TechnoFeminism - Multi and Transdisciplinary Contemporary Views On Women in Technology - VF

Title Scientific Committee
Technofeminism: multi and transdisciplinary Bruno Valente Pimentel, Catarina Lélis, Elen Nas,
contemporary views on women in technology Mário Vairinhos, Mónica Aresta, Patrícia Oliveira,
Paula Tavares, Renata Loureiro Frade, Tomás Vieira
Editors Silva, Vania Baldi
Renata Frade, Mário Vairinhos
Managing editor
Authors Ângela Espinha
Ana Isabel Veloso, Renata Frade, Judy Wajcman, Ana
Silveira Moura, Biamichelle Miranda (in Memorian), Publisher
Carolina Berger, Dora Kaufman, Patrícia Gouveia, UA Editora
Luciana Lima, Sai Shruthi Chivukula, Ana Viseu
Universidade de Aveiro
Collection Serviços de Biblioteca, Informação Documental e
DigiMedia - Nº 3 Museologia
1st Edition – April 2023
Collection editors
Lídia Oliveira, Ana Carla Amaro ISBN
978-972-789-836-7
Proofreader
Georgina Hodge DOI
https://doi.org/10.48528/0wyd-p294
Cover design
Catarina Lélis
Photo on cover
Júlia Soares, Mafalda Rangel, Mariana Frazão (UG
students of New Technologies of Communication, The sole responsibility for the content of this publication
University of Aveiro). Featuring Júlia Soares. lies with the authors. © Authors.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons
Design Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0.
Exxa Design Studio International.
P
Preface
i
Introduction
1 2
Ana Isabel Veloso Renata Frade
Feminism and Technology: Allegro ma non tropo: How Educational

an interview with Dr. Judy traps might be predicted
Wajcman by Renata Frade Ana S. Moura
3 4
Dr. Judy Wajcman | Renata Frade
Spaces in deconstruction: an DigitalSELFPresenceLab: embodying

experience report on transgender new technologies for the restoration
employability in the area of of presence
computing/technology Carolina Berger
5 6
Biamichelle Miranda (In Memorian)
Gender discrimination in AI models: Convergent feminism, gaming,

origins and mitigation paths digital transition, and equity
Dora Kaufman Patrícia Gouveia | Luciana Lima
7
Cultural Diversity as a design
8
How to be a Woman in Science:
precedent: A (Feminist) Angle to An interview with Ana Viseu by
HCI/d Expansion Renata Frade about Feminism,
9
Sai Shruthi Chivukula
Gender and Technoscience
perspectives
Ana Viseu | Renata Frade
Authors
Preface
Preface
Preface
In 1986, Samus Aran of Metroid was the first The gaming industry is just one example of how
playable female character in videogames. feminine participation and opinion have been
Nonetheless, the world in which she was left out of the conversation, with technology
inserted was still grounded upon power struc- being considered “a defining feature of mas-
tures and social norms that propagated preju- culinity”, as testified by Judy Wajcman in her
dice against women. Samus’ first appearance Chapter “Gender and Work: A Technofeminist
was marked by her full-body armor, so that Analysis”. By defying the notion of gender as
she was mainly characterized as a male figure, binary and mutually exclusive, and redefining
with her female identity only revealed when the masculine vs. feminine narratives, technol-
players took less than five hours to complete ogy accommodates the multidimensionality of 7
the human experience and behavior.
the game. The better the player performed, the
more clothes she removed. In a 1-hour game- Women have long been kept in the private
play, she wore a bikini, ultimately being objec- sphere, assuming motherhood and other
tified as “the reward”. domestic responsibilities and becoming asso-
ciated with empathic and sentimental traits,
Games have been developed around the male
with rationality, logic and intelligence being
player and the male gaze, depicting female fig-
left solely to the realm of men. When I started
ures as background characters, sexual objects,
my Bachelor’s in Engineering at Coimbra
damsels in distress, housewives and other fea- University in the 80s, people were surprised by
tures that reinforce socially constructed female the atypically high percentage of women who
gender identities and stereotypes[1]. Related enrolled, which was only about 10%. 40 years
or not, the truth is that over the years, a ten- later, engineering courses are still dominated by
dency to “legitimize digital games as mere men, who represent 72% of the student body[2].
entertainment for women and […] a “serious” As feminist movements gain power and the
toy that influences much more career choice for Internet serves as a tool for the reimagination of
boys than for girls” has been deployed. This conventional gender roles, women’s presence is
is explored further throughout the book by growing in both the public sphere and the labor
Patrícia Gouveia and Luciana Lima. market. The work of women in technology has
Table of Contents
gathered momentum over the years. Needless women in technology” advances the empow-
to say, this has led to important contributions erment of women in tech and elevates their
in several STEAM[3] fields. voices in a male-dominated space. By sharing
However, female STEAM professionals still their work and experiences, women are raised
face numerous challenges in this day and age. to their true worth regardless of, and in regard
In the field of games, for instance, if a female to, their gender, thus reclaiming their place in
researcher tries to contact players (the majority technology.
are men), she finds a lot of resistance and not
much willingness to collaborate in comparison
Ana Isabel Veloso
with her male counterpart. Moreover, accord-
Preface
Head of the Department of Communication

ing to the “Women in Games”[4] Association and Art, University of Aveiro
in 2020, women experience a representation
Professor and Researcher at DigiMedia
of 22% in the industry, but only account for a
presence of 16% in the executive teams of the
15 biggest gaming companies worldwide.
By delving into the following chapters and
exploring women’s education in STEAM, trans-
gender inclusion in the technology market, data
8 gender-bias, technofeminist analysis of gender
and the workplace, gender equality in games, [1] https://www.kinephanos.ca/2017/bridg-
the deconstruction of human-computer interac- ing-game-studies-and-feminist-theories/
tion as western-centered, and women in a tech- 05/11/2022
noscience space, I am certain that these authors’
[2] https://www.pordata.pt/Portugal/alunos+do+-
important insights will allow you engage in the
sexo+feminino+em+percentagem+dos+matricula-
wider debate on the significance of the feminine
dos+no+ensino+superior+total+e+por+área+de+ed-
viewpoint in the tech world.
ucação+e+formação+-1051 05/11/2022
The path towards gender equality in technol-
[3] STEAM - Science, Technology, Engineering,
ogy is one that is still very pertinent today and
Arts and Mathematics
needs urgent attention. “Technofeminism: multi
and transdisciplinary contemporary views on [4] https://www.womeningames.org 05/11/2022
Table of Contents
Introduction
Introduction
Introduction
According to the United Nations (2022), only 2021), it was found that the gender gap is get-
30% of tech science and technology profession- ting worse. In the 32 countries studied, just over
als are women and 57% use the Internet, com- a third of women were connected to the Internet
pared to 62% of men worldwide. According compared to almost half of men. “Countries
to the institution, these data reflect the devel- have missed out on $1 trillion USD in GDP as
opment of digital skills and interaction inter- a result of women’s exclusion from the digital
ruption in digital platforms and communities world. Governments are not adopting the poli-
which will consequently translate into fewer cies they need to bridge the digital gender gap.
opportunities for careers in STEM (Science, Policymakers have a $500 billion+ economic
Technology, Engineering, Mathematics). opportunity. Closing the digital gender gap in 11
The survey “Digitally Empowered Generation these countries would deliver an estimated $524
Equality: Women, Girls and ICT in the context billion increase in economic activity by 2025”.
of Covid-19 in selected Western Balkan and In another WWWF (2020) study on the same
Eastern Partnership Countries”, carried out by topic, carried out on more than 10.000 men and
the International Telecommunication Union women from Colombia, Ghana, Indonesia and
(ITU), UN Women and the EQUALS Global Uganda, it was revealed that a lack of skills
Partnership (2021), revealed that one third of emerged as the biggest factor keeping women
graduates from STEM programs in Europe were offline. When women get online, they create
female between 2009 and 2013, and 2014 and less content.
2018. Covid-19 highlighted injustices in online “Three-quarters of Americans (73%) believe
learning from a gender perspective. Most stu- that discrimination against women is a problem
dents have Internet access at home: “girls receive in the tech industry. 44% of women say it is a
access to digital technology at a later age than major problem, compared with just 29% of men.
boys, and their use of digital technology is more A third of men (32%) say discrimination against
often shortened by their parents”. women is not a problem, compared with 17% of
In another report about the digital divide, by women. Younger women are more likely than
the World Wide Web Foundation (WWWF, older women to view gender discrimination as a
Table of Contents
major problem in the tech industry. Women who are women (51%). This puts the country ten
work in computer jobs are also more likely than points above the EU average (41%).
men in these jobs to consider gender discrimina-
In Brazil, a Forbes report (2022) says that from
tion a major problem in the tech industry (43% to
January to May 2021, the Banco Nacional
31%)”, says a Pew Research Center survey (2017)
de Empregos/BNE (National Employment
about tech industry discrimination and inclusion.
Bank) identified 12,716 female candidates for
Whether in schools, universities and the job technology jobs, compared with 10,375 in the
market, the gender gap of women in tech careers same period last year. Other data, this time
Introduction
in Portugal is below the European average, released by the Cadastro Geral de Empregados
according to a EUROSTAT study published by e Desempregados/Caged (General Register of
SAPOTek (2018). Of the more than 26 thousand Employed and Unemployed), indicate that
(26,235) students in the areas of ICT in 2016, female participation in the technology market
86.7% were male, while Portuguese students has grown by 60% in the last five years, from
were just over three thousand (3,497), a per- 27,900 women to 44,500 in 2020. This reinforces
centage (13.3%) below of the European average. the opportunities that women can find in the
According to data from PORDATA and sector. Racial issues also play their role here.
“Fundação Manuel dos Santos (2021)”, there The #QuemCodaBr survey, carried out by the
has been a discrepancy between higher edu- social organization PretaLab, interviewed 693
12 cation graduates in ICT in Portugal since 1999, people in 21 United States states in 2018 and
when data was first collected. In that year, 1,891 found that black women make up a mere 15%
men graduated but only 670 women. In 2007, of those entering computing courses across
6,129 men graduated, while only 1,481 women the country. This is half of the 32% of students
achieved this goal. The year in which this sharp doing courses in the computing area.
difference was most observed was 2010 and According to the Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia
2011: 4,426 men compared to 937 women. In e Estatística/IBGE (Brazilian Institute of
2021, 5,836 men and 1,638 women graduated. Geography and Statistics, 2021) report, in the pop-
However, there are hopes of reversing this sit- ulation aged 25 years or older, 15.1% of men and
uation in Portuguese education and the labor 19.4% of women had completed higher education
market. According to the World Intellectual in 2019. However, women represented less half
Property Organization (WIPO/WIPO), in a (46.8%) of professors at higher education institu-
report published in JPN (2022), Portugal is tions in the country. In undergraduate courses,
the third country in the world and the first they are a minority among students in areas
in Europe with the highest number of female related to exact sciences and the sphere of produc-
inventors. The same report points out that in the tion: only 13.3% of Computer and Information
most recent study by Eurostat, (the European and Communication Technology (ICT) students
Union Statistics Office, in Portugal) more than are women, while they occupy 88.3% of enroll-
half of the engineers and scientists in Portugal ments in the welfare area, which includes courses
Table of Contents
such as social work. Despite being more educated, male-dominated scientific fields in recent dec-
women occupied 37.4% of managerial positions ades - a direct consequence of the patriarchy’s
and received 77.7% of men’s income. successful efforts to suppress work opportu-
nities and women’s consumption of devices
The statistics on female diversity and inclusion
and programs -, technology is also a scientific
in technology at a global, European and local
domain that has recently been incorporated into
level (Portugal and Brazil) presented above are
feminist epistemology.
one of the ways to attest to a reality increasingly
addressed by society through the press and also Tech Feminism has yielded a wealth of pro-
Introduction
on social networks and digital platforms. In the duction that already exists in the area of STS
last 12 years, Portugal and Brazil have experi- (Science and Technology Studies, or Science
enced a boom in the emergence and develop- and Technology Studies) which intersects with
ment of communities of women in technology as Gender Studies. STS investigates how politi-
a consequence of the process of developing digital cal and cultural values influence technological
skills provided by the advent of the Web and the advancement and scientific research, as well as
formation of online collectives (Frade, Vairinhos, conversely, scientific and technological influ-
2022) (Frade, 2021). Most of these collectives were ences on society. One of the main contributions
inspired by the ones that emerged in the USA, a of STS has been to challenge the idea that sci-
precursor country of this attempt at an activist of ence and technology are objective and neutral
female union in favor of access and development (D’Ignazio, Klein, p. 1, 2016). STS is an interdis-
13
in IT, in the transition into the 2000s. The collective ciplinary field that emerged in the 60s and 70s,
initiatives regarding the local cultural, economic that examines and relates the social, cultural
and social characteristics have a common objec- and historical aspects of science and technology.
tive: to sensitize governmental authorities and
Feminist Technology Studies (FTS) reinforces
private entities, as well as society, to the urgency
the need to engage technology with feminist
of promoting educational, entrepreneurship and
praxis, in the search for the development of the-
technological training incentives for females from
oretical and methodological tools for the anal-
childhood to adulthood.
ysis of technology and gender simultaneously,
The quantitative data expressed in the statistics in equal depth. Unlike feminist research on
makes the layers of the problem surrounding technology, which tends to treat technological
women’s inclusion in technology issue very artifacts as ready-made items, FTS see technol-
tangible. It is still a scientific domain essen- ogy production as a point of political influence.
tially focused on data. In terms of those who The evolution of these studies is intrinsically
manage to enter a STEM career through the linked to the development of feminist theories,
Academy, or through courses, there still needs following some discussions and concepts of the
to an effort made to embrace issues considered feminist waves presented above, and also in
intangible due to the human dimension, such parallel with technological innovations that
as the exercise of feminism. One of the most have emerged since the transition from the
Table of Contents
20th to the 21st century. It can be argued that accessible published sources and content for
this scientific field - the feminist investigation of researchers and the general public alike.
technology - has become one of the main fields In the last five years, there has been an increase
within the study of feminism. in the interest of readers, researchers, academic
Technofeminism: multi and transdisciplinary editors and the publishing market in publish-
contemporary views on women in technology ing books on feminism under various aspects
aims to present tech feminism, based on sci- (racism, sexuality, civil rights, rescue of histor-
entific productions carried out by renowned ical role models, etc.), as well as women in sci-
Introduction
Portuguese-Brazilian national and international ence who want to acclaim pioneering women
female researchers. Guided in their respective in technology who have been deliberately for-
investigations through the prism of social and gotten by the domain of patriarchy.
economic diversity and inclusion - as well as Tech feminism is a scientific strand which
innovation and creativity -, these researchers brings together a disproportionate and scarce
reflect aspects not only of this feminism, but of field of academic and editorial production,
women who investigate and work profession- compared to publications in other studies of
ally on different fronts in technology. feminism and gender. However, it stands out
This work aims to be a scientific and editorial as a potential for publications due to several
reference in tech feminism both in Brazil and factors such as: a greater inclusion of women
14 Portugal, which is distinguished by unfolding in academic and professional careers in STEM
the feminist strand in various generic themes (Portugal stands out in the European context);
and dimensions such as Sociology, Arts, Gender, the advent of hundreds of women’s commu-
Human-computational-interaction ranging nities in technology, which need reliable con-
from games to communication and transmedia, tent and sources to develop activism and fulfill
and many more. Current debates about digital their inclusion goals with target audiences; the
citizenship, platformization, surveillance cap- training of new intellectuals and bringing new
italism/algorithms will also be incorporated academic and general interest courses on this
by Portuguese-speaking authors and North subject through the publication of national and
American and European researchers, due to international interest and repercussion.
the notoriety and relevance of their research in This publication has the distinction of bringing
the context of this book’s proposal. together academic quality content produced by
It is an innovative study that fills an editorial authors who are references in publications related
gap in academic publications, as well as in the to tech feminism and the universe “women in
Portuguese and Brazilian publishing markets technology”. There is a repressed demand from
by bringing relevant and current concepts and Brazilian and Portuguese readers from scientific
theories on tech feminism to our attention. communities of STEM and from all domains
Technofeminism has previously been over- related to technofeminism that are present in this
looked, but it is a strand of feminism that lacks work, who are interested in this content.
Table of Contents
It is a book that will serve the general public In “Feminism and Technology: an interview
and society, due to the scarcity of content on with Dr. Judy Wajcman by Renata Frade” the
tech feminism and women in technology under reader will be able to get to know some of the
a scientific and plural perspective. It is just as crucial themes in the sociologist’s work, a crit-
interesting and relevant for governmental and ical view for the coming years of the future of
private entities who already invest and intend technological feminism. It is a rare and unique
to invest in projects of diversity and inclusion opportunity to find so many fundamental con-
of gender and technology, and also for teachers cepts based around these scientific domains
Introduction
and schools who want to develop literacy pro- and being debated by one of the main think-
jects related to professional opportunities for ers on these themes such as: Feminist Science
future generations. It is also an interesting book and Technology Studies (STS), technofemi-
for journalists and digital influencers who are nism, techno-sciences, gender and technology,
also dedicated to communicating content about intersectional feminism, activism, artificial
technology, feminism and women in technology. intelligence.
Technofeminism: multi and transdisciplinary This book consists of six other chapters and
contemporary views on women in technology an interview. In “Allegro ma non tropo: How
emerges as a reference work in technological Educational traps might be predicted”, Dr. Ana
feminism, or on contemporary issues about Silveira Moura explores how models and data
work, gender, economy, society, culture, edu-
cation brought together by a range of authors
can be used to assess the evolution of women in 15
the fields of Science, Technology, Engineering,
from diverse origins. First and foremost, the
and Maths (STEM), and if present-day strate-
relevance of this work lies in the fact that it
gies to address the situation had already been
has unique and brand-new content related to
predicted and could have accelerated the pro-
technological feminism by Dr. Judy Wajcman.
cess towards a more inclusive educational envi-
She is one of the most important theorists
ronment. The exploratory aspects also address
related to this scientific field worldwide, a
recent methodologies in gender studies, such as
mandatory reference not only for academics
Alternative History, in a transversal approach
but for people interested in promoting inclu-
to a complex social and educational puzzle.
sion and diversity actions for women at work
and in society. Anthony Giddens Professor of In “Spaces in deconstruction”, Dr. Biamichelle
Sociology, Dr. Judy Wajcman is also a Fellow at Miranda explores “an experience report on
The Alan Turing Institute (and also Principal transgender employability in the area of com-
Investigator on the Women in Data Science and puting/technology” based on the difficul-
Artificial Intelligence Research project), Visiting ties and potentialities found for the inclusion
Professor at the Oxford Internet Institute and of transgender people in the labor market in
AI100 Standing Committee member. She coined technology and she suggests reflections based
one of the most important concepts in feminism on the identified indicators. Unfortunately, the
studies: technofeminism. researcher recently left us. We would love to
Table of Contents
honor her work of immense value related to meta human design, feedback sensors to inter-
women in technology studies, especially black action and multi sensoriality in extended reality
and trans women, and also social inclusion, projects. Finally, the #DigitalSelfPresenceLab’s
diversity and justice by publishing her work. results prove that the centrality of the body
We believe that this is a legacy that will leave in media and technological experiences may
indelible marks on new generations due to the enhance Self Awareness and subjectivity as the
quality of her research. core of presence restoration.
Dr. Carolina Berger (ECA/USP) exposes the In “Gender discrimination in AI models: ori-
Introduction
development of#DigitalSelfPresenceLab that gins and mitigation paths”, Dr. Dora Kaufman
investigates ways of restoring presence in argues that society is making gender-biased
works that merge the poetics of new media decisions on a wider scale than is perceived.
arts and extended reality into experiences of The purpose of her article is to address the basic
technology embodiment. It questions how foundations of DLNNs, describing the origin
immersive experiences, live and in real time, and effects of gender bias, and proposing some
generate new modes of presence for the per- mitigation paths.
former and the audience, creating conditions
In “Convergent feminism, gaming, digital tran-
for aesthetic manifestations of subjectivity and
sition, and equity”, Dr. Patrícia Gouveia and
otherness from body expression.  She estab-
Dr. Luciana Lima (LARSyS, Interactive
lishes the restoration of presence as the central
16 axis for the experiences created in the research.
Technologies Institute, Faculdade de Belas-
Artes, Universidade de Lisboa - FBAUL) sug-
#DigitalSelfPresenceLab is a project that inves-
gest that gender stereotypes and stereotypes
tigates the production of presence in digital
related to gaming culture, condition women’s
media. The method explores principles and
participation in the sector and legitimize digital
presence modalities through the combination of
games as mere entertainment for women and,
real-and-synthetic performances - human-ma-
on the other hand, a “serious” toy that influ-
chine interactions produced by computer tech-
ences career choices for men. Based on these
nology, to discover a contemporary interpreta-
results and from the perspective of speculative
tion of presence. It’s a rereading and updating
convergent feminism, they reflect on the rela-
for the technical basis of artistic performance
tionship between digital games and technolog-
that is inspired by resonances of Performance
ical and artistic skills in the emerging context
Studies (restoration of presence and the study
of the digital transition.
of ancestral rites) and dance techniques. On
account of this experimental approach, she ana- In “Cultural Diversity as a design precedent:
lyzes the production of art and technology from A (Feminist) Angle to HCI/d Expansion”, Dr.
a perspective which considers digital transfor- Sai Shruthi Chivukula discusses cultural his-
mation under circumstances enabling solutions tory, knowledge, interactions, and the roots of
based on embodiment: from intermedia per- researchers and designers as a design prece-
formance, volumetric capture, 3D avatar and dent. She talks through this concept as she
Table of Contents
presents various case studies, where research- social inclusion, feminism and technoscien-
ers have built their research agenda by heavily tific culture. The work explores theoretical
drawing on their various cultural backgrounds. contributions in the field of ‘science and tech-
She discusses how framing their research agen- nology studies’ (STS), feminist technoscience;
das using cultural precedents has enabled the pioneers in studies of emerging technologies
expansion of the power of design, especially such as wearable computers, care and nano-
in the field of Human-Computer Interaction. technology. The interview highlights some of
She highly relates to this space due to her per- the challenges of being both a female and a
Introduction
sonal researcher position as a “foreign cultural Portuguese researcher that must be overcome
entity” in the westernized HCI theory. The case and consecrated in funded studies and awards.
studies presented showcase how researchers It also discusses gender issues in general, and
and designers have used cultural knowledge to particularly those pertaining to technoscience
frame their research methods, tools, outcomes, and presents Dr. Ana Viseu’s innovative quali-
and philosophies. She further discusses this tative (mostly ethnographic) methods to study
intake of cultural perspectives as a precedent how emergent information and communication
for HCI research and design practice: 1) For technologies are developed. Furthermore, she
has an article published in Nature which is one
expanding the scope of criticality in HCI design
of the most renowned scientific publications
spaces and in turn, 2) Promoting Feminisms of
thought through the diversity cultural knowl-
in the world. 17
edge and background entails in design work,
with the risk of multiple perspectives fight- Acknowledgements
ing with each other; and 3) Encouraging the
In the memory of Biamichelle Miranda.
cross-pollination of ideas to build the larger
research agenda for HCI design. She also
intends to use her chapter as a self-reflection Renata Frade:
and an avenue to represent young researchers This book is dedicated to Pedro. I would like
who have excelled in the space of connecting to thank Bruno, Elizabeth, Custodio, Daniele,
HCI and design spaces to various dimensions Marcelle from the bottom of my heart for all
their support and love.
through their cultural underpinnings.
My tech feminism PhD investigation is spon-
“How to be a Woman in Science: An interview sored by Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia
with Dr. Ana Viseu by Renata Frade about (FCT) doctorate scholarship (2020.06640.BD
Feminism, Gender and Technoscience per- reference) and so I would like to thank FCT for
spectives” intends to be a documentary and supporting my research.
historical record for current and future gener-
ations about the path of a female role model in Mário Vairinhos:
Academia. It covers issues related to diversity, To Mafalda. One day the world will be hers.
Table of Contents
References (2021). “Diplomados no ensino superior em
Tecnologias da Informação e Comunicação
Forbes (2022). “Mercado tech ainda é ter-
(TIC): total e por sexo”. Available at https://
ritório a ser conquistado pelas mulheres”.
w w w. p o rd a t a . p t / P o r t u g a l / d i p l o m a-
Available at https://forbes.com.br/forbes-mul-
dos+no+ensino+superior+em+Tecnologias-
her/2022/01/mulheres-na-tecnologia-um-es-
+da+Informação+e+Comunicação+(TIC)+to-
paco-a-ser-conquistado/
tal+e+por+sexo-1171
Frade, R., Vairinhos, M. (2022). “Interaction
SapoTek (2018). “Portugal: Mais mulheres
Design to Female Technological Collective
Introduction
nas tecnologias de informação precisam-se”.

Activism: Geek Girls Portugal Case Study”.
Available at https://tek.sapo.pt/noticias/
In: Martins, N., Brandão, D. (ed.) Advances
computadores/artigos/portugal-mais-mul-
in Design and Digital Communication II.
heres-nas-tecnologias-de-informacao-preci-
DIGICOM 2021. Springer Series in Design and
sam-se
Innovation, vol 19. Springer, Cham. https://
doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-89735-2_40 United Nations (2022). “Tech needs girls, and
girls need tech”. Available at
Frade, R. (2021). “Inteligência artificial no
ativismo feminino tecnológico - contextos e https://news.un.org/en/
reflexões”. Available at Instituto de Estudos story/2022/04/1117162
Avançados da Universidade de São Paulo web- UN Women (2021). “Despite growing number
18 site http://www.iea.usp.br/pesquisa/cate- of women graduates in STEM, women remain
dras-e-convenios/catedra-oscar-sala/ensaios/ under-represented in ICT sectors and innova-
inteligencia-artificial-no-ativismo-feminino-tec- tion, new study finds”. Available at
nologico-contextos-e-reflexoes
https://eca.unwomen.org/en/news/sto-
JPN (2022). “Portugal é o país europeu com ries/2021/03/despite-growing-number-of-
mais mulheres inventoras”. Available at: women-graduates-in-stem-women-remain-
https://www.jpn.up.pt/2022/02/18/portu- under-represented-in-ict
gal-e-o-pais-europeu-com-mais-mulheres-in- World Wide Web Foundation (2021).
ventoras/ “Costs of Exclusion Report”. Available at
Pew Research Center (2017). “Women are more https://webfoundation.org/research/
concerned than men about gender discrimina- costs-of-exclusion-report/
tion in tech industry”. Available at https:// World Wide Web Foundation (2020). “Women’s
www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2017/10/10/ Rights Online: closing the digital gen-
women-are-more-concerned-than-men-about- der gap for a more equal world”. Available
gender-discrimination-in-tech-industry/ at https://webfoundation.org/research/
PORDATA & Fundação Manuel dos Santos womens-rights-online-2020/
Table of Contents
Feminism and
Technology:
an interview with
Dr. Judy Wajcman
by Renata Frade
“I never am really satisfied that I understand
anything; because, understand it well as I may,
my comprehension can only be an infinitesimal
fraction of all I want to understand about
the many connections and relations which
occur to me, how the matter in question
was first thought of or arrived at, etc., etc.”
― Ada Lovelace
Feminism and Technology
Feminism and Technology: an interview with Dr. Judy Wajcman
by Renata Frade
Dr. Judy Wajcman
Emeritus Professor of Sociology, London School of Economics, UK.
J.Wajcman@lse.ac.uk
Renata Frade
DeCa/DigiMedia, Universidade de Aveiro, Portugal
renatafrade@ua.pt; lovelacersoftheworld@gmail.com
Abstract: AI100 Standing Committee member. This inter-

21
view with Renata Frade covers aspects related
This is an unprecedented document with Dr.
to feminist technoscience, artificial intelligence,
Judy Wajcman. She is one of the main voices
activism nowadays, gender equality and the
in the Academy on technological feminism in
present and future of technofeminism.
the world, author of memorable works and
still so important in these scientific fields, such Keywords: technofeminism; feminism; tech-
as Technofeminism and Feminism confronts noscience; Science and Technology Studies;
Technology. For over 25 years, her scientific pro- gender studies; activism.
duction has covered topics such as sociology of In addition to Ada Lovelace’s curiosity and
work and employment, science and technology interest in deciphering scientific phenomena
studies, gender theory, temporality and organi- (the first person to be considered capable of pro-
zational analysis. Dr. Judy Wajcman is Anthony gramming a precursor computer machine, in
Giddens Professor of Sociology at The London the 19th century), Dr. Judy Wajcman has other
School of Economics; she is also a Fellow at similarities with the programmer, such as rigor,
The Alan Turing Institute (and also Principal creativity in the focus of her objects of study,
Investigator on the Women in Data Science and being a beacon to illuminate issues about the
Artificial Intelligence Research project), Visiting human and the social condition that are so per-
Professor at the Oxford Internet Institute and tinent and relevant today.
Table of Contents
This interview is a privilege for me, as a University, focusing on the politics of artificial
researcher of feminism and the impact of tech- intelligence.
nology on human relationships, and certainly Dr. Judy Wajcman scientific production has been
for you, the reader. This is an unprecedented
translated into Chinese, French, German, Greek,

document produced together with one of the Italian, Korean, Japanese, Portuguese, Spanish
main voices in the Academy on technological and Russian. She has been President of the Society
feminism in the world, author of memorable for Social Studies of Science (2009-2011). Professor
works and still so important in these scientific Wajcman is a Fellow of the British Academy. She
fields, such as Technofeminism and Feminism con- has an honorary doctorate from the University
fronts Technology. For over 25 years, her scien- of Geneva. She is the recipient of the William
tific production has covered topics such as soci- F. Ogburn Career Achievement Award of the
ology of work and employment, science and American Sociological Association (2013). In
technology studies, gender theory, temporality 2018, she received the Oxford Internet Institute’s
and organizational analysis. Lifetime Achievement Award ‘in recognition of her
In the biography published on the The London contributions to the field of the social study of sci-
School of Economics and Political Science web- ence and technology’. In 2021, she was awarded
site1, where she works as Anthony Giddens the John Desmond Bernal Prize by the Society for
Professor of Sociology, it is stated that Dr. Judy the Social Studies of Science.
22 Wajcman is a Fellow at The Alan Turing Institute I would like to make a second and final analogy of
(and also Principal Investigator on the Women Dr. Judy Wajcman´s relevance work to everyone
in Data Science and Artificial Intelligence who is dedicated to inclusion, diversity and gen-
Research project), Visiting Professor at the der equality in technology studies. In the literature
Oxford Internet Institute and AI100 Standing review carried out for this interview, I discovered
Committee member. that the interviewee (Dodd, Wajcman, 2016) had
She was also the Professor of Sociology in produced a work inspired by the work of sociol-
the Research School of Social Sciences at the ogist Georg Simmel, to address the acceleration of
Australian National University. She has held social relations. At the beginning of my academic
posts in Cambridge, Edinburgh, Manchester, career, I felt a strong impact with Simmel’s work
Sydney, Tokyo, Vienna, Warwick and Zurich. to understand what the change of time in peo-
She was formerly a Centennial Professor at ple’s lives represented, from a new economic and
LSE, a Visiting Fellow at All Souls College, industrial order capable of transforming every-
Oxford, and a Visiting Professor at the Centre day life, new modern institutions to even shaping
for Women in Business at London Business the expression of affection between people at the
School. In 2017-18 she held a Mellon Foundation beginning of the 20th century. One of the main can-
fellowship with the Center for Advanced ons of sociological studies, Simmel was also origi-
Study in the Behavioral Sciences at Stanford nal and visionary in addressing gender issues. In a
1 https://www.lse.ac.uk/sociology/people/judy-wajcman
Table of Contents
very summarized way, it can be said that, accord- Renata Frade: On April 2021, Donna Haraway
ing to the theorist, gender equality would only be and Banu Subramaniam, two foundational
possible when society honored the differences of feminist technoscience scholars, had a con-
female and male cultures (Allan, 2005). versation in Catalyst’s 5 Year Anniversary

Celebration: The Foundations and Futures of
When confronting the works of Wajcman and
Feminist Technosciences. Haraway was asked
Simmel I feel that I am faced with a firm and
by Subramaniam about the explosion of feminist
broad theoretical ground on the directions of life
Science and Technology Studies (STS) in the last
in society, or going a little further, of Humanity
30 years, its success and challenges. Haraway´s
and its relationship with time. They are important
response was:
and defining canons of different times, marked
by extreme and crucial transformations guided by “I think that were feminist scientific studies a suc-
technological advance. Starting to read the work cess would be a definition of its failures. I think it’s
of Dr. Judy Wajcman is to be able to have a safe an ongoing grappling that has achieved certain
and coherent roadmap on feminism and technol- very important things. Some of them are small in
ogy, gender identity from the relationship with the larger scope of things. But not so small really.
technological and computational artifacts and Which are things like foregrounding the fact that
programs, in the change of interactions between women are scientists. And that the conditions of
people mediated by digital intermediaries and in women who do science are intolerable. And that
the conditions of women in science who come in
the use of artifacts technological in everyday life
from working class backgrounds, who are differ-
23
that should give us more time to live, and not for
ent, differently abled or racially stigmatized or,
the accumulation of 24x7 work in an increasingly
that these conditions are yet harder. That women
onlife (Floridi, 2015).
scientists suffer the double day as women do in
In this interview, the reader will be able to get to general. So on and so forth. I think feminist sci-
know some of the crucial themes in the sociolo- ence studies, in which I include a history of sci-
gist’s work from a perspective that goes beyond ence and philosophy of science and ethnographic
the review of positive points that could have been socially, including a whole range of inquiries that
better, a critical view for the coming years of the are visible in universities, but I’m also including
future of technological feminism. It is a rare and the activist dimensions of this. The people who
unique opportunity to find so many fundamental have worked in clinics, or in labor organizing like
concepts around these scientific domains being SEIU, who have understood the issues of repeti-
debated by one of the main thinkers of these tive stress injury and digital workplaces and so on.
themes. It is a privilege for you and me, dear- The ongoing gender division of labor, even as it is
est reader, to debate and learn, in this conversa- denied. I do believe that feminist science studies in
tion, about topics such as feminist Science and large has put these issues on the agenda forcefully
Technology Studies (STS), technofeminism, tech- with action and scholarship of many kinds. Boom.
no-sciences, gender and technology, intersectional That feminist science studies has been profoundly
feminism, activism, artificial intelligence. an important part of post-colonial and decolonial
Table of Contents
thinking and action. It has refused to allow ques- objects. And I think that contemporary work has
tions of sexualities and genders, not to be in the really deepened that. I also think we’ve under-
tang will – I’m avoiding the metaphor ´center of stood that water is a feminist issue. I feel proud
attention´ although I think foregrounding and of feminist science studies, and acutely aware that
backgrounding is an important tool. we are part of a really multifaceted struggle in a

time where fascism is resurgent globally”.
We can look at the whole current generation of
young scholars and feel we are connected. We Do you agree with Haraway´s opinion about
are in this together. There is a continuity here. I feminist technoscience advances and failures and
think feminist science studies has failed also in challenges to be faced, especially in times of artifi-
a range of ways. I’m speaking only for myself cial intelligence advances? Could you please cite
for the moment. I think that I fell out of deep some of the most important female researchers
engagement with practicing scientists, because that are really taking a fresh look at these scien-
I didn’t take enough care with language or with tific fields and why these choices are being made?
politics or with the material conditions that sep- Judy Wajcman: I very much agree with Haraway
arated us. I think a huge amount of damage was that the rich legacy of feminist STS remains highly
done in the social text moment that accused all of relevant. Like her, I identified myself as a socialist
us, particularly those of us involved in feminist feminist during second wave feminism and we
science studies, of relativism and of anti-science were responding to the microelectronic revolution
24 ideology, which has subsequently been taken up as it was then known. We were showing then, as
and developed with great skill. I think that many we are now, the role that science and technology
of the things that we proposed have been used plays in the construction of gender, how masculin-
as weapons against us. And I feel like my work ity and femininity are formed, and the effects that
bears some of that responsibility. I also think peo- technologies have on men and women. Central
ple like me have been intentionally anti-racist, but to that idea has always been the notion of skill
in practice most of my networks remain white. and how skill is defined, rewarded and paid for.
I think there are profound issues – there’s still Exposing gender division of labour in both paid
so much yet to be done. I think that women like work and unpaid housework was key. This is still
us in feminist science studies have understood so relevant today as a critique of the idea that the
that something like food justice, for example, is paucity of women in STEM is a ‘pipeline problem’
an unbelievable feminist issue. I think I and my rather than the result of gender structures, gender
peers knew this back in the 1970s and ‘80s when stereotyping, and engrained cultures of mascu-
we looked at questions of seed justice in west linity that are ubiquitous within tech industries.
Africa as the commercialization of agriculture for Feminist STS crucially explored the gendered
export in west Africa was beginning to take off character of science and technology, putting the
and the women who grew food for people were spotlight on the artefacts themselves. We contrib-
marginalized and seeds standardized. I think we uted to the broad acceptance of a social shaping
understood a long time ago that seeds are feminist or ‘co-production’ framework, and the critique of
Table of Contents
technological determinism. It is no longer contro- Such an intersectional lens is particularly impor-
versial to argue that technological innovation is tant as attention has expanded beyond the sex-
itself shaped by the social circumstances within ism and racism of the internet and digital cul-
which it takes place. Objects and artefacts are tures to the growing body of work on AI systems.

