Beginn des PhD-Programms / Start of the PhD-Program: WS 2022
Betreuung / Supervision:
Prof. Dr. Manuela Naveau
Prof. Dr. Aylin Yildirim Tschoepe
Prof. Dr.phil. Alexis Dworsky
"THE DIGITAL OTHERS" is a PhD project that critically examines digital gender constructions in cyberspace through the lens of digital media archaeology. Situated in Critical Media Studies and Feminist Science and Technology Studies (STS), this project investigates how media embeds heteronormativity and constructs gender narratives in artificial intelligence and cyberspace through text, face image, and other multimedia databases: under the guise of ‘technological neutrality,’ the implicit or explicit use of "gender" as a binary, invariant, and biologically distinguishable concept (Keyes 2018) builds on and perpetuates gender stereotypes. Building upon this foundation, the project explores how bodies are constructed in digital spaces, such as the metaverse, and begins to question these bodies and technologies through a Queer Studies perspective (Ott & Mack 2020). While scholars in the Social Sciences such as de Beauvoir (1956), Fanon (1986), Anderson (2006), Haraway (1991), and Butler (1990) have laid out a critical basis for the concept and the construction of “the social, ethnic, racial, gendered Other;” the discussions about a "digital Other" have been relatively limited (Braidotti, 2020; Russel, 2020). This doctoral project aims to contribute to the study of digital Others with a critical gaze on recent transformations in technology and their relations to gender construction between the digital body and the body proper. Through a critical media-artistic practice, the potential of queering the digital body toward a more diverse identity construct is explored. “The Digital Others” follows a media research plan consisting of theoretical and research-related, as well as fieldwork and methodological phases with respect to specific cases (e.g., facial recognition) pursuing several research objectives. First, I aim to demystify the black box of recognition and identity technologies through the lens of Critical Media Studies and Feminist STS. Second, I attend to reciprocal effects between physical and digital space and critically examine methods of data processing to discuss the significance of digital gender in the construction of gender identity on the body proper. Third, I document gender narratives in technological spaces and discuss how data-driven machine learning technologies can suppress gender diversity and deepen gender bias, making transparent political violence in artificial intelligence.
Kurz-Biographie / Short Bio
Qingyi Ren (they/them) is a non-binary digital artist and researcher whose work delves into the intersection of art, technology, and social justice. With a passion for unravelling the complex web of gender theory, AI ethics, and digital identity. They Currently based in Basel and Linz, dedicate their artistic practice to unveiling the subtle biases ingrained within the realm of machine learning and its profound impact on marginalized identities. Through their thought-provoking artistry, they challenge the status quo and inspire critical conversations surrounding the ethics of artificial intelligence. They are currently a PhD candidate in the collaborative MAKE/SENSE Program at The University of Arts Linz and The Basel Academy of Art and Design FHNW.
Email-Adresse / Email-Address
qingyi.ren@kunstuni-linz.at
Weblink
renqingyi.com