13.06.2024

Presentation on 1 July 2024 in Berlin: On Diversity and Technology

Laura Schelenz is nominated for the German Thesis Award 2024 by the Körber Foundation

Researcher at the IZEW Laura Schelenz was nominated for the German Thesis Award 2024 by the Körber Foundation. She will present her dissertation in the last round of the award process with fellow nominees on 1 July 2024 in Berlin.

Lauras dissertation “Diversity, Technology, Power: An American Black Feminist Approach to Studying and Designing Diversity in Relation to Contemporary Technologies” was completed successfully on 6 December 2023 (magna cum laude).

The dissertation critically examines diversity concepts and norms that are applied in computer science and technology development. Due to well-known problems with discrimination through artificial intelligence and other technologies, diversity is increasingly being incorporated into technology development. This sounds good at first, but is this approach always beneficial? Drawing on Black Feminist theory, the dissertation criticizes the fact that computer science uses binary and flat concepts of diversity (e.g. male vs. female). Cases such as facial recognition, personalization and recommendation systems, and the design of a European platform show that an unreflective approach to diversity can promote rather than minimize discrimination. The dissertation presents ways in which diversity can be (historically) contextualized and incorporated into technology development in a reflective manner. It contains recommendations for computer scientists, but is also relevant for policymakers and users of technology.

Supervisors: Prof. Dr. Astrid Franke, American Studies Department at University of Tübingen; Prof. Dr. Daniel Gatica-Perez, Social Computing Group at IDIAP, EPFL in Switzerland