“Using the lens of ethical assemblages, Helena Machado and Susana Silva offer insights on the role of AI in our societies that are off the beaten track. Avoiding any clichés about the benefits and challenges of AI, they address some of the hard questions, such as how the increasing political influence of the tech industry harms research and clinical care, and how academic research on AI – including social science and ethics research – can become implicated in maintaining or even increasing the inequities that result from the current political economy”.
-Barbara Prainsack, University of Vienna, Austria
“The authors offer a compelling exploration of AI in the domains of facial recognition and assisted reproductive technologies, demonstrating that the debate around AI must consider its deep embeddedness in social contexts that are continuously shaped by a variety of stakeholders, their knowledge and power dynamics. Despite the technical nature of the topic at hand, they invite not only professionals, but also the public into the conversation and encourage all of us to engage with issues too often left to experts”.
-Veerle Provoost, Ghent University, Belgium
This book critically examines the ethical challenges of Artificial Intelligence (AI), focusing on facial recognition and AI-assisted reproductive technologies. It explores how these issues intertwine with social and political processes and power dynamics in digital societies. What defines ethical versus unethical in the realm of AI? Why do some ethical debates dominate, while others are overlooked? Which actors and institutions align or diverge in these discussions? To address these questions, the authors introduce the concept of "ethical assemblages," offering fresh perspectives on the complexities of AI ethics and their impact on socio-technoscientific structures.
Helena Machado, Full Professor of Sociology at University of Minho (Braga, Portugal), conducts research at the intersection of sociology, science and technology studies, critical surveillance studies, and criminology.
Susana Silva, Associate Professor of Sociology at University of Minho (Braga, Portugal), focuses on people-centered health policies and integrated care in socio-technical environments.