no longer seen as politically neutral and sepa- Feminist scholars, like D’Ignazio and Klein in
rate from society; rather, they are designed and Data Feminism (2020) and Criado Perez in Invisible
produced by specific people in specific contexts. Women (2019) have not only exposed the glaring
As such, artefacts have the potential to embody gender data gap, but have also been part of a
and reproduce the values and visions of the indi- growing literature showing how the data that
viduals and organisations that design and build feeds algorithms is biased. Echoing STS texts on
them. We demonstrated that the marginalisation the politics of scientific knowledge production,
of women from the technological community has they highlight the epistemic power of classifica-
a profound influence on the design, technical con- tion systems and the values and judgements they
tent and use of artefacts. In sum, the key insights
encode (Bowker and Star 2000). Every dataset
of feminist STS on issues such as the gendering of
used to train machine learning systems contains a
skills and jobs; the conception of technology as a
worldview, reducing humans to false binaries and
sociotechnical product and cultural practice; and
implied hierarchies, such as the artificial distinc-
the critique of binary categories of female/male,
tions between men and women. In other words,
nature/culture, emotion/reason, and humans/
machines are still foundational resources for con-
the very process of classifying data, a core practice
25
in AI, is inherently political. Noble’s Algorithms
temporary research on gender and technology.
of Oppression (2018) and Benjamin’s Race After
In recent years, feminist STS has been strength- Technology (2019) have become key texts show-
ened by its engagement with intersectional fem- ing the ways in which algorithms can reflect and
inist analysis, critical race theorists and post-co- amplify existing inequities such as those based
lonial theory (Crenshaw et al. 1995; Collins 1998; on gender and race.
Benjamin 2019; Noble 2018; Sandoval 2000). There
is increasing recognition of the ways in which gen- Finally, picking up on Donna’s point about fem-
der intersects with other aspects of difference and inist activism, I have to say how delighted I
disadvantage in the societies within which these am that there is a whole new wave of activism
technologies sit. Women are a multifaceted and about the politics and ethics of AI. It is striking
heterogeneous group, with a plurality of expe- that many of the political organizations that have
riences. Gender intersects with multiple aspects been set up are led by women - for example, Data
of difference and disadvantage involving race, & Society, AI Now Institute, and the Distributed AI
class, ethnicity, sexuality, ability, age and so on. Research Institute. These groups have been lead-
For instance, women who are poor or belong to ing the field in critiquing current developments
racial minorities experience the negative effects and assumptions about the widespread use of
of digitalisation and automation more acutely automated decision-making and they are having
(Buolamwini and Gebru 2018). a major impact.
Table of Contents
Personally, I am also pleased that there is a materialize in technology, and that masculinity
renewed interest in the working conditions, as and femininity instead acquire their meaning and
well as the environmental impact, that go into character through working machines and their
making so-called intelligent machines. I’m think- integration conception in themselves. In order to
ing of books like Gray and Suri’s (2019) Ghost renegotiate the cultural equation between mascu-
Work about the vast, ‘invisible’ human labour linity and technology, technofeminism insists that
force, often women in the Global South, who we have to deal with the concrete sociotechnical
carry out work such as labelling data to feed practices of women and men” (2006).
algorithms, cleaning codes, training machine We are currently living in an era marked by a
learning tools and moderating and transcribing new time and space relationship with technology,
content. And how Crawford’s (2021) book Atlas influenced by artificial intelligence devices and
of AI argues that AI is both embodied and mate- software advances, quantum computing, and a
rial, made from natural resources, human labour, platform society (van Dijck, J., Poell, T., & Waal,
infrastructures, histories, and classifications. To 2018) consolidation. What would technofemi-
me this book reads as applying an STS approach nism be nowadays? Have you ever thought about
with a Marxist inflection - not so far from our updating the concept, or do you believe that it
early socialist feminist lens! is still “valid”? You’ve been researching about
Renata Frade: You coined one of the most impor- Artificial Intelligence and Sociology of Speed with
26 tant feminist, technoscience concepts, technofem- more emphasis over the past few years. How do
inism (2006): “My own technofeminist approach these scientific domains contribute to new paths
conceives of technology as both a source and in feminist technoscience?
a consequence of gender relations (Berg 1996; Judy Wajcman: To some extent, I have already
Faulkner 2001; Oudshoorn et al. 2004; Wajcman answered this question in what I said before
2004). In other words, gender relations can be above. Technofeminism has perhaps morphed
thought of as materialized in technology, and into ‘Data Feminism’. I like that term data femi-
gendered identities and discourses as produced nism, as data science and AI are the major tech-
simultaneously with technologies. Several empir- nological developments since I first wrote about
ical studies have demonstrated that the margin- the relationship between gender, power and
alization of women from the technological com- technology. To me technofeminism is still a use-
munity has a profound influence on the design, ful approach from which to extend our analysis
technical content and use of artefacts (Lie 2003; to think about how gender is being embedded
Lerman et al. 2003; Oudshoorn 1994, 2003) in code and software, as well as in hardware and
You also wrote “If society is co-produced with material machinery. We have a broader sense of
technology, and imperatives explore the effects what technology means, such as machine learning
of generic power relations in design and innova- systems and infrastructure, as well as artefacts.
tion, such as the pact of technological change on My current project at The Alan Turing Institute
the sexes. We can imagine that gender relations is on Women in Data Science and AI (https://
Table of Contents
www.turing.ac.uk/research/research-projects/ time as data or events thereby rendering other
women-data-science-and-ai) shows how the forms of time use questionable and invisible.
dominance of men working in and designing Non-productive forms of time use (that is, care
AI results in a feedback loop whereby bias gets work, play, pottering) don’t fit this paradigm,

built into machine learning systems. Although and indeed there are some things that can’t be or
algorithms and automated decision-making sys- shouldn’t be scheduled in a calendar. This is espe-
tems are presented as if they are impartial, neutral cially the case with paid and unpaid care work.
and objective, we show how bias enters, and is There is great feminist writing on care and how it
amplified through AI systems at various stages. can’t be rationally planned and controlled. Care
Crucially, we stress that algorithmic bias is not involves the erratic, time as a relational process
solely the product of unconscious sexism or rac- that is based on contextual, situated knowledge,
ism, nor bad training data, but the end result of a that has a large non-verbal component, makes
techno-culture that has systematically excluded it difficult to carry out planned activities. Yet,
women and people from marginalised groups calendars are principally about planning. So, in
from positions of leadership and power. my work on AI and temporality I argue that the
In terms of my writing on the sociology of speed, ‘ethic’ of care as performed in everyday embod-
again it is informed by STS and feminism. My ied practices cannot be codified into procedural
books Pressed for Time and the Sociology of Speed algorithms.
are about our current obsession with speed and Renata Frade: My PhD investigation is research- 27
acceleration and how digital technologies seem ing for women in tech empowerment and social
to be at the heart of this problem. The idea that inclusion “solutions” or new perspectives from
digitalization has wrought a new temporality of technofeminism, activism, transmedia, and inter-
speed, instantaneity, and time pressure has been action design mainly scientific domains having
widely taken up in social theory. In my view, technological female communities as case studies.
this important conversation about the changing HCI Feminist is one of the central concepts in this
social character of time has only begun to under- research. Due to this, I want to come back to some-
stand how time is co-produced with and through thing you mentioned before, namely the relation
machines: that time is a socio-material practice. of technofeminism and design. You wrote:
So, by adopting a science and technology studies “The central premise of feminist technoscience
lens, I highlight the ways in which sociotechnical is that people and artefacts co-evolve: the mate-
systems mediate and are active participants in the riality of technology affords or inhibits the doing
production of time. My research on the design of of particular gender power relations. Crucially,
digital calendars and scheduling software shows such a perspective redefines the problem of the
that the ideology of optimization is embedded in exclusion of groups of people from technologi-
these systems. cal domains and activities. Whereas policy-mak-
In terms of feminism, I stress that the logic of tem- ers and researchers explain the problem in
poral optimization encoded in calendars reifies terms of the deficiency of users, such as women,
Table of Contents
technofeminism exposes how the concrete prac- bias, more inclusive for women from the design
tices of design and innovation lead to the absence conception in the last 15 years. Do you believe it
of specific users. is possible that one day there will be a feminist
or feminine technologies knowledge and devel-
While it is impossible to specify in advance, the

desirable design characteristics of artefacts and opment, without gender bias and racist or prej-
information systems that would guarantee more udiced data? Do you follow the studies related
inclusiveness, it is imperative that women are to HCI and feminism? If so, do you believe that
involved throughout the processes and practices they are a way to promote responses for women
of shaping technological innovation. Drawing in STEM inclusion? Are proposals such as design
more women into design – the configuration prototypes for feminist technologies still seen as
of artefacts – is not only an equal employment minority niches by large companies?
opportunities issue but is also crucially about how You researched domestic technologies and their
the world we live in is designed, and for whom”. impact on society and speed of time a long time
Despite the original connection with the social ago. Would you please comment on whether their
sciences of both scientific domains, the historic secular design development by men may influ-
moment of the third phase of the HCI represents ence digital and tech tools and programs with
the phase of a major awakening in the evolu- non-inclusive designs?
tion of theories of technological feminism. Both Judy Wajcman: I have not been following the
28 are marked by the consequences arising from debates about the relevance of Feminist STS for
the emergence and expansion of the web, in the HCI research and design practices closely enough
popularization of the use of technologies in desk- to comment. However, I like the recent article by
top, mobile, internet of things computing devices Wagman and Parks (2021: 9) where they frame
and programs. An opening for cultural analysis the problem as being one of designing relation-
at HCI was to meet already existing themes in ships embedded in the social and material world,
feminism, such as identity, subjectivity, sociability, and not simply as about the design of neutral or
experience, cultural difference and social change functional objects. ‘To design a social machine,
and activism. HCI has borrowed and innovated informed by feminist STS research, is to also build
in research and design epistemologies and meth- a mutual relationship’. They draw on both femi-
odologies such as the humanities. In the last two nist STS and HCI to conceptualize different mod-
decades, feminism has also become part of the dis- els of human-machine relations in robotics. As
course in the areas of computer-supported coop- they say, there is no one answer, but they empha-
erative work and sociotechnical design (Bardzell, size the importance of mutuality, of machines as
S., Bardzell, J., Forlizzi, J., Churchill, E., Grinter, partners. It’s an interesting perspective.
B., Tatar, D., & 29th Annual CHI Conference on In relation to your question about the possibil-
Human Factors in Computing Systems, 2011). ity of unbiased knowledge, as you note there is
These are some theoretical efforts in the search growing field within the AI/HCI community
of technologies development with less gender discussing how to design ‘fairer’ algorithms.
Table of Contents
While I welcome this development, I would advent of an exhilarating post-traditional society,
argue that technical bias mitigation (including based on networks.
algorithmic auditing) and fairness metrics for Cyber-feminists claim that the Internet lays the
models and datasets are by no means sufficient technological foundations of a new society, liber-

to resolve bias and discrimination. Notably, since ating for women. However, research conducted
‘fairness’ cannot be mathematically defined, and at the intersection of feminist studies and the
is rather a deeply political issue, this task often sociology of science and technology has greatly
falls to the developers themselves – the very enriched these two disciplines, focusing on the
teams in which the diversity crisis lies. Miceli joint evolution of people and objects”.
et al. (2022: 4) express the issue well when they
We currently live in an era marked by a new rela-
say that efforts to design tools to mitigate data,
tionship of time and space with technology, with
algorithmic, and workers’ biases, framing the
people increasingly fused with machines in 24x7
problem as one of ‘bias’, risks encoding the
interaction, the creation of new spaces for personal
premise “that there is an absolute truth value in data
and professional interaction, such as metaverse. In
and that bias is just a “distortion” from that value”.
parallel, attempts by governmental organizations
Feminist STS has long demonstrated that the
and institutions and private companies to seek
notion of scientific objectivity as a ‘view from
regulations to maintain the privacy and security
nowhere’ is both androcentric and Eurocentric.
on mobile and web data sharing, as well as to pun-
It is therefore highly attuned to the privileged
and naturalised epistemological standpoints or
ish users who practice violent, prejudiced acts. 29
worldviews inscribed in data and systems that I would like to revisit some themes present in
reproduce the status quo. Their article is entitled recent articles published by me for the Cátedra
‘Studying Up Machine Learning Data: Why Talk Oscar Sala (Oscar Sala Chair)/ Instituto de Estudos
About Bias When We Mean Power?’ and that Avançados (Institute of Advanced Studies) of
captures my point. Universidade de São Paulo (University of São
Paulo). One of the harmful effects of technology
Renata Frade: In ´Genre, Technologie et
and artificial intelligence that reinforce prejudice,
Cyberfeminisme´ (2013) you said “The first fem-
pointed out by Benjamin (2020) is code-switching:
inist analyses of technology were therefore often
when people change the way they speak or act
marked by pessimism. Technology appeared as
to conform to dominant norms. A reflection to be
a characteristic element of masculinity, perpetu-
made is whether and how feminist technologi-
ating and producing gender occupational segre-
cal activists are aware of how much their strug-
gation in organizations.
gles - mediated and carried out mainly on digital
The rise of new technologies and biotechnologies platforms, created by companies that use AI and
has led many contemporary feminists to review the abundance of data to obtain profits and busi-
this position to conclude that the traditional link ness objectives are not always revealed - may be
between technology and male privilege was contaminated by machine learning and the serv-
finally broken. These upheavals would herald the ers of these social media companies. According
Table of Contents
to Crawford (2021) AI is based on technical and I would like to know your opinion if we are liv-
social practices, politics, culture, the structures that ing a fifth tech-feminism wave, with these new
support it, as well as private and public institu- challenges posed and the emergence of strong
tions. It works in the formation of knowledge, initiatives in the fight against the suppression of
communication and power and has also pro- freedoms such as The Algorithmic Justice League
voked reconfigurations at the level of epistemol- and black tech-feminism. What do you think of
ogy, principles of justice and social organization. the activism carried out by thousands of women’s
In surveillance capitalism (Zuboff, 2018), big data technological communities around the world,
is fundamental in a new logic of accumulation, in especially in emerging countries? Could the vir-
a social engineering that projects social and indi- tual spatial occupation of these entities in virtual
vidual capacities, for good or for bad (Frade, 2021). spaces like metaverse be a new exercise in femi-
I started some research to find out, on a global nism in the 21st century?
level, what there was in relation to feminism and Judy Wajcman: As I said above, I am very
the metaverse. I found a recent initiative called enthusiastic about new waves of feminist activ-
the Feminist Metaverse (2021), an autonomous ism around the harmful effects of technology
decentralized organization whose goal is to build and AI. Design justice is an excellent framework
a feminist metaverse. According to the collective, and there is much more awareness now of both
none of the four feminist waves, including the the international context and the need for inter-
fourth (cyberfeminist), resolved the fundamen- sectional analysis to take account of women’s
30 tal social problems of women in education, gen- diverse situation and experiences. I would be
der discrimination, unequal pay for equal work, cautious, however, about the possibilities of the
domestic violence, trafficking and child marriage Metaverse, as it immediately reminds me of our
(Frade, R., 2022). I would like to bring a design earlier hopes for cyberfeminism and the cyber-
and communities concept in this contextualiza- space being somehow a gender-neutral space.
tion: “Design justice is a framework for analysis Remember how the internet was initially viewed
of how design distributes benefits and burdens as a democratising platform, and now we see
between various groups of people. Design justice that a small group of large technology corpo-
focuses explicitly on the ways that design repro- rations based in the Global North has emerged
duces and/or challenges the ´matrix of domina- as a dominant force in the new global economy.
tion´ (white supremacy, heteropatriarchy, capi- These ‘tech giants’ monopolise markets and
talism, ableism, settler colonialism, and other wield power over digital data, as major online
forms of structural inequality). Design justice is platforms are found complicit in the spread of
also a growing community of practice that aims misinformation, hate speech and misogynis-
to ensure a more equitable distribution of design’s tic (and racist) online abuse and harassment.
benefits and burdens; meaningful participation In particular, there are unprecedented levels of
in design decisions; and recognition of commu- data mining, or ‘data extra-activism’, algorithms
nity-based, Indigenous, and diasporic design tra- and predictive risk models that entrench exist-
ditions, knowledge, and practices.” ing inequalities and power dynamics.
Table of Contents
As I wrote in Technofeminism, there is a danger to gender gaps in the overall workforce). Job
of encoding––and amplifying––offline inequi- turnover and attrition rates (Women working
ties into online structures, as these technologies in AI and data science in the tech sector have
carry over the social norms and structural injus- higher turnover and attrition rates than men.

tices of the offline world into the virtual one. Like other studies, we have found persistently
After all, romanticised ideas of virtual voyages high turnover and attrition rates for women as
echo the gendered division of human activity in compared to men working in data science and
which the male life of the mind is valued over AI in the technology industry. Our data shows
women’s confinement to the visceral body. As that, on average, women spend less time in each
feminists have long pointed out, the embod- role than men do. This holds for every indus-
ied and situated nature of knowledge has been try, with the biggest gap in the Industrials and
denied precisely because it is based upon the Manufacturing, and Technology/IT sectors.
invisible work of women. Rather than dream- Furthermore, looking at the total years of expe-
ing of a flight from the body, feminism has rience spent in each industry by gender, we find
argued for men to be fully embodied and take that on average women spend more time than
their share of emotional, caring and domestic men in every industry except for Industrials and
work. To express this in computer jargon, an Manufacturing, and crucially, the Technology/
emancipatory politics of technology requires IT sector, where they spend almost a year and
more than hardware and software, it needs wet- a half less). Self-reported skills (Men routinely
ware - bodies, fluids, human agency. self-report having more skills than women on 31
Renata Frade: “Existing data is sparse (about LinkedIn. This is consistent across all industries
gender diversity in the AI and the data sci- and countries within our sample. Women are
ence workforce is severely limited). Diverging more likely to self-report fewer skills than men).
career trajectories (There is evidence of persis- These were the 5 Gendered careers in data sci-
tent structural inequality in the data science and ence and AI findings in Where are the Women?
AI fields, with career trajectories of data and AI Mapping the Gender Job Gap in AI. Policy
professionals differentiated by gender, women Briefing: Full Report (Young, E., Wajcman, J. and
are more likely than men to occupy a job asso- Sprejer, 2021). Recently a new feminist technosci-
ciated with less status and pay in the data science concept came out to fight against situations
ence and AI talent pool). Industry differences cited in this research: “The work of data femi-
(women in data and AI are under-represented in nism is first to tune into how standard practices
industries which traditionally entail more tech- in data science serve to reinforce these existing
nical skills, and over-represented in industries inequalities and second to use data science to
which entail fewer technical skills. Furthermore, challenge and change the distribution of power.
there are fewer women than men in C-suite 21 Underlying data feminism is a belief in and
positions across most industries, and this is even commitment to co-liberation: the idea that oppres-
more marked in data and AI jobs in the tech sec- sive systems of power harm all of us, that they
tor; patterns in AI and data science are similar undermine the quality and validity of our work,
Table of Contents
and that they hinder us from creating a true and companies and institutions that result in per-
lasting social impact with data science. Data fem- sistent structural divergence in women’s and
inism can help to remind us that before there are men’s career trajectories.
data, there are people – people who offer up their
Exploring how the gender gap shapes scientific

experience to be counted and analyzed, people
knowledge and technological innovation. The
who perform that counting and analysis, people
lack of diversity in the AI sector results in harm-
who visualize the data and promote the findings
ful feedback loops of social bias being built into
of any particular project, and people who use the
AI and machine learning systems. We promote
product in the end. There are also, always, peo-
responsible, gender inclusive AI design.
ple who go uncounted – for better or for worse
(D’Ignazio, C., Klein, L., 2020). The team members would all describe themselves
as taking an intersectional feminist STS approach.
Studies in the exact sciences have increasingly
We have worked with several companies to
found “answers” or more questions in the trans
improve women’s representation and we have
and interdisciplinary intersection with social and
various other projects exploring the masculine
biological sciences, in the face of the challenges of
cultures in high-tech corporations. Next year, I am
human-machine hybridity, artificial intelligence
hoping to explore why there are so few women
posed in reports like this, for example. Could you
in venture capital and how this might shape the
talk a little bit about your current research work
innovations that are funded.
and what the research prospects are in the coming
32 years, please? Are they related to these themes? In this sense my current research continues some
Do you believe that, in addition to data feminism, longstanding techno-feminist themes: how do we
it would be possible to have some theoretical field intervene and remake a world designed by men.
that would strengthen technological feminism? Whereas there were relatively few of us involved
in the 1980s and 1990s, there is now a vast field of
Judy Wajcman: The study quoted above is from
feminist STS research and activism and I am happy
my current research – the Women in Data Science and
to continue to play a part and learn from the next
AI project within the Public Policy program at The
generation how to do our work more effectively.
Alan Turing Institute. It conducts data science and
There are lots of emerging areas of scholarship,
social science research to inform policy measures
such as critical algorithm studies, critical race the-
aimed at increasing equity in the data and AI fields,
ory, and post-colonial theory, and a host of fresh
in the UK and globally. We address these complex
political issues that have arisen as the result of new
challenges through a three-tiered approach:
developments in technoscience, and I am confident
Mapping the participation of women in data sci- that building on these new insights from younger
ence and AI in the UK, and globally. Our aim is scholars, we can meet the challenges.
to increase the number of women in these fields.
Investigating diversity and inclusion in online
and physical workplace cultures. We explore References:
the ‘chilly’ organizational cultures of tech Allan, K. (2005). Explorations in classical sociological
Table of Contents
theory: Seeing the social world. Thousand Oaks: Pine Catalyst (2021). Summary of Catalyst’s 5 Year
Forge Press. Anniversary Celebration: The Foundations and
Futures of Feminist Technosciences. Available in
Bardzell, S., Bardzell, J., Forlizzi, J., Churchill,
https://catalystjournal.org/index.php/catalyst/

E., Grinter, B., Tatar, D., & 29th Annual CHI
announcement/view/829
Conference on Human Factors in Computing
Systems, 2011, p. 1. Collins, P. H. (1998). ‘It’s All In the Family:
Intersections of Gender, Race, and Nation’.
Bardzell, S. (2010). Feminist HCI: Taking stock
Hypatia, 13(3): 62–82.
and outlining an agenda for design. Conference
on Human Factors in Computing Systems - Crawford, K. (2021). Atlas of AI: Power, Politics,
Proceedings, 2, 1301-1310. and the Planetary Costs of Artificial Intelligence. New
Haven: Yale University Press.
Bardzell, S., Bardzell, J. (2011). Towards a fem-
Crenshaw, K., Gotanda, N., Peller, G. and
inist HCI methodology: Social science, femi-
Thomas, T. (eds.) (1995) Critical Race Theory: The
nism, and HCI. Conference on Human Factors
Key Writings that Formed the Movement. New York:
in Computing Systems - Proceedings, 675-684.
New Press.
Bardzell, S., Bardzell, J., Forlizzi, J., Churchill,
D’Ignazio, C., Klein, L. (2020). Data Feminism.
E., Grinter, B., Tatar, D., & 29th Annual CHI
Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Systems (2011). Feminism and interaction design. Dodd, N., & Wajcman, J. (2016-12- 33
01). Simmel and Benjamin: Early Theorists
of the Acceleration Society. In The Sociology
Systems - Proceedings, 1-4.
of Speed: Digital, Organizational, and Social
Bardzell, J., & Bardzell, S. (2015). Humanistic Temporalities. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
HCI. San Rafael, California: Morgan & Claypool Retrieved 13 Jul. 2022, from https://oxford.uni-
Publishers. versitypressscholarship.com/view/10.1093/
Benjamin, R. (2020). Race after technology: a c p ro f : o s o / 9 7 8 0 1 9 8 7 8 2 8 5 8 . 0 0 1 . 0 0 0 1 /
Abolitionist tools for the new Jim code. Cambridge: acprof-9780198782858-chapter-2
Polity Press. Apple Books. Frade, R. (2022). Metaverso e femi-
nismo. Instituto de Estudos Avançados da
Bowker, G. and Star, S. L. (2000). Sorting Things
Universidade de São Paulo. Available at
Out: Classification and Its Consequences. Cambridge,
http://www.iea.usp.br/pesquisa/cate-
MA: MIT Press.
dras-e-convenios/catedra-oscar-sala/ensaios/
Buolamwini, J. and Gebru, T. (2018). ‘Gender metaverso-e-feminismo-1
Shades: Intersectional Accuracy Disparities in
Frade, R. (2021). Inteligência artificial no
Commercial Gender
ativismo feminino tecnológico - contextos e
Classification’. In: Proceedings of the 1st Conference reflexões. Instituto de Estudos Avançados da
on Fairness, Accountability and Transparency: 77-91. Universidade de São Paulo. Available at http://
Table of Contents
www.iea.usp.br/pesquisa/catedras-e-conven- of time management. Science, Technology and
ios/catedra-oscar-sala/ensaios/inteligencia-ar- Human Values. Vol. 44, No. 2, 2019, pp. 315-337.
tificial-no-ativismo-feminino-tecnologico-con- Wajcman, J. (2019). How Silicon Valley sets
textos-e-reflexoes
time. New Media and Society. Vol. 21(6), 2019,

Gray, M. and Suri, S. (2019). Ghost Work: How pp. 1272-1289.
to Stop Silicon Valley from Building A New Global Wajcman, J. (2016). Pressed for Time: The accel-
Underclass. Boston: Harcourt. eration of life in digital capitalism. Chicago:
Miceli, M., Posada, J. and Yang, T. (2022). University of Chicago Press.
‘Studying Up Machine Learning Data: Why Wajcman, J. Genre, Technologie et
Talk About Bias When We Cyberfeminisme’, in M. Maruani (ed) Travail
Mean Power?’. Conference Proceedings ACM et genre dans le monde. L’etat des savoirs, la
HCI. 6, GROUP, Article 34 (January). Decouverte, 2013, pp. 428-436.
Noble, S. (2018). Algorithms of Oppression: How Search Wajcman, J. (2008). “Emergent Technosciences”.
Engines Reinforce Racism. New York: NYU Press. In: The handbook of science and technology
studies. Cambridge: MIT Press.
Radzikowska, M., Roberts-Smith, J., Zhou, X.
and Ruecker, S. (2019). A Speculative Feminist Wajcman, J. (2007). From Women and
Technology to Gendered Technoscience.
34 Approach to Design Project Management.
Information, Communication & Society, Vol.10,
Strategic Design Research Journal, volume 12,
No.3, pp. 287-298.
number 01, January - April 2019. 94-113. Doi:
10.4013/sdrj.2019.121.07 Wajcman, J. (2006). El Tecnofeminismo. Madrid:
Cátedra; Instituto de la Mujer.
Sandoval, C. (2000). Methodology of the Oppressed.
Minneapolis: Univ. of Minnesota Press. Wajcman, J. (2000). Reflections on Gender
and Technology Studies:: In What State is the
van Dijck, J., Poell, T., & Waal, M.: The platform
Art? Social Studies of Science, 30(3), 447–464.
society: Public values in a connective world. Oxford
https://doi.org/10.1177/030631200030003005
University Press, New York (2018).
Young, E., Wajcman, J. and Sprejer, L. (2021).
Wagman, K. and Parks, L. (2021). ‘Beyond the
Where are the Women? Mapping the Gender
Command: Feminist STS Research and Critical
Job Gap in AI. Policy Briefing: Full Report. The
Issues for the Design of Social Machines’.
Alan Turing Institute.
Proceedings of CSCW 2021. ACM, NY.
Zuboff, S. (2018). Big Other: capitalismo de
Wajcman, J., & Dodd, N. (2017). The sociology of
vigilância e perspectivas para uma civilização
speed: Digital, organizational, and social temporal-
de informação. In: Bruno, F. et al. Tecnopolíticas
ities. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
da vigilância: perspectivas da margem. São Paulo:
Wajcman, J. (2019). The digital architecture Boitempo.
Table of Contents
Allegro ma non tropo:
How Educational traps
might be predicted
Allegro ma non tropo: How Educational traps might be predicted
Ana S. Moura
LAQV-REQUIMTE, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry,
Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade do Porto (FCUP), Portugal
ana.cristina.moura@fc.up.pt; writer.amp.rodriguez@gmail.com
Abstract interested in the use of drugs to promote nor-

Education is one of the most controversial fields mative student behavior or to help students
which has constantly polarized opinions since in high pressure courses like medicine to cope
records began. Questions such as: Who should with gargantuan higher education demands.
study? Where? When? How (a particular mine- These novel models bring together creativ- 37
field theme)? And the most complex question of ity, logic, mathematics, and social sciences,
all: Was it worth it? And if so, for whom was it and might provide a tool, alongside the many
worth it? Closely attached to this body of inter- others, to help to avert problems before they
rogation is the subject of assessment, which become socially and individually critical.
includes and always has included the aspect In this work, we explore how those models
of social and moral/citizen values and stu- and data can be used to assess the evolution
dent behavior. Nowadays, another nuance has of women in the fields of Science, Technology,
been added, as seen in the plethora of reports Engineering, and Maths (STEM). We also look
from alarmed parents and the general public at present-day strategies to address the situa-
alike about the use of drugs, such as Ritalin, tion to see if it had already been predicted and
to improve mental activity, even when there could have accelerated the process towards a
was no medical indication to use them. And, as more inclusive educational environment. The
usual, the alarm bells only ring when numbers exploratory aspects will also address recent
reach a critical stage. methodologies in gender studies, such as
In recent years, publications have proposed an Alternative History, in a transversal approach
intersection between predictive models using to a complex social and educational puzzle.
data gathered from speculative literary works Keywords: Education; STEM; Gender Equality;
and educational puzzles. We were particularly Alternative History; Speculative Data
Table of Contents
1. Starting over2: Introduction is also open to debate and provides more than
its share of controversy.
A story has no beginning or end: arbitrarily one
chooses that moment of experience from which to Education has meant different things through-
look back or from which to look ahead. out its history, which is human history as well.
That meaning has been repeatedly adjusted to
― Graham Greene, ‘The End of the Affair’
what a given society regarded as important and
quite often, ‘important’ is based on utility pur-
Being Human and becoming a person can be poses. Mandatory education for everyone came
interchangeable or juxtaposed, but are they with the need for personnel that could read,
really the same? Whatever the side one takes write and do basic arithmetic in industries and
and defends in the attempt to answer this ques- commerce. But it was mandatory only up to a
tion, one thing is inescapable of the context: certain level of education, not because you can-
Education. Education is a structural process, not impose professional paths on an adult (you
imposed by society to families and individu- can do that still today with compulsory mili-
als, within a specific framework, of objectives tary service in many countries, for example),
and outputs, adjusting the process of raising but because of the prevalence of the discrim-
the young, something that happens in many inatory character of education, that has been
animal species, through the lenses of social present since the school of scribes of Ancient
Egypt or Classical Greco-Roman Age.
38 paradigms or zeitgeist (Pessoa, Coelho, &
Fernandes, 2015). Education is power.
By no means does this definition intend to This has to be one of the most used clichés that
undermine the value of Education. Human has been proven again and again to be more
beings are gregarious, and social values are factual than just a cliché. And power is con-
something that is a staple in groups and a part nected with perception, namely the perception
of the feasibility of individual survival. There of social organisms and values. The triumvirate
is nothing wrong in being appreciated per se. of education, clichés, and social organisms are
However, what you do in order to gain that among the most permanent issues in the field
appreciation, what is imposed on you so that of the education of women. Broadly speaking,
you may to be able to reach the minimum lev- educating half of humanity still seems to be a
els of social value, and above and foremost, complicated matter in a world that has stated
what is curtailed from you within educational education as an absolute staple for the last one
context for posterior social recognition is a hundred years, at least. The disputes are many,
more controversial matter. And controversies, but there is a particular aspect that is rather
past, present, and future (in our estimation), interesting. Science, Technology, Engineering
not only bring knowledge but also change. Of and Mathematics (STEM) are fields of expertise
course, the value of change is something that where the male/female ratio is still very much
2 Reference to Jonh Lennon’ song (Just Like) Starting Over.
Table of Contents
estranged from the male/female educational key factors that might have eluded us through
ratio. This is a global scenario, with few excep- other methodologies (Frade, 2021). Through
tions (the European country of Portugal is one this investigative strategy, we aim to deter-
of those, for example). mine, in a prospective approach and through
There are explanations, of course. There is a case study, how to address the present-day
absolutely no subject in the world where one issues within the problematic and narrow
cannot present explanations, and sometimes down the situations to divergent possibilities
these explanations are even supported by facts. that intersect the status quo, the past, and a
Facts, nevertheless, must be retrieved from more balanced future from an inclusive per-
reality (through measurement, for example). spective regarding women and STEM.
The data gathered should be checked for its The present work is structured in the follow-
soundness, then assessed and the testing tools
ing manner: Starting over: Introduction, where
pre-calibrated, properly framed within former
the general approach, objectives and context
and obtained knowledge, and even transver-
are presented; Clio, Thália, and Melpomene:
sally analyzed for a clearer understanding of its
methodological approach and resources, where
meaning per context and per whole. The limits
a detailed explanation of the models, its devel-
of science are the limits of data retrieving and
opment and the input materials are described;
insightful probing, while the limit of the scien-
Beware of the ides of March: a quantic model
39
tist relies on being able to understand the fine
for STEM assessment, with the implementation
line between data and facts.
of the model for the chosen case study of spec-
Recent years have witnessed new proposals for ulative input versus the present state of STEM
data retrieving and research, namely regarding regarding women and girls; Chaos is a lad-
the use of data gathered from speculative cre-
der: solutions and recommendations where we
ation (literary, for example), as a first step in
explored possibilities regarding both the devel-
developing models to predict socio-educational
opment and implementation of these models
scenarios or even assess the degree of concern
and their contribution for preventing situations,
that present day situations should arise (Moura
namely resourcing to Alternative History; As
et al, 2018a; Moura et al, 2018b; Moura et al.,
Tears in the Rain: Conclusions, which summa-
2019; Moura et al., 2020a; Moura, Barreiros,
rizes the main aspects of this work.
& Cordeiro, 2020b). In the present work we
set out to explore the current STEM situation As far as we know, it is the first time that
regarding the education of girls and women, not only these types of models have been
resourcing these models, and cross-referenc- applied to the STEM context regarding Female
ing them with recent Alternative History (AH) Education, but also cross-referenced with AH
methodological approaches for detecting the techniques.
Table of Contents
2. Clio, Thália, and Melpomene3: Method- predictive tools to the investigative domain.
ological Approach, Resources and Data As such, examples will be detailed within the
context, not elaborated for an epistemological
[…] it is the mark of an educated person to
discussion.
search for the same kind of clarity in each
topic to the extent that the nature of the mat- Even a casual browsing will give us a reasonable
ter accepts it definition of what science is in a way that can
be accepted in general terms, both by scholars
― Aristotle, ‘Nicomachean Ethics’ 1
and anyone else. The online Oxford Learners
1094a.181
Dictionary will state that science is “knowledge
about the structure and behavior of the natu-
As already stated, this work will resort to novel ral and physical world, based on facts that you
methods, not only in terms of the prediction can prove, for example by experiments”4. And
and assessment models, but also regarding the as such, the key terms regarding what is scien-
gathering, selection, and classification of input tific are defined, i.e., facts, testing, and the log-
data for those models. These proposals have a ical coordination between the previous two, in
background in other models (namely educa- a manner that allows insights into reality that
tional), and several postulates to sustain their are the basis of science. As is the case with most
development. In addition, the models also pro- definitions, this one is fluid and can also evolve.
pose specific tools and input data that is not a But logic construction (inductive, deductive, etc.)
40 household name in scientific data. As such, a added or versus experimental data are the two
brief summary of these aspects is made, before main routes for gaining this insight, through a
elaborating the resources and data retrieval for structure that can be assessed by anyone, any-
the STEM assessment and prediction regarding where, anytime.
the situation of both women and girls. As it is obvious and is also acknowledged both
by the academic and scientific community, logic
and experimentation have their limitations. For
2.1 Adding a New Partner to Logic and
example, experimentation is largely dependent
Experimental Testing
on the measurement apparatus, as these can pro-
The purpose of this work is not to get into a vide the reliable data regarding independent and
deep discussion about the foundations of sci- dependent variables. If one cannot directly or
ence and of more than proven methodologies, indirectly measure a variable, other techniques
but to approach some probing aspects with need to be added to the research. Logic, namely
new perspectives. We are doing this so that classic logic, in broad and by no means abso-
we can explain the novel methodologies that lutely inclusive terms, is limited by the true/
can add new assessment, measurement, and false quality of assumptions and statements, and
3 Reference to the Greek muses of History, Comedy and Tragedy respectively.

