HCII Seminar Series - Chris Golias
Speaker
Chris Golias
Senior User Experience Researcher, Gemini Internationalization, Google
When
-
Where
Newell-Simon Hall 1305
Video
Video link
Description
"Decolonizing LLMs: An Ethnographic Framework for AI in African Contexts"
We examine LLM deployment through African lenses, utilizing and reflecting on ethnographic methods to engage with the continent’s unique technolinguistic landscape. Drawing from primary research in Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, and South Africa, we consider how LLMs are integrated and upheld within local contexts. We unearth instances where LLMs could perpetuate digital colonialism or exacerbate existing sociopolitical tensions, as well as how they are contested and adapted. We emphasize the imperative for ethnographic insights in LLM research and provide a detailed framework, both to counteract oversimplification and the misinterpretation of complex interactions and to support culturally informed deployments that enhance local agency.
Speaker's Bio
Christopher Golias, Ph.D., is a technology anthropologist, currently with Google, who has conducted applied anthropological research across various areas including retail, healthcare, indigenous rights, substance use, ecommerce, governance, machine learning, localization and information technology. He holds a Ph.D. in Anthropology from the University of Pennsylvania.
Host
Raelin Musuraca