustration featuring a side profile silhouette of a human figure. The silhouette is filled with intricate geometric patterns and circuit like designs, symbolising the fusion of AI and human identity.

Event Details

Date: Friday 6 June 2025
Time: 10:30 AM - 1:00 PM
Location: Oculus OC1.02

Event Overview

We would like to invite you to a ‘Troubling AI’ networking session. This informal event aims to bring together colleagues across our university who are interested in exploring critical perspectives on AI, including its ethical implications, societal impacts, and the narratives that shape our understanding of its rapid expansion.

This is an opportunity to meet others who are thinking critically about the development, deployment, and consequences of AI technologies and its governance structures. As part of this initial session, we hope to:

Create a space for cross-disciplinary connections
Identify common themes and potential areas for collaboration
Explore possibilities of building a community of practice to develop future activities

Refreshments will be available at the start of the event, with lunch following afterward.

Event Schedule

10:30 am - 10:45 am Coffee and Networking

10.45 am - 11:00 am Event Intro and Welcome

11:00 am - 11:20 am Networks, Narratives and Neocoloniality of AI for Climate Action.

Abdullah Safir, PhD researcher in Ai Ethics and Critical Research Design, University of Cambridge

11.20 am - 12:00 pm 'Troubling AI' Provocations

Data Justice - Dr Siddharth de Souza, CIM
Optimisation & Automation - Dr Sanjay Sharma, CIM
Labour & Infrastructure - Dr Manuela Galetto, WBS

12:00 pm - 12:10 pm Break

12.10 pm - 12:40 pm Group Break-out Activity: Developing a 'Troubling AI' network

Possible guiding questions:

- Which critical issues concerning AI are you interested in (or working on)?

- What would make a critical AI network meaningful or useful for you?

- What types of activities or collaborations could it support?

Group Feedback & Discussion

1.00pm Lunch - Oculus Foyer

Who Should Attend

This workshop is designed for PhD researchers, postdoctoral fellows, and academic staff at the University of Warwick who are interested in critical, interdisciplinary approaches to technology, sustainable development, digitalisation, and policy-making.

Whether you're working in the social sciences, humanities, or STEM, if your research engages with issues of power, justice, or transformation, this space is for you.

Readings

Pratyusah Kalluri (2020) – "Don't ask if artificial intelligence is good or fair, ask how it shifts power", Nature. Read hereLink opens in a new window (requires University login)
Oakerlund et al (2022) – "What’s in the Chatterbox? Large Language Models, Why They Matter, and What We Should Do About Them", Science, Technology, and Public Policy Program, University of Michigan. Download PDFLink opens in a new window

We look forward to your involvement in shaping a space for critical and creative engagement with AI at Warwick

This event is supported by CIM, Social Theory Centre, NEXUS, Digital Spotlight.

Organisers

Dr Sanjay Sharma, CIM

Emellyne Forman, Department of Statistics