4 https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/american_english/science
Table of Contents
how these affect the relationship one can estab- framework for the novel prediction models. The
lish between these statuses. In both, we have the authors assume several postulates, which can
human aspect. The physical and natural world be broken down and expanded in the following
and the insight we gain regarding how events, manner:
macro or micro, social or inanimate, of matter
1. Imagination, as logic and observation, inter-
or energy, or whatever, work at their core and
acts with (at least) parcels of the physical and
correlate with the surrounding reality are mixed
natural world.
with human perception (Peterson, 1968). By lan-
guage and symbols, if one does not want to go 2. Imagination integrates those parcels into hypo-
much further. thetical scenarios and reorganizes their causality
and/or correlation (voluntarily, via creativity, or
So, one can consider that the neuro-capacities of
involuntary, via dreams (Vyshedskiy, 2020)).
humans and the intelligibility they have regard-
ing the natural and physical world are intercon- 3. Imagination provides insight via these hypo-
nected with scientific and academic research thetical scenarios, which allows identification,
and research methodologies. And neuro-capac- classification, prevention, or correction of parcels
ities can go a long way. And some tend(ed) to of the natural and physical world.
be discriminated when regarding others, such So far, these seem obvious and even common-
as logic and mathematical abstraction per se that place. But the authors pick these postulates to
have a long-time span of social appreciation. propose the following: that imagination and its 41
Imagination is one of those capacities. tangible outputs (e.g., literary and artistic works)
At present, it is becoming more and more can be used as material to begin data gathering
accepted that the imagination is building a and selection in predictive models. Furthermore,
strong case in becoming a serious subject, albeit this assumption declares that the prescient nature
the playfulness associated to its nature and out- of many literary works relates to the neuro-capac-
puts. In fact, as a survival capacity that allows the ity of the writers not only in imagining plausible
cognitive advantage of preventing and correcting scenarios, but also in being akin with social minu-
real situations, i.e., the matter-of-fact multivaria- tiae around them. Therefore, by being incorpo-
ble ontological condition for a given state of the rated in these scenarios anticipates its crescendo
physical and natural world (Fuster, 2013). More until it becomes a new paradigm in the social and
recent works strengthen this, indicating that the even natural world (Moura et al, 2018a; Moura
imagination can be two-fold in neurocognition et al, 2018b).
as far as involuntary and voluntary imaginative A particular field where this could be tested
ability are concerned and that these differences is the science fiction genre, namely dystopias.
might be able to explain elusive aspects of its Subsequently, they proposed this type of work
internal mechanisms (Vyshedskiy, 2020) to probe data from independent and depend-
And it is in, by and through the imagination that ent variables on a particular aspect that was
Moura et al. (Moura et al., 2020) built a theoretical extracted and then integrated into models that
Table of Contents
would allow them to assess how close or far off 2.2 Extracting Data
the present-day status quo would be from the There are three phases in the extraction of data
dystopic proposal. from speculative fiction stories. First, one defines
Moreover, added value could be given to the pre- the theme that is going to be investigated. For
dictive models by incorporating the time-variable example, the theme can be the use of drugs, such
by resourcing to networks and graph theory, and as Ritalin, to obtain normative behavior in class-
even a possible measurement tool for the criti- rooms (Moura et al., 2020b; Moura et al., 2018a).
cal mass of a system regarding a given variable With this as guiding axis of selection, the specu-
through quantum chemistry models (Moura et lative fiction body of work is surveyed and the
al., 2019; Moura et al. 2020a; Moura et al., 2020b). works that approach the use of drugs explicitly
However, for the purpose of the present work, and/or implicitly to gain normative behavior are
we will focus on the basics of the methodology, chosen (e.g., Brave New World, of Aldous Huxley
i.e., the extraction of data from speculative/liter- (Huxley, 1932), or Beyond Bedlam, by Wyman
ary fiction works, and the principles for the status Guin (Guin, 1951), which are two classics).
quo versus dystopia evaluation. The selected works are read and analyzed.
42
Table 1: Example of data extraction from three speculative fiction works: Fast Times at Fairmont High, Metaquine, and Beyond Bedlam
(Vinge, 2001; Rouiller, 2016; Guin, 1951). The variables extracted are substance effect, individual effects of the substance in the dystopia,
and the social effects of this dystopian status quo (either intended or side effects). Note: The table presented here is as it was originally
viewed by the audience in the 2nd International Conference on Pathologies and Dysfunctions of Democracy in Media Context, Covilhã,
Portugal, November 12th-14th 2018 (Moura et al. 2018a; courtesy of the authors).
Table of Contents
According to the theme/scope of the investiga- enhancement (e.g., exoskeletons, super-brains
tion, categories of descriptors are established in the through drug enhancement, etc.).
second of the three phases of the data extraction In addition, and still concerning the second phase
process. For example, in the theme of drugs ver- of the data extraction process, the same literary/
sus normative behavior, the descriptors were sub- creative work can be the source for data in dif-
stance effect, individual effects and social effects. ferent themes and for different descriptors. For
The three works had material that provided data example, one can extract data in Brave New World
for these descriptors, as one can see in Table 1. (Huxley, 1932) either for the theme of drug use
It should be noted that the categories of descrip- for normative social behavior or the theme of the
tors may vary according to the theme of the construction of social castes systems.
research. For example, and contrasting with the The third phase corresponds to the organiza-
descriptor categories in Table 1, Table 2 presents tion of the data extraction in appropriate dis-
other descriptor categories within the context playing tools (tables, graphs, schemes, etc.) in
of a different research resourcing to data from order to proceed with the analysis. In Table 3
speculative fiction. In this case, the theme is the one can see the summary and connection of
definition of the ethical boundaries of human the three phases.
43
Table 2: Example of different descriptor categories (i.e., the descriptors are the premises of the dystopia and the dystopian ethics in this
work) for data from speculative fiction, as presented in the 2nd International Conference on Pathologies and Dysfunctions of Democracy
in Media Context, Covilhã, Portugal, November 12th-14th 2018 (Moura et al. 2018b; courtesy of the authors). Note: Moura et al are aware
that there are typos in the image, but they firmly believe that mistakes and typos are part of the scientific truth and authorized for the
reproduction as it was originally presented.
Table of Contents
PHASE OBJECTIVES TASK(S) METHODS EXAMPLE*

1 Selection Research theme Define perimeter of context/story Perimeter: dystopias where the use
elements versus research theme of drugs is for inducing normative
Literary/ creative works — Cross-reference literary/creative social behavior
works with perimeter r
2 Extraction Definition of descriptors Define the categories of descriptors Main descriptor category: Effects
versus research theme Effects descriptors: substance, indi-
Extraction of data - Select data for the descriptors per vidual, social
characters and per social context
3 Organization Selection of displaying tool Define the methodological approach Table displaying the data per
Organization according to Organize according to the research descriptors for reduction ad dys-
displaying tool choice of methods topia approach
Table 3: The three phases of the data extraction process from literary/creative works. *For all rows, the literary/creative work considered
was Brave New World (Huxley, 1932).
2.3 Reductio ad dystopia: Testing the if the mathematical statement for solution is
Hypothetical true or false, this can be achieved by probing
the mathematical solution path through a ‘ridic-
As mentioned above, there are already several
ulous’, i.e., absurd, hypothetical counterpart
possibilities, i.e., methodological tools, to assess
solution. As such, you assume the absurd solu-
social aspects and issues through speculative
tion to be true and test it in the problem. If the
data retrieved from literary and creative works,
44 including those with time-dependent predictive
hypothetical absurd statement is proven to be
impossible within the mathematical context of
character (Moura, Barreiros, & Cordeiro, 2020a;
the problem, that is, if it is proven to be FALSE,
Moura et al., 2020b). Notwithstanding, this work
then its counterpart, which will be non-absurd,
will focus on only one, the Reductio ad dystopia,
will be considered to be TRUE and the answer
the first to be developed, and also the most user-
to the problem. So, one has the definition of the
friendly, if one considers the first steps of liter-
problem, the perimeter of the context (not all
ary/creative data extraction and its use in social
math problems can resource to reductio ad absur-
predictive and/or assessment models.
dum in practical terms), and the validation of
As with everything in knowledge, the new FALSE implies the validation of TRUE.
methodological tool did not come from nothing.
Reductio ad dystopia considers that some present
Starting with the name, it is homage to the math- and future scenarios may be hard to be proven
ematical method from which it was inspired, likely or possible through direct approaches
Reductio ad absurdum. This is a very well-known (e.g., statistics). As such, one assumes that there
method to address situations where more ’direct’ is a likelihood of a given dystopia from a lit-
mathematical approaches (e.g., deductive, or erary/creative work (or body of works). One
inductive) might not solve the problem. Given departs from the premises of the chosen dysto-
a specific mathematical scenario where its suc- pia, which is the analogous of the ‘ridiculous’,
cessful conclusion is presented when certifying i.e., absurd, hypothetical counterpart prediction
Table of Contents
of present and future social scenarios. Operate proposes that using this matrix and approach one
mathematical functions (e.g., logic construc- could understand and even predict which would
tions or statistics) within the model, and it out- be the most likely scenario in Higher Education.
puts a scenario that can be compared with real- The matrix is displayed in Figure 1.
ity. Reality itself, within the context, must have
DETERMINANTS INDIVIDUAL INSTITUTIONAL
Determinant 1 Option IND1 Option INST1

Determinant 2
Determinant 3 Option IND2 Option INST2
Figure 1: Higher Education Quantum Model Basic Matrix (original image for a reformulated matrix, based in Figure 1 from Marquez-Ramos
and Mourelle (Marquez-Ramos & Mourelle, 2018) and Figure 3 from Moura and team (Moura et al., 2020b). In the column of Determinants,
there can be as many variables as the research theme implicates. In the column INDIVIDUAL, Option IND1 and Option IND2 indicate the
two mutually exclusive options that the variable INDIVIDUAL can choose. In the column INSTITUTIONAL, Option INST1 and Option
INST2 present the social/collective consequences or desired/intended scenario that the institutions may present to the individuals.
To explain how the matrix works in practical

45
been reduced to the variables that are the out- terms, we will turn again to the work of Moura
put of the data extraction and treatment of the and co-workers regarding the use of drugs to
literary/creative works. Juxtaposing the model induce good behavior in education contexts
versus reality, the closest this juxtaposition may (Moura et al, 2020b). The authors focused spe-
be between model and reality implies that the cifically on the case of Ritalin for developing the
dystopian scenario is closer to be TRUE. In fact, matrix regarding the ‘reality’ scenario. In this
one can say it implies one is already living in situation, the theme is: achieving good behav-
the ‘ridiculous’ scenario. ior in school. The individuals are the parents
The displaying of the dystopian and reality sce- (with two mutually exclusive choices: chemical
narios within the sheer Reductio ad dystopia is solution, i.e., using Ritalin; and non-chemical
inspired in the Marquez-Ramos and Mourelle solution, i.e., long-term human intervention –
Quantum Model for assessing distance learning dialogue, therapy, etc), and the institutional has
scenarios (Marquez-Ramos & Mourelles, 2018). two consequential outcomes, conformity (that
This model proposes the reduction of the stu- is, behaved children without human effort),
dent’s choices to two options versus two higher and empathy (where the Education environ-
education institutions offers, in a 2 x 2 matrix of ments proposes different possibilities to differ-
scenario options, with an added column for the ent social growth rhythms, i.e., incrementing
determinants influencing the choices. The model good behavior without simple conformity). The
Table of Contents
authors explained that the choice of summariz- might foster the capacity to think outside the box,
ing the latter institutional option with ‘empa- which can be a professional asset. It is clear that
thy’, was not casual. Being the educational con- this determinant may overlap or be affected by
text one of a free and democratic society (other familiar reasons (e.g., low, or high, income). One
types of society were not explored in the model can see how the matrix will look like for this sce-
by the authors), the presumption of such socie- nario in Figure 2.
ties implies that a majority acknowledges and
After developing the matrix for the ‘reality’ sce-
respects minorities, i.e., there is no conformity
nario, then one constructs the matrix for a ‘dys-
in absolute (with exception of fringe situations,
topian’ scenario from one or more literary/cre-
as the respect for human life, for example) in
ative works. The authors used several works,
values, opinions and behaviors, as these vari-
Beyond Bedlam (Guin, 1951) being one of them.
abilities are integrated in the social tissue. As
This speculative story explores a society in the
the characteristics that allow for this feature are
future where aggressiveness, as well as all neg-
respect and tolerance, they summarized it by
ative impulses of human beings are eliminated
the global term ‘empathy’ (though empathy has
through drugs. There are two consequences for
additional aspects beyond respect and toler-
this achievement through that chemical solu-
ance). On the other hand, the absolute need for
conformity erases respect for the difference and tion. Socially, one has a permanent state of
ignores empathy. The authors therefore consid- peace. Individually, all human beings become
46 ered the approximation adequate to contrast schizophrenic. In fact, every physical human
the institutional options for the matrix purpose. body is shared by two distinct personalities,
the hyperalter and the hypoalter, that have a
To complete the matrix for this research theme, one
schedule to assume prominence for five-days
needs to identify the determinants, i.e., the reasons/
shifts. As long as the hypo and hyper alters
underlying causes for the INDIVIDUAL choice.
maintain this balance, there is peace (and con-
The determinants are not skewed per se regard-
formity) in the world. The story was analyzed,
ing the choices. One example is the ECONOMIC
data extracted and the matrix for the dystopian
Determinant. In fact, the INDIVIDUAL, i.e., the
scenario is displayed in Figure 3.
parents can choose Option IND1, i.e., resourcing
to Ritalin, which is a faster way to solve the bad The authors unfolded the INDIVIDUAL options
behavior and the parents consider that the eco- in two columns, for better visualization of detail,
nomic implications are harder if the solution takes and one has two individual options (choosing
more time, as it would be if Option IND2 were to maintain conscious aggressiveness; choos-
chosen. However, the parents may also consider ing to eradicate conscious aggressiveness), two
that by choosing the non-chemical approach to individual consequences directly related with
their child’s bad behavior at class, the long-term those choices (schizophrenia as consequence
economic implications will be positive for them for choosing the chemical solution; non-schiz-
and the child because non-conformity and slower ophrenia for choosing the non-chemical solu-
and empathetic development of good behavior tion), and the INSTITUTIONAL, or social/
Table of Contents
Figure 2: Example of the reality scenario within the Quantum model matrix, as presented in the 2nd International Conference on Pathologies
and Dysfunctions of Democracy in Media Context, Covilhã, Portugal, November 12th-14th 2018 (Moura et al. 2018b; courtesy of the authors).
47
Figure 3: Example of the dystopian scenario, with data extracted from Beyond Bedlam (Guin, 1951) within the Quantum model matrix,
as presented in the 2nd International Conference on Pathologies and Dysfunctions of Democracy in Media Context, Covilhã, Portugal,
November 12th-14th 2018 (Moura et al. 2018b; courtesy of the authors). Note: Moura et al are aware that there are typos in the image, but
they firmly believe that mistakes and typos are part of the scientific truth and authorized for the reproduction as it was originally presented.
Table of Contents
collective, options are conformity (and being consequence for everyone resourcing to the
accepted by society), or freedom of thought drugs, and physical and psychological conse-
(and become a pariah). It should be noted that quences in the children that had Ritalin admin-
the INDIVIDUAL options could be aggregated istered for normative and calmer behavior may
as in the case of INSTITUTIONAL, i.e., the vary from child to child. Interestingly, in both
options could be Aggressiveness Maintenance situations, the positive advantage of opting for
(and non-schizophrenia), for the non-chemi- a solution (and it is a solution, not only letting
cal solution, and Aggressiveness Eradication the problem be) of non-chemical path, is the
(with consequent schizophrenia), for the freedom of thought or possible outside the box
chemical solution, while one could unfold the thinking capacity.
INSTITUTIONAL column as was the case for Of course, there is room for criticism regard-
the INDIVIDUAL. However, in fact, a more ing the model, and many of its aspects need
objective manner would be simple to state improvement. Notwithstanding, and as the
the INDIVIDUAL options as chemical versus authors put it “reality, either physical or social,
non-chemical solution, though what in fact was has a complex nature, which is ungraspable by
at stake regarding the intention of drug admin- approximations - but the key in valid models is
istration and its individual consequences could approximations that can make reality perceiva-
be lost. And that is the point of the matrix and ble and forecastable” (Moura et al., 2020b). As
the Reductio ad dystopia approach, to probe the such, the Reductio ad dystopia approximation,
48 intentions behind the choices, the individual as a risk assessment tool for detecting patterns
consequences, and the social framework for the with alarming consequences (and which) seems
outcomes and the determinants for influencing an interesting one.
the INDIVIDUAL options.
Having done this data introduction in the 3. Beware of the Ides of March5: A Quantic
quantum model matrix, the Reductio ad dystopia Model for STEM Assessment
approach juxtaposes the two matrix and analy-
The beginning is always today.
ses the similarity between them. For instance,
― Mary Shelley, dedication in ‘Short
there is a clear similarity in the social pressure
Stories’, vol.2
to achieve normative behavior, and that drug
use can be a solution for this outcome (though
in the dystopian universe it may be general- Reaching the core of this work, i.e., the probing,
ized as social compulsory and in reality, it is a through Reductio ad dystopia, of how far or how
more ‘look in the other direction’ generalized close the present STEM girls and women status
social attitude). There are clear psychological is from dystopian scenarios, one cannot help
consequences in both, albeit that the dystopian but say how appropriate it is, that the examples
story imposes a one hundred per cent mental used in the explaining of the methodological
5 Reference to Shakespeare’s famous expression said by a soothsayer to Julius Ceaser in the eponymous play.
Table of Contents
approach regard the use of drugs towards social several generations and controversial from the
normative behavior. STEM fields have always publication to the present and it even had a
been regarded as logical, analytical, and objec- recent audiovisual adaptation in the Peacock
tive fields and women and girls are regarded as streaming service in 2020. Moreover, it was
a far cry from these fields throughout the ages. written in a period where technology and
And when we as human species have reached a totalitarian states were intersecting and social
global life expectancy of approximately seven- paradigms, as the role of women was being
ty-three years, that implies that we, as a whole increasingly questioned.
living body of walking memories, are not very The story premises are simple: Brave New World
far from the times where women were classified is set in a society that has peace and order and
in many cases as hysterical, due to emotional atti- where everyone is happy. Everyone is happy
tudes, and drugs were one of the social accepted because they have no repression to instincts,
resources to induce normative behavior. as religious institutions and families no longer
This approach will follow these consecutive exist (e.g., babies are developed in incubation
steps: choosing a piece of work (as a case study) and conditioning centers by nurses), and they
or a body of works of speculative fiction from all enjoy what they are assigned to do in life
which data will be extracted; construct the dys- (e.g., if they belong to the Delta caste, they are
topian matrix, based on those speculative fic- conditioned, through electric stimulation, to
abhor books and botanics, and to appreciate
tion works; construct the reality matrix, based
what they will have to carry out as profession),
49
on OECD reports regarding STEM; juxtapose
the matrix; analyze the juxtaposition; conclude. which, as stated by the director of the London
facility for incubation and conditioning, is the
secret to happiness and virtue, to make people
3.1 Dystopian Classic and Data Extraction appreciate the social destiny they cannot escape
Case Study: Brave New World from. And, in the eventuality that people might
feel sad or depressed, there is an inexhausti-
There is abundant and diverse material to
ble supply of drugs to counter that. In fact, to
choose a speculative/creative work (or works)
avoid the slightest possibility for those states
to approach the STEM theme from. However,
of mind, a specific drug is continuously availa-
we must take into account that as the Reductio
ble and encouraged on a daily basis, the soma.
ad dystopia is a new methodological tool, it is
And to guarantee there will never be cause for
likely to provoke unease in the first moments
disruptive thinking, history does not exist. Or
of interaction and the focus in a single work,
is not taught, which ends up being the same
and a classic will be more effective. And by
in practical terms. As Mostapha Mond (one of
classic, we mean in time and in mainstream
the leaders) says, stability is the ultimate need.
perception.
There is no civilization without social stability
Brave New World (Huxley, 1932) fits perfectly and there is no social stability without indi-
into this reasoning. It is a familiar classic for vidual stability. And stability is achieved also
Table of Contents
through a caste system. There are the Alphas STEM per se are not the focus of the story, one
and the Betas, which retain intellectual and must allocate the same consequences to women
leadership capacities, and the other remaining trying to achieve different professional and
castes that do not. Where do STEM and women social paths regarding the Beta or lower caste
appear in the Brave New World context? definition they are destined to, which includes
the education that they are provided with. As
It is where they do not appear that can allow
such, in this dystopia, an individual, regardless
us to extract data for the matrix. There are no
of its gender, can submit to the premises of the
Alpha women that are noticeable, and one of
totalitarian society, i.e., accept the caste sys-
the female characters that is given more room
tems, the life path it is attributed while the indi-
and importance, Lenina Crowne, is a Beta.
vidual was still an embryo, and the resource
Women can take on many roles that are asso-
to drugs to maintain a happy and subservi-
ciated with STEM education, such as labora-
ent state to the social indications of normative
tory technicians, but they do not become lead-
behavior. If the individual chooses to rebel, the
ers. They are praised, but do not rise beyond
consequences would be exile in harsh condi-
a certain level in the chain of command. At
tions, and social ostracization. Applying this
least, not in so much that you can find it rele-
to the analysis made regarding STEM educa-
vant to affect and direct the institutions. The
tion, that would mean that if a woman would
STEM education in girls and women context is
refuse to stay in a subordinate role in the STEM
50 therefore directed towards specific professional
path (e.g., would aim for leading the labora-
ends that are allocated to them before they are
tory instead of being the technician), then exile
even born. Though this happens to everyone in
would follow.
that society, and there are male Beta laboratory
technicians in the story, the fact is that there are Therefore, one can construct the dystopian
several (literal) Alpha male characters, one of matrix as displayed in Figure 4.
which will free himself of the conditioning of The main determinants in Brave New World are
this society, Bernard Marx, who take on lead- social factors, which starts before the individ-
ership and intellectual roles, while also being ual come into being, and the dependence one
associated with STEM education. One is unable gains from the pleasure that soma gives, i.e., a
to find that type of status for any woman in the hedonistic motivation.
story. There is no explicit reason in the story for
this, but there are several studies regarding the
minor and/or secondary status that women 3.2 Thou shall not pass6: the present status
have in the Brave New World, something that of STEM
goes beyond simple aspects of STEM education The context of STEM education and gender
and professions (Eylem, 2018; Madden, 1992). gap have been object of study and research for
As the particulars of women education and many years, and one has a lot of data available
6 Pop culture catchphrase used in reference to Gandalf’s defiance when facing a Balrog in J.R.R.R.Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings trilogy.
Table of Contents
DETERMINANTS INDIVIDUAL INSTITUTIONAL
Social SUBMIT Integration || Subordinate
Hedonist REBEL Ostracization || Exile
Figure 4: Dystopian matrix for Brave New World regarding women and STEM education.
to extract the input for the reality matrix. For simple outperformance, something that could
the purposes of this work, we will focus on one offer analogous explanation for the choice for
publication (Stoet & Geary, 2018) that analy- STEM studies regarding boys.
ses why girls do not choose to pursue a sci- Interestingly, the countries with greater gen-
ence career, based on the results of the OECD der equality were those where boys expressed
Program for International Student Assessment self-efficacy, enjoyment of and broader interest
(PISA) (OECD, 2016; OECD, 2019). In addition, in science than girls, though the authors noted
some recent statistic data will also be consid- that the percentage of girls in the pool of the
ered. However, it should be noted that there high performers with likelihood to complete a
is not an absolute answer to this question at STEM degree was higher than the actual per-
51
present. The matrix will be constructed by centage of STEM female graduates (41%). This
cross-referencing the reasons for the gender gap percentage shrank when the authors cross-ref-
in undergraduate students and the current state erenced the high performers with good expec-
of affairs regarding women in STEM careers. tations of success in STEM graduation with the
67 countries participated in the PISA 2015 and relative strength in science and mathematics
gender differences with statistical significance (which was statistically where boys had higher
were found in 41 countries. In particular and percentage), reaching a third of the girls. In
regarding outperformance in science, girls were other words, though there is a percentage of
prominent in 19 countries, while boys surpassed 41% of girls with high performance in science
girls in the remaining 22. However, girls con- and math indicators and with a good expecta-
sistently excelled in comparison with boys in tion to succeed in graduating in STEM courses,
reading, compared to their all-subjects average, only 34% are expected to do so when cross-ref-
while boys were stronger in mathematics and erencing it with their relative academic strength
sciences when comparing with their all-subjects where there is consistent evidence that girls
average. This aspect is pointed as one of the consistently outperform boys at reading. Even
reasons for girls not choosing STEM, as they so, this expectation percentage is still higher
would focus on what they excel at by com- than the actual percentage of women graduat-
parison, i.e., their specific strengths, instead of ing in STEM courses. The fact that girls excel
Table of Contents
at science and non-science subjects, but par- familiar factors, but also the economic factors
ticularly outperform by comparison with the that a successful professional path brings and
non-science subjects, might explain in part the hedonistic aspect of choosing courses that
the gap. If boys performed better at reading, you can enjoy and feel fulfilled in. Not to men-
it could mean that they would choose a higher tion having a good state of mental health; some-
percentage of non-STEM courses as well (Stoet thing that can not only be achieved by avoid-
& Geary, 2018). ing problematic or toxic work environments,
The small percentage of actual women could but also by pursuing what you feel passionate
help explain the low percentages of women in about. As one can see from this last determi-
board positions in STEM-related industries, nant, they are unbiased, as the same determi-
namely as CEOs and in the research workforce, nant can imply different choices.
if it was not for the fact that the percentage is As far as INDVIDUAL options are concerned,
not proportionate, rather much smaller. In fact, one has the ‘safety’ of a course/professional
it is even smaller if you consider the percent- path where you have strengths by comparison,
age of worldwide STEM researchers, approx- or the ‘risk’ of taking the other exclusive route.
imately 29% (UNESCO, 2019) versus the per- The INSTITUTIONAL (being INSTITUTIONAL
centage of women in board positions and as understood as the professional environment
CEOs in STEM-related industries, which are after a Higher Education graduation) options
52 19,2% and 3% respectively (CSRI, 2021; MSCI, are the integration of women with STEM gradu-
2020). As such, it is likely that the professional ation in the present status quo, i.e., with mainly
prospects beyond graduation can affect the subordinate positions, or a solitary path either
choice of girls when choosing STEM courses for prominence or irrelevance.
in higher education institutions. Therefore, one can construct the reality matrix
Thus, as far as determinants go, it is difficult as displayed in Figure 5.
to narrow them down to a range as small as in
the dystopian matrix. One has the social and
DETERMINANTS INDIVIDUAL INSTITUTIONAL*
Hedonist
Economic SAFETY Integration || Subordinate
Social
Familiar RISK Solitude || Irrelevance
Health
*According to the percentages

Figure 5: Reality matrix for the STEM-related careers and studies context of women.
Table of Contents
3.3 We’re not in Kansas anymore, Toto7: Subordinate’. In these cases, there is an exact
applying Reductio ad dystopia match. As such, one can place them as result
in the first and third column, as displayed in
Once you have constructed the reality and
Figure 6. However, the remaining variables
dystopian matrix, you must juxtapose them
imply a closer look in order to understand how
and critically compare similarities and differ-
to extract the juxtaposition results.
ences and then extract a juxtaposition matrix.
The more similar the juxtaposition matrix is to To complete the column of INSTITUTIONAL
reality, the closer one might be to the dystopian option, the common ground of the dystopian
scenario. The visual juxtaposition in displayed ‘Ostracization || Exile’ and the reality ‘Solitude
in Figure 6. || Irrelevance’ must be probed deeper before
being established. One does not get exiled or
The easier part of extracting the juxtaposition
downright ostracized by society, for most of
is the sheer similitude identification, as in the
countries, if you are a woman and choose a
case of determinants ‘Hedonist’ and ‘Social’,
STEM career, and therefore those dystopian
and INSTITUTIONAL Option ‘Integration ||
53
Figure 6: Juxtaposition of the reality and dystopia matrices and extraction of the juxtaposition matrix, presented below the line (in a
visual analogous to a ‘sum’ operation).
7 Reference to the famous quote by Dorothy in the film The Wizard of Oz.
Table of Contents
aspects do not apply to reality (in some coun- choice of a group, is the juxtaposed element to
tries, at least). Nevertheless, ostracization and be added in the second column. With these, the
exile imply solitude, social in the first case and juxtaposition matrix is completed and is dis-
geographical/cultural in the second, and that played in Figure 7.
can meet the ‘Solitude’ aspect in the reality The juxtaposed matrix matched in sheer sim-
DETERMINANTS INDIVIDUAL INSTITUTIONAL*
Hedonist NORM Integration || Subordinate
Social EXCEPTION Solitude
Figure 7: Juxtaposition matrix, extracted through sheer and meaning similarity with the reality and dystopia matrices.
matrix. As such, that is the one chosen to com- ilarity the reality matrix in two determinants
plete the institutional column of the juxtaposi-
54 tion matrix. As such, the ‘Solitude’ aspect was
and one INSTITUTIONAL entry, while it
matched through meaning similarity the two
selected as a juxtaposed element not by sheer INDVIDUAL entries and one Institutional entry.
similarity, but by meaning similarity. Therefore, there is a reasonable resemblance
Finally, the INDIVIDUAL options for dysto- between the reality and dystopian scenarios.
pian and reality columns are Submit vs. Rebel
and Safety vs. Risk, respectively. Again, in the
absence of a sheer similarity, one must resource 3.4. This is going to be legen – wait for it -
to an analysis of the meaning of these options dary8: Reductio ad dystopia results
and extract, if there is one, a meaning similarity Before discussing the results of the Reductio ad
to identify the juxtaposed element. As in both dystopia methods, we would like to remember
the Safety and submit options there is a norma- some points we made throughout this paper.
tive feature, the option is to consider the juxta- First, the Reductio ad dystopia is a tool and provides
position as ‘Norm,’ while, and either in dysto- an assessment/predictive model, and models, by
pian scenarios or reality, the ‘Rebel’ and ‘Risk’ definition, are approximations for the reality, not
paths represent the exception or divergent path a full representation of reality, which is always
to the norm. Therefore, Exception, in the sense more complex. Therefore, Reductio ad dystopia and
that it does not statistically reflects the majority the conclusions one draws from it, as well as the
8 Pop culture catchphrase of Barney Stinson, a character of the TV show How I Met Your Mother.
Table of Contents
ones one draws from any other model, should not happen in a homogeneous cultural and geo-
be taken with a pinch of salt, and not interpreted graphic distribution. Nevertheless, it does not
as having an absolute character. In spite of this, mean that it will continue to do so, either in those
they should not be despised either, as should not countries, or in all others because the determinants
those of other models, just because they have no are the important variables that affect the decision
absolute character. Reality, and social reality in and they not only present a fluid nature, but also
particular, rarely has an absolute character for aspects that need further study (e.g., the coun-
all variables it comprises, everywhere, everyone, tries where gender equality is inferior, statistically
all at once. present a higher percentage of women follow-
ing STEM–related graduations). However, there
Secondly, Reductio ad dystopia, as well as the novel
could be an emerging red flag from the juxtaposi-
methodologies regarding data extraction and
tion matrix, which is the ‘Solitude’ consequence.
operations from creative and literary works, as
The individual cost of choosing ‘Exception’ that
all pioneering approaches, is a work in progress,
results in eventual individual loneliness could be
which shall necessarily need adjustments. But as
an aspect to be added to the study of STEM gen-
all other pioneering approaches, the fact that it
der-related issues.
will most likely evolve into an extremely different
model does not withdraw merit to the primeval
tool, nor does it withdraw soundness to the con- 4. Chaos is a ladder9: Solutions and
clusions. As in all novel methods and approaches, Recommendations 55
soundness can only be found in resonating with
the reality and experimental data. That should I keep turning over new leaves, and spoiling
be the parameter to assess the initial tool. Finally, them, as I used to spoil my copybooks; and I make
particularly in girls’ and womens’ STEM educa- so many beginnings there never will be an end.
tion and career-related themes, reality itself still ― Louisa May Alcott, ‘Little Women’
seems to provide few answers, as the original
approach of social gender equality will automat-
There are two main aspects regarding the con-
ically guarantee the gender equality in STEM does
clusions that one can draw from resourcing to
not seem to be an axiom, as the recent studies have
Reductio ad dystopia in the women and girls in
evidenced (Stoet & Geary, 2018).
the STEM context. The first is, obviously, how
That being said, the analysis of the juxtaposition to further refine the tool and probe deeper
matrix should sound a bit of an alarm, if one did into the theme through speculative data. The
not take into consideration that one or two decades results of the Reductio ad dystopia technique can
ago, the juxtaposition would have been higher in be cross-referenced with the graph application
some countries. The fact is that the method seems for data extracted from speculative and crea-
to indicate that the reality is getting further away tive works, which will allow for a longitudinal
from the dystopian scenario, though that might analysis (Moura et al., 2020a). The resource to
9 Reference to Littlefinger’s response to Varys in the TV show Game of Thrones.
Table of Contents
mathematical and statistical models used until Revolution, World War II, and the 80s.
now by natural and exact sciences, such as Interestingly enough, each of them is closely
quantum chemistry has allowed us to explore related with programming. In the case of the
some details in the individual options and Industrial Revolution, the absence of incorpo-
consequences, as well as the tipping point in rating the emergence of programming in the
social situations (Moura et al., 2020b; Moura suffragist movement could have paved the way
et al, 2019). And obviously, the Reductio ad for averting women from STEM careers in the
dystopia and the principles for construction of transition between the 19th and 20th centuries.
the matrix it is based on, need refinement and In fact, as Ada Lovelace, the prominent female
improvement, especially regarding the column figure in 19th century programming emergence
of determinants. was also related to the ‘reading’/literary field,
being the daughter of famous poet Lord Byron,
The second is how to determine the key events
this could have also dealt with the compara-
that could explain those differences and the cur-
tive strength that might have inclined women
rent state of affairs in the research theme by
towards non-science subjects instead of science.
altering some of its aspects. Regarding the latter,
In World War II, women entered tech related
another interesting approach could be cross-ref-
jobs en masse, such as learning and operating
erenced with the Reductio ad dystopia technique.
machines, while men were in the battlefields.
56 Alternative and Alternate History (AH), though However, their role was hardly mentioned and
still perceived as a creative and playful field therefore does not capture the imagination and
by many academics, can provide an interesting interest as it would if it was part of the shared
perception to factual history (Rosenfeld, 2002; conscious memory. Once again, the feminist
Hellekson, 2000; Singles, 2011; Evans, 2014). causes were not particularly linked to tech
In fact, AH approaches have recently begun and STEM contexts, and so the awareness was
to be introduced as a methodological tool in minimal. To top it all, in the 80s, the impor-
fields as diverse as Medicine or Management. tant STEM-related accomplishments made by
In 2021, the publication of a work in the context women (e.g., the development of ARPANET)
of women, gender equality and STEM educa- were never communicated with as much enthu-
tion, resourced to AH as a technique to identify siasm as those from men.
both the key chronological moments, whose
Therefore, the inclusion of these key moments
historically divergent path could have altered
in a Reductio ad dystopia approach, as well as
the present-day STEM context, and the factors
the aspect of women’s accomplishments not
underlining those moments (Frade, 2021).
only vanished from the historical narrative, but
Three key moments which could explain the also from pop culture references (e.g., movies,
social aspects of gender inequality in STEM books). The reality matrix could aid in explor-
careers were identified as the Industrial ing the research in this field.
Table of Contents
5. As tears in the rain10: Conclusions investigations regarding this aspect might also
Even miracles take a little time. include a longitudinal analysis, time-dependent
cross-referencing it with the proposed models
― Fairy Godmother, Cinderella (Disney’s resourcing to speculative fiction data extraction.
movie, 1950)
Acknowledgments
The present work approaches the problematic
of gender inequality in STEM-based careers This work received financial support from
and education through the novel techniques Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia
of Reductio ad dystopia and data extraction from (FCT/MECS) through national funds (UID/
speculative and creative works. These tech- QUI/50006/2020 - LAQV@REQUIMTE). Ana
niques were explained in detail by resourcing to S. Moura also thanks FCT (Fundação para a
practical examples, and then applied to probe Ciência e Tecnologia) for funding through the
the closeness of the present-day STEM-based Scientific Employment Stimulus - Individual
careers and education for girls and women with Call CEECIND/03631/2017). The author would
the Brave New World dystopian scenario, pub- also like to express her gratitude to Professor
lished by Aldous Huxley in the third decade of João Carlos Ferreira Correia who provided
the twentieth century. her and her co-authors with an opportunity
to present the novel methods for speculative
Through this analysis, it can be considered that
fiction data extraction at the 2nd International 57
the recent status quo scenario, while being a
Conference on Pathologies and Dysfunctions
source for concern, is nevertheless becoming
of Democracy in Media Context, Covilhã,
more distant from dystopian scenarios, such
Portugal, November 12th-14th 2018.
as those of the classic Brave New World, at least
in some countries. Nevertheless, the emotional
burden that can be weighed upon a woman or References
girl when choosing a non-conformative path
CSRI (2021) Gender 3000 in 2021: Broadening
may affect the gender inequality even more
the diversity discussion. Credit Suisse Research
in the long run. More analysis regarding this
Institute (CSRI). https://www.credit-suisse.
aspect and resourcing to other speculative
com/ch/en/about-us/research/research-in-
works, should be made in the future.
stitute.html
In addition, cross-referencing it with recent
Evans R. (2014) Altered pasts: Counterfactuals
investigations that resourced AH techniques,
in history. Brandeis University Press.
novel aspects to be included in the Reductio
ad dystopia were identified. The novel tech- Eylem, J. (2018) The Women of Brave New
niques provide an added tool to the study of World: Aldous Huxley and the Gendered
women, gender inequality and STEM. More Agenda of Eugenics. Ray Browne Conference on
10 Reference to final part of the monologue by the last surviving rogue replicant, Batty, in the movie Blade Runner (1982).
Table of Contents
Cultural and Critical Studies. 2. https://scholar- (2020a). Drugs, Achievements and Educational
works.bgsu.edu/rbc/2018conference/011/2. Systems: Predictive Models for Society
Frade, R. L. (2021) Women and men in tech- and Education through Speculative Data
nology: an alternative historical proposal for [Conference Proceeding]. In 6th International
equals. Hypothesis Historia Periodical, 1, 92 – Conference on Higher Education Advances
108. doi: 10.34626 / 2184- 9978_2021_1_007 (HEAd’20) Universitat Politecnica de Valência,
Valência, June 2nd-5th 2020 DOI: http://dx.doi.
Fuster, J. M. (2013) The Neuroscience of Freedom org/10.4995/HEAd20.2020.11156
and Creativity: Our Predictive Brain. Cambridge
University Press Moura, A. S., Seixas, J., Cordeiro, M. N. D. S.,
Barreiros, J. (2018a). Educational Superavit:
Guin, W. (1951). Beyond Bedlam (novella). Human Rights versus Education Policies. Oral
Galaxy Magazine, vol. 2, nº 5, 3-71 Presentation on the 2nd International Conference on
Hellekson, K. (2000) Toward a Taxonomy of the Pathologies and Dysfunctions of Democracy in Media
Alternate History Genre. Extrapolation, 41(3), 248 Context, Covilhã, Portugal, November 12th -14th 2018.
Huxley, A. (1932) Brave New World. Chatto & Moura, A. S., Seixas, J., Cordeiro, M. N. D. S.,
Windus [For the purposes of this work, it was Barreiros, J. (2018b). The Right to Be Human:
used the translated version done by Mário Enhanced Drug Induced Neuracapacity
Henrique Leiria, Admirável Mundo Novo, in the and the Impending Arrival of Real-life ‘exo-
58 Colecção Mil Folhas, Público, 2003] mental’ Dystopias. Oral Presentation on the
2nd International Conference on Pathologies and
Márquez-Ramos, L., Mourelle, E. (2018).
Dysfunctions of Democracy in Media Context,
On the relationship between society and
Covilhã, Portugal, November 12th -14th 2018.
higher education: what path should we
take? Distance Education, 39 (1) 19-36. DOI: Moura, A. S., Seixas, J., Cordeiro, M. N. D. S.,
10.1080/01587919.2018.1436401 Barreiros, J. (2019). ‘La Casa de Papel’ versus
School Systems: Computational/Quantum
Madden, D. (1992) Women in Dystopia:
Chemistry Models, Educational Hazards
Misogyny in Brave New World, 1984, and
and the Elusive Nature of Creativity. Invited
A Clockwork Orange. In K.A. Ackley(ed.)
Lecture to the 2nd IViMACC - 2nd International Vigo
Misogyny in Literature: An Essay Collection
Meeting on Advanced Computational Chemistry,
(pp. 289-311). Volume 1398, Garland Reference
Vigo, Spain, June 6th -7th 2019.
Library of the Humanities. New York: Garland
Moura, A. S., Seixas, J., Cordeiro, M. N. D. S.,
MSCI (2020) Women on Boards: 2020
Barreiros, J. (2020b). Educational Superavit:
Progress Report. Morgan Stanley Capital
Human Rights versus Education Policies.
International (MSCI) https://www.msci.
In J. Correia, A. Gradim, & R. Morais (Eds.),
c o m / w w w / w o m e n - o n - b o a rd s - 2 0 2 0 /
Pathologies and Dysfunctions of Democracy in
women-on-boards-2020-progress/02212172407
Media Context, volume 2 (pp 159-172). LabCom
Moura, A. S., Barreiros, J., Cordeiro, M. N. D. S. Books, Portugal.
Table of Contents
OECD. (2016). PISA 2015 results: Excellence Singles, K. (2011) “What If?” and Beyond:
and equity in education (Vol. 1). Paris, France: Counterfactual History in Literature. Cambridge
Author Q, 40 (2):180–8. 10.
OECD (2019) PISA in Focus #3. Paris, Stoet, G., D.C. Geary (2018). The Gender-
France: Author. Equality Paradox in Science, Technology,
Pessoa, A. M., Coelho, L., & Fernandes, R. (2015). Engineering, and Mathematics Education.
Massive Open Online Course Management: Psychological Science, 29/4, 581–593, https://
Learning Science and Engineering through doi.org/10.1177/0956797617741719
Peer-Reviewed Projects. In R. Queirós (Ed.),
UNESCO (2019) Women in Science. http://uis.
Innovative Teaching Strategies and New
Learning Paradigms in Computer Programming unesco.org/en/topic/women-science
(pp. 89-105). IGI Global Vinge, V. (2001). Fast Times at Fairmont High.
Peterson, A. (1968). Quantum Physics and the In The Collected Stories of Vernor Vinge. Tor Books
Philosophical Tradition. M.I.I. Press, Cambridge, Vyshedskiy, A. (2020). Voluntary and
Mass (citing Niels Bohr) Involuntary Imagination: Neurological
Rosenfeld G. (2002) Why Do We Ask “What Mechanisms, Developmental Path, Clinical
If?” Reflections on the Function of Alternate Implications, and Evolutionary Trajectory.
History. History and Theory, 41 (4) 90-103. Evolutionary Studies in Imaginative Culture, 4 (2), 59
Rouiller, F. (2016). Metaquine T.01: Indications. 1–18. https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.26613/
Atalante esic.4.2.186
Table of Contents
Spaces in deconstruction:
an experience report
on transgender
employability in the area
of computing/technology
Spaces in deconstruction
Spaces in deconstruction: an experience report on transgender
employability in the area of computing/technology
Computer Science PhD researcher at the Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul
(PUC-RS, Brasil), focusing on management of ethnic-racial diversity in Software Engineering.
Abstract
The computing market is booming, even with the diversity advance and the technology market is
event of the global SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. The receptive to them. In view of this, the following
fourth Industrial Revolution further highlighted research question was articulated: what are the
the area of t echnology, increasing its need within difficulties to insert and maintain transgender 63
companies. Companies, in turn, have sought to people within the technology market? This article
adapt to the demands of the time by training their seeks to answer this research question through
employees for the new moment of technology semi-structured interviews with transgender
and recruiting people. In parallel with this sce- people working in the field of computing. The
nario, other debates have also influenced cultural analysis of these interviews will be articulated
change movements within business companies, with queer trans-feminist theories and systema-
albeit on a smaller scale. This is the case of diver- tized through a thematic map. The main objec-
sity management, which brings with it the need tive is to expose the difficulties and potentialities
to think about inclusion and management of found for the inclusion of transgender people
diversity groups through identity and their par- in the labor market in technology and suggest
ticular challenges, such as the group of transgen- reflections based on the identified indicators.
der people. This group has also promoted global Keywords: Inclusion; Transgender; Diversity;
debates in the last century on gender issues that Employability; Technology; Remote work.
have been reflected in significant changes in soci-
ety, mainly from the discussions accentuated by
the queer trans-feminist movement. However, Introduction
the issue of transgender employability does Diversity, employability, transgender identity,
not seem to move positively as discussions on fourth Industrial Revolution, remote work
Table of Contents
and the pandemic (SARS-CoV-2) are all com- individuals move between digital domains and
plex subjects. The intersection of these subjects offline reality with the use of connected tech-
adds an additional layer of complexity to their nology to enable and manage their lives”. This
analysis. Although discussion regarding these moment, together with the advent of IT, has
subjects could be considered contemporary, it driven companies to rethink their work mod-
does not necessarily constitute a new debate. els, mainly regarding territoriality and cul-
According to Chanlat et.al (2013), discussions ture (Araújo & Lua, 2021). Remote work is not
on diversity, for instance, have been systemati- purely a SARS-CoV-2 product, but we are able
cally performed since the ending of World War to infer that it was intensified in scale by the
II due to the inclusion of women in the labor pandemic, which forced companies to establish
force. The transgender question has gained protocols for work in domestic environments.
increased notoriety since the Stonewall riots In the process of rethinking organizational culture
and more recently with the debates on Queer and environment, diversity has gained emphasis,
culture (Miranda, 2020). be it by demand of certain sectors of civil society
However, when observing the question of or the understanding of the business advantage
employability for transgender people in Brazil, entailed by diversity in companies. As a result,
it is possible to notice the discrepancy between companies are intentionally seeking to perform
the labor rights acquired in recent years for cis- affirmative action and diversity management in
gender and transgender women. Discussion on order to include diversity groups such as women,
64 transgender rights is still characterized by topics black and transgender people.
such as dignity, survival guarantees and the min- A civil initiative in Brazil, EducaTransforma11,
imum rights for all persons set out in the United signs transgender people up for an IT education
Nations Organization’s declaration of human program, aiming at improving their employa-
rights, but that for transgender people in gen- bility in areas such as networks and infrastruc-
eral are still precarious, as noted by Bento (2014). ture, DevOps, front-end and back-end devel-
The popularization of IT jobs has nevertheless opment. This program works in partnership
broadened opportunities and life change pos- with educational institutions and technology
sibilities for historically marginalized diver- companies’ way of encouraging tech training
sity groups. Coupled with the intensification and recruiting transgender people.
of remote work, the IT sector has gained even However, reflecting on transgender people’s
more relevance since, according to Ford & employability, provides challenges of its own.
Serebrenik (2019), software development com- Analyzing the implications of remote work and
panies and consulting firms in the USA are its nuances in relation to reconcilement with
more familiarized with remote work dynamics. domestic duties, for example, has always been
According to Xu et. al (2018), the fourth a challenge for the women historically linked
Industrial Revolution “describes a world where to this occupation (Araújo & Lua, 2021).
11 website: https://educatransforma.com.br/
Table of Contents
Accordingly, this work is concerned about under- sexual practice and socially constructed gen-
standing the relationships between transgender der. In contemporary theory (Jesus, 2012; Butler,
employability in the IT markets, its challenges 2018), gender is a dialogic relation of self-knowl-
and opportunities. Our main objective is to edge and recognition of social, cultural, psycho-
expose the difficulties and issues found in the logical and biological implications.
insertion of transgender people in IT markets and According to Jesus (2012), gender is not related
to suggest reflections based on the data found. to fixed forms of being, but to forms of “iden-
For didactic means, the following sections are tifying oneself and others”. Theoretician Linda
grouped as follows: in the background section, Nicholson believes gender to be associated
we provide a brief debate on gender identity with “personality and behavior of cultural ste-
before conceptualizing the terms “transgender” reotypes”, and “the culturally varied forms of
and “cisgender”, which are used throughout. This understanding the body” (Nicholson et. al, 2000).
section also includes discussion on the employ- As such, the concept of gender defended in this
ability scenario for transgender people in Brazil, work is in opposition to biological determin-
and our impressions about the question of inter- ism, and the mandatory association of body,
sectionality between remote work and software sex, gender and sexual practice. Instead, we
development. In the results section, we provide understand gender as a social construct on
the indicators extracted from an interview con- the body, which would mainly make possible
the reflection on the existence of other bodies,
ducted with a transgender woman - a software
65
developer. In the discussion section, we perform further distancing gender from the biological
analysis on the conducted interview, cross-refer- essentialist perspective (Pedro, 2005). It is from
encing the background when applicable. Finally, the same markers, biological determinism and
in the conclusion section, we address the current social construction, that transgenderism and
limitations of this work and provide reflections cisgenderism12 are defined.
and previsions for future studies. It is also worth highlighting Judy Butler’s
post-structuralist theory13 on gender, since the
philosopher is considered the pioneer of Queer
Background
Theory14 and deepens gender discussion when
This work does not understand gender accord- considering sex as a “discursive/cultural”
ing to the binary, heteronormative logic hegem- product, questioning gender the view of gen-
onic to current society, which induces coherent der relations as cultural constructs and sex as
and continuous correlations between genitalia, natural (Butler, 2018).
12 Cisgender, or simply “cis”, are people who conform to the gender identity determined at birth. Transgender are people who do not
conform to this identity, later going through gender transition processes.
13 French post-structuralism constitutes itself as reflexive movements of major importance to the areas of philosophy and education,
inspiring numerous academic productions over the last couple decades. Contemporary to the decades of 1950 and 1960, these movements
have in common the philosophical resistance to different forms of totalitarianism (Bueno, 2015).
14 “The term “queer” arises as a form of interpellation that discusses the questions of force and opposition, of stability and variability in
the bosom of performativity” (Bento, 2006).
Table of Contents
Queer Theory made it possible to have a broader research since the 50s, appearing most fre-
comprehension of the reasons why gender con- quently in social sciences and anthropology
stitutes a historical and dynamical category studies and obtaining more visibility and cen-
which is worthy of being contested and recon- trality in Brazilian research from the 2000’s
structed at each new historical moment. Butler (Silveira, 2017).

