At the Edge of AI

1. Why did you choose this topic?

I first encountered human computation in a computer science lecture and was immediately intrigued by its concept of combining the strengths of humans and machines to solve problems. As a cultural anthropologist, I grew curious about how these systems unfolded in and impact everyday life, their role distributions and negotiations. I think understanding these hybrid systems from social science and technical perspectives is crucial, especially given their ever-increasing prevalence.

2. What new perspectives does your book offer?

I found that hybrid systems are quite different than one would assume, especially with respect to their relations and creative and ethical practices. They also continue to exist after their underlying ›problem‹ has been solved, shifting to new problems and constantly reconfiguring their internal human-AI relations. I investigate this unfolding using the concept of intraversions and discuss how ethnographers can go beyond mere analysis to shape hybrid systems in constructive and care-ful ways.

3. What makes your topic relevant for current research debates?

Recent advances in AI, driven largely by the emergence of foundation models like GPT-4, have reignited debates on the automation and obsolescence of human labor. However, the unfolding of these AI systems is characterized by new human-AI entanglements, rather than replacement. By analyzing how hybrid systems come into being and introducing new ethnographic exploratory approaches to studying them, this book helps to better understand and guide current and future developments of human-AI systems.

4. Your book summary in one sentence:

This book shows how AI does not simply replace humans – instead, hybrid systems unfold in intraversions, shifting their goals and relations in the face of their own advancement.