The emergence of generative AI, such as machine-learning Large Language Models (LLMs), is transforming search by providing concise answers or summaries instead of ranked links as results. This change raises important questions about the complex information infrastructures that influence search results and how they can be comprehended and studied.
This interdisciplinary research delves into the ethics and politics of search ecosystems, investigating (open source) alternatives to dominant platforms and also sheds light on the environmental and social impacts of information/telecommunications networks and data centers.
By examining these knowledge infrastructures, this project aims to gain a better understanding of their influence on digital citizenship and their broader implications for society.
Purpose
- What kinds of new technological infrastructures offer alternatives to Silicon Valley search?
- How do these technological alternatives enable ethical as well as cultural, societal and environmental solutions to the problems that prevailing search hegemonies create?
- How can interdisciplinary and artistic practices make visible and compare search knowledge infrastructures in democratic, citizen science environments?
- In which ways can Generative AI (chatbots) be considered a knowledge infrastructure for search? In which ways not?
Situated at the interstices of web search, critical data/AI/infrastructure/surveillance studies and Feminist Science and Technology Studies, the project explores alternatives in search knowledge production through ethical and technical explorations. The project follows new protocols and alternatives, combining methods from the humanities and social sciences (interviews, (auto) ethnographies, data collection, document analysis) with artistic and design practices (screenshotting, data visualisations, dynamic webplatform) to reach diverse audiences (academic, student, layperson).
Results from the research will facilitate conversations around search, as well as offering solutions by designing, building and implementing public-facing infrastructures that enhance digital citizenship. Additionally, the project examines alternative knowledge infrastructures of search that are collaborative in nature, merging insights, expertise and experience from academics, artists, engineers, programmers, ethical experts and concerned citizens.
Activities
- Presentation of the working paper ‘Embodied Ethics: Alternative search, LLMs and the question of provenance’ and participation in the symposium/workshop Search Engine Ethics, University of Birmingham, Centre for Digital Cultures, September 13, 2024.
- Presentation of the working paper ‘The future of search is semantic: exploring Google’s Knowledge Graph and chatbot Gemini as political artefacts’. 7th Innovation in Information Infrastructures Workshop, ESADE Business School, Barcelona, September 17, 2024.
- Presentation of a forthcoming book chapter, ‘From Free Software to Open Source: traversing the values and ethics of an open knowledge infrastructure’ on October 11, 2024 at the Ethics panel, OSSYM conference, Leibniz Computing Centre, Munich.
- In 2023/2024, public workshops were held in Aarhus and abroad (HASTAC) on internet search infrastructures and designing users’ agentic capabilities when searching online. Teaching modules were also offered at AU.
- Participation in a series of workshops titled ‘Rethinking Web Search: Laying the Foundations for a Value-Based Open Internet Search and an Open Web Index’ at CAIS (Centre for Advanced Internet Studies) in Bochum, Germany.
- Presentation ‘Ethics and values in FOSS: sustainability of open-source development’ of the open source NGI (Next Generation Internet) Search project, at the Ow2 conference in Paris, France.
- Organization and facilitation of the public workshop ‘Re- Comparing, critiquing and contemplating search results’ with Code & Share and artist/programmer Anders Visti, DOKK1, Aarhus, 30 November 2024.
Publications
Internal collaborations at AU
External collaborators