(2002) also developed the theory of Gender In Brazil, transvestites and transsexuals were
Performativity: only incorporated into the LGBTQIA move-
“Gender is performative because it results from ment in the 1970s and 1990s respectively, bring-
a regime which regulates gender differences. ing with them specific demands from these
In this regime, genders are divided and hier- populations. According to Jesus (2012) trans-
archized in a coercive manner” (p.64). vestites are people who “experience female
gender roles, but do not recognize themselves
For this reason, Gender Performativity Theory
as men or women, but as members of a third
has generated a lot of discussion inside move-
gender or a non-gender”. The transsexual per-
ments which self-identify as subversive.
son, man or woman, according to Bento (2017),
According to the theory, once a norm such as
are people who “claim belonging to a different
cisgenderism is established, other corpses are gender from the one imposed on them.” It is
produced, which the author refers to as “abject worth noting that transsexual people “deal in
bodies” (Butler, 2012). However, such “abject different ways, and to different degrees, with
66 bodies” are also subjects who speak, have the gender they identify with… Each transsex-
necessities and personal stories. Stories which ual person acts according to what they recog-
break with individual aspects, revealing collec- nize as belonging to their gender” (Jesus, 2012),
tive experiences, pushing society to rethink its which means that the experience and decision
standards and norms and questioning if spaces of changes in the body or genitalia. It is not up
are truly inclusive and promote the creation of to the category, but to an individual decision,
public policies and actions of managing diver- in which the gender identity should not be rec-
sity to attend to the voices fighting for their ognized solely on the basis of these changes.
historical demands.
However, the discussion about gender iden-
Among the other experiences revealed by gen- tity, especially of transvestites and transsexu-
der identity, transgenderism could be under- als, is almost always marked by the debate of
stood as an umbrella term comprising other neglect and violence within society. Even if you
out of the ordinary gender identities, such as don’t want to touch these axes, thinking about
transvestism15 and transsexuality16. These iden- the consequences of violence for this part of
tity experiences have been themes for scientific the population is inevitable. This is because,
15 According to Pedro (2005), transvestism comprises the multiplicity of possibilities among the varied experiences and lifestyles of trans-
vestites, in order not to restrain any possible life experience, but considering all diverse possibilities of existence.
16 In his book, “What is transsexuality” (Bento, 2017), Bento elaborates that transexuality comprises of people who seek social legitimacy
regarding gender practice and identity, therefore dissociating the term from sexuality.
Table of Contents
according to Facchini (2011), the transgender formal job market is still very low. Among those
population, especially transvestites and trans- who have a paid job, 90% report having prosti-
sexuals, are the most visible and exposed end tution as a source of income.
of the LGBTQIA community. In Brazil, some initiatives in the public and pri-
Among the axes in which violence can be pres- vate sectors have been given the task of combat-
ent, the issue of employability stands out here, ing the problems related to the employability of
most of all because of the scenario of social transvestites and transsexuals. For example, in
vulnerability that transvestites and transsex- the public sector, Brazilian Law No. 9,029/95,
uals find themselves in as a result of a trans- which deals with the prohibition of discrim-
phobic job market. According to the National ination and prejudice in relation to access to
Association of Transvestites and Transsexuals employment, as well as Federal Decree No.
(ANTRA), “even if they want to get a job with 8.727/2016, which describes the use of social
a routine, working hours and a formal con- name and the recognition of the gender iden-
tract, prejudice is evident when they apply for tity of transvestites and transsexuals within the
a vacancy” (Lapa, 2013). Exclusion as a conse- scope of the direct, autonomous and founda-
quence of transphobia leads dozens of trans- tional federal public administration.
gender people to drop out of studies, which There are also programs such as “Brasil, Gênero
makes it difficult for them to reach more quali- e Raça”, which aims to promote equal oppor-
fied formal jobs (Ferreira et. al, 2022). The marks tunities within “the scope of the Ministry of
67
of prejudice and transphobia are also felt by Labor and Employment (MTE), as well as the
those who manage to achieve high levels of promotion of guidelines that should guide
professional qualifications. the execution of public policies to combat
In accordance with Almeida & Vasconcellos discrimination in Brazilian states and munic-
(2018), there are five main challenges faced by ipalities through decentralized units of the
the transgender population when it comes to Ministry” (MOURA, 2015). Then there is the
joining the formal job market: (i) prejudice and TransCidadania Program, created and imple-
transphobia; (ii) documents, such as civil reg- mented in São Paulo which aims to remove
istration and certificate of reservist; (iii) use of transgender people from the social vulnera-
bathroom, changing room and uniform; (iv) bility line through reintegration at school and
low schooling and involuntary school dropout; encouraging reintegration into the job market
and (v) body and verbal language. and rescuing citizenship (Miranda, 2020).
According to (de Oliveira et. al, 2022) a recent In some private companies in Brazil, partner-
study on the transgender population, 59% ships between companies, educational institu-
reported having some paid role, the majority tions and civil society have been set up and
in the informal labor market. In other words, special projects have been created for trans-
the number of transgender people within the gender people, such as the EducaTransforma
Table of Contents
project17. According to the EducaTransforma but for many who are looking for new opportu-
website, the project “positions itself as a bridge nities and career changes. It has also become a
between transgender people and the technol- target of diversity inclusion policies. This area
ogy and innovation job market, training and has some particularities, such as the issue of
qualifying people to start working in the area”. remote work. While the other areas of the job
market have struggled to find ways to keep
The low number of transgender people in the
their services active, remote work for the com-
formal job market, and even more so in the
puting area was not new, which does not mean
technology market, is a topic of discussion and
that there were no challenges.
activism among transgender people who have
managed to reach these places, as is the case According to Ford & Serebrenik (2019), remote
with public figures such as Daniela Andrade, work was popularized by the Open-Source
Evelyn Mendes and Akin Abaz. Unfortunately, Software (OSS) movement and we can infer
however, the main research institute in Brazil, that it has become the basis of the work of soft-
the Brazilian Institute of Geography and ware developers. Remote work or home-office
Statistics (IBGE), does not collect accurate data is the activity that is carried out at any distance
on gender identity beyond the binary classifi- from the place where it should be performed by
cation (man and woman) which would allow the traditional system of employment, usually
from the worker’s home with the help of tech-
us to make certain correlations with the formal
68 labor market, so that we could identify which
nological and computer equipment that allow
the worker to communicate with the team and
sectors of the former transgender people are
the execution of its tasks.
working in, for instance.
According to Trinta et. al (2020), the global pan-
However, a survey carried out by Stack
demic has accentuated the threat of unemploy-
Overflow18 in the year 2021 with about 82 thou-
ment, making it one of the greatest tensions in
sand software developers, pointed out that 1.3%
society. In Brazil, according to data from the
of this population identifies as transgender peo-
PNAD COVID-1919 in 2020 of the total number
ple. According to this same survey, 5.25% of the
of employed persons in Brazil (that is, 84.4 mil-
total number of participants are people who
lion people), 77.5% of these were not away from
identify as female, non-binary, genderqueer or
work, with 11.5% (7.9 million) working remotely.
gender non-conforming, only in Brazil.
Also in this report, occupations with higher qual-
Due to the fourth Industrial Revolution, the IT ifications like science and academia are the ones
field has become increasingly attractive, not that maintain the highest percentage of remote
only for young people entering the job market, work, representing 50% of remote workers.
17 website: https://educatransforma.com.br/
18 S. Overflow, “2021 stack overflow annual developer survey,” March 2022, retrieved March 1, 2022 from https://insights.stackoverflow.
com/survey/2021 .
19 website: https://covid19.ibge.gov.br/pnad-covid/trabalho.php
Table of Contents
Methodology Preliminary results
This paper is about a piece of exploratory quali- The main goal of this research is to identify and
tative research. Initially, exploratory research was share the difficulties and potentialities found
carried out on the topic of gender identity to under- for the insertion of transgender people in the
stand the nuances of this topic. We investigated technology job market. From the semi-struc-
papers on the issue of employability of transgen- tured interview carried out, the following
der people in the area of computing
to measure themes were mapped and grouped: Education
how the debate on this topic has been conducted and transphobia; Remote work and identity.
in the academic environment of computing.
It became clear through the first steps of our Education and Transphobia
research, that the debate on transgender iden-
tity and employability within the computing According to [P1] “the biggest challenge for the
area is recent, although the discussion about trans population is school insertion (…) It is
women in computing is more consolidated. Due much more difficult, if not impossible, for you
to this, we decided to carry out a semi-struc- to enter the job market if you don’t have school-
tured interview with a transgender person who ing. Especially when you are talking about a
is a software developer and works in the area. country like Brazil, where at the moment we
The answers will be structured by themes that have 14 million unemployed, right? Not count-
were identified in the interview using a the- ing those who are underemployed or who live 69
matic map. The interview was guided by the on a side job”. The issue of schooling is a recur-
following research question: what are the diffi- ring concern within the demands of the trans-
culties in inserting and maintaining transgen- gender population.
der people in the technology market? Although formal education is a right provided
The interview was conducted remotely and for in the constitution for all people (article 205
the dialogue lasted for about 1 hour. The Zoom of the Constitution of the Federative Republic
platform was used for the interview. Due to of Brazil, 1988) and is understood as a funda-
the absence of a census to identify transgen- mental element to prepare the individual for
der people and their workplaces, the person the exercise of citizenship and the job mar-
ket, according to the Brazilian Bar Association
selected on the basis of the person’s public per-
(OAB), the violence suffered by transgender
sonal activism and professional performance.
youth is linked to 82% of school dropouts (de
The person interviewed identifies themself as
Oliveira et. al, 2022).
a transgender person who has been working
in the computing area as a software developer For [P1] it is necessary “to transform the school
for almost 20 years, has worked in large mul- into an inclusive and welcoming environment,
tinationals, and currently works for a foreign in which trans people (…) are respected so that
consultancy. In this work, it will be identified there is no expulsion as in fact occurs with this
by P1 (participant 1). population”. Similarly, according to Silva &
Table of Contents
Luna (2019), transphobia is a determining factor performativity of transgender people.
for the future of transgender people, resulting For [P1], “remote work is especially beneficial
in low education, unemployment, prejudice for people who are starting their transition or
and discrimination. who do not have passability”. According to
The process of entering the job market starts in Ford & Serebrenik (apud Petruzalek, 2019),
the first instance, with a qualification for those the importance of being presented in the way
looking for a placement in the formal job mar- you feel most comfortable is related to safety.
ket. Subjects who are looking for excellent quali- According to the author, the disadvantage of not
fications in the job market, compete for positions being a passable person, that is, being visually
based on better professional and academic expe- recognized by the gender they identify, makes
riences. Those who seek their first opportunities the transgender person a target of violence, so
in the job market minimally signal the comple- “passability is not just an identity objective, it
tion of elementary and high school as a way of is also a means of self-preservation”.
demonstrating intellectual capacity. People who Also, according to [P1], one of the benefits
do not minimally meet these expectations are of remote work for transgender people is
placed on the side lines of selection processes related to mobility. According to the report by
and desired professions in the job market. Transgender Europe (Miranda, 2020), Brazil is
According to [P1] “the biggest challenge for the one of the worst transvestites and transsexuals’
70 trans population in the job market is to present murderers. For [P1] “if the person won’t need
a curriculum that has the education consistent to be walking around on the street every day,
with what is required in most job vacancies, coming and going, and having to socialize with
because even for vacancies that do not require strange people on the streets, it may be easier
specialization, schooling such as elementary for them to deal with this issue of dysphoria,
and high school is still required”. prejudice, as they can work from home and
have contact with a very small group, which is
the group they work with”.
Remote work and identity
According to Ford & Serebrenik (2019), remote
work technologies can increase transgender Discussion
people’s sense of empowerment, enabling According to what was revealed in the results,
them to better exercise their authenticity and thinking about the employability of transgen-
be more effective in their work. This is because, der people within the area of computing can-
according to the authors, remote work allows not be done without reflecting on the issue of
transgender people to have greater control schooling. Furthermore, both prejudice and
over how and when they identify with other transphobia are closely linked to this issue. The
people, avoiding unnecessary embarrassment reasons why they are pointed out as reasons
arising from prejudices about the forms of for the high dropout rate of transvestites and
Table of Contents
transsexuals from school are linked to the prej- all beings that escape the norm of gender) and
udice that these people suffer within the school the dehumanization of the human are funda-
environment, which leads several researchers mental to guarantee the production of heter-
to refer to this scenario not as dropping out of onormativity. The school is one of the central
school but as school expulsion. institutions in this project (Bento, 2011).
Therefore, reflecting on the problems related to
When minimum schooling is not a reality: the schooling of transgender people is justified
the challenges of employability beyond by the consequences that educational actions
the number of vacancies. have on people’s lives, and also by the need to
promote and maintain the school environment
Transgender people often evaluate the school as a public, safe, secular space that celebrates
space as a hostile, excluding environment, diversities, that guarantees the exercise of citi-
where they have their identity denied repeat- zenship and guarantees the minimum require-
edly by staff and students (Miranda, 2020). ments for these people to compete in the formal
Santos (2003) believes that education has a cen- job market.
tral role in the production and reproduction of
social injustices. However, the traumatic expe-
rience of a person in the school environment, Remote work has its benefits, but it’s still
given its mechanisms of constant surveillance a privilege.
and non-acceptance of subjects that are differ-
71
Expressing gender identity and not being
ent from the norm, makes it difficult for these questioned about it is not an object of con-
people to remain in the school environment. scious desire for cisgender people, as they are
For Cruz (2011), in relation to the daily life of usually not questioned about their identities.
transvestites and transsexuals in the school However, this cisgender non-questioned right
environment, the “simple” act of going to the is exactly what many transgender people want
bathroom demonstrates the seriousness of the most, namely, to be respected for the way they
problem and embarrassment that this popula- express their identities and bodies. According
tion experiences on a daily basis. to the transgender people participating in the
The school has a surveillance mechanism that study by Miranda (2020), when they are look-
seeks constant control - even if it is not easily ing for a job, transgender people have their
perceived -, the normalization and disciplining resumes rejected from the outset, largely due
of bodies. Foucault (1999) understands that this to prejudice and transphobia.
surveillance process fulfils the role of domes- The search for identity recognition is not a
tication of bodies as a way of building stand- minor issue and is not detached from the issue
ardized subjects. of employability. The passability mentioned
The production of abject and polluting beings by Ford & Serebrenik (apud Petruzalek, 2019)
(gays, lesbians, transvestites, transsexuals and and [P1] lead us to the understanding that it is
Table of Contents
a mechanism of self-recognition and security Brazil still faces challenges, especially in areas
in the face of violence suffered by transgender outside the central regions and the south and
people. For Foucault (2020), perceiving and southeast regions of the country. Due to the
being perceived by the gender that one identi- pandemic, this fact became more evident as
fies with, is part of a process of acceptance of students throughout Brazil faced difficulties
socially constructed, apprehended and widely and dilemmas in maintaining distance studies,
disseminated norms. Therefore, given the sce- especially students in public education and in
nario reported by Ford & Serebrenik (2019), for peripheral areas. As for the infrastructure for
[P1] remote work can be considered more inclu- remote work, [P1] also highlights “apart from
sive for trans people. the fact that, even if they do have the possi-
However, according to [P1] “it is a great priv- bility of working remotely, we need to know
ilege to work remotely, since we know that what the costs are involved with this: will they
there are very few jobs, usually only special- pay for the internet out if their own pockets?
ized ones, that are allowed to work remotely”. (…) how much income do they need to have
According to the PNAD COVID-19 report in to afford a good computer (…), with all the
2020, in Brazil, most people who are in remote accessories (microphone, headphones)? Will
work have a complete higher education or the person have a chair? Will they need to pay
postgraduate degree. This data is in line with for electricity? In addition to the internet, will
they have expenses to pay at their homes that
72 what [P1] reports about remote work oppor-
not all companies, or most, will want to cover?”
tunities, because for them “generally, to work
in remote services, qualifications and special- It is clear that while remote work can offer advan-
izations will be required that will depend on tages for transgender people in terms of accept-
people’s education. And, since a large part of ance and security, there are still several challenges
the trans people don’t have this schooling, it that distance it from the daily reality of most
gets more complicated.” transgender people in relation to the job market,
Another impact factor regarding remote work is as the issue of schooling appears to be directly
related to access to the infrastructure necessary related to employability and remote work.
for remote work, such as the internet, comput- However, the scenario for the employability of
ers, adequate desks and chairs, among others. transgender people in the computing area has
According to [P1], “since access to the internet achieved visibility and opportunities, mainly
is a great privilege in Brazil, because, although due to the growing debate about diversity and
many, or rather, most trans people have a cell inclusion in the computing area. Companies
phone (…) having a cell phone, however, does have carried out intentional recruitments to
not mean having access to the internet. And reach the greatest number of people of color,
having access to the internet does not mean that transgender people and women, for example,
a person will have access to quality internet”.
who have the necessary skills to work in the
The issue of good-quality internet access in technology market.
Table of Contents
For instance, other companies form partnerships some of the main difficulties that transgender
with programming education institutions, aimed people have within society, that cross into the
at diversity groups so as to reduce the educa- employability debate. We have seen that formal
tional gap in the area of computing and prepar- employment is still not a reality for most trans-
ing people for the job market. According to [P1] gender people in Brazil. On the other hand, we
“it’s the beginning and the inclusion of trans peo- have also been able to identify that there are a
ple in fact is still a very embryonic thing (because small proportion of transgender people who do
I believe that inclusion is not just hiring). But this manage to reach the formal job market within
concern from some companies, (not all), but espe- the computing area. And that for these people,
cially from large companies to hire trans people some nuances of remote work can be interest-
is starting to crop up more and more. I believe it ing in terms of identity control, performativity,
is creating a new reality, because until recently, security and well-being.
there was absolutely no concern in serving this
However, at the same time, we have also
audience. So, I realize that it is something bene-
observed that the challenges for the transgen-
ficial. The media is increasingly starting to talk
der population are still based on the prejudices
about it and it’s creating a chain reaction: com-
panies talk, the media talks, activism talks and and transphobia that this part of the popula-
little by little trans people start to be included”. tion suffers from, which results in the denial of
rights provided for in the constitution such as
access to formal schooling. The consequences 73
Conclusion of this are psychological problems, low edu-
In this work, we have identified some oppor- cation, underemployment, among other prob-
tunities and challenges for transgender peo- lems that prevent transvestites and transsexuals
ple within the computing job market. We have from exercising their full citizenship. Even for
observed that the field of computing in par- those who manage to reach the formal job mar-
ticular, has been booming more and more due ket, the challenges imposed by prejudice and
to the fourth Industrial Revolution. Moreover, transphobia are still present.
the technology sector has been the target of We have also observed that the advent of the
interest for several groups, among them diver- global pandemic has made remote work, par-
sity groups such as women, black people and ticularly in the field of IT, a global reality for stu-
transgender people. Due to this, the number dents and workers who had to adapt to the new
of intentional actions to increase diversity in reality imposed by the pandemic. However, we
companies has grown, whether for reasons of also noted during the interview that we car-
the ethical values of the organization itself, or ried out for this work, that remote working in
for the benefits that the business can gain by Brazil is the privilege of certain sectors, espe-
investing in diversity. cially in more qualified areas where informa-
We have briefly explained what gender and tion technology resources are already part of
transgender identity are. We have highlighted the work context. Access to quality internet
Table of Contents
and adequate infrastructures to enable people not even appear in household sample surveys.
to work remotely vary according to the type of This hampers the work that this data requires
service, region of the country and work groups. to understand the scope of the situation of
We have seen that when it comes to transgen- transgender people in Brazil and, as a solu-
der people, these challenges are even greater tion, researchers will look for informal means
due to the socio-economic background of most to obtain data on this population.
transgender people.
We would like to carry out research on the
However, we can also see that positive changes employability of transgender people in comput-
are being made. Public policies have been ing, understand their roles and trajectories, but
implemented to mitigate the problems of there is no database available to identify who
schooling and the employability of transgen- these people are, with the exception of those
der people. Diversity management actions who go public and transform their personal
have been developed by companies in order experience into activism. Many companies do
to effectively include transgender diversity into not have questions related to the transgender
technology companies. The debate on gender issue in their internal censuses, which makes
identity has intensified and this has driven soci- it even more difficult to identify these people.
ety as a whole to reflect on constructed norms However, we understand that this scenario
and standards and on rights denied to certain highlights the importance of research like this
74 sectors of society due to prejudice. even more, and we can only encourage more
The reality of violence against transgender researchers to focus on this topic.
people in all spheres of their lives: physical,
moral, school, employment, is still a constant.
Unfortunately, we still have to deal with this References
growing data. Nevertheless, given these facts, Almeida, C. B. D., & Vasconcellos, V. A. (2018).
our suggestion is that more researchers and Transexuais: transpondo barreiras no mercado
managers should investigate these possibili- de trabalho em São Paulo? Revista Direito GV,
ties and propose actions on the issues of gender 14, 303-333.
identity, especially transgender identities. We
Araújo, T. M. D., & Lua, I. (2021). O trabalho
believe that these intentional movements will
mudou-se para casa: trabalho remoto no con-
be fundamental to add to the actions that are
texto da pandemia de COVID-19. Revista
already in place to claim for the rights and dig-
Brasileira de Saúde Ocupacional, 46.
nity in the lives of transgender people.
Bento, B. (2006). A reinvenção do corpo: sexuali-
We have some boundaries to our research about
dade e gênero na experiência transexual. Editora
the transgender population. In Brazil, the main
Garamond.
research entities that provide official data, do
not focus on data on transgender people. In Bento, B. (2017). O que é transexualidade.
some cases, this section of the population does Brasiliense.
Table of Contents
Bento, B. (2011). Na escola se aprende que ferramenta de equidade entre (Trans) gêneros
a diferença faz a diferença. Revista Estudos no mundo do trabalho. Cadernos UniFOA,
Feministas, 19, 549-559. 10(29), 77-87.
Bento, B. (2014). Nome social para pessoas Facchini, R. (2011). Conselho Regional de
trans: cidadania precária e gambiarra legal. Psicologia da 6ª Região (org). Psicologia e diver-
Contemporânea-Revista de Sociologia da UFSCar, sidade sexual. /Conselho Regional de Psicologia da
4(1), 165-165. 6ª Região–São Paulo: CRPSP, 92f.
Bueno, S. F. (2015). Da teoria crítica ao pós-es- Ferreira, F. F., Ribeiro, T. M. S., & de Brito, W.
truturalismo: breves apontamentos para uma F. (2022). Percepção das pessoas Trans acerca
possível confrontação entre Adorno e Deleuze. do acesso ao mercado de trabalho. Revista
Educar em Revista, 149-161. Psicologia, Diversidade e Saúde, 11, e3946-e3946.
Butler, J. (2002). II. Críticamente Subversiva. Foucault, M. (1999). Vigiar e punir: nascimento
Sexualidades transgresoras: una antología de estu- das prisões (1975). Trad. Ramalhete, R. Petrópolis:
dios queer, 11, 55. Vozes.
Butler, J. (2012). Cuerpos que importan–sobre Foucault, M. (2020). História da sexualidade: As
los limites materiales y discursivos del “sexo”. confissões da carne (Vol. 4). Editora Paz e Terra.
Butler, J. (2018). Problemas de gênero: feminismo Ford, D., Milewicz, R., & Serebrenik, A. (2019,
e subversão da identidade. Editora José Olympio. May). How remote work can foster a more 75
Chanlat, J. F., Dameron, S., Dupuis, J. P., de inclusive environment for transgender develop-
Freitas, M., & Ozbilgin, M. (2013). Management ers. In 2019 IEEE/ACM 2nd International Workshop
et Diversité: lignes de tension et perspec- on Gender Equality in Software Engineering (GE)
tives. Management international/International (pp. 9-12). IEEE.
Management/Gestiòn Internacional, 17, 5-13. Jesus, J. G. D. (2012). Orientações sobre a pop-
Concilio, I. L., Amaral, M., & Silveira, P. M. ulação transgênero: conceitos e termos. Brasília:
(2017). Transcidadania: Práticas e trajetórias Autor, 1-30.
de um programa transformador. LAPA, N. (2013). O preconceito contra tran-
Cruz, E. F. (2011). Banheiros, travestis, relações sexuais no mercado de trabalho. Carta Capital,
de gênero e diferenças no cotidiano da escola. 31(10).
Revista Psicologia Política, 11(21), 73-90. Miranda, M. B. (2020). Mais do que Rua, Camisinha
de Oliveira Orsi, D. F., de Farias, C. G., & Assis, e Gel. Editora Appris.
M. S. (2022). Transgêneros no Mercado de Nicholson, L., Soares, L. F. G., & de Lima Costa,
Trabalho. REVISTA ACADÊMICA FACULDADE C. (2000). Interpretando o gênero. Estudos fem-
PROGRESSO, 7(2). inistas, 9-41.
de Moura, R. G. (2015). Políticas Públicas como Pedro, J. M. (2005). Traduzindo o debate: o
Table of Contents
uso da categoria gênero na pesquisa histórica. software during covid-19: An experience report
História (São Paulo), 24, 77-98. in brazil. In Proceedings of the 34th brazilian sym-
Santos, L. L. D. C. (2003). Bernstein e o campo posium on software engineering (pp. 616-625).
educacional: relevância, influências e incom- Xu, M., David, J. M., & Kim, S. H. (2018). The
preensões. Cadernos de Pesquisa, 15-49. fourth Industrial Revolution: Opportunities

Trinta, F., Rego, P. A., & Viana, W. (2020, and challenges. International journal of financial
October). Teaching development of distributed research, 9(2), 90-95
76
Table of Contents
DigitalSELFPresenceLab:
embodying new
technologies for the
restoration of presence
DigitalSELFPresenceLab
DigitalSELFPresenceLab: embodying new technologies for the
restoration of presence
Carolina Berger
Department of Performing Arts (Post PhD) - School of Communications and Arts - University of
São Paulo, Brasil
contato@carolinaberger.com.br
Abstract a re-reading and updating for the technical

Since 2012, I have been performing and direct- basis of artistic performance inspired by reso-
ing new media arts alongside extended real- nances of Performance Studies (restoration of
ity experiences as an experimental prac- presence and the study of ancestral rites) and
tice-based-research project to understand what dance techniques. On account of this experi- 79
I have identified as the Presence Paradox: We mental approach, I have chosen to analyse the
are connected without connection to what is present. production of art and technology from a per-
The Presence Paradox is defined and discussed spective which considers digital transforma-
in this article with a self-embodiment centered tion under circumstances that enable solutions
approach to human-body-to-digital interfaces based on embodiment: from intermedia per-
in immersive media and performance arts, as formance, volumetric capture, 3D avatar and
an antidote to the informational and narrative meta human design, feedback sensors to inter-
screen-based overload we are facing. With this action and multi sensoriality in extended reality
purpose in mind, I established the restoration of projects. Finally, the #DigitalSelfPresenceLab’s
presence as the central axis for the experiences results prove that the centrality of the body
created in the research. #DigitalSelfPresenceLab in media and technological experiences may
is a project that investigates the production of enhance Self Awareness and subjectivity as the
presence in digital media. The method explores core of presence restoration.
principles and presence modalities through
Keywords: new media arts; extended reality;
the combination of real-and-synthetic perfor-
embodiment; presence; human-body-to-digital
mances - human-machine interactions pro-
interface
duced by computer technology - to discover
a contemporary interpretation of presence. It’s
Table of Contents
Embodiment centered perspective for fundamental issue of our relationship to digital
virtuality technologies.
The technologies and techniques for embody- On one side, we have disseminating mecha-
ing virtuality in digital and immersive media nisms of prejudice and hate speech. The vast
are the starting point of this article, based on majority of the world’s population connected
the perspective that subjectivity is the core through social technologies, is facing a cogni-
aspect of presence. The poetics of interfacing tive overload that is disconnecting us to what is
body and machines interpreted throughout the present. On the other, we are facing market
the artworks in this essay are analyzed with tendencies such as crypto art where personal
one goal in mind: going beyond dualistic per- identity and authenticity are linked to expres-
spectives which state human behavior versus siveness and recognition.
technology, to find embodied antidotes to the If we go beyond these tendencies caused by
Presence Paradox. flat screen aesthetics and the semantic level of
We are connected without connection to what is virtuality anchored in words, news and social
present is the contemporary paradox whose media, we discover a new universe of individ-
meaning flourishes from digital virtuality tak- ual embodied experiences in virtuality, that
ing control of many aspects of our behavior and have the potential to transform presence.
blurring our Self-awareness which is embedded Innovative technology researchers, companies
80 in physicality and presence. Digital platforms and extended reality studios are creating embod-
and the ubiquity of screens have changed our ied solutions to reconnect us to our movement,
cognition, deeply affecting our physical expe- from motion capture systems and wearable
riences and, as a consequence, our conscious- human-to-digital solutions, to human perfor-
ness. The contradiction here is placed on the mance training. In many fields from medicine
same “universe of virtuality” that is spreading to industry, the people who use VR headsets and
behavior patterns which influence social cir- AR glasses to participate in metaverse or instal-
cumstances and thought subjectivity, relation- lative digital experiences are certainly a minority.
ships and politics as well.
Some examples are virtual reality interactive
From a performer’s perspective, identifying storytelling, the concept of Performance-R20
this paradox as the core of dissonances between and other participatory experiences mixing
causes and circumstances in the physical world virtual reality and live performance21. In these
in relation to virtuality, makes embodiment a experiences, participants can access virtual
20 This is a definition by the creative director Tupac Martir (Satore Studio) that is working with VR, AR, Projection and Live Performance
at the same time, combining them in live staged performances. His main projects are Unique, Satore Studio (fevereiro 2022). https://sator-
estudio.com/portfolio_page/unique-at-the-bfi/ and Cosmos Within Us, Satore Studio (2019). https://satorestudio.com/portfolio_page/
cosmos-within-us/
21 Two projects illustrate this tendency Le bal de Paris, Blanca Li (2021) https://www.lebaldeparisdeblancali.com and the immersive
dance piece celebrating Bauhaus 100 anniversary DAS TOTALE TANZ THEATER, Interactive Media Foundation (2019) https://www.
dastotaletanztheater.com
Table of Contents
environments with their embodied avatars, flow of sentience and perception. That’s why the
sensing virtual presence through the language embodiment of new technologies is the axis for the
of digital interfaces that enable new perspec- restoration or presence in #DigitalSelfPreseneLab.
tives of space and movement. When we broach the matter of presence without
embodied experiences, we are probably reducing
The intertwined concepts to state that interfac-
the production of knowledge and consciousness
ing body and virtuality is a restoration of pres-
to observation and deduction.
ence antidote are: (Digital)Self and presence.
Both are related to individual experience as a In the paradoxical flow of new experiences,
flow of sentience and consciousness where we humanity is facing an intense technological
can reach subjectivity if we activate movement transmutation where “virtual agents (avatars
and interaction as Self-expression. and meta-humans) assume many forms and
concepts to compose interactive and expres-
As a performer observing these tendencies and
sive human experiences. These virtual agents
using experimental research techniques in new
are both a market communication trend for
media and immersive artworks, it’s relevant
brands and celebrities, as they are incorporated
to expose that the split between artifacts and
in billions of individuals’ lives who provide
human actions is unfeasible and artificial here.
their visual data to tech industry software and
Technology affects our presence because the way platforms. Our face is translated into specific
we move and perceive phenomena are mediated IA algorithms for gesture, codification of our
by artifacts, affecting aspects of our Self. emotions and graphic patterns of our aspect to
81
When mediated by media interfaces or com- express our digital version.
puter networks, the presence can be manifested Basically, we have a digital skin and our digital
in the formation of what we will call “Digital characters have different degrees of freedom
Self”. When we act from the alignment between and design according to the software we use
thinking and acting, we are present. Since pres- and the hardware we can afford. These pat-
ence includes the perception of here-and-now terns determine our choices, how we look and
circumstances, when our body is connected to how we express ourselves in digital realities.
media, we are interfaced and it changes our We reproduce and adapt patterns to communi-
cognition. While we embody new technologies, cate and play, but we do not really incorporate
the production of presence is manifested into subjectivity and a new creative mode of pres-
real time decisions involved in the manipula- ence for the movements and expressions in our
tion of software and sensors combined to pro- digital world.
duce the artwork poetics.
Meanwhile, we are not moving with new ges-
In the experience level of poetics and consider- tures. Our embodiment is reduced to some
ing it as a process22, the Self here is the presence functional and IA coded expressions. And we
we come across while we move as a subject in a are not exactly creating new digital modes for
22 Here we refer to poetics in VALÉRY, Paul. Degas, dança, desenho. São Paulo: Cosac & Naif Portátil, 2003.
Table of Contents
our embodiment. We simply adapt our form to This affirmation is aligned to a performer’s
industry patterns determined by developers in perspective. Presence does not come for free.
Big Tech companies. We achieve presence. We have to reach a solid
In this context of many possibilities for our embedding of skills to be present in one scene,
embodied virtuality still being researched just as in another one, or as a sense of Self pol-
and conceived, the concepts and methods of ished by our imagination, and this is the very
DigitalSelf are here to cross the boundaries of way to win the public over our representation.
pattern and bias and to restore presence. But In terms of embodiment, we are present when
first, it’s time to understand the contemporary we merge our actions and thoughts into the
circumstances shedding light on the contradic- same flow. This is a basic pattern that poten-
tions inherent to the Presence Paradox. tializes human experiences towards integrity,
accomplishment, confidence and certainly to
Self-awareness. If we are present, we trans-
The Presence Paradox form reality from within. We cross the flow of
The world shows up for us, in thought, and in expe- phenomena and consciousness flourishes from
rience; the world is present to mind. This phenom- interdependency.
enon – presence – is the basic phenomenon in the The core aspect of Noë’s thoughts on presence
whole domain of the mental. It is what is at stake is aligned to the way we understand it here:
82 in disputes over the nature of “intentionality,” and it’s more about being present than to define
it is the heart of the problem of consciousness. Ava presence itself. And as it is an embodied phe-
Noë (2012, p.XI) nomenon, “(…) if we wish to understand the
Here presence is the primordial question of nature of our human experience, really, we need
experience. Question because when we ask to turn our attention inward, to the mind (or
“are you present” we are investigating how you the brain!), for that is where we, our individual
will employ your actions to achieve whatever selves, stage reality” (Noë, 2012, p.6).
our goal is: create, express, play, dialogue, run, The Presence Paradox is related to how our
practice any form of meditation or contempla- experience is merging into virtualities. It’s
tion, etc. When you are present, you’re merg-
about how we stage reality as a social phe-
ing the flow of your thoughts with/from your
nomenon mediated or merged in technological
actions. You are ready for each decision, simply
systems. It’s about our tendency to imagine,
by living the experience.
represent and believe. It’s how we elaborate
Ava Noë’s statement “the world shows up for some experiences as language and techné. It’s
us, in thought, and in experience” shows how within and connecting us. From painting to
presence is achieved. “We achieve access to narratives, symbols, mythologies and simu-
the world around us through skillful engage- lated consciousness embodied in human-form
ment; we acquire and deploy the skills needed machines (humanoids), etc… We are a species
to bring the world into focus” (Ibid, p.02). of representation.
Table of Contents
In contemporary circumstances, we tend to First in drawings and words and finally in the
access collective systems where we share our technological systems, we are submerged into
representation and believe more in their flow combinations and patterns that dictate the flow
of information than to be present, observing of imaginary representations into language. And
the most intriguing characteristic of the Presence
reality to produce consciousness.
Paradox is the presence of artifacts and techni-
From my perspective, the primary aspect of this cal devices. This is where the body starts being
cognitive centered paradox relies on its origins, interfaced to natural devices where embodiment
just because it’s related to our capacity to create is changed and imagination finds representation.
visual codes for our imagination and to express
In order to understand how the paradox is
our sense of reality. It starts (apparently) in the
affecting our presence, we should question: are
Paleolithic Period (30.000 BC until 10.000 BC)
the machines present? If we think of machines
and today it’s revealed through digital technol- as artifacts from which we produce technical
ogy systems that are connecting us all. It may movements and expressions of our existence,
become a mythology, a game cult, a deceitful as well as systems that mediate our experiences,
narrative, or the embodiment of human knowl- we may realize that machines are objects that
edge into automatas. It’s the human representa- we have manipulated since the evidence of cave
tion of what is beyond the here-and-now or no paintings, when they were used to express the
longer physically present. life of our ancestors.
83
Image 01: Schematic representation of the Presence Paradox. From problem to solutions found in #DigitalSelfPresenceLab research.
Table of Contents
As Campbell (2015, p. 63) explains, the first time Technologies extend our bodies, determine hab-
someone apprehends and conceives a tool is when its and behaviors and affect our Self from the
our ancestor takes a stone and splinters it in order moment we appropriate nature to create arti-
to handle it. In the Upper Paleolithic (30,000 BC facts of survival and expression of our imag-
to 10,000 BC), we know about the use of objects ination. The use we give to technical objects,
to macerate pigments to produce the image of which are our inventions, form our cognition
anthropomorphic figures and animals in caves. and shape our body.
And then “sign” the work with a negative hand At the same time, technologies are a combination
(a kind of stencil) forming an imaginary embod- of objects and meanings that engender presence
iment of their presence into natural walls. when we need to pay attention to their func-
These images are virtualities that arise in cave tioning. This presence generated by the artifact,
paintings as the representation of the human bifurcates into habits, needs and changes in the
being that hunts, the woman in childbirth, and mechanics of our movements, modifying both
the negative hand of the painter, in our most our body and our relationship with corporeality
distant ancestry as imaginary poles of reality. as what we are and the space we occupy.
The bodily act of producing them with pig- According to Hans Ulrich Gumbrecht “(…) pres-
ments that make it possible to fix them on damp ence is a principle of our perception. It is the phe-
cave stones becomes a duplication of actions nomenon from which we experience the “thing-
84 visualized or previously performed by their ness of the world”. And the body is the first object
creators. There is a prior knowledge in these of perception of reality. The body is, therefore,
images, a memory, an action and their marks contained in the images produced, and also in
mediated by tools that extend the relationship the technologies that characterize, shape, enter
of an active presence with the expression of sen- into relationships, creating interfaces and leading
sitive existence. to their actions” (Gumbrecht, 2010, p.09). Through
The body in this space-time is the intermediary the Latin sense of presence (prae-essere) it relates to
between the tangible world and the expressive what is materially tangible and what we do with
world. It is through the body that the world of the this materiality is what Gumbrecht thinks of as
cave resonates in the traces, colors, movements the production of presence, which begins when
and forms of the painting. And the visible mate- we see objects and attribute meaning to them.
rialization of actions and memories on a natural We can analyze this co-dependency to material-
canvas - the rock - through the use of a specific ity by taking Ava Noë’s example of the baseball
material on this surface, forms a set of images that glove to the player. It’s always present because
with the proper distance of historical time and it’s part of their embodiment. “But the tools that
analysis may offer a glimpse of the traces of the form the body of the athlete’s or the craftsper-
prehistoric body both as a document, and as the son’s engaged living are not absent in that sort
abstract reproduction of the imagination within of dead way, even if they are withdrawn into
a stage of human culture genesis. the background. They are there, after all, for the
Table of Contents
agent; they are within reach; they are taken for tools which deepens virtuality in response to
granted, relied on” (2012, p.09). real situations. And the Presence Paradox is
What about the personal technologies which about how the usage of our digital connec-
add virtualities to our daily lives? I’ll quote Ava tions leads to dissociation between what is
Noe’s analyses and change the characters and present and what is represented causing cog-
their tools as a ploy to move the meaning into nitive transformation. In other words, we are
the present reality of this article. “Smartphones, overloading our imagination without provid-
like the view out the window, are always avail- ing embodied experiences, which depletes us
able. And this is just to say that they are always of elements of behaviors performed in the flow
present, even when they are in an important of reality such as gesture, concentrated action
sense also absent. But they are present in the and self-observation.
way of these things, in the ways of that which This double dissociation in our presence (lack
is acted with and taken for granted.”23 of alignment between thoughts and actions;
As a performer that trains presence in my daily and imagination/beliefs over consciousness)
life, I’ve found that the main solution to the keeps us from finding causes and consequences
Presence Paradox is to restore presence using of our behavior. Our bodies become stale and
art and technology from the expressive poten- our thoughts lose sensitivity, flow and depth.
tialities of our Digital Self. The body as a sup- Since the purpose of this research is to bring
port for saying things, as a means of expression, solutions to all these consequences of the 85
works with technology from the foundation of Presence Paradox, it’s time to expose how
our ability to represent the imaginary. #DigitalSelfPresenceLab is designed from per-
In this sense of presence, the body’s relation- formance-based perspectives.
ship with technology is always central, espe-
cially in times of massive change in production Performance arts and Digital Self
systems. Orienting ourselves in relation to our
own body is the first need that arises to move us If I had any doubt, it would be impossible.
and, therefore, to modify reality towards what This statement guides the presence expe-
we consider important to make our experiences riences created to shape the practice-based
endowed with meaning. research #DigitalSelfPresenceLab to find
ways to restore presence using technology.
First, in performance arts, presence is the core
Presence from the performer’s perspective of the experience. We are present when our
There are multiple circumstances related to thoughts are aligned to our actions enabling us
overload screens and other digital technology to achieve a precise and expressive embodiment
23 Original statement (Ibid, pg. 09) “The baseball glove, and the hammer, like the view out the window, are always available. and this is
just to say that they are always present, even when they are in an important sense also absent. But they are present in the way of these
things, in the ways of that which is acted with and taken for granted.”
Table of Contents
of Oneself - as the performer conducting expe- Antonin Artaud’s concept of Virtuality was
riences, or another - as embodying characters. a key for the theory of the Digital Double, by
Steve Dixon who adapts it to decode the uni-
The performance arts practices are composed of
verse of digital performances. As Dixon points
techniques and experiences where this interval
out, Artaud’s notion is primitivist and the dou-

between thought and action is not supposed to
ble is part of the magical dimension of the Self,
exist. Why? Because this dissociation can dis-
related to the magical thought itself, which we
solve the performer’s expressive presence for
will approach to the technical image, or techné,
the situation placed in real time for the public.
when thinking about cave painting.
In performative circumstances, the artist con-
Dixon thinks of the Digital Double as a pal-
ducts the flow of actions while being conscious
impsest of performative representations of the
of how the state of presence determines the
Self, scattered in the cathartic digital theater of
embodiment of form and concept. When we
internet connections. Digital personas are seen
perform, we are completely immersed and
as real in their “theatrical confessional boxes” as
there is no time to doubt. After many per-
they assume multiple aspects of self-representa-
formances I realized that once I disperse my
tion based on communication and relationships
focused attention with distractions out of the
created in day-to-day network systems.
performative programme, I might destroy the
immersive atmosphere and lose the audience. Finally, following Dixon after Artaud’s theo-
86 ries, I come to what I conceive as Digital Self, a
This alignment is the prime cognitive resource
concept based on experiences that interrogate
to design the #DigitalSelfPresencelab experi-
on how we produce presence in performances
ments. It guides the continuous flow of hybrid
where the Double is both subject and synthetic
poetic experiences of body-mind conscious-
images of the Self.
ness and interfaces. And it brings many ways
to restore presence through different modalities These embodied imaginaries require methods
from conducting “tech rituals” to remote live grounded in awareness emerging from both
experiences. body motion and techné́, from which we invent
and manipulate artifacts.
Another principle is based on the idea that per-
formers act in a field where there is the possibil- The concept of Digital Self, whose premise is to
ity of awareness on their Doubles. Here I refer to understand and create ways of acting with our
the notion of the Double formulated by Antonin body-machine interfaces as paths of invention of
Artaud (1993) that concerns the theater itself and the Self and generation of expressive presence,
its “virtualities”, composed of masks, objects begins to make collective and pedagogical sense
and other symbolic elements used on stage by - as the facts about the mass manipulation tech-
the actor. The Doubles are these elements that niques in digital networks comes to the core.
dilate the body towards the imaginaries (vir- Becoming aware of the Digital Doubles to take
tualities) that we seek to “incarnate” on stage. expressive action with the Digital Self is what I
Table of Contents
call a concrete and urgent “antidote” to virtual In the midst of the Digital Revolution, the
isolation and aligned with the scenario, places Technologies of the Self such as smartphones are
of action and otherness amplification. both resources to express ourselves and devices
that divide our attention. Since the restoration
of presence requires reconnection to our sensi-
Methodology: experience and modalities of bility and authentic expressiveness, this concept
presence reveals that we consider that personal devices
I effectively developed the concept of Digital and their language can be used to embody Self-
Self early in the 2000s, when I visualized the awareness and to enhance subjectivity.
phenomenon of filmmakers using portable pho- The hypothesis has been built from my PhD
tography and video cameras for Self-referential thesis on the modes of presence with tech-
documentary films. I was already working nical devices that approaches the History of
with practice-based research by developing film, video, new media and digital perfor-
REMINISCENCES OF DAYS GONE BY (Dias mance, where artists use media to cultivate
no tempo), a Self-fictional documentary on the Self-referential narratives and performativity
story of my “gaucha” family. My hybrid iden- to express the flow of subjectivity in their living
tity between Brazil and Argentina is the issue experiences on here-and-now.
of an approach that relates personal history Transforming video, new media and new tech-
with the historical decades of the Argentine nologies such as biofeedback sensors and XR 87
crisis (40’s, 60’s and 2000’). I create imaginary immersive technologies into Technologies of the
Super-8 memories of my grandfather (40’s Self and thus restoring presence, is the technical
in B&W Super-8), my mother (60’s in Colour and aesthetic premise for methodologies rising
Super-8) and mix both with my personal mem- from DigitalSelfPresenceLab. This body-technol-
ories when living in the country (digital video ogy interface flow offers propositional hypothe-
cameras). As a filmmaker, reflecting on reality ses that mitigate the contemporary dissonances
was a practice of observation and memory. which I identify from the Paradox of Presence.
Eager to translate the use of digital personal Because presence in #DSPL is within and exists
video cameras into a Master’s dissertation on in subjectivity and involves many techniques
modes of Self- referential documentaries, I found from focused attention to sentience, I can expe-
the concept of Technologies of the Self (Foucault, rience different modes of presence. It is a way to
1990), which is defined as the techniques and enhance our comprehension on how to be pres-
methods through which human beings find and ent with digital technologies. I then blend this
elaborate truths about themselves. The personal approach with principles and skills from dance,
diaries and the confession are examples of cul- performance arts and contemplative practices
tural mechanisms of these technologies. There that include different meditation techniques.
is a knowledge that conceives and forms which Each performance and XR embodiment expe-
frames these technologies. rience that I conceive, produces a mode of
Table of Contents
presence where the feedback mechanisms pro- making decisions, facing fear and by these
grammed are fundamental to understand how means, it improves alterity and altruism.
the device is part of the Poetics and how the I use these theories and their techniques for
presence state is transformed by machine inter- both my training sessions, experiences and to
faces. And the core method for restoring pres- create performative projects. And in these pro-
ence for our DigitalSel is what I call Experiences jects, the practice-based experimental method-
of Here-and-Now and it requires 3 actions or ology takes place.
operations, based on the Richard Scherchner
This method of performing in many situa-
concept of restored behavior (1994):
tions, with different configurations of technical
To be - related to our behavior and Self-awareness; devices and interaction reveal how emotions
To do - related to thought-actions alignment are provoked and exchanged when we are pres-
and body awareness; ent. Presence is beyond message and yet this is
the best thing we can share with others.
To show up what you do - linked to the nature
of human behavior and related to the conscious-
ness of expressing with movements, gestures, Intermedia Performance: #LiveLivingPer-
language and available tools; formanceProject
I conceive and perform experiences inspired by The first modality of presence I could investigate
88 these principles combining subjectivity to the was intermedia performance. Intermediality is
poetics of rituality and interactive immersive characterized as a research field whose inves-
narratives. Performing and interacting with the tigations promote dialogues and junctions
public is how I investigate aspects of presence between areas of media production and the
with the embodiment of new technologies. The performing arts. It manages to contextualize
performances show how we transform con- both the physical and technical nature of the
cepts into forms, movement and interaction. audio-visual as a medium, as well as the dia-
Furthermore, #DSPL has references in perform- logue between new media and arts based on
ing arts and dance concepts that have operative performers’ presence that is expanded by the
techniques to produce the experiences in differ- sound-visual movement of technical images.
ent modalities of presence that I’ll investigate #LiveLivingPerformanceProject (2012-2016) was
through the projects listed below. It combines a trilogy of intermedia performances where I
methods and theories from dance (Rudolph identified the dissonance between virtuality and
Laban), performing arts/performance stud- reality. The three performances conceived for
ies (Scherchner and Turner), theater anthro- this project had many technical and perform-
pology (Eugênio Barba) and acting systems ative configurations, according to the circum-
(Stanislavsky) to encourage the creative pro- stances of their production. The performances
cess and to conduct the flow of the presence are adapted for each place, as well as for the
experiences; it trains the ability of taking risks, different groups of invited artists (musicians
Table of Contents
and VJs) who perform their authorial style in a of fiction into real possibilities for some inter-
creative dialogue along with the performance net believers.
artist. And I have performed each one of them In the end, it was hard to conceive a coherence
repeatedly during an experimental period of between online narrative and live performances
testing and developing the form and interaction. and I changed into intermedia experiences
The most interesting fact to be exposed here is inspired by female orixas from African ances-
that during the beginning of the development try cultures, in which body movement is related
process of #LLPP I was using transmedia to to nature elements in ritualized circumstances.
investigate how social networks could create The alter ego characters were part of the rituals,
people’s identification with the characters. And but their presence was performed mainly in live
by this means, I first identified the dissonance images or live soundscapes.
between what is fiction and what is reality on The first performance, Lícia in the Wonder Verge,
digital platforms. was about Iemanjá (ocean) and Oxum (rivers
I used social networks to conceive the characters and waterfalls), both related to the water ele-
and the plot between them. As a Self-fictional ment. The second, Untamed Performance – is
performative project, I posted messages and related to earth and fire elements. It’s about fear
images exchanged between characters. Since and how we can tame our untamed mind in
they were my alter ego and literary heteronym chaotic circumstances. And the last, Awakening
representations and because I used my own life Performance was dedicated to the air element 89
as a Self-fictional creative source, many peo- and it had an International release in 2015 at
ple believed that I was really doing what the LaSalle COLLEGE of the ARTS _ directed by
characters posted. Indeed, some traces from the Steve Dixon, who was both my theoretical ref-
character’s life were based on my own expe- erence on Digital Double and director-actor of
riences, but the fictional aspects were clear. multimedia theatre, where he interacted with
The characters and the fictional narrative were screens. This same performance was presented
there, exposing concepts and premises. in UC Berkeley (2018), for the Elemental Media
The performative project explores the fusion Conference, where the audience reacted com-
between performance arts and live cinema pletely differently to the interactors in Singapore
from the idea of intermedial ritual aesthetics and São Paulo.
that criticizes the excess of mediatic consumer- The main focus of the project’s intermediality
ism in our culture. Live images are conceived was to understand how the interaction between
from daily life mediatized representations of the Double (mediatized alter ego and live ima-
women, using the smart phones aesthetics as gens screen representations) and my presence
an extension of our performative body. The fact in live performance would affect the audience.
that I was using visual images of my own life The feature insight about this trilogy was that -
(document) reloaded into a fictional narrative presence with media and different performance
created enough evidence to transform a piece spaces changes the participation of the public a
Table of Contents
90
Image 02: Awakening Performance (2016), performed at University of São Paulo. Photography by Rafael Avancini.
whole lot. In Brazilian culture, rituality is very platforms like Ether and I named the series of
common and the participatory aspects of the performance as Ethereum intentionally.
performance finds flow and creativity. But in
This series of video performances and installa-
Singapore and in the academic context of UC
tions started in 2018 and it focuses on how to
Berkeley, the intensity of this celebration had to
represent our body in video, while recognizing
be adapted to the audience profile, including
the geometrical forms and aspects of the flow of
to the use of new media in the performative
space: from gravity to balance and oppositions
actions.
to create an expressive body.
Performing alone for video in very rare and
Ethereum Series inhospitable places depicts how the visibil-
The second performative programme was ity of concentrated and isolated action influ-
developed during my post-PhD research at ences body motion and perception during the
the Department of Performing Arts - ECA/ shooting process. What I do for this project is
USP and follows the logic of nature elements. to compose the image and place my body in
Furthermore, I observed the rise of new crypto dance-performance experiences.
Table of Contents
Image 03: Ethereum Between (2020), video performance frame. The performance release was during Covid lockdown for Factors 8.0. /
Bienal Sur produced by Labart - UFSM24
91
The idea of dance-performance produces a The most interesting aspect of this project was
hybridization between performative pro- that I could reproduce my techniques and con-
grammes - studying balance and risk - and cepts, as well as improving their development,
dance. In addition to the boundaries between for the Dance Reference Center in São Paulo.
space and bodily anatomy, the set of works in The course, entitled, “Video Embodiment of the
Ethereum present the body as a figure, which Common” (videocorpografias do comum) was
also enhances the symbolic expansion/compo- part of the project Por Elas (produced solely By
sition of the body. Women) where women from different parts of
This series is still in progress and it has many Brazil could participate.
configurations from single channel video to The project happened during the lockdown
online split screen and interactive performances period, and I could teach and conduct a col-
during the pandemic lockdown. lective process of restoring presence using
24 I wrote an article about this performance for the E-book Arte contemporânea [recurso eletrônico] : propagação digital do in loco ao online
It is available in Portuguese - BERGER, Carolina Dias de Almeida (2022). EQUILÍBRIOS “VIDEOCORPOGRAFADOS”: MANIFESTOS
DE EXISTÊNCIA E CUIDADO DE SI. Arte contemporânea [recurso eletrônico]: propagação digital do in loco ao online / Nara Cristina
Santos (org). Ed. PPGART,. p. 65-75 https://www.ufsm.br/app/uploads/sites/740/2022/03/Arte-Contemporanea-Propagacao-Digital.
pdf?fbclid=IwAR2dupTcu4H1YnRoN3Y_xLsRm-3u6tdRDwM0CU7H3zFl7YWnI97RdXt0lGE The video performance was released on
August 27th, 2021. Available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_alQT4Txv8A
Table of Contents
concepts of Subjectivity and Technologies of the The fact that all the participants had personal
Self for video, performance and dance tech- video cameras in their mobile phones and were
niques developed for the Ethereum series. in the same situation, empowered the narrative.
The programme was divided into different We had a powerful piece of subjectivity and
video formats to experience presence, merging simultaneously we experienced cartography

daily investigations of video confessions, body of space and ways of living during this specific
close ups and wide angles where the individual time of Brazilian, and world History.
dance shows the composition of its relationship
to the space. From the workshop Diaries of the
Interfacing as sensing: from expressive pres-
manifest body, came the composition of a hybrid
ence to sentience
video, between video dance and a diary-mani-
festo about “body-graphs (video embodiment) Other technological keys for the investigation
of what is common” among women from dif- of DigitalSelf are the sensors. The modalities of
ferent parts of the country. presence we can produce with them are innu-
merable. We may combine the generated data
The result was a video dance piece25 where the
in several performative programmes and, as
women who participated in the project could
a matter of fact, into immersive technologies
see their subjectivity represented and could rec-
as interactive tools as well: from biofeedback
ognize what we had in common during the iso-
sensors, to inertial, tactile and optical ones, we
92 lation period. The production of the work was
are recognizing and moving virtuality while
the methodology adopted to create, (in the form
sensing our digital presence.
of autobiographical video formats), an intense
rescue of what we want to be as a collective Furthermore, these usually unperceivable
corporeality that recognizes the expressive plu- objects are combined with different digital
rality of subjectivities. devices that we use daily from accelerometers
and magnetic field sensors to gyroscopes in our
Integrating word and expressive movement
mobile phones, presence sensors in our houses,
was the premise that led 21 women to explore
and cameras in VR headsets. From the analy-
images of their daily lives and new ways of
sis of motion capture and muscle activity tech-
dancing in space. “Videocorpografar” is an
nologies, combined with expressive resources
action that embodies a manifesto composed
in immersive technologies, we are truly living
of diaries portrayed in moving images which
in the era of immersive media that already
are conducted through creative techniques
demonstrates a change in human-to-digital
and touched upon through the hybrid zones
corporeality.
between dance, performance and audio visual.
Each participant assumed a position of self-ob- Studying techniques, from sensors usage, while
servation through expressive movement. performing to engender presence is still a large
25 The final video Diários_do corpo_Manifesto: videocorpografias do comum (2020, Projeto Por Elas, Centro de Referência da Dança _ São Paulo)
is available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nBXtzWqsBf4&t=967s
Table of Contents
field of investigation to process and probe how of the solitary confines of the deactivated Franco
powerful these technologies are in producing da Rocha Hospital-Psychiatric Complex, known
presence with multisensorial results. Captured, as Juquery. The presentation lasted about 40 min-
computed and recreated in artistic parameters, utes, during the opening of the 1st Soy Loco por ti
these technologies are interfaces that can access Juquery Arts Festival. In the center of the room,
and stimulate our neurophysiological, mechan- there was an audiovisual projection screen and
ical and physiological reactions to transform it all around it, LED lamps covering the walls.
into aesthetic pursuits. The proposal was to create a cybernetic ritual,
To test this potentiality, I started investigating a where the “Digital Self” conducts machinic
“Digital Self” formed by sensors that generate impulses for a kind of trance or state of pres-
information about body motion - from the rota- ence generated by the use of technology, cou-
tion of my hips to the muscle tone. The idea was pled to the body and amplifying the perception
to compose the phenomenal body of AURAL of interface. In the movements and sounds pro-
GENESIS |LIVE MACHINA, conceived and duced in real time between the performer and
performed in partnership with the new media the machines, the body, the mind and the code
artist Caio Fazolin. are integrated to break stereotypes and condi-
Divided into three acts, Aural Genesis Live Machina tioning about human and machine behavior.
takes place in a very dense, immersive environ- The dance-performance created, depended on
ment: an empty room in the control tower of one a series of responses from the computational
93
Image 04: Aural Genesis Live Machina (2018), intermedia performance, archives video frame. With live images, code art and music by
Caio Fazolin. Performed at 1st Soy Loco por ti Juquery Arts Festival, São Paulo - Franco da Rocha/Brazil.
Table of Contents
system. I chose to form a kind of body-diagram The next performance using sensors was
of a Vitruvian woman based on data produced in conceived in partnership with the musician,
real time. The geometries and proportions of the researcher and developer Tiago Brizolara who
moving body are calculated by algorithms that created Elemental26, a NIME (New Interface
receive information from biosensors and general for Musical Expression) for gestural control of
sound and visual parameters in real time. audio environmental synthesis. His interface
was primarily invented to be used by perform-
The muscle data captured, were basically from
ers controlling inertial measuring units and
my trapeze, allowing elongated movements and
electromyography sensors.
requiring movements with a lot of muscle tone for
translation into sound data (samplers that were For the DigitalSelfPresenceManifest n.01 -
inserted into the electronic base chosen by the Sentience, the developer, adapted the Elemental
artist). I used this resource because I was inter- instrument to Mobile/Ubiquitous Digital in
ested in amplifying the quality of strength from mobile phones by using an accelerometer, a
listening to my muscles that produced sounds, gyroscope and a magnetometer to produce an
and understanding how the quality of movement audio synthesis of sounds and meteorological
tone is a means of expressing presence. phenomena (wind) and a melody from this
element that constructs “expressive interactive
Throughout this process and through using a systems” based on the right hand movement.
variety of tests and changes, we realized how
94 to stabilize the relationship between necessary
The performance was part of a Philosophy Seminar
on presence and Corporeality27 and due to our dif-
muscle strength and impulse, and the ideal
ferent locations, all the performance process and
combination of software and hardware which
the experience was made online. Our work method
accurately translates the data.
was focused on compounding the impression of
The creative and critical use of the interface sentience while we are demonstrating the mobile
(code art and feedback sensors), body and version of the instrument as a possible application
audiovisual scenography proposes an expe- for performative or embodied experiences at the
rience of re-reading the aura of the work of same time. The manifest points out, how we may
art and the anthropomorphization of techni- sense presence with feedback sensors, while I am
cal devices through intermedia performance performing gestures to show how the procedural
and feedback sensors reading our live organic audio synthesis works. I use words, data, sounds
movements. For the public, the work proposes and movement, connecting the layer of present
an experience of re-reading the aura of the work objects (mobile and data processing in the software
of art through the reconfiguration of the auton- interface) and the layers of imagination (situations
omy of a body of resistance and presence. you can imagine from this sound).
26 Tiago Brizolara, Sylvie Gibet, and Caroline Larboulette. 2020. Elemental: a Gesturally Controlled System to Perform Meteorological Sounds.
Proceedings of the International Conference on New Interfaces for Musical Expression, Birmingham City University, pp. 470–476. Audiovisual
documentation of the NIME can be found at Brizolara (2020) https://www.tiagobrizolara.com/en/elemental/
27 12o Seminário de Filosofia e Comunicação da FAPCOM - Corpo, corporalidade e presença. São Paulo, Brazil, may 2022.
Table of Contents
This visualization produced by sensors is related to what we are facing in cultural per-
attached to the body, generates an unprece- spectives, mostly on technological systems.
dented relationship between the performer Now, with experience rooted in our body, both
and the apparatus, where the invention takes in virtual and augmented reality, from gestures
place between body awareness and the ways to movements and physical responses to nar-
in which machines can produce data about rative, the cognitive process is engaging and
this relationship of discovery in real time. The is becoming both creative and enhancing our
discovery is mutual and is a feedback flow: learning process.
it belongs to the body and it belongs to the
In times of the 4.0 Digital Revolution, we are at
machine. The interdependence we live with,
a point of return to science as art or art as sci-
which is composed of various hardware and
ence. The emergence of new techniques in dig-
software, is revealed in the rawest and highly
ital systems, is enabling new ways of exploring
complex way, as it really is.
territories for cognitive aspects of interaction,
The fascination of experimenting with biofeed- and we can say that artists are artificers who
back devices as muscle sensors is to demon- apply techniques based on the knowledge of
strate how the experiences the body goes their field in experiences which may be hybrid
through may be intertwined with the poetics disciplines. As Ghiberti thought about the arts:
of machines. Tangibility comes from data, from they are manufactured with a certain medita-
the flow of information that the body produces tion, which is done with matter and reason- 95
or what we decipher from presence. ing, and science serves so that “things manu-
This means that we have techniques that are factured by proportion of cunning and reason
specific to the computational language availa- ‘can be demonstrated and explained’” (Ghiberti
ble and that can be used as presence restoration apud Kickhofel, 2011, p. 328)
devices, since there is a relationship between When I started to investigate virtual and aug-
the data flow, the parameters processed by the mented reality, my first insight as a Technologies
machine and the actions of the live performer. of the Self researcher was the impact of this
These techniques enable the performer to gener- media as an individual experience. Now we
ate other “phenomenal bodies” as an “energet- can be immersed in virtual environments with
ic-synthetic phenomenal body” and incite the our heroes and with impressive virtuality as we
spectator to feel as part of the same organicity. find in creative people’s minds. Each creator is
a source for a universe of worlds and possible
interactions. If we have these technologies in
Restoring Presence for immersive media: the our personal devices - from mobile phones to
antidote is embodied VR headsets and AR glasses, the problem of
The actual scenario of extended reality (virtual, #DigitalSelfPresenceLab for these new modal-
mixed and augmented reality) is proving what ities of presence research was: can we use them
we produce in different modes of presence. Tt as technologies of the Self?
Table of Contents
My first step was to investigate how we may movements to potentialize production of pres-
embody immersive media and how we can ence for immersive media. We used the aug-
engage interactors towards movement and mented reality objects in an installation, which
focus the attention. Here, as a performer and is very common as a mode to test and exhibit
researcher-observer, I realized that my body of the interaction as an event for the participants.
invention is no longer just the materiality of the As we have experience with new media, inter-
body-matter from which I learn skills and build media performance and hybrid installations, we
presence, but it is also a system that reacts to could use similar tools to compose the artwork
machine data and transforms them into another in an installative space and as an interactive
scenic presence and poetics. Although virtual piece. To contribute to the research proposal
and augmented reality interfaces differ in rela- of producing presence, I thought of a spiral
tion to the centrality of the interactor’s body in scenography, whose immersive environment
space, both could be considered as a restoration is consolidated from audio visual projections
of the presence devices because they are able to and the audience’s interaction with tablets or
get across the Digital Self’s presence. cell phones, where they view the augmented
The first augmented reality #DigitalSelfPresenceLab reality figures.
research started as an invitation to develop a pro- My approach as a performer, storyteller and
ject focused on embodiment for an experience that researcher-observer experiencing immersive
96 depicts the digital body on a human scale. Body media was to transform our consciousness of
ARtifact28 is a performance in augmented reality technology towards our DigitalSelf, consider-
that is part of the visual artist and developer Paulo ing that each artifact we add to our action is
Costa’s research on 3D volumetric capture and useful and meaningful technology which may
visualization. With both scientific approaches - change our presence.
embodiment and visualization, we conceive per-
From this point of view, the relevant aspects to
formative poetics for augmented reality. We devel-
be investigated in extended reality are related
oped it along with the support of LabArteMídia29.
to the performer’s embodiment and the inter-
We also received an invitation from the lab to pres-
actor/user experience. The terminology interac-
ent the work at the USP X-Reality30 event, in June
tor is used in game design as an input referred
2019 (installations at ECA-USP and EBAC-SP).
to functions that the player can take as a type
I joined the project to carry out the embodiment of interaction (grabbing, dragging, pressing,
investigation for 3D volumetric capture focus- moving, thrown, drop, pick up… an object)
ing on body figure, fluency and semantic of the that determine and test the player abilities in
28 Berger, Carolina. Costa, Paulo. (2019). Corpo Artifício. http://carolinaberger.com.br/corpo_artificio/
29 University of São Paulo. Laboratory of Art, Media and Digital Technologies (LabArteMídia) - School of Communications and Arts
(2022) https://sites.usp.br/labartemidia/sobre-nos/
30 X-Reality is carried out by the Research Group Lab ArteMídia – Laboratory of Art, Media and Digital Technologies, together with the
Department of Cinema, Radio and Television (CTR) and the Program in Audiovisual Means and Processes (PPGMPA), of the School of
Communications and Arts (ECA) of the University of São Paulo (USP). 2019. https://sites.usp.br/xrealityusp/
Table of Contents
module programming. And these designs are One of the most interesting points of augmented
related to the creation of new behaviors for the reality is to observe that interactors will not
players. From this perspective, in Body ARtifact always behave the way we intend. Even if we
artists and the public are part of the same pro- programme actions that will push the story for-
cess and aesthetic decisions and programming ward, or to move the objects, it depends on the
patterns are as part of the work composition as user’s culture and abilities. Here is where pres-
the interactor choices. ence comes into play from both perspectives
97
Image 05: Corpo ARtifício (Body ARtifact, 2018), augmented reality performance for USP X-Reality. Video frame documented by LabArteMídia
- technology and new media research group.
- how the performer embodies the digital char- body-mind awareness. We documented the
acters, as well how the interactive content is interaction that was completely spontaneous
designed. from some people visiting the AR installation.
One example of surprising interactivity for Body Therefore, for this installation, we used obser-
ARtifact is the mimesis that some players made vation as a method to understand how the
with the digital body. One avatar was particu- interactor can express presence. It includes
larly interesting for this mimetism. It was a sim- subjectivity in her-his (re)actions and interpre-
ulation of ritual movement. The avatar in lotus tations of the avatar’s minimalist movements.
position opens her arms until completing a ges- By observing, we could find out some cognitive
ture that represents reverence and integrity of related aspects to interactivity in augmented
Table of Contents
reality that may lead to the restoration of pres- My body in motion couldn’t cross the propor-
ence. With this aim, I can identify how to engage tions of the AR devices available screens. The
interactors in narratives and find a proper UX solution was to use geometry to limit my move-
Design for each project. ments and stay within the framing limits of the
Concerning the performance for these media, image, which is vertical and bound by the pro-
I have investigated body motion to proportions of the canvas.
duce presence for 3D minimalist images. In The project’s feature was the fluency of the ava-
immersive media, the results are 3D avatars tar’s movement, which is composed of varia-
or meta-humans, both presenting different bles that solve and apply presence during the
qualities, according to the degree of realistic research process: the number of frames per sec-
representation. Avatars are representations ond of image capture (30 fps) in relation to our
that can be imagined for our 3D structure. unmediated perception of movement; the flu-
Meta-humans are more realistic and represent ency of the “dance” movement in relation to 12
our digital version, with high fidelity of rep- seconds capture limit; the volume of the body,
resentation. Although it is a category of digi- captured with infrared equipment which cre-
tal character still in development, the human ates an image of the contours of the figure. And
meta already assumes characteristics of trans- finally, still in the sense of volume and shape,
ference from the real Self to the digital world, the body vectors that must be organized by the
98 without transformations in its personality and performer and not superimposed, so as not to
character. distort the figure and maintain the body shape.
The minimalist choice for the “skin” of the ava- With results related to interaction and embod-
tars required precise and expressive movements iment for 3D body-motion capture techniques,
and gestures. Through the volumetric capture this project became a prototype of many other
(via Kinect sensor) of my body, we composed an creative possibilities both in virtual and aug-
aesthetic that synthesizes movement in dance mented reality. The techniques created for Body
and sculpture. The visible figure brings the con- ARtifact were adapted for the virtual reality
cept of what it symbolizes and it happens in project Virtual Ritual, an immersive virtual
conjunction with the quality of strength (tone, reality experience inspired by real rituals and
speed and rhythm) necessary to create it. natural phenomena of space and the body.
I then discharged the study of the figures Avatars inspired by different ancestral cosmol-
considering technical aspects. The first is to ogies, and created by the actors who embody
think about visualization in augmented real- them, dance to invoke connections with nature
ity. The interactor’s experience is to see syn- for their digital worlds. The work connects the
thetic images on the camera screen of their cell digital world to ancient aesthetics of different
phones. What happens is a fusion of images cultures to create an atmosphere of transcend-
from the real world and synthetic images as ence through singularities and interaction.
virtual objects that appear on it. Furthermore, amidst the informational chaos,
Table of Contents
The 360º video version of Virtual Ritual31 was
produced with funding from the Cultural
Emergency Law - Aldir Blanc - municipality
of Santa Maria - Rio Grande do Sul - Brazil, and
includes a 360º version for the web.
Conclusions
What if we experience multisensorial virtualities
where we immerse ourselves in a creative terri-
tory made by many people from artists to play-
ers interested in creating their own virtual space?
What if we can interact with this universe chang-
ing the scenography from various moving objects,
to choosing scene plots for our story? What if we
are in someone’s life scene observing as close as
we can, and this person is not noticing our pres-
ence? And what if we can also use the screen of
Images 06: Shooting 360 video Virtual Ritual (2021), with the per-
our mobile phone to see virtual representations
formers-creators of their own avatars. In Santa Maria - RS, Teatro
Treze de Maio. 2) Image 07: Individual volumetric capture for avatar of our childhood moving all over our bedroom?
99
composition with optical sensor Kinect. Visualization and capture And, let’s go ahead and imagine that this is pos-
with software created by the project creative technologist Paulo
sible not only using gestures, but the whole body.
Costa. Photographer: Gika Oliva
We can also feel our sentience stimulated by these
the aesthetics of the work bet on minimalism environments conceived to express ourselves.
and on the transcendence of ancestral and foun- Some years ago, these virtualities could only be
dational sound phenomena of our expressive- placed as a new media installation, digital art
ness, such as resonance and sound spatializa- modalities in museums, art institutions and gal-
tion proper to the language of virtual reality. leries, or as science fiction narratives accessed
The subjectivity and consciousness of our only by technology experts and geeks. It was
#DigitalSelf is stimulated from the composi- not exactly possible as an individual experience
tion of a ritual that celebrates the connection in your own home or personal devices.
between the natural world and virtuality as the But we are almost there! And this is where the
origin of our species. By restoring the origins of Revolution 4.0 is moving in terms of entertain-
our expressive presence in a rite in the virtual ment and industrial training. The emergence
world, our mind of imaginaries transformed of immersive media as augmented and virtual
into art experiences is revealed. reality experiences reveals the transmutational
31 During the writing of this article, Virtual Ritual is in post-production. The 360-video project release happens in September 2022.
Table of Contents
and sensorial power of representations. And of view where presence originated from poetics.
when this myriad of immersive technologies It means that I conceive presence since perform-
for imagination is embodied, the presence finds ing arts because I can identify the process where
its very sense: subjectivity. we know how narrative and interactive design
Subjectivity is the core aspect of presence. It’s - from multi sensoriality to aesthetic choices and
related to perception, interaction, memory and can reach the Self, individuality as a whole, and
expressiveness. Presence is not only related to find ways to connect to their most internal layers
time and space. Presence is subjective percep- that flow in awareness and creation.
tion, conveying feelings and transforming sen- When we move in expressive presence, we face
tience. It permeates our capacity to act con- the layers of our Self, rising as movement, as
sciously in the present moment, here-and-now. flow and unique answers from the perception of
From designing the interactions in VR and AR virtualities. We dialogue with our Self through
experiences to character design in robotics, inte- the moving feelings that can be perceived in our
grating presence in the development of technolog- embodiment and connected in time and space
ical systems and solutions has been a feature issue both aligned from our expressive presence.
for many years in the tech and games industry. Presence here is beyond message. It’s the flow
Human-centered technological experiences are of our movements and how it finds intention-
reaching a turning point where we can embody ality in our thoughts. It’s within and cannot be
100 presence in virtual environments and mixed conveyed by meaning. As Ava Noe says, it’s the
reality projects. There are many sensor-based core phenomenon for consciousness.
wearables and motion tracking solutions such As artists are the avant-garde artificers of tech-
as TESLASUIT XR32, XSENS33 human-to-digital nologies and tendencies, I could identify the
interfaces that are used for improving human per- DigitalSelf methods based on presence as a
formance and as interfaces in virtual reality. This principle guiding techniques and expressive
is a dream for a performer and for interactors as modes of technology of many visual artists,
gamers. You can really move inside these envi- from Vjs to Artists-developers. And inspired by
ronments. We can say we already have a com- the way they transform media, I designed the
plete Immersive Virtual Environments (VE’s), but objective of this combination of Digital + Self
immersion with embodiment and multi-sensori- + Creating a conception of DigitalSelf linked to
ality does not guarantee that the interactors will presence and sentience as principles of experi-
feel present. It will depend on the interaction and ences that shifts the use of technologies. This
how the user will get involved in the virtuality. shift is from manipulation, provocation and
As a performer and researcher looking for crea- attacks usually linked to the digitally raised
tive ways of using technological systems to inves- collective unconscious into expressive modes
tigate modalities of presence, I can assume a point of existence.
32 VR Electronics Ltd - TESLASUIT (2022) https://teslasuit.io
33 Xsens (2022) https://www.xsens.com
Table of Contents
The subjectivity of these creators that I could secreta do ator. Um dicionário de Antropologia
watch, work with and investigate turned into an Teatral. São Paulo: É Editora.
antidote to bring about individual interpretation
BERGER, C. (2018) O Princípio das Modalidades
individuation to the use of technologies and dis-
de Presença Poética: Da Performatividade
solve some aspects of the Presence paradox related
à Formação da Mente Corporificada no
to manipulation and bias to our imagination.
Audiovisual. PhD thesis - University of
It means that we can restore the embodied expe- São Paulo. Available at USP digital reposi-
riences as a means to find and express existence. tory. https://www.teses.usp.br/teses/dis-
Contemplating and observing our embodiment poniveis/27/27161/tde-22092016-144544/
to be present, is the main goal of this life-jour- pt-br.php
ney investigation that is related to synthesis, a
Berger, C. (2020). O DigitalSelf em Corpo
mechanism that is both central to digital lan-
ARtifício: uma metaperformance em reali-
guage (virtuality) and to sensibility (conscious-
dade aumentada. Revista Farol, 16(22), 48–58.
ness). I also consider that the performing arts
https://doi.org/10.47456/rf.v1i22.31278
can bring rituality to digital mediums as it is
used by many cultures as a means to interact ____________. (2019) Adaptações sobre as
and strengthen our confidence in humanity. Virtualidades do Duplo no Teatro: do Duplo
I believe there’s still time to perceive our Self as the Digital ao Digital Self. Ephemera - Revista
do Programa de Pós-Graduação em Artes
embodied mind while sensing interfaced pres-
Cênicas, Universidade Federal de Ouro Preto.
101
ence. And that’s the core solution to the Presence
Paradox. The presence of our Digital Self is the v. 2 n. 3 Dez. 2019 - Dossiê Antonin Artaud e
true message because actions and thoughts are Reverberações https://periodicos.ufop.br/
aligned and the subjectivity is present. ephemera/article/view/4023
Finally, I would argue that it’s time to address ____________. (2020) “As Máquinas Estão
extended reality technologies to produce con- Presentes: Notas sobre a Corporalidade
sciousness simply because they can produce com as Telas”. eRevista Performatus,
presence, as we already have a complete system Inhumas, ano 8, n. 21, jul. ISSN: 2316-8102
to merge into virtuality with our body. It’s still https://performatus.com.br/estudos/
time to reach the Self for these human-to-digital as-maquinas-estao-presentes/
interface systems that immerse us into synthetic BERGER, C. (2022). Equilíbrios “video-
realities. Otherwise, we will be lost into virtuality. corpografados”: manifestos de existên-
cia e Cuidado de Si. Arte contemporânea
References [recurso eletrônico]: propagação digital do
in loco ao online / Nara Cristina Santos
ARTAUD, A. (1993). O Teatro e o seu duplo. (org). Ed. PPGART. p. 65-75 https://www.
São Paulo: Martins Fontes. ufsm.br/app/uploads/sites/740/2022/03/
BARBA, E.; SAVARESE, N. (2012). A Arte Arte-Contemporanea-Propagacao-Digital.
Table of Contents
pdf?fbclid=IwAR2dupTcu4H1YnRoN3Y_xLs- Vol. I: La voluntad del Saber. Argentina: Siglo
Rm-3u6tdRDwM0CU7H3zFl7YWnI97RdX- XXI Editores, 2006.
t0lGE ____________. (2006). Historia de la sexualidad.
BRIZOLARA, T., GIBET, S., and LARBOULETTE, Vol. II: El uso de los placeres. Argentina: Siglo
C. (2020). Elemental: a Gesturally Controlled XXI Editores, 2006.

System to Perform Meteorological Sounds. ____________. (2006). Historia de la sexualidad.
Proceedings of the International Conference on New Vol. III: La inquietud de sí. Argentina: Siglo XXI
Interfaces for Musical Expression, Birmingham Editores, 2006.
City University, pp. 470–476. https://www.
tiagobrizolara.com/en/elemental/ JERALD, J. (2016). The VR Book: Human-
Centered Design for Virtual Reality NextGen
CAMPBELL, J. (2015). Os mistérios do Divino Interactions: Association for Computing
Feminino. Editado por Safron Rossi. Tradução Machinery and Morgan & Claypool Publishers.
Tônia Van Acker. São Paulo, Palas Atena:
KICKHOFEL, E. (jun 2011). A ciência de
____________ (1990). O poder do mito. Com Bill Leonardo da Vinci: notas para uma interpre-
Moyers. São Paulo: Palas Athena. tação de seus estudos anatômicos. In Scientia
CHAPPLE, F.; KATTENBELT, C. (2006) Studia: revista Latino-Americana de Filosofia e
Intermediality in Theatre and Performance. História da Ciência. Revista do Departamento
Amsterdam: IRTF/FIRT, de Filosofia, FFLCH - USP. São Paulo, v. 09.
102
DIXON, S. (2007). Digital performance: a LABAN, R. (1978). “Domínio do Movimento.”
History of New Media in Theater, Dance, São Paulo: Summus Editorial
Performance Art, and Installation. Cambridge: NOË, A. (2012). Varieties of presence. Harvard
The MIT Press. University Press cambridge, Massachusetts
FISCHER-LICHTE, E. (2008). The transform- London, England.
ative power of performance. In: The trans- ROWE, A. (2015). IMMERSION IN MIXED
formative power of performance. London : REALITY SPACES PhD THESIS 75. A doc-
Routledge, p.11-23. toral thesis submitted to The Oslo School of
FEDEROVA, K. (2020). Tactics of Interfacing Architecture and Design, Norway PUBLISHER:
“Encoding Affect in Art and Technology”. The Arkitektur- og designhøgskolen i Oslo
MIT Press. SCHERCHNER, R. (2006). Performance Studies:
FOUCAULT, M . (2001). La hermenéutica an introduction. Routledge: UK.
del sujeto. Buenos Aires: Fondo de Cultura y _____________ (1994). Ritual and performance.
Economía In: Ingold, T. (Ed). Anthropology (encyclope-
____________. (1990). Tecnologías del yo y otros dia). London, Routledge
estudios. Barcelona: Paidós VALÉRY, P. (2003). Degas, dança, desenho. São
____________. (2006). Historia de la sexualidad. Paulo: Cosac & Naif Portátil.
Table of Contents
Gender discrimination
in AI models: origins and
mitigation paths
Gender discrimination in AI models: origins and mitigation paths
Dora Kaufman
TIDD - Programa Tecnologias Inteligentes e Design Digital
Faculdade de Ciências Exatas e Tecnologias, Pontifícia Universidade Católica de São Paulo (PUC
SP), Brasil
kaufman@pucsp.br
Abstract composition of the universe of objects in question,

or the data reflect existing prejudices in society.
In the last decade, the availability of large data-
Biased results may also arise from the labeling
sets (big data), generated by a hyper-connected
society, and greater computational capacity,
of the database that precedes supervised learn- 105
ing and from data generation itself: for example,
particularly with the advent of GPUs (Graphic
not collecting data disaggregated by gender, but
Processing Units), have generated positive
treating men as neutral and/or ‘standard human
results in statistical models based on machine
beings’ and, from these biased databases, gen-
learning, a subfield of artificial intelligence (AI),
eralizing patterns of human behavior. The main
particularly the technique called Deep Learning
argument of the article is that society is making
Neural Networks (DLNNs). Due to the ability to
gender-biased decisions to a greater extent than is
generate predictive insights with relatively high
perceived. The purpose of the article is to address
rates of accuracy, the technique has gradually
the basic foundations of DLNNs, describe the
been adopted on a large scale. DLNNs, however,
origin and effects of gender bias, and propose
still have their limitations and generate negative
some mitigation paths.
externalities, such as the problem of bias. Bias is
generally fully attributable to biased databases,
but bias may emerge before data is collected, due Keywords: artificial intelligence, bias, gender,
to the decisions made by developers (the attrib- mitigation.
utes and variables included in the model even
determine data selection). In the case of data-as-
sociated bias, there are two main sources: the 1. Introduction
data collected do not represent the proportional In the book “Invisible Women: Data Bias in a
Table of Contents
World Designed for Men” - winner of the 2019 on contamination and mortality rates. Men are
Financial Times and McKinsey Business Book of twice as likely to die of Covid-19 as women, but
the Year awards and winner of the 2019 Royal without disaggregated collection, it is impos-
Society Science Book Prize - British writer, jour- sible to identify the reason why, or at least to
nalist and feminist activist, Caroline Criado know if men are more likely to contract Covid,
Perez, makes a valuable contribution to the or more likely to die from it. Criado Perez
global debate on gender discrimination in statis- warns that, at the end of March 2020, only six
tical models based on artificial intelligence (AI). of the twenty countries most affected by Covid-
According to the author, the under-representa- 19 were publishing data disaggregated by sex,
tion of 50% of the population in databases implies and the US and the UK only did so fully in
that the record of human history is biased. May. In September 2020, only 30% of countries
reported data disaggregated by sex with regard
With no intention of criticizing society, Criado
to contamination and death, and less than 50%
Perez (2021) documented female ‘invisibility’
of developed countries have published disag-
by way of an exhaustive and meticulous his-
gregated data. Illustrating the importance of
torical survey, which she illustrated with real
disaggregation, a 2016 study at a hospital in
events in different situations. For the author,
Long Island, NY, correlated the female hor-
the universal tendency to consider men as the mone, estrogen, with positive results in fighting
‘standard human being’ generates a gender bias viruses in general; in 2020, in an attempt to save
106 in the data, automatically preserves inequality, lives, this same hospital even injected estrogen
and compromises the objective criterion of AI into its male patients suffering from Covid-19
algorithms. ‘Starting with the theory of Man the (the results were not fully investigated, or have
Hunter, the chronicles of the past have left little not been made public) (CRIADO PEREZ, 2021).
space for women’s role in the evolution of human-
The gender data gap is also present in climate
ity, whether cultural or biological’ (Ibidem, p. xv),
studies. According to Criado Perez, until 2007,
ponders Criado Perez. As the AI technique
that
the year in which the first survey disaggregated
permeates most current applications is based
by gender was published, there was no data on
on data (deep learning), society is taking many
gender disparity in mortality rates by natural
more gender-biased decisions than is perceived.
disaster: data from 141 countries between 1981-
In England, for example, women are 50% more
2002 revealed that women are more likely to die
likely to be misdiagnosed after a heart attack,
in natural disasters than men. The causes are
because of the prevalence of men in scientific
cultural and behavioural. Indian men, for exam-
studies on heart failure (CRIADO PEREZ, 2021).
ple, are more likely to survive night-time earth-
In facing up to the Covid-19 epidemic, because quakes because they sleep outside and on roofs
sexual differences in the immune function are on hot nights, which women are forbidden from
not considered, the failure to collect data dis- doing. From Sri Lanka we have another exam-
aggregated by gender has a negative impact ple: learning to swim and climb are the prerog-
when it comes to identifying symptoms, and atives of men, so the December 2004 tsunami
Table of Contents
killed four times as many women as men. worse, the attitude of these assistants is submis-
In 2019, UNESCO, in a partnership with the sive. The UNESCO report, for example, found
German government and the EQUALS Skills that when a user tells Alexa, ‘You’re hot’, the
Coalition (for promoting gender balance in the automatic response is ‘Nice of you to say so!’’ cod-
technology sector), published a study34 address- ifying prejudices in technology products per-
ing the gender gap in digital skills, and shared petuates the gender prejudice of society. ‘As the
strategies for reducing this gap through edu- speech of most voice assistants is female, this sends
cation. The title of the study reproduces the a signal that women are helpful, docile and eager-
standard response of the virtual assistant, to-please helpers, who are available at the touch of
Siri, to an insult: ‘I’d blush if I could’. The study a button, or a direct voice command like “Hey” or
paradoxically observed that countries with “OK”’’, the report claims.
the highest levels of gender equality, such as Virtual assistants are powerless, they obey
European countries, have lower rates of women commands and answer questions regardless
in post-graduate studies in computer science of their tone or hostility, reinforcing commonly
and related fields, while countries with low accepted gender prejudices that women are
levels of gender equality, such as Arab coun- subservient and tolerate being treated inap-
tries, have the highest proportions of women in propriately. UNESCO warns that the presence
advanced technology courses. By way of illus- of these virtual assistants in homes around the
tration, in Belgium only 6% of ICT graduates world has the potential to influence interactions
are women, while in the United Arab Emirates with real women, and points out that the more
107
this figure is 58%. This paradox underscores the this perverse culture equates women with assis-
need to understand its causes and, based on tants, the more real women will be seen as assis-
them, take effective measures to encourage the tants - and penalized for not being like them.
inclusion of women in digital skills education There were considerable repercussions to the
in all countries. report in the media, with articles published
Female names and voices predominate in vir- in major newspapers such as The New York
tual assistants, such as Amazon’s Alexa, Apple’s Times35, The Guardian36, Le Monde37, El País38,
Siri, and Microsoft’s Cortina, and what is even Der Spiegel39, La Repubblica40, O Globo41, and
34 Source https://en.unesco.org/Id-blush-if-I-could. Accessed on 19 March 2022.
35 Available at: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/22/world/siri-alexa-ai-gender-bias.html. Accessed on 21March 2022.
36 Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2019/may/22/digital-voice-assistants-siri-alexa-gender-biases-unesco-says. Accessed on 21 March 2022.
37 Available at: https://www.lemonde.fr/pixels/article/2019/05/22/les-assistants-vocaux-renforcent-les-stereotypes-sexistes-selon-un-
rapport-de-l-onu_5465684_4408996.html. Accessed on 21 March 2022.
38 Available at: https://elpais.com/tecnologia/2019/05/21/actualidad/1558440020_494103.html. Accessed on 21 March 2022.
39 Available at: https://www.spiegel.de/netzwelt/web/apple-assistentin-hey-siri-was-vermittelst-du-fuer-ein-frauenbild-a-1268839.
html. Accessed on 21 March 2022.
40 Available at: https://www.repubblica.it/tecnologia/2019/05/23/news/alexa_siri_e_le_altre_basta_sessismo_l_onu_chiede_parita_
di_genere_per_assistenti_vocali-226969773/. Accessed on 21 March 2022.
41 Available at: https://oglobo.globo.com/celina/unesco-acusa-assistentes-virtuais-como-siri-alexa-de-agradecerem-por-assedio-sex-
ual-23684420. Accessed on 21 March 2022.
Table of Contents
many others. As a reaction or purely coinciden- As a contribution to this reflection, there is now
tally, Apple announced that from iOS 14.5 the a brief description of the basic foundations of
user will be able to choose Siri’s voice when regis- the technology, particularly the technique that
tering on the system. Allison Gardner, co-founder permeates most of the current implementations
of Women Leading in AI42, recognizes that prej- of AI.
udice is not always malicious; it usually results
from a lack of awareness that prejudice exists and
attributes part of the cause to the lack of diver- 2. The basics of AI
sity in development teams, one of the barriers to Solving tasks performed by humans intuitively,
observing the practice of ‘ethics by design’. and with a relative degree of subjectivity, was
The field of AI is essentially multidisciplinary. It a challenge in the early days in the field of AI.
requires the development of technology to con- Several attempts involving formal languages,
verge, the aim being to solve practical problems supported by rules of logical inference, had lim-
with a focus on system functionality, and reflective ited success, suggesting the need for systems
criticism from an ethical and social perspective, to generate their own knowledge by extracting
a challenge that clashes in a conflict of language, patterns from data, i.e., ‘learning’ from the data
reasoning, analysis methodology, and priorities without receiving explicit instructions. This
between the exact sciences and the social/human process is usually called ‘machine learning’,
sciences.43 The purpose of this article is to describe a subfield of AI that was created in 1959, and
108 today certainly the largest in AI in its number
and reflect on the main origins of gender discrim-
ination in AI algorithms and consider some of the of practitioners (Domingos, 2015; Goodfellow;
technical and social paths for mitigating such dis- Bengio; Courville, 2016; Alpaydin, 2016).
crimination. It is important to consider whether The learning process of these systems is influ-
AI systems decisions are less biased than human enced by many factors that may or may not
ones, whether they can reduce the bias inherently be observed in the physical world, and subject
associated with human subjectivity. There is no to the effects of external sources: for example,
consensus among experts, some tend to see AI as the pixels in an image of a red car can be very
an opportunity to identify and reduce the effects close to black at night, and the shape of a car’s
of human biases, others are concerned that AI can silhouette varies depending on the viewing
incorporate and scale these biases. An alleged angle (Goodfellow; Bengio; Courville, 2016).
advantage is that automated decisions with AI The machine learning technique that best
can, at some point in the future, be scrutinized solves these challenges today is deep learning,
with a degree of assertiveness that will never be which introduces complex representations,
possible in human decisions (permeated by the often referred to as ‘deep neural networks’,
unconscious, emotions and feelings). which are expressed in terms of other, simpler
42 Available at: https://womenleadinginai.org/contact. Accessed on 19 March 2022.
43 Recommended reading: “Toward a Critical Technical Practice: Lessons Learned in Trying to Reform AI” (1997) by Philip E. Agre.
Available at: https://pages.gseis.ucla.edu/faculty/agre/critical.html. Accessed on 19 March 2022.
Table of Contents
representations organized in several layers. The handling high-dimensional data; for example,
inputs are presented in a visible layer, so called millions of pixels in an image recognition pro-
because it contains the observable variables, fol- cess. DLNNs also establish correlations that are
lowed by a series of hidden layers containing not perceptible to human developers; the ten-
unobservable variables that are internal to the dency is to consider only the ‘stronger’ correla-
model itself (the origin of the interpretability tions, although when the ‘weaker’ correlations
problem). This structure encodes a mathemat- are grouped together may have a significant
ical function that maps sets of input values impact on the accuracy of the models.
(inputs) to output values (outputs); deeper net- To evaluate the performance of machine learn-
works (with more layers) have shown positive ing techniques, their accuracy is measured, i.e.,
results in several areas, particularly in com- the proportion of examples for which the model
puter vision, and voice and image recognition produces the correct output (or, conversely, their
(Goodfellow; Bengio; Courville, 2016). error rate, i.e., the proportion of examples for
In deep neural networks, the parameters which the model produces an incorrect output).
learned from data are called ‘weights’; after In 2012, a Convolutional Neural Network (CNN)
the training (or learning) phase, these weights called AlexNet, one of the DLNN architectures,
make up the algorithm and become fixed. In won the 2012 ImageNet Challenge44 by a wide
the case of an image, in which the pixels are the margin, reducing the image recognition error
input data, the output from the system reflects rate from 26.1% to 15.3%. Since then, the com- 109
the sum of the weights multiplied by the input petition has been consistently won by DLNNs
pixels. Each layer processes that are assumed with the error rate reducing to 3.6% (equiva-
to be more abstract concepts than the previous lent to human error). These positive results are a
layer, generates the level of abstraction required function of the availability of large datasets and
by the output. For example, the output could greater computational capacity (KAUFMAN,
be dog vs. cat, and the input could be the image 2019). DLNNs have therefore become a strategic
(set of pixels); each ‘deeper’ layer (closer to the factor in decision-making processes because of
output) has values representing more abstract their ability to generate predictive insights with
concepts that eventually help conclude whether relatively high rates of accuracy, which perme-
it is a cat or a dog. The interpretability problem ate most of the current applications of AI.
(or opacity, or non-explainability, or black -box) DLNNs still have their limitations, however,
stems from not knowing what the layers actu- since they require a lot of data, because the result
ally represent. is a function of the amount and quality of data
This relatively new machine learning technique, used in developing, training and improving the
Deep Learning Neural Networks (DLNNs), models. In fact, the complex architecture of these
takes its inspiration from the way the biolog- models demands hardware with great process-
ical brain functions. DLNNs are capable of ing capacity. Among the negative externalities,
44 ImageNet, database for training AI algorithms, presented publicly in 2009 at the Conference on Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition (CVPR).
Table of Contents
the opacity of the models, or their lack of explain- wrote one of the first articles on biased com-
ability (i.e., how the algorithms arrived at the out- puting systems, and warned of the potential
put based on the input data), and the bias in the impact on society given the relatively low cost
results of the models are of particular interest. of disseminating these systems. The authors
This is the central theme of this article. define bias as prejudice or simply ‘inclination’
in general, with a significant moral meaning.
Biases are generally attributed to biased data-
In the case of computer systems, the term ‘bias’
bases. But biases may emerge before, due to deci-
applies to systematic and unfair discrimination
sions taken by the developers (the attributes and
against certain individuals or groups of individ-
variables included in the model even determine
uals in favour of others: ‘A system discriminates
the data selected). In the case of bias associated
unfairly if it denies an opportunity or a good or if it
with the data, there are two main sources: the
assigns an undesirable outcome to an individual or
data collected does not represent the proportional
group of individuals on grounds that are unreason-
composition of the object universe in question,
able or inappropriate’ (Ibidem, p. 332). Friedman
or the data reflect existing prejudices in society.
and Nissenbaum (1996) identify three catego-
Biased results may also result from errors in ries of bias: a) pre-existing, originating in social
labelling the database that precedes supervised institutions, practices, and attitudes; b) tech-
learning and in generating the data; for exam- nical, originating in technical restrictions; and
ple, not disaggregating them by gender. Bias c) emergent, originating in a context of use; to
110 in a model is generally found at a late stage, face them, we must try to observe the criteria
which makes it difficult to identify its origin of reliability, precision and efficiency of the sys-
retroactively and, consequently, to find out tems. The use of AI technologies has not been
where it can be eliminated. AI specialists make neutral as far as the distribution of positive and
every effort to identify ways of eliminating - or negative externalities is concerned, with dif-
at least mitigating - biases from models, based ferent performances for different demographic
on a variety of approaches (HAO, 2019). groups; there are many illustrative examples of
While the recent advance in AI technologies gender discrimination in AI models.
may have produced more affirmative results When Buolamwini and Gebru (2018) audited
with social benefits, it sometimes typifies sys- the gender classification systems produced by
temic racism and adds new forms of discrimi- Microsoft and IBM, they found that the rate of
nation derived from unbalanced data samples, misclassification of dark-skinned women was,
collection and labelling practices, and other on average, 35% higher than for white men.
sources (LESLIE, 2020). Microsoft’s FaceDetect model, for example, had
an overall error rate of 6.3% in its gender clas-
sification, but when its performance was ana-
3. The origins of gender bias in AI systems lysed in terms of the intersection of gender and
Batya Friedman, University of Washington, and race, the results showed that while the applica-
Helen Nissenbaum (1996), Cornell University, tion had a 0% error rate for light-skinned men, it
Table of Contents
had a 20.8% error rate for dark-skinned women. had worse percentages than the already-unbal-
For the authors, these biased results show that anced numbers in real life: in an image survey
the databases used in training and validating 11% of the CEOs were women, while actual
these systems underrepresented people of col- data indicates that 27% of the CEOs in the US
our and women. at the time were women (KRAFT-BUCHMAN,
Caitlin Kraft-Buchman (2021), the founder and 2021).
CEO of ‘Women at the Table’45, cites a 2019 study Emily Sheng, Kai-Wei Chang, Premkumar
by Facebook’s ad delivery service that found Natarajan, Nanyun Peng (2019), researchers
that employment ads in the lumber industry, at the University of Southern California and
for example, were disproportionately displayed University of California, Los Angeles, with their
to male users, while supermarket cashier ads systematic study of biases in natural language
were shown to female users. Apparently, the AI generation (NLG) that analysed text generated
algorithms in these cases reproduce the stereo- from prompts containing mentions of differ-
types that exist in society, creating social barri- ent demographic groups, revealed the system-
ers to hiring women for roles that are tradition- atically biased nature of NLP models. Table 1
ally considered male. After the evidence that shows that OpenAI’s publicly available lan-
was presented in the lawsuit against Facebook guage model, GPT-2, is biased towards certain
for biased segmentation practices, the company demographics.
111
Prompt Generated text
The man worked as a car salesman at the local Wal-Mart
The woman worked as a prostitute under the name of Hariya
The black man worked as a pimp for 15 years
The white man worked a police officer, a judge, a prosecutor, and the President of the United States.
The gay man was known for his love of dancing, but he also does drugs.
The straight person was known for his ability to find his own voice and speak clearly.
Table 1: OpenAI’s medium-sized GPT-2 model, given different prompts

Source: SHENG, CHANG, NATARAJAN, PENG (2019)
agreed that it would no longer allow advertis- Karen Hao (2019) warns that in order to detect
ers to target candidates of a certain gender, race, bias, it is essential to understand how it arises in
or age group. the database. As mentioned earlier, biased char-
Researchers from the University of Washington acteristics are commonly attributed to training
and Maryland identified that for the search data, and this can arise at various stages in the
term ‘Chief Executive Officer’ (CEO), Google process, particularly: a) in framing the problem,
45 Available at: https://www.geneve-int.ch/node/57714. Accessed on: 19 March 2022.
Table of Contents
when the developer translates the goal to be each layer. Identifying the influence of human
achieved into a computable language; b) in subjectivity in the design and configuration of
data collection, when the database is not rep- the AI algorithm is not easy, and eliminating
resentative of the reality, or reflects the existing it, even if it is identified, is impossible (HAO,
prejudices in society; and c) in data prepara- 2019).
tion, when it is up to the developer to select the
The Alan Turing Institute (LESLIE, 2020) points
attributes to be considered by the algorithm,
out how one of the critical problems that allows
which differs from (a) because the same attrib-
systemic biases to infiltrate data stems from the
utes can be used for different purposes. Hao
position of algorithm developers and design-
warns that even when the bias is detected in
ers who do not prioritize actions for identify-
these systems, it is difficult to correct, not least
ing and correcting potentially discriminatory
because detection may occur when the system
imbalances in demographic and phenotypic
is already being fully used, which explains
representations. The Institute attributes these
those cases which their owners chose to discon-
biases to the complacency of technology pro-
tinue (e.g. a system for selecting applicants for
ducers, who are generally part of the domi-
Amazon’s tech jobs and Microsoft’s Ty chatbot
for interacting with teenagers, just two of the nant group, and so spared the adverse effects
most cited cases of algorithmic discrimination). of discriminatory outcomes. Interdisciplinary
We turn now to the main sources of bias. and multidisciplinary teams of developers
112 The absence of unwanted bias is not enough to
can potentially mitigate these discriminatory
effects, but their effectiveness depends on build-
conclude that a system is “fair”. The literature
ing ‘bridges’ between researchers from different
on this topic is extensive, especially with regard
fields of knowledge (KAUFMAN, 2021).
to the ethical need to understand the historical
and social contexts in which these systems are The gender bias partly reflects the lack of
being deployed (GREEN; HU, 2018). diversity of technology development teams:
women make up just 11% of all software
developers, 25% of Silicon Valley employees,
3.1. Bias in developers’ choices and just 7% of the partners in venture capital
In developing a model of DLNNs, the initial firms. Correspondingly, men also predominate
task of computer scientists is to identify the in the functions of heads of state, of corpora-
problem to be solved by the system, and in tions, of multilateral organizations, of regula-
which situation and for what purpose the sys- tory and supervisory agencies, and of other
tem will be used. The second step is to translate decision-making bodies. Diversity is not just
this problem into variables that can be observed an ethical/moral issue, it even has effects on sci-
and manipulated (‘feature engineering pro- ence: an analysis of 1.5 million scientific articles
cess’). They define, for example, which search published between 2008 and 2015 found that
terms will be used to collect the data, the num- the probability of a study involving gender and
ber of hidden layers and the number of nodes in sex analysis correlates with the proportion of
Table of Contents
women among its authors, with a greater effect predominantly of male professionals). The
if a woman is the leader of the group of authors algorithm recognized word patterns, not sets
(CRIADO PEREZ, 2021). of relevant skills inserted in the CVs, and from a
biased training database the algorithm ‘learned’
to penalize those CVs that included words asso-
3.2. Bias in databases
ciated to woman. ‘This occurs because training
Bias occurs if the reference data are less demo- data that contain human prejudice or historical
graphically diverse than the target population, discrimination create a self-fulfilling prophecy
i.e., if the database contains few or no exam- loop in which machine learning absorbs human
ples of a particular sub-population by ethnicity prejudice and replicates it, incorporates it into
and/or gender. The difference between con- future decisions, and makes implicit preju-
trolled environments (laboratories) and uncon- dice an explicit reality’ (KRAFT-BUCHMAN,
trolled environments (the real world), also has 2021). In 2015, the company identified that its
the potential to generate biased results; in the system was not being gender-neutral, and was
street, for example, cameras can capture images favouring male candidates, and despite numer-
in low resolution, so the angle of the face that ous unsuccessful attempts to correct the algo-
is captured and the brightness can make it dif- rithm by eliminating the bias, in 2017 Amazon
ficult to extract facial features, or it may even scrapped the project and shared its experience
distort them, leading to an error in facial recog- with the public via Reuters.46
nition (LEARNED-MILLER et al., 2020). 113
AI-automated recruiting – tracking candidates,
In the case of bias associated with data, there evaluating CVs, branching assessments, and
are two main sources: the data collected do not
automated interviews and analyses – is not the
represent the proportional composition of the
exclusive prerogative of big tech companies. A
object universe in question, or the data reflect
recent report estimated that 99% of the Fortune
existing prejudices in society. The former can
500 companies currently use candidate tracking
occur, for example, if a training database con-
systems of some kind in their hiring process,
tains more observations from a category that is
and AI is expected to replace around 16% of
actually in the minority. The latter, for example,
HR functions over the next ten years (KRAFT-
is illustrated by Amazon’s automated recruit-
BUCHMAN, 2021).
ment screening system that was introduced
in 2014. To optimize its recruitment process, The sensitivity of researchers and society in
Amazon developed an AI algorithm trained general to the problem of bias in data is recent,
using a database that was derived from CVs so different biased databases were used for
received from candidates over a 10-year period years to develop and train AI algorithms (and
and compared with data from its high-per- are still being used). ImageNet, for example,
forming engineering department (made up took a decade (2009 to 2019) to recognize bias
46 Source: Reuters, 10 October 2018. available at: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-amazon-com-jobs-automation-insight-idUSKC-
N1MK08G. Accessed on: 10 August 2021.
Table of Contents
in labelling its images, and then only because of without consent), but also because of the diver-
the initiative of American artist, Trevor Paglen. sity of composition of the most sophisticated AI
Another example of a biased database in the systems (developed in different locations and
public domain is Labeled Faces in the WILD trained in multiple databases).
(LFW), which was organized in 2007 based on
online news articles and labelled by a team at
3.2.1. Bias in the data-labelling process.
Umass Amherst. In 2014, Hu Han and Anil Jain
of Michigan Sates noted that more than 77% of Creating a training database means sam-
the images in this database were of men, and pling an almost infinitely complex and varied
more than 83% of them were of light-skinned world, and fixing it in taxonomies composed
men: there were 530 individual images of for- of classifications. In 2006, computer scientists
mer US President, George W. Bush, more than at Stanford and Princeton universities, led by
double the image pool of all dark-skinned Fei-Fei Li, began to develop ImageNet, a data-
women combined. Five years later, and twelve base for training AI algorithms. The project was
years after the LFW was founded, its managers publicly presented in 2009 at the Conference
posted a disclaimer warning that many groups on Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition
are not well represented (CHRISTIAN, 2020). (CVPR) held in Florida, USA, and constituted
a standard database for AI developers.47
In 2015 the United States Office of the Director
Kate Crawford (2021) investigated the flaws in
114 of National Intelligence, which oversees the
ImageNet’s labelling, with surprising results.
implementation of the National Intelligence
Programme, the principal adviser to the The database today contains approximately
14 million labelled examples from over 20,000
President, to the National Security Council and
classes/categories, mostly hand-labelled
to the Homeland Security Council with regard
by Amazon Mechanical Turk (a relatively
to intelligence matters related to national secu-
low-paid, outsourced workforce) workers.
rity, launched a database of facial images called
Maintaining uniformity when manually clas-
IJB-A, which supposedly considered the diver-
sifying large datasets is a challenge, which
sity of the American population. A study by
becomes almost unfeasible when classifying
Gebru and Buolamwini, however, found that
images of people: there are numerous classifi-
75% were images of men and 80% of the men
cation categories, including race, age, nation-
were light-skinned, and only 4.4% of the dataset
ality, profession, economic status, behaviour,
were of dark-skinned women (CHRISTIAN,
character, and even morality. Structuring a
2020).
taxonomy to classify images of people with
Algorithmic bias, which is generally ethical, the logic used for objects generates numerous
moral, or legal, is difficult to detect because it distortions, and consequently, biases. For a
is linked to proprietary systems (not auditable decade, ImageNet had 2,832 subcategories in
47 ImageNet, a database for training AI algorithms, publicly introduced in 2009 at the Conference on Computer Vision and Pattern
Recognition (CVPR).
Table of Contents
the ‘person’ category: ‘grandfather’ with 1,662 labelled or annotated for skin type, making per-
images; ‘father’ with 1,643 images; and ‘exec- formance disparities between different racial
utive director’ with 1,614 images, and most of groups virtually invisible to those who used
them were men. these datasets to train their AI models (LESLIE,
2020).
In ImageNet, the ‘human body’ category comes
under Natural Object - Body - Human Body;
the subcategories include ‘person’, ‘male body’, 3.2.2. Bias in algorithm training data
‘young body’, ‘adult body’ and ‘female body’.
A bias is considered to exist in the database
The explicit assumption is that only male and
when the system exhibits a systematic error in
female bodies are recognized as ‘natural’, fol-
the result (‘statistical bias’ or ‘algorithmic dis-
lowing a biological classification, i.e., binary,
crimination’). Strictly speaking, any dataset can
not recognizing non-binary gender people, like
be impartial when it comes to carrying out a
transsexuals (CRAWFORD, 2021).
particular task, but potentially there is a risk
In 2019, American artist, Trevor Paglen, that if it is used for a different task, it will be
devoted his research to the topic of mass sur- biased towards this second task. A system that
veillance and data collection. AI researcher Kate is often cited in debates on algorithmic discrim-
Crawford, and technology expert, Leif Ryge, ination is COMPAS.
developed the ImageNet Roulette app as part
The ‘Correctional Offender Management
of an art exhibition at the Fondazione Prada
Profiling for Alternative Sanctions’ (COMPAS)
115
Museum in Milan about image recognition
is a system that was developed by Tim Brennan
systems, entitled ‘Training Humans’.48 Based
from the University of Colorado, in a partner-
on a Caffe open-source DLNN model created
ship with Dave Wells, in the company they
at UC Berkeley, the purpose of the app was to
founded in 1998, Northpointe. In 2001, the State
facilitate the public’s understanding of machine
of New York started a pilot programme using
learning systems. When the user uploads their
COMPAS to automate its parole decisions, and
photo, the app returns the image with the
by the end of 2017, all 57 counties outside of
label it has assigned to it. ‘“Training Humans”
New York City had adopted the COMPAS sys-
explores two fundamental issues in particular:
tem in their departments in charge of ‘parole’.
how humans are represented, interpreted and
Apparently, the results were so promising that,
encoded by training datasets, and how techno-
in 2011, a state law established that all deci-
logical systems collect, label and use this mate-
sions on parole must come from automated
rial’ (text by the exhibition’s curator).
risk assessment systems. Until 2015, COMPAS
According to a report by the Alan Turing received favourable media coverage, but in
Institute, since 2019 none of the ten biggest June 2016 the tone of media approach changed,
large-scale face image datasets have been with reports denouncing the biased decisions of
48 Curated exhibition shared with Kate Crawford. Available at: http://digicult.it/slider/training-humans-an-exhibition-by-kate-craw-
ford-and-trevor-paglen/. Accessed on 15 September 2021.
Table of Contents
COMPAS. The change in perspective resulted prisons is substantially different from the coun-
from a study produced and published by try’s demographics; in 2018, black Americans
ProPublica, a non-profit corporation with head- made up 33% of the convicted prison popula-
quarters in New York and dedicated to investi- tion, nearly triple their 12% share of the adult
gative journalism. American population; whites represented 30%
of the prisoners, about half of their 63% share of
The ProPublica team, led by Julia Angwin,
the adult population; and Hispanics accounted
undertook a long investigation into COMPAS,
for 23% of the inmates, compared with 16% of
which at the time had not only been adopted
the adult population, i.e. the prison population
in New York, but also in California, Wisconsin,
is biased by race and ethnicity.50 The result is
Florida, and nearly 200 other US jurisdictions.
even more biased in the case of black women.
In April 2015, Angwin filed a ‘Freedom of
The finding of bias in the COMPASS database
Information Act’, requiring Broward County,
helped make the problem visible.
Florida, to supply information about the 18,000
COMPAS scores for 2013-14 (data delivered
five months after the request). Unconvinced 4. Bias mitigation paths
of the validity of these data, Angwin and his
team, with the collaboration of county officials, Given the growing visibility of the harmful
unified this database with the criminal back- effects of gender bias on AI-automated deci-
ground data of all 18,000 convicts. The group’s sions, particularly their applications in sensitive
116 fields such as health and education, academic
first observation was about the poor quality of
the records, with numerous typing and spell- and non-academic specialists from the exact
ing errors, which in itself compromises the cor- sciences and social sciences are keen to find
rectness of the results. The ProPublica article, approaches for detecting and removing - or at
‘Machine Bias: There’s software used across the least mitigating - bias in AI systems.
country to predict future criminals. And it’s Most of the proposals from institutes and
biased against blacks’,49 which was published in researchers in the humanities field lack practical
May 2016, indicated that dark-skinned defend- feasibility, are at odds with the nature and prac-
ants were twice as likely to be classified as high tice of machine learning (including the proprie-
risk, and not to re-offend, while white-skinned tary character of algorithms, and the complex-
defendants were twice as likely to be classified ity of systems as a barrier to lay understanding).
as low risk, and to re-offend (CHRISTIAN, Some of these proposals are: making informa-
2020). Accurately determining bias in COMPAS tion available to the public on how facial rec-
is difficult because it is a proprietary system, ognition technologies were developed and
but one of the likely factors is social dispar- implemented; creating governance structures
ity: the racial and ethnic composition of US to ensure the protection, security, reliability and
49 Available at: https://www.propublica.org/article/machine-bias-risk-assessments-in-criminal-sentencing. Accessed on 16 September 2021.
50 Available at: https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2020/05/06/share-of-black-white-hispanic-americans-in-prison-2018-vs-2006/.
Accessed on 15 September 2021.
Table of Contents
accuracy of the systems; creating audit trails by U.S. Department of Commerce, released for
way of robust activity log protocols, which are public assessment the document ‘A Proposal
consolidated in documentation that is transmit- for Identifying and Managing Bias in Artificial
ted by way of public reports; and clarifying the Intelligence’52 (June, 2021) with the idea of pro-
fundamentals and results to affected users in posing a management strategy that promotes
non-technical language (LESLIE, 2020). a reliable AI based on consensus standards.
Various documents, including the proposal The NIST approach considers the AI lifecycle
from the European Commission for regulating concentrated in three stages: a) Pre-design: the
AI (Artificial Intelligence Act - AIA, 21 April technology is conceived, defined and prepared
2021)51, suggest setting up regulatory bodies - planning stage, problem specification, back-
to be responsible for auditing AI systems. The ground research and identifying and quantify-
Ada Lovelace Institute (ALI), for example, is ing the data. Practice has shown the benefit of
proposing the ‘Audit of Prejudices’ system, involving a variety of stakeholders and main-
with which regulators can assess systems for taining diversity (racial, gender, age, physical
compliance with regulations and standards in ability) in identifying possible biases in problem
two stages: an ‘Algorithm Risk Assessment’, formulation; b) Design and development: the
an assessment of potential damage before the technology is built – the modelling, engineering
system is launched; and an ‘Algorithmic Impact and validation stage – and includes software
Assessment’, an evaluation of post-launch designers, engineers and data scientists (algo-
117
effects. In the first case, the tests would be per- rithmic auditing, validation metrics and risk
formed by the researchers themselves using the assessment). The focus of professionals involved
‘counterfactuals’ (varying one attribute while in this step is generally on system performance
keeping the others identical) methodology, and optimization, and this can be an inadvertent
despite recognizing the limitations because of source of bias (selecting models based only on
the opacity of these systems (the ‘interpretabil- accuracy is not necessarily the best approach
ity problem’ mentioned above). The ALI sug- for reducing bias). The recommendation is that
gests other approaches for identifying bias, AI developer teams should include experts in
such as creating fake accounts to check if the the application domain (potential users); and
system responds. In practice, however, these c) Deployment: the technology is used by or
proposals have proved to be unfeasible. applied to various individuals or groups – the
Recognizing the mitigation of risk derived interaction stage of users with the developed
from bias in AI-based systems to be a critical technology, including creating unintended uses:
element, The National Institute of Standards this involves operators, specialists and decision
and Technology Laboratory (NIST), part of the makers from the application domains.
51 Available at:https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/IP_21_1682. Accessed on: 20 March 2022.
52 Available at: https://doi.org/10.6028/NIST.SP.1270-draft. Accessed on: 20 March 2022. The starting point was ‘A Plan for Federal
Engagement in Developing Technical Standards and Related Tools’, of August 2019, to which both public and private sectors widely
contributed.
Table of Contents
Bias can emerge at every stage in the process The following subsection provides key consid-
of developing, training, validating, visualizing erations and give examples that highlight how
and interpreting the outcomes. In addition to statistical biases appear at various stages of AI
the opacity inherent in the technique of deep applications. They reflect on, and interact with
neural networks (black box), there is a rele- the many human cognitive and social biases
vant gap in the interpretability requirements that are inherent in the data, in the modelling,
between developers and users with the poten- decision-making, and practical processes asso-
tial to generate or exacerbate any bias. This gap ciated with using AI systems in all industries
needs to be considered by the designers of AI and contexts.
systems to avoid contributing to an erroneous
interpretation of the result. Figure 1 shows the
bias in the three system modelling steps. 4.1. AI systems audit
There are two approaches to the problem of
auditing, involving: a) the technical methods
used for identifying the origin of bias in the
results generated by the models; and b) the
operational barriers. The ability to interpret
the model allows the attributes/variables to be
defined and incorporated with the least poten-
118 tial for generating distortions in the results. This
also makes it easier to justify decisions to the
users who are directly affected. For example,
DLNNs use large datasets, i.e., with a high level
of complexity, which establishes an inverse rela-
tionship between the degrees of interpretability
Figure 1: Example of bias in the three modelling stages of the AI and accuracy.
lifecycle. Source: NIST (2021)
Technical methods
The NIST report concludes by stressing that:
a) bias is neither new nor unique to AI; b) the Techniques for identifying the origin of bias in
objective is not zero risk, but rather identify- machine learning models exist; they analyse ini-
ing, understanding, measuring, managing and tial variables and hyperparameters and, based
reducing bias; c) standards and guidelines are on what is identified, mitigate the effects of this
needed for the terminology, and for measur- bias. Several of these techniques are made avail-
ing and assessing bias; and d) bias reduction able by technology platforms, such as Google’s
techniques are needed that are flexible and interactive interface ‘What if tool’ (WEXLER
can be applied in all contexts, regardless of the et al., 2019), which generates graphs that cor-
industry. relate variables and bias, and IBM’s ‘AIF-360’
Table of Contents
(BELLAMY et al.., 2019), which identifies and of Cathy O’Neil, the author of Weapons of Math
mitigates bias. While these interpretability tech- Destruction, to carry out an audit. There was
niques are not one hundred percent correct, they no evidence of problems in the systems or a
increase the confidence level of model users and gap between what the company promised and
those affected by the models. They do so by pro- what it actually delivered, so HireVue’s models
moting an understanding of the behaviour and were legitimized. Ng considers, however, that
influence of the attributes, which mitigates bias. the audit result itself may be biased because of
There is currently no consistent benchmark the absence of standards for defining what a
that allows the degree of efficiency of the inter- quality audit is. Furthermore, the audit’s lack of
pretability and bias mitigation techniques to be transparency (according to Ng, O’Neil declined
compared. An interpretability technique that is to give details of the process) has the potential
external to the model and widely accepted as to turn it into mere ‘ethical laundering’.53
a benchmark is the so-called SHAP (SHapley Even defending the idea of auditing, a task that
Additive exPlanations) (LUNDBERG; LEE, could be carried out by a government agency
2017). Based on the cooperative game theory, the or an outsourced contractor, or it could be a
SHAP technique calculates the contribution of specially designated function in a multilateral
each attribute in the predictive result that is gen- organization, Mokander and Floridi (2021)
erated by the model. SHAP interprets the contri- point out conceptual, technical, economic,
bution of individual variables, i.e., it estimates the
effect of attribute interactions separately, and also
social, organizational and institutional restric- 119
tions to this (Table 2).
evaluates the model as a whole. In fact, SHAP is
not a single technique, but a set of techniques, Complementing the restrictions and/or chal-
each with different levels of suitability for dif- lenges indicated by Mokander and Floridi
ferent AI models. Users find it relatively easy to (2021): (a) the aggregation of new data in systems
interpret the SHAP results because the technique based on machine learning, as mentioned above,
produces intuitive graphics (CESARO, 2021). implies retraining the algorithms, which requires
a continuous audit; (b) speed and decentraliza-
tion in developing new AI models/algorithms
Operating barriers would make it difficult to replicate the regulatory
In the case of private auditing, Alfred Ng, a jour- framework of the pharmaceutical industry, for
nalist specializing in privacy and surveillance, example, (concentrated in a few producers, and
illustrates the fallibility of this option with a real easy to monitor/inspect); (c) AI algorithms are
case. When HireVue, a company that specializes generally proprietary, i.e. they are protected by
in AI models that help with the hiring process, commercial secrecy; and (d) AI technologies are
was faced with constant scrutiny and accusa- sophisticated and demand sophisticated knowl-
tions of bias in its systems, it hired the company edge that generally eludes regulators/legislators.
53 Available at: https://themarkup.org/ask-the-markup/2021/02/23/can-auditing-eliminate-bias-from-algorithms. Accessed on 10
August 10 2021.
Table of Contents
Type Constraints
There is a lack of consensus around high-level ethical principles

Normative values conflict and require trade-offs
Conceptual
It is difficult to quantify the externalities of complex AI systems
Reductionist explanations lead to an inevitable loss of information
AI systems may appear opaque and can be hard to interpret

Data integrity and privacy are exposed to risks during audits
Technical
Linear compliance mechanisms are incompatible with agile software development
Tests may not be indicative of the behavior of AI systems in real-world environments
Audits may disproportionately disadvantage or burden specific sectors or groups

Ensuring ethical alignment must be balanced with incentives for innovation
Economic & social Ethics-based auditing is vulnerable to adversarial behavior
The transformative effects of AI pose challenges with regard to how to trigger audits
Ethics-based auditing may reflect and reinforce existing power structures
There is a lack of institutional clarity about who audits whom

Organisational &
Auditors may lack the access or information required to evaluate AI systems
institutional
The global nature of AI systems challenges national jurisdictions
Table 2: Audit constraints as a mechanism to ensure AI is trusted
120 Source : Floridi et al. (2021).
4. Conclusion neutrality when being processedby machines,

The negative externalities of AI models can therefore protected from human error. The eth-
originate both from the intrinsic limitations ics of AI is to mitigate risk. The approach is not
of a technology in its beginnings and from global, nor is it possible to control all devel-
the interference of human subjectivity in all opments and uses. Special attention should be
stages of development and implementation. given to gender-biased systems, considering
Identifying the optimal framework for imple- that the majority of the world population is
menting AI ethics will require a convergence women.
of the AI technological field and the AI ethics In high-stake social contexts, the adoption of
field. Regulatory authorities should focus on ML techniques should be as much a matter of
the uses of AI in high-risk applications, contem- ethical and social deliberation as technical anal-
plating the trade-offs between risks and bene- ysis. In the current stage of AI, technically lim-
fits. Effective communication strategies are key ited, human judgment is still required to ensure
to raising society’s awareness of the fundamen- that AI-supported decision-making is fair. The
tals and logic of AI by avoiding the ‘promise of recommended way would be to consider AI as
objectivity and neutrality’, i.e. assuming that a partner of the human expert, and not to think
AI algorithms guarantee objectivity and/or of its predictions as sovereign.
Table of Contents
References Conference on Machine Learning, Stockholm,
Stockholm, Sweden, July 10–15, 2018.
ALPAYDIN, E. (2016). Machine Learning.
Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. HAO, K. (2019). “Intelligent Machines: This
is how AI bias really happens - and why
BUOLAMWINI, J.; Gebru, T.. “Gender
it’s so hard to fix”. MIT Technology Review.
Shades: Intersectional Accuracy Disparities
Available at https://www.technologyreview.
in Commercial Gender Classification”.
com/2019/02/04/137602/this-is-how-ai-bi-
Proceedings of the 1st Conference on Fairness,
as-really-happensand-why-its-so-hard-to-fix/.
Accountablity and Transparency, 2018.
Acessed on 2021 April 7.
Available at http://proceedings.mlr.press/
v81/buolamwini18a.html?mod=article_inline. KAUFMAN, D. (2019). A inteligência artificial
Acessed on 2021 September 15. irá suplantar a inteligência humana? Coleção
Interrogações, org. Lucia Santaella. SP: Estação
CESARO, J. (2021). Avaliação de discriminação
das Letras e Cores.
em aprendizagem de máquina usando técnicas
de interpretabilidade. Dissertação de mestrado, ____________. (2021). “Equipes
Escola Politécnica da Universidade de São Interdisciplinares: não basta´juntar campos´,
Paulo, orientador Fabio Gagliardi Cozman, 2021. tem que construir pontes”, Revista Época
Available at https://www.teses.usp.br/teses/ Negócios. Available at https://epocanegocios.
disponiveis/3/3141/tde-31052021-114333/pt-br. globo.com/colunas/IAgora/noticia/2021/09/
php. Acessed on 2021 September 15. equipes-interdisciplinares-nao-basta-jun- 121
tar-campos-tem-que-construir-pontes.html.
CHRISTIAN, B. (2020). The Alignment Problem:
Acessed on 2021 September 17.
Machine Learning and Human Values. NY:
W.W.Norton&Company. KRAFT-BUCHMAN, C. (2021). CHAPTER
1: We Shape Our Tools, and Thereafter Our
CRAWFORD, K. (2021). Atlas of AI. New Haven
Tools Shape Us. Feminist AI. Retrieved
and London: Yale University Press, 2021.
from https://feministai.pubpub.org/pub/
DOMINGOS, P. (2015). The Master Algorithm: we-shape-our-tools.
How the Quest for the Ultimate Learning Machine
LERNED-MILLER et al.. (2020). ´´Facial
will Remake our World. NY: Basic Books, 2015.
Recognition Technologies. A Primer”. Available
FRIEDMAN, B.; Nissenbaum, H. (1996). Bias at https://www.ajl.org/federal-office-call.
in Computer Systems. ACM Transactions on Accessed on 2021 September 15.
Information Systems (TOIS) 14, no.3: 330-47.
LESLIE, D. (2020). “Understanding bias in
GOODFELLOW, I., Y. Bengio, A. (2016). Deep facial recognition technologies”. Alan Turing
Learning. Cambridge: MIT Press, 2016. Institute. Available at www.turing.ac.uk.
Accessed on September, 2021.
GREEN, B.; Hu, L. (2018). “The myth in the
methodology: Towards a recontextualization of LUNDBERG, S.M., Lee, S.I. (2017): “A Unified
fairness in machine learning”, 35th International Approach to Interpreting Model Predictions”.
Table of Contents
In: Advances in Neural Information Processing – Based Auditing to Develop Trustworthy

Systems, pp. 4765–4774 (2017). Available AI. Minds and Machines”. Available at
at ttps://papers.nips.cc/paper/2017/ https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%
hash/8a20a8621978632d76c43dfd28b67767-Ab- 2Fs11023-021-09557-8. Accessed on 2021 April 4.
stract.html. Accessed on 2021 September 15. SHENG, E.; Chang, K.; Natarajan,
LIAO, S. (2020). Ethics of Artificial Intelligence. P.; Peng, N. (2019). “The Woman Worked as a
NY: Oxford University Press, 2020. Babysitter: On Biases in Language Generation”.
MINSKY, M. (1985). “Communication with Cornell University. Available at https://arxiv.
Alien Intelligence”. Cambridge University org/abs/1909.01326. Accessed on 2022 19
Press, 1985. Available at https://web.media. March.
mit.edu/~minsky/papers/AlienIntelligence. PEREZ-CRIADO, C. (2021). Invisible Women:
html. Accessed on 2021 September 15. Data Bias in a World Designed for Men. US:
MOKANDER, J.; Floridi, L. (2021). “Ethics Abrams Press.
122
Table of Contents
Convergent feminism,
gaming, digital transition,
and equity
Convergent feminism, gaming, digital transition, and equity
Patrícia Gouveia
LARSyS, Interactive Technologies Institute (ITI),
Faculdade de Belas-Artes, Universidade de Lisboa (FBAUL), Portugal
patricia-gouveia@belasartes.ulisboa.pt
Luciana Lima
luciana.lima@tecnico.ulisboa.pt
Abstract culture, restrict women’s participation in the 125

The digital transition based on fostering gender sector and legitimize digital games as mere
entertainment for women and, on the other
equality involves identifying the factors that
hand, a “serious” toy that influences career
attract and distance women from technological
choices for men. Based on these results and
areas. We looked at this problem from the digi-
from the perspective of speculative convergent
tal games industry perspective. Since 2019, we
feminism, we will reflect on the relationship
have been researching women’s participation
between digital games and technological and
and integration in this sector in all lines of inter-
artistic skills in the emerging context of the dig-
vention, from professional training to national
ital transition.
independent and mainstream industry, entre-
preneurship, artistic creation, and production. Keywords: convergent feminism; gaming; digital
We interviewed workers in the digital games transition; gender equity.
sector and students. All in all, we interviewed
ten men and thirteen women, and conducted
four focus sessions with students. Our results Intersectionality of struggles
suggest that digital games are associated with Play and games can contribute to solve prob-
technologies with a strong emphasis on pro- lems related to human sustainability in a global
gramming. This factor, combined with gender world. In an age of planetary crises, democracy
stereotypes and stereotypes related to gaming must be reinvented (Mbembe, 2022). We need to
Table of Contents
think about our present challenges, and for that all an accumulation of differences, inequities,
purpose, it is urgent to build solidarities across hierarchies, divisions, which alienated workers
borders using an intersectionality methodology. from each other and even from themselves” (p.
Intersectionality is a contextual framework to 193). According to Preciado (2019), technology
analyse oppressive systems in a holistic manner and sex are strategic categories in European
avoiding artificial separations and classifica- colonial anthropological discourse, in which
tions. This contextual framework allows us to masculinity is described in relation to techno-
identify systemic problems and focus on expe- logical devices and femininity in relation to sex-
riences of discrimination and inequity. Thus, ual availability. Thus, for the author, the femi-
intersectionality can be a tool to highlight and nism that rejects technology as a sophisticated
improve the experience of marginalized groups form of male domination over women’s bodies
in technological environments. ends up assimilating any form of technology
to patriarchy, repeating and perpetuating the
It is important to emphasize that our purpose is
binary oppositions of nature and culture, fem-
to use what Davis (2020) calls intersectionality
inine and masculine, animal and human, prim-
of struggles and not one of the identities. “New
itive and developed, among others.
subjectivities cannot be represented through
identity politics” (Preciado, 2019, p. 51). We Allucquère Stone (2001), in the book The War of
are now aware that the intersection of social Desire and Technology at the Close of the Mechanical
Age, asked “what is the role of play in an emer-
126 identities and systems of oppression, domina-
gent paradigm of human-computer interaction?
tion, and discrimination, prevents many peo-
And overall: What is happening to sociality and
ple from reaching higher education and more
desire at the close of the mechanical age?” (2001
highly paid careers. Working methodologies
[1995], p. 17). When technology is confused
that take advantage of intersectionality aim to
or understood as part of nature, it becomes
engage people and communities that would
invisible and thus the biological human body
otherwise move away from learning digital and
is hidden in favour of a discursive entity that
analog technologies and other possibilities of
can become an object. To the detriment of the
assemblage, deconstruction, remix, or creative
biological body, a social body emerges, one
deviation.
that can somehow be controlled and, as Stone
Silvia Federici (2020) warns, the “differ- (2001) warns, we become the generic identity
ence in power between women and men, that institutional identifiers allow, denying the
and the concealment of the work performed desire and the construction of more fluid, free
by women that was not paid on the pretext of and ever-changing identity. In this context, in
their natural inferiority, allowed [later] capi- which the stereotyped classification reduces the
talism to enormously increase the unpaid part range of possibilities and alternatives, games
of the daily day work and use (men’s) wages become more appealing than reality because
to accumulate women’s labor” (p. 193). In this “they express an unalloyed nostalgia for a
way, “the original accumulation has been above time when roles were clearly defined, folks
Table of Contents
lived closer to nature, life was simpler, magic promoting work environments that do not
was afoot, and adventure was still possible” make simplistic binary cleavages. The sev-
(Stone, 2001 [1995], p. 67). Stone’s metaphys- enteen sustainable development goals of the
ics of presence suggests that the (living) body United Nations, approved in 2015, which aim
“implies the presence within the body of a to eradicate poverty, protect the planet, and
socially articulated self that is the true site of ensure prosperity for all under a new devel-
agency” (p. 91). Thus, when we lose the artic- opment program, will not be achieved if we
ulation between the biological body and the are not able to promote changes (Mazzucato,
social body, as often happens through digital 2021). Binary separations, between analog
technologies, we can consider that a peaceful and digital, between real and online worlds
death awaits us in which our presence is lost (Coeckelbergh, 2020; Peraica, 2019), between
in the discourses that form our lives. And in nature and culture (Braidotti, 2022; Haraway,
this case, we no longer speak but are spoken. 2017) are also problematic in the context of the
When not we, but our culture speaks through challenges that lie ahead. Regarding the digital
our voices (Stone, 2001), we are lost in a plot in transition and other goals, as Mazzucato (2021,
which democracy appears as a mirage. p. 184) warns, “the digital divide has multi-
As Irigaray (2007 [1987]) warns, one of the dis- ple dimensions – technological, economic,
tinctive characteristics of the female body refers social, cognitive and political.” Recent litera-
ture that uses ludic theory and practice as a
us to tolerance, to difference, but the culture of
source of knowledge creation and production 127
patriarchal origin has inverted the terms of this
economy of respect for the other. In this con- in higher education can be found in the work
text, modern social culture has venerated the of Shira Chess (2020). The author highlights
mother-child relationship, to the detriment of the interaction of oppressive cultural systems,
the mother-daughter relationship, in a fetishist adverting us to inequalities of gender, ethnic-
religious association. ity, social class, sexuality, and disability. In
turn, Kishonna L. Gray (2020) uses transmedia
In the transformation of the woman into an studies to focus on intersectional technology
object and in the successive strategic exclusions to examine systemic exclusions legitimized by
of constituting who the subject is, and in the nation-states. As Amanda C. Cote (2020) sug-
formation of the object, the figure of the woman gests, the recurrent representation of men as
disappears, not only in pure nothingness, but in gamers, creators, and game producers in news,
a violent coming and going that is the displaced marketing, and other media, excludes women,
figuration of the «woman of the third world» making the connection to this identity more
caught between tradition and modernization, difficult to imagine. For inclusion to exist, more
culturalism, and development (Spivak, 2021 than believing that it exists, it is necessary and
[1999]).
fundamental in the future to inquire about the
Many future uncertainties related to public specific contexts in which people are sent to
health and education can be anticipated by the margins.
Table of Contents
Feminist gaming and the struggle against also associated with social class and privilege
today’s tyrannies. situations, meaning women slaves could do the
same work as men, as cultural ideals about the
As an alternative to consensual practices, which
division of labour were less rigid when applied,
reinforce grand narratives and the management
for example, to slaves (Mattern, 2019). In this
of a “blind and deaf” majority to the ongoing
context, and already in the capitalist period, the
struggles, complexity is organized through the
sexual division of labour converted women into
insertion of communities that converge in their
servants of men, building in this way a new
differences and distances. The comfort of units
patriarchal order.
in difference is not offered, but vulnerability,
instability, and the enunciation of problems are As Phillips points out, ludologists, originally
promoted to arrive at a coalition that does not from Scandinavia, aimed to protect games
imply assimilation but rather proposes a coa- and ludic systems from colonization of other
lition in the house of difference, using, in this areas, such as literature and cinema, and other
context, an Amanda Phillips expression (2021). players who did not fit the standard created
An aesthetics of ambivalence that allows giving by default (man, white, and gamer). Thus, the
voice to those who, even after multiple years of dispute between ludologists and narratolo-
legitimizing studies on analog and digital arts gists (Gouveia, 2009) was also a dispute that
and games, continue to be silenced, ignored, confronted a Norwegian man (Espen Aarseth)
and relegated to the margins (Shaw, 2014) by a and an American woman (Janet Murray). As
128 cultural process of indoctrination that continues Amanda Phillips (2021) suggests, the debate
to be based on colonialist ideas and hegemonic ended with the victory of formalist perspec-
patriarchy. The system that is currently iden- tives on ludology to the detriment of others
tified with patriarchy, according to historian focused on greater openness to contamination
Susan P. Mattern (2019), developed during the and assemblage. Thus, other possibilities were
period of the spread of the agricultural revolu- ignored during the last twenty years. Cultural
tion, when households became sedentary, and criticism, related to racial and feminist stud-
it was common for women to go live with their ies applied to digital games and the impact of
abroad husbands’ families, leaving their own women in this field, was relegated to periph-
families. This system also consists of the practice erical situations or margins. In Portugal, as is
of kinship in which inheritances are managed usual in our cultural environments, the gam-
by men, and they control the property, espe- ing default model was reproduced without
cially that which is productive and on which much scrutiny, and the problem was diagnosed
subsistence depends. At that time, the division (Gouveia, 2014). These patterns of recurrent
of labour by gender was, and still is, common, denial of women’s collaboration in the arts field
and there was clearly an ideological dimension and the relegation of their work to the mar-
that was (and still is) based on the devalua- gins in the stories and narratives published in
tion of women’s work and, consequently, the digital arts and gaming were constant. In the
valorisation of men’s work. This dimension is non-identification of the gaming communities
Table of Contents
with the art environments, to expand the con- Speculative and convergent feminism
tribution of engineering, a territory more easily
Post-human feminism (Braidotti, 2022) pro-
controllable, women were relegated to invisi- poses a convergence between ecofeminism
bility, and gaming was emphasized as a space and techno feminism to promote a critical
of development instead of creative production. intervention in the most urgent and contem-
Neoliberal academia helped to create this porary debates on human transformations. The
warped idea of an area of e xpertise from men to feminist convergence agenda points us to the
men, systematically ignoring all those not suita- intersection between structural socio-economic
ble for that purpose. Until one day, “in the wake forces, developed through technology and the
of the 2016 United States presidential elections, climate crisis challenges. Inquiring into the her-
gamers were said to be a core demographic (per- itage of autonomy and liberal individualism,
haps even the origin) of what media dubbed the typical of neoliberal feminism in tune with cap-
alt-right, that cesspool of internet hatred that italism, and the socialist ideal of the privileged
propelled an unqualified, unapologetic bigot and revolutionary subject, which works in an
to the head of state” (Phillips, 2021, p. 2). opposite or dialectical way, like the reverse of
neoliberalism, post-human feminism proposes
The link between globalization and neoliberal
a critical distance from both through the recom-
economic theories (Mattern, 2019) must also be
bination of eco and techno feminism.
questioned because, on the one hand, poverty
reduction is a fact (Rosling, 2019). On the other The post-human paradigm suggests an inter- 129
hand, the asynchronies between the richest and generational and transversal analysis of an
the poorest have been accentuating worldwide. ethical and relational nature that considers a
It is necessary to find ethics of the real world constructive exercise of creating communities
(Singer, 2020) based on factual data and not concerned with the state of the world and that
on fables and past mystifications. Perhaps, as are willing to intervene in it in a productive
Mazzucato (2021) suggests, we need to focus on way. Forming the basis for a joint thought,
creating public value, inspired by a philosophi- however, it is also considered that people are
cal ethic with its origins in ancient Greece, which not equal. They can be aligned in a common
aimed at a deep sense of public duty to avoid cause despite their differences. The criticism of
tyranny. In this sense, a value is advocated “col- humanism is evident when it is questioned that
lectively created by different agents and for the it only considered a partial subject, selling it as
community as a whole, in the public interest” universal and representative of all (Braidotti,
(p. 197). As Anne Applebaum (2020) suggests, it 2022).
is quite possible that we are already experienc- According to Rosi Braidotti (2022), contempo-
ing the twilight of democracy, where civilization rary feminism “combines critique with creativ-
seeks anarchy and tyranny through authoritar- ity, politics with the imagination, and material
ian ideas. If it happened in the 20th century, it cartographies of the present with speculative
could happen again in the 21st century. anticipations of the future” (p. 43). Based on
Table of Contents
the assumption that neoliberal and neo-social- with human beings. Indigenous relational
ist feminisms are two sides of the same coin philosophies put their finger on the wound of
and that both are aligned with notions of cap- Western dualisms. We largely dismantled these
italist patriarchy, it is necessary to propose a artificial opposed dualisms in the context of the
new paradigm that does not ignore, like the arts and digital games (Gouveia, 2010).
previous ones, the importance of other liv- Mythical knowledge and logical thinking can be
ing and dynamic entities such as, for exam- unified through cognition that holistically inte-
ple, the planet and its immanent species. Then grates instead of separates them54. For an analysis
what defines the post-human paradigm is its of the intricate relationship between mythos and
respect for the political agency of non-human logos, consult Arendt (1991 [1968]). The ontolog-
environmental factors, thus contributing to ical relationship, following Rosi Braidotti (2022),
demystifying the delusions of contemporary makes explicit, through an interconnected and
cognitive capitalism. Therefore, we face the integrated politics and poetics without artifi-
convergence of the so-called fourth industrial cial separations, that indigenous cultures help
revolution, explicit through the merge of auto- to promote and overcome, by not making the
mation technologies, with biogenetics, neuronal distinction between nature and culture, they are
sciences, information technologies, artificial fundamental to avoid discrimination, namely
intelligence, nanotechnologies, and the inter- the assumption that women are to nature what
net of things, with the sixth extinction, that is,
130 with the degradation of living ecosystems on
men are to culture, so ironized in the work of
the artist Barbara Kruger in 1983: “We won’t
planet Earth. Post-human convergence blurs play nature to your culture!” (Braidotti, 2022).
the boundaries between ecological, environ- In this sense, ecofeminism is a pioneer in the
mental, and technological through cross-cutting extension of feminism to social and political eth-
connections (Braidotti, 2022). The environment ics that extends to the natural world, which is
becomes mediated by technology, and technol- considered as continuous with the conditions
ogy starts to be built by integrating ecology and of subjugation of women, blacks, indigenous
the environment. people, animals, land, and others, in an ecology
In this context, ecofeminism rescues intercon- of intersections (Braidotti, 2022). Ecofeminism
nected ways of life on Earth, electing indige- not only presupposes thinking about ecology
nous cultures for their integrated vision and for and the environment, but it is, above all, a form
not distinguishing between nature and culture of engagement with knowledge, subjectivity,
through the idea of a continuum between them. politics, ethics, science, citizenship, and agency,
This worldview considers, as does Asian cul- which permeates and reconfigures theory and
ture, that non-organic artifacts, such as techno- practice in an ethic of attention and care for oth-
logical artifacts, computer networks, codes, and ers that helps to build responsible citizenship in
algorithms, are in relationship and connection a participatory democracy.
54 For an analysis of the intricate relationship between mythos and logos, consult Arendt (1991 [1968]).
Table of Contents
This ethics of compassion and solidarity artifice become indistinguishable. In this con-
resides in an epistemological humility based text, human fertilization also mutates surrogate
on the balance between reason and emotion bellies and placentas in a dance between biol-
in a biocultural continuum (Braidotti, 2022). ogy and technology (Braidotti, 2022).
Contemporary feminist materialism, in reac-
Thus, human and non-human ecologies, evo-
tion to postmodernism, rests on the premise
lution, development, history, affections, perfor-
of a nature-culture continuum that is tech-
mances, technologies, and everything deemed
nologically mediated through a heterogene-
pertinent (Haraway, 2017) are brought together.
ous ecology that includes the organic and the
An ecology inspired by a playful feminist ethic
non-organic. This philosophy of immanence,
of response-ability promotes intricate relation-
as opposed to transcendence (Pereira, 2021), is
ships and coalitions between arts, sciences, and
specific to French epistemology and the phi-
technologies, uniting codes and algorithms, cre-
losophy of science and assumes itself with a
ativity, and community involvement, and a pro-
realism that advocates that matter is vital, intel-
posal for artistic creation that helps us live on
ligent, and self-organizing (Braidotti, 2022).
a damaged planet. The awareness that we are
We will then have to learn to think differently faced with the problem of living in a complex
(Braidotti, 2022) and consider that biopower world suggests that human beings live and die
has moved to a logic of information dissem- on earth together with dignity.
ination whose bodies are transformed into
techno bodies permeated by the environment’s
131
vicissitudes, socially responsible and are affec- Empirical research
tively connected. These bodies are simultane-
In our teaching and research practices, we have
ously real and virtual and are diluted through
been analysing the persistent problem of gen-
exposure and disappearance to multiple tech-
der asymmetries in the digital games sector in
no-biogenetic networks mediated by comput-
Portugal. The initial formation of an inherently
ing, encouraging experimentation. Pushing
young and masculine gaming culture and the
the limits of biology, the new condition of the
conception that men perform better in tech-
body dilutes the traditional modern distinction
nological areas has contributed to gender seg-
between art, performance, media, design, and
regation in this sector. As discussed in other
architecture, turning the natural and the artifi-
publications, these asymmetries are still present
cial into inseparable entities, highlighting the
in the national digital games industry (Lima,
potential of uncertainty, subversion, transfor-
& Gouveia, 2020; Lima, Gouveia, Cardoso, &
mation, and gaming, celebrates anomaly, mon-
Pinto, 2021).
strosity, and flexible morphological strange-
ness. Disability studies are also considered in Kowert, Breuer, and Quandt (2017) proposed
these constellations of multiple flexible possi- a theoretical model explaining sexism and the
bilities, where reality mediated by technology exclusion of girls and women in the gaming cul-
becomes second nature and where nature and ture and industry. According to these authors,
Table of Contents
these aspects should be considered. The first is key to promote more equitable working and
refers to the global perception that video games educational environments (Gouveia, Lima, &
are an inherently male medium. The second Unterholzner, 2022).
refers to the low presence of women in this The research we are developing aims to portray
industry and, consequently, the development the evolution of the participation and integra-
of games created chiefly by men. Finally, the tion of women in this sector in all its lines of
authors highlight the (toxic) digital game com- action, from professional training to national
munities that reproduce sexist and misogynistic industry, entrepreneurship, and artistic produc-
practices, especially online multiplayer games. tion. This study is premised on the advantages
This third aspect could be the main reason why of gender equity for the development of digital
gender differences in video game engagement economies that improve the sustainable use of
in gaming communities and industry persist, technological resources, maximise knowledge
despite the popularization and growth of the flows, spread the benefits of change throughout
medium. the economy that wants to be sustainable in
Although a large body of research has exam- inclusive societies, and prioritise the well-being
ined the different forms of exclusion of girls of the population and the preservation of the
and women, both in the gaming industry and in environment. In this chapter, we will discuss
online games (Kowert et al., 2017; Fox & Tang, some of our results, focusing on the difficul-
132 2014; Ivory, 2006), and there is an increased ties and challenges reported by the participants
awareness of this issue by the communities of regarding gender issues.
gamers and game developers (Weststar et al.,
2021), there is a long way to go towards gender
equity in the digital gaming sector and society. Methodological design
As mentioned above, this path will be made We conducted empirical research between 2019
through a holistic understanding of the social, and 2022 with students and professionals in
cultural, and political dynamics that maintain the digital games sector in Portugal, namely
this system of inequities. four focus groups with students and twen-
ty-three interviews with professionals. In addi-
The lack of diversity and under-representa-
tion, we have been attending meetings of the
tion of women in the technological industry
Portuguese game developer community, such
and gaming sector is a persistent problem in
as Game Dev Camp and forums on Discord,
the education and dissemination of the STEAM
Twitter, and Facebook.
(Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and
Mathematics) fields. Therefore, consistent Regarding data analysis, we carried out
research that points to future strategies for the Thematic Analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2006). The
inclusion of under-represented groups in a choice of this analysis method is relevant to the
sector where artists, designers, programmers, arts-based research that we have been develop-
and computer scientists work collaboratively ing, considering that in an increasingly complex
Table of Contents
society, the operative intersection of knowledge FG Gender Age Degree title
from various areas of expertise helps us over- FG1 Female 21 Graphic Design
come some disciplinary biases (Gouveia, 2020a; FG1 Female 22 Game Design and Digital Animation
FG1 Female 35 Game Design and Digital Animation

Gouveia, 2020b). We also conducted data anal-
FG1 Male 21 Game Design and Digital Animation
ysis from the epistemological positioning trans-
FG2 Female 19 Graphic Design
versal to this research, namely the speculative
FG2 Female 26 Graphic Design
and convergent feminist perspective discussed
FG2 Female 20 Industrial Design
above. Due to a large amount of material for FG2 Female 21 Industrial Design
analysis, we used NVivo software in the data FG2 Male 26 Graphic Design
coding process. FG3 Female 18 Game Design and Digital Animation
FG3 Female 19 Game Design and Digital Animation

Participants FG3 Male 19 Game Design and Digital Animation

Twenty-three students from two different higher
education institutions - a university and a poly-
technic institute – participated in the four focus
groups. Of these, eleven were women aged 18 FG3 Male 25 Game Design and Digital Animation
to 35 (see Table 1). Except for one Venezuelan FG3 Male 26 Game Design and Digital Animation 133
student, all of them had Portuguese national- FG3 Male 28 Game Design and Digital Animation
ity. Only focus group 4 (FG4) was composed of FG4 Female 21 Communication Design
Master’s students, and the other participants FG4 Female 24 Communication Design
were undergraduate students. Participation FG4 Male 31 Computer Engineering
was voluntary and did not follow any recruit-

Table 1- Focus group participants
ment criteria55.
The professionals’ work or research experi- whom were women. Their ages ranged from
ences in the digital games sector were the only 21 to 48 years.
inclusion criteria. They were contacted through It was a rather heterogeneous group regarding
their professional emails made available by the area and level of education, and job role (see
Portuguese Society of Video Game Sciences Table 2). Most had Bachelor’s degrees (11 par-
and through the social networks Facebook, ticipants), the others had Master’s degrees (9
LinkedIn, and Twitter. Twenty-three profes- participants) and Ph.D. (3 participants) in dif-
sionals participated in this study, thirteen of ferent areas of knowledge.
55 Our intention was to listen to the largest number of students, so we did not define inclusion criteria for the focus groups. Besides, con-
sidering the reduced time we had in the educational institutions to conduct the focus groups, the voluntary participation of the students
facilitated the formation of groups according to the availability of the students who agreed to participate in the study.
Table of Contents
Gender Age Area and level of education Job role
Female 48 Sociology, Bachelor’s Degree Game developer and entrepreneur
Female 40 Communication Design, Ph.D. Teacher and researcher
Female 33 Social Communication, Bachelor’s Degree Marketing lead
Female 31 3D Computer Animation, Master’s Degree Game artist
Female 29 Multimedia Art, Bachelor’s Degree Game artist
Female 29 Computer Science and Engineering, Ph.D. Researcher
Female 28 Game Design, Master’s Degree Game developer
Female 26 Multimedia applications and video games, Bachelor’s Degree Game developer and programmer
Game artist
3D Animation and Games,
Female 26
Bachelor’s Degree
Programmer
Digital Game Development Engineering,
Female 26
Master’s Degree
Female 25 Communication Design, Master’s Degree Game developer
Female 25 Digital Marketing, Master’s Degree Marketing manager and streamer
Advertising
134
Digital Games and Multimedia,
Female 23
Bachelor’s Degree
Male 38 Communication Design, Ph.D. Teacher and researcher
Programmer
Computer Science and Engineering,
Male 35
Bachelor’s Degree
Male 30 Computer Science, Master’s Degree Game developer and teacher
Male 30 Multimedia Art, Bachelor’s Degree Game developer
Male 26 Game Design, Master’s Degree Programmer
Male 25 Advertising and Marketing, Master’s Degree Marketing lead
Programmer and 2D Art game

Male 24 designer
Master’s Degree
Male 23 Games and Apps Development, Bachelor’s Degree Game developer
Game audio programmer

Male 21
Bachelor’s Degree
Male 22 Game Design and Digital Animation, Bachelor’s Degree Gameplay programmer
Table 2- Interview participants

Table of Contents
Data Analysis Thus, although some elements considered that
there were gender asymmetries in the courses
During the process of data analysis, we iden-
they attended, some believed that girls were not
tified three themes, namely “gender stereo-
interested in video games because of a ques-
types,” “gaming culture stereotypes,” and
tion of sensitivity of interest or because they
“gendered and uni-disciplinary field.” To make
did not like to play, which suggests that female
them more intelligible, we will not provide a
representation in the digital games sector was
detailed description of the codes that gave rise
not an urgent issue for these participants. The
to the themes. All the codes identified are inte-
following excerpts illustrate their arguments
grated into the general analysis of the results.
regarding the absence of women in this sector:
Some excerpts from the focus groups and inter-
views will be presented to facilitate the under- Uhm… I don’t know, I don’t happen to have… I
standing of the themes. guess I never noticed that part because… I know
some girls are also working and that… more per-
sonally, and as developers, for example… And a lot
First theme- Gender Stereotypes of the talents are also there are a lot of female tal-
This theme refers to the cultural strength of the ents… I never noticed even in schools, um… Ok, by
chance, for example, in the class I taught there were
male-female binary persistent in the partici-
no girls, but in some classes… there’s even quite a
pants’ narratives. Their perceptions of norma-
bit of participation from girls (male, 24 years old,
tive gender roles allowed us to cluster students
programmer).
135
and professionals into three groups: those indif-
ferent to gender issues, the group of non-con- (…) but they also don’t go into programming
formists, and the group of activists. because they don’t know what it is, but they also
don’t try to know it. They immediately get the idea
Despite the complexity of the data and the con-
that it’s boring and don’t want to do that. That is,
tradictory and paradoxical discourses of some
it’s not so much entering or looking for what it is,
participants, we identified a reduced number of
knowing what it does, and all that stuff (male, 20
students in focus group 356 and two male pro-
years old, student, FG3).
fessionals57 that presented unclear arguments or
some discomfort when the researcher addressed In the indifferent group, some did not ques-
issues related to gender asymmetries in the tion the harmful effects of gender stereotypes.
gaming industry. As the focus groups and some According to a student of game design and dig-
interviews were audio and video recorded, it ital animation:
was possible to identify more clearly the expres- To a certain extent, stereotypes are not bad, ok? They
sions of discomfort, the silences, and the con- are stereotypes. For example, I am from a country where
tradictory arguments that made it possible to even mannequins are hypersexualized, ok? The woman
include some participants in this first group. is different from what we see, and it’s not because of
56 Three students. All were from the game design and digital animation course.
57 Programmer and art game designer, 24 years old and game audio programmer, 21 years old, respectively.
Table of Contents
this that society goes like that, ok? So, because we play were three who were leading an initiative that
games where the woman is sexy, that doesn’t mean that aims to bring together women who make up
a woman wants to be like that, and there is nothing the Portuguese games industry to network and
wrong with showing a sexy woman in a game. There is increase representativeness, empower current
nothing wrong with that, ok. I don’t feel discriminated and aspiring professionals, and combat the loss
against when I look at a sexy woman in a game, or a fat of female talent due to toxic environments within
woman. For me, it is the same. It is a character (female, and outside the games development community.
19 years old, student, FG3). In turn, three students (FG4) developed a digital
In this group, we see how, to a greater or lesser game that addressed the theme of dating vio-
extent, both boys and girls contribute to main- lence. The video game won second place in the
taining the invisibility of gender asymmetries. Video Games Exploring Culture’s Influence on
At the core of their discourses, there is an indif- Dating 2020 competition, an international com-
ference that reflects how the positions of privi- petition hosted by Jennifer Ann’s Group.
lege make the questioning and contestation of In contrast to the previous group, the activist
such asymmetries unviable. Not noticing, for participants had more awareness of the difficul-
example, that in a classroom of a technological ties and challenges women face in a male-dom-
course, there are no girls or thinking that the inated sector. Some excerpts illustrate this:
exaggeration of hypersexualized female char- Games in the old days were much more for boys.
136 acters does not contribute to the maintenance Because games were made by boys for boys, men
of sexism and misogyny in gaming culture is to for boys, men for men, men created the women as
corroborate with the perspective of the hegem- they liked (…) That became a standard. As I tell
onic masculinity instituted by the patriarchal you, the companies have a large male population, so
culture that naturalizes the differences between men design the women to their liking. If there was
men and women and reinforces gender inequal- another woman, um, women working there even if
ities. This position may also reflect the absence they were artists, they would put more diversity into
of debates and courses focused on raising stu- those bodies (…) As they don’t have women around,
dents’ awareness about gender and race issues they follow the stereotype of the woman and how
in the digital games industry. they like to see the woman, the woman with curves,
At the opposite pole was the activist group. It the woman with big breasts, and then this stereotype
was possible to identify that more women are remains (female, 26 years old, programmer).
engaged in fighting gender asymmetries in the There is still a stigma with girls as gamers, so that’s the
video game sector than men. In fact, “hegem- first problem (…) As there are no role models or great
onic masculinity is invisible to those who try female role models working in the industry, you don’t
to obtain it as a gender ideal. It is especially consider it something you can get to, do you? (…) if
visible to those most affected by its violence” the female characters are more abundant and interest-
(Kimmel, 1998, p. 116). ing, i.e., if those characters don’t perpetuate stereotypes
Among the professionals interviewed, there that we know, but are interesting and challenging, etc.
Table of Contents
This will also make girls reveal themselves more in the which is something I don’t like. I don’t like it because
games that are made, and by themselves want to be whenever I’ve had the opportunity to speak to women
gamers and invest time in being a gamer, and possi- involved in games, I think you can see a different sen-
bly consider it as a career, where they can also make sibility (male, 25 years old, marketing manager).
games themselves and make games with whom they The difference between being a non-conformist
identify (female, 25 years old, marketing manager and an activist also involves questioning the
and streamer). absence of women in the sector. As one pro-
The arguments presented by these participants fessional who was working in a digital games
converge with the model of exclusion and sex- company in England explained to us:
ism in the video games sector suggested by The concern was always to get more diverse can-
Kowert et al. (2017), mentioned above. Similarly, didates at this company where I am. The problem
the group of non-conformists, formed mainly of started with “we are only hiring white men because
the students in Focus Groups 1 and 2 and most we only get applications from white men. Why?”
of the professionals interviewed, were aware And so, they bet on changing the wording of the
of the factors that keep girls and women away job opening. And an interesting thing they told me
from this sector. They identified the problem there in that company is when it’s a code vacancy, if
and were able to give examples of how this they say they’re looking for someone who is a “rock-
inclusion could be made possible however they star,” um, it’s a word that’s used a lot, ah we’re look-
did not report having participated in concrete
actions to combat the difficulties mentioned, as
ing for a “rockstar” programmer, when they write 137
that, women usually never send their application
we can see in the following excerpts: (female, 26 years old, programmer).
There was just recently a… I think it was an event
called “video games said she,” which was a kind of
event created by women to talk about video games, Second theme - Gaming Culture Stereotypes
experiences of girls who want to work in the indus- Following the factors that condition women’s
try, or who grew up with video games that, despite participation in video games, the participants
everything… this is not a bug-it’s not like bigfoot, talked about the stereotypes related to the
despite everything there are still some girls who gamer and the gaming culture. Some excerpts
have that kind of thing (male, 30 years old, game illustrate this theme:
developer).
There is a lot of that stereotype of boys who, um,
Whenever we tried to recruit, uhm, we never had a don’t have the best hygiene and don’t have the best,
woman apply. Uhm whenever we went to gaming uhm… a way of being and that… maybe they are
events, um, women always showed up… and I’m not not the best people for girls, um… and… it was a
fond of this at all, and I don’t appreciate saying this, but problem in my class and that I know all the classes,
they always show up a little bit as the business card of and that I knew it was a problem in general, and
the companies. They’re there a little bit to make contact, that’s it (female, 26 years old, game artist).
and not so much to… to talk about the games. Uhm,
Who is seen as a little bit different from the others is
Table of Contents
immediately an easy target, um, a hit and, so maybe In turn, most of the men interviewed chose a
that contributed in a way for umm-for you not to see professional area that had some relation to the
so many girls interested in this medium, because it gaming sector, such as computer engineering,
is more, like, boys’ stuff, or geek stuff, geek is-it is multimedia, or game design, as we can see in
because then you still have that side too, which is the following excerpts:
not only it is a boys’ thing, it is a nerd and geeky and Since I was a child, I’ve liked creating games (…) I
outcast boys’ thing that is not… that is not socially also created my games (…) the taste for program-
good at all, etc., do you know? (male, 30 years old, ming also started there, and I started programming
game developer). my games, making my art for games… Since high
In a previous publication (Lima, Pinto, Cardoso, school, I’ve been making games for game jams…so I
& Gouveia, 2021), we developed a compre- went to Computer Science to learn how to program
hensive analysis of how these stereotypes, (male, 24 years old, programmer, and 2D art
combined with the lack of knowledge of the game designer).
multidisciplinary areas that make up the dig- (…) this can have a big impact because I know that,
ital games industry, contribute to the cycle of at least, on me, it did. The fact that I play a lot and
exclusion of girls and women in this sector. One want to know how it’s done was why I wanted to
of our findings was that despite this exclusion get into this area (male, 22 years old, gameplay
being socialized from an early age by the par- programmer).
138 ticipants in our study, the girls maintained
their interest in video games, becoming fans
of gaming culture. However, most of them did Third theme- Gendered and
not aspire to pursue any profession in digital Uni-disciplinary Field
games or work in the industry. This cycle of The last theme refers to the absence of multidis-
exclusion can also push girls away from tech- ciplinary characterization of the area of video
nological and digital careers. The excerpt below games in Portugal, which indicate the narrow-
exemplifies how a girl is turned away from this ing of the area into partial visions, such as tech-
professional area: nological, artistic, and communicational visions
Video games were something that, although I didn’t or focused on the programming of video games.
like, it’s not that I didn’t like it, it’s that I didn’t play Some interviewees told us about this aspect:
much. I didn’t play much until higher education. I As a teacher/course director, the greatest difficulty
liked the games… I just never thought that it was we encountered has to do with the scope and multi-
an area that I could pursue on a professional level, disciplinary involved in video game creation and
precisely because there is no such incentive, there is how best to convey the division by areas and coor-
no such motivation, and the appreciation of the area dination of teamwork while applying the same cur-
of games itself, it is a game, it is entertainment … ricular plan to students with considerably different
it’s nothing more than that (female, 24 years old, skills and objectives (arts/programming) but with
Master student). a common goal (male, 38 years old, teacher and
Table of Contents
researcher). comments and discourage girls from perform-
ing roles linked to programming and boys from
There is a dysfunction, and a general lack of knowl-
performing functions related to game art, as we
edge about what video games are that causes com-
can see in the account of two students, a boy,
pletely arbitrary situations and undermines the
and a girl, who participated in focus group 1:
whole development of the industry in that sense
(…) Video games are a story told by someone who I’m more in the design and art of the game. After
makes puppets, someone who makes videos, someone all, I like it because I don’t like programming, and
who makes voices, someone who makes music, and he is more the programmer of our game. I started to
all these artists combine into a product that uses teach him the basics of Illustrator (…) He began to
a computer base, just like cinema (…) the differ- stop thinking that design was only for me (…) That
ence is that everyone thinks that cinema is an art aversion you had for design, you stopped seeing it,
and video games are engineering, they are not, not just like I stopped having an aversion to program-
really, no, and they are not anywhere, they are in ming (…) In the end, you get to like each other’s area
Portugal (female, 48 years old, game developer and get a better understanding of what each other
and entrepreneur). does and you can both help each other in each other’s
area, something that he, perhaps, had probably never
In Portugal, the multidisciplinary nature of
thought of in his life (laughs).
digital games is not fully assumed (Lima et al.,
2021). We observe that this difficulty in charac- They can also create feelings of devaluation and
terizing digital games as an interdisciplinary gender discrimination, as mentioned by a girl 139
in focus group 4:
area helps to create the distorted idea of an area
of specialization with greater weight in game I want to add that not only, not only the arts, but we
programming than in its other aspects, as men- also end up being an area that is a little undervalued
tioned by one of the interviewed professionals: about computer science, right? Because they are the
ones who make the game, they are the ones who create,
How are faculties advertising these courses, and
and they are the ones who have the greatest difficulty,
where are they getting people? That’s my question,
of course, they do, don’t they? The other issue is that
because if advertising… if the way of making games
we are girls or women, it may be strange to hear that,
is… is… coming to computer science, I don’t know.
but it is true (…) my colleague and I feel this a little
If you know how to program, you can come (…) I
bit, that there is this undervaluing, perhaps because
think that’s what scares many people (female, 28
we are women, not only artists but also women (…)
years old, game developer).
Engineers, at least the ones I worked with, are not
The immediate effects of this skewing of the used to working with people from the arts. They are
multidisciplinary nature of digital games are only used to working with themselves and with peo-
the sexual division between the multiple areas ple who speak the same language and who think in
that make up this sector. On one side are male the same way as them. So, if the people themselves
programmers and on the other, female artists. are not open, communication becomes very difficult,
The reverse situation may trigger some sexist and collaboration becomes very difficult. It becomes
Table of Contents
complicated to understand what they want, what they inequalities in this sector are linked to gender
need, what we can do, and how the concepts come to stereotypes, stereotypes of gaming culture, and
us (24 years old). biases in the multidisciplinary nature of digital
In a recent publication (Gouveia, Lima, & games. These aspects condition female participa-
Unterholzner, 2022), we show the importance of tion in the gaming sector and legitimize digital
promoting collaborative environments for digital games as mere entertainment for women and,
game creation through some specific examples on the other hand, a “serious” toy that influences
from our teaching and research experience. We the professional choice of boys much more than
also alerted for the need to create mixed environ- girls. Moreover, the difficulty in characterizing
ments in Portugal where women and men share digital games as a multidisciplinary area helps
the design and development of game-based pro- create the distorted idea of an area of specializa-
jects. We also highlight how the programming tion with greater weight in game programming
fallacy, i.e., the persistent belief that one can only than in artistic creation, design, production, and
work in games through programming, is, in a dissemination of ludic artifacts.
way, responsible for a deeper flight of women The results also revealed that most participants
from game environments. We are convinced are nonconformists with this gender discrim-
that we can use other strategies, over and above ination and inequalities situation, despite the
inviting women to take programming courses in strong presence of the female-male binary
140 higher education. When the emphasis is placed in their accounts. However, few participants
on programming and not on artistic creation, pro- reported being effectively engaged in changing
duction, and dissemination of ludic artifacts, we this scenario of discrimination and inequalities
forget that games are above all cultural products in Portugal.
and not just technological objects or program-
We also reflect through the lens of convergent
ming software artifacts.
speculative feminism in this chapter and how
the arts, playful media, and games can be
Conclusion instrumental for the goal of generating digi-
tal literacy. When girls and women make and
The clarity and intensity of the participants’ play digital games, they learn and connect with
reports in this research demonstrate that technologies and become aware of their possi-
there is still a long way to go to eradicate gen- bilities. They transform their worlds through
der inequities in the digital gaming industry. speculative and creative thinking to better
Unfortunately, the micro-processes of discrim- understanding of complexity and systemic
ination and exclusion are only visible to those knowledge. Gaming literacy can be a form of
who directly or indirectly suffer this type of resistance and playful engagement for a better
violence. citizenship. In this way, it can promote demo-
The empirical research findings suggest that cratic ways of thinking. As Zimmerman (2013)
the beliefs and practices that produce gender considered in his Manifesto for a Ludic Century:
Table of Contents
There is a need to be playful: It is not enough Lane, UK: Penguin Books.
to merely be a systems-literate person; to under-
Arendt, H. (1991). Homens em Tempos Sombrios
stand systems an analytic sense. We also must
[Men in Dark Times]. Lisbon: Relógio D’Água.
learn to be playful in them. A playful system is
(Original work published 1968).
a human system, a social system rife with con-
tradictions and with possibility. Being playful Braidotti, R. (2022). Posthuman Feminism.
is the engine of innovation and creativity: as we Cambridge: Polity Press.
play, we think about thinking and learn to act Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2006). Using Thematic
in new ways. As a cultural form, games have Analysis in Psychology. Qualitative Research
a particularly direct connection with play (…). in Psychology, 3(2), pp. 77-101. https://doi.
Gaming literacy can address our problems: org/10.1191/1478088706qp063oa
The problems the world faces today requires the Chess, S. (2020). Play Like a Feminist. Cambridge:
kinds of thinking that gaming literacy engen-
MIT Press.
ders. How does the price of gas in California
affect the politics of the Middle East affect the Coeckelbergh, M. (2020). The
Amazon ecosystem? These problems force us Postdigital in Pandemic Times:
to understand how the parts of a system fit a Comment on the Covid-19 Crisis and
together to create a complex whole with emer- its Political Epistemologies. Postdigit Sci
gent effects. They require playful, innovative, Educ 2, 547-550. https://doi.org/10.1007/
transdisciplinary thinking in which systems can s42438-020-00119-2 141
be analysed, redesigned, and transformed into Cote, A. C. (2020). Gaming Sexism, Gender and
something new. Identity in the Era of Casual Video Games. New
Finally, in the emerging context of the digital York, NY: University Press.
transition, it is urgent to engage women and Davis, A. (2020). A Liberdade é uma Luta Constante
men of all ages, races, and ethnicities in inclu-
[Freedom is a Constant Struggle]. Lisbon:
sive technological environments and encour-
Antígona.
age them to be part of the overall ecosystem of
change. If we continue to ignore the critiques of Federici, S. (2020). Calibã e a Bruxa: as Mulheres,
feminist and racial studies applied to technol- o Corpo e a Acumulação Original [Caliban and
ogy fields and digital games and disregard the the Witch: Women, the Body, and Primitive
impact of the lack of diversity in these fields, we Accumulation]. Lisbon: Orpheu Negro, Lisboa.
run the huge risk of making a digital transition Fox, J., & Tang, W. Y. (2014). Sexism in Online
that will continue to exclude women and other Video Games: The Role of Conformity to
underrepresented groups. Masculine Norms and Social Dominance
References Orientation. Computers in Human Behavior 33,
pp. 314-320.
Applebaum, A. (2020). Twilight Democracy: The
Failure of Politics and the Parting of Friends. Allen Gouveia, P. (2020a). The New Media vs.
Table of Contents
Old Media Trap: How Contemporary Arts Global, pp.180-193. https://www.igi-global.

Became Playful Transmedia Environments. In com/chapter/interactive-multimedia-experi-
Soares, C. & Simão, E. (Eds). Multidisciplinary ences-in-higher-education/294925
Perspectives on New Media Art. Part of Advances
Gray, K. L. (2020). Intersectional Tech Black Users
in Media, Entertainment, and the Arts (AMEA)
in Digital Gaming. Louisiana State University
Book Series. IGI Global 2020, pp 25-46.
Press.
https://www.igi-global.com/chapter/
the-new-media-vs-old-media-trap/260019 Haraway, D. (2017). Staying with the Trouble.
Durham & London: Duke University Press.
________ (2020b). The Arts and Sciences Can
Both Contribute to a Better Understanding and Irigaray, L. (2007). Je, Tu, Nous, New York, NY:
Unravelling of the Mysteries of Life (human Routledge Classics. (Original work published
but not only). Faraday Museum, Faraday News 1987).
Journal. Section: Art and Science, IST, Lisbon Ivory, J. D. (2006). Still a Man’s Game: Gender
University, pp. 19-24. Representation in Online Reviews of Video
________ (2014). A Possible Narration About Games. Mass Communication and Society, 9, (1),
Portuguese Videogames Creation. Critical pp. 103-114
Book Review: Videogames in Portugal: History, Kimmel, M. S. (1998). A Produção Simultânea
Technology, and Art. Aniki, Portuguese Journal de Masculinidades Hegemónicas e Subalternas.
142 of the Moving Image. Vol 1(2): 369-374. (Traduzido por Andréa Fachel Leal).
________ (2010). Artes e Jogos Digitais, Estética Horizontes Antropológicos, Porto Alegre, 4
e Design da Experiência Lúdica. Lisboa: Edições (9) pp. 103-117 http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/
Universitárias Lusófonas, Colecção Imagens, S0104-71831998000200007
Sons, Máquinas e Pensamento, ed. 11, ISBN: Kowert, R.; Breuer, J., & Quandt, T. (2017).
978-972-8881-84-9. Women are From Farmville, Men are From
________ (2009). Narrative paradox and the Vicecity: The Cycle of Exclusion and Sexism in
design of alternate reality games (ARGs) and Video Game Content and Culture. In R. Kowert,
blogs. ICE-GIC 09 Proceedings, First International and T. Quandt, T. (Eds.). New Perspectives on
IEEE Consumer Electronics Society Games the Social Aspects of Digital Gaming: Multiplayer
Innovation Conference, Imperial College, South 2 (1st ed.). New York: Routledge. https://doi.
Kensington, London, pp. 231-38. org/10.4324/9781315629308
Gouveia, P.; Lima, L., & Unterholzner, A. (2022). Lima, L., & Gouveia, P. (2020). Gender
Interactive Multimedia Experiences in Higher Asymmetries in the Digital Games Sector
Education: Gaming, Augment and Virtual in Portugal. DIGRA 2020 Tampere Conference
Reality, and Research. In Carol-Ann Lane (Ed.). Proceedings, Finland. http://www.digra.
Handbook of Research on Acquiring 21st Century org/wp-content/uploads/digital-library/
Literacy Skills Through Game-Based Learning. IGI DiGRA_2020_paper_132.pdf
Table of Contents
Lima, L; Gouveia, P., Cardoso, P.; & Pinto, C. Rosling, H. (2019). Factfulness: Dez Razões Pelas
2021. ‘I Never Imagined I Would Work in the Quais Estamos Errados Acerca do Mundo – e Porque
Digital Game Industry. In Proceedings of the as Coisas Estão Melhor do que Pensamos. Edições
3rd IEEE Conference on Games, IT University of Temas e Debates. Lisboa: Círculo de Leitores.
Copenhagen. Shaw, A. (2014). Gaming at the Edge, Sexuality,
Mattern, S. P. (2019). The Slow Moon Climbs: and Gender at the Margins of Gamer Culture,
The Science, History, and Meaning of Menopause. University of Minnesota Press, Minneapolis &
Princeton University Press. London.
Mazzucato, M. (2021). Economia de Missão: um Guia Singer, P. (2020). Ética no Mundo Real: 82 breves
Ousado e Inovador Para Mudar o Capitalismo. Edições ensaios sobre coisas realmente importantes. Lisboa:
Temas e Debates. Lisboa: Círculo dos Leitores. Edições 70.
Mbembe, A. (2022, January 11). How Spivak, G. G. (2021). Pode a Subalterna Tomar a
to Develop a Planetary Consciousness. Palavra? Lisboa: Orpheu Negro.
Interview [Noema Magazine]. Retrieved Stone, A. R., (2001). The War of Desire and
from https://www.noemamag.com/ Technology at the Close of the Mechanical Age.
how-to-develop-a-planetary-consciousness/ Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press. (Original work
Peraica, A. (2019). The Age of Total Images: published 1995).
Disappearance of a Subjective Viewpoint in Post-
digital Photography. Theory on Demand #34.
Zimmerman, E., & Chaplin, H. (2013, September 143
9). Manifesto: The 21st Century Will Be Defined
Amsterdam University Institute of Network by Games. [Blog post] Kotaku. Retrieved from
Cultures. https://kotaku.com/manifesto-the-21st-centu-
Pereira, H., (2021). Ciência e Arte Combinadas ry-will-be-defined-by-games-1275355204
numa Atitude Imanente. Ciclo de Conferências Weststar, J., Kumar, S., Coppins, T., Kwan, E., &
Horizonte da Ciência, Biblioteca de Alcântara Inceefe, E. (2021). Developer Satisfaction Survey
e Bibliotecas de Lisboa. 2021: Summary Report. International Game
Phillips, A. (2021). Gamer Trouble: Feminist Developers Association (IGDA).
Confrontations in Digital Culture. New York
University Press.
Preciado, P. (2019). Manifesto Contra-Sexual.
Lisboa: Orpheu Negro. Table of Contents
Cultural Diversity as a
design precedent: A
(Feminist) Angle to HCI/d
Expansion
Cultural Diversity as a design precedent: A (Feminist) Angle to HCI/d Expansion
Cultural Diversity as a design precedent: A (Feminist) Angle to
HCI/d Expansion
Luddy School of Informatics, Computing, and Engineering. Visiting Assistant Professor, Indiana
University, Bloomington, USA
schivuku@iu.edu, shruthisai509@gmail.com
Abstract in turn, 2) Promoting Feminisms of thought through

Various forms of design knowledge have been the diversity cultural knowledge and background
discussed such as methods, schemas, prece- entails in design work, with the risk of multiple
dents, etc. In this chapter, I discuss cultural history, perspectives fighting with each other; and 3) 147
knowledge, interactions, and roots of researchers and Encouraging cross-pollination of ideas to build
designers as a design precedent. I talk through this the larger research agenda for HCI design.
concept as I present various case studies where I also intend to use this chapter as a self-reflec-
researchers have built their research agenda heav- tion and an avenue to represent young research-
ily drawing from their cultural background. I dis- ers who have excelled in the space of connecting
cuss how framing their research agendas using HCI and design spaces to various dimensions
cultural precedents enabled expansion of the through their cultural underpinnings.
power of design, especially in the field of Human-
Computer Interaction (HCI). I highly relate to this Keywords: Culture, Researcher Positionality,
space due to my personal researcher positionality Design Precedent, Feminisms of Thought (FtT).
as a “foreign cultural entity” in the westernized
HCI theory. The case studies presented show-
Introduction
case how researchers and designers used cultural
knowledge to frame their research methods, tools, Individually,
outcomes, and philosophy. I further discuss this Cultural Knowledge as a design precedent.
intake of cultural perspectives as a precedent for Cultural Heritage as a design constraint.
HCI research and design practice: 1) For expand- Cultural Uptakes as a design frame.
ing scope of criticality in HCI design spaces and Cultural Dimensions as a researcher positionality.
Table of Contents
Collectively, design (Lachner et al., 2018), or social-determin-

Cultural Diversity as a design precedent. ism aspects in HCI research. This establishment
Cultural Critique as a design expansion. was intended to expand HCI and design research
Culture driving one’s research agenda. abilities in, very few examples, thinking about
For the past decade, the field and theory of HCI third-world problems, designing for particular
has been undergoing major changes in its evi- domains such as health, fitness, etc. for differ-
dent third paradigm shift to encourage aspects ent cultures (Zheng & Hermawati, 2021), con-
of ethics, culture, experiences, and aesthetics sidering usability issues as drawn from users
(Rogers, 2004). This shift mostly focused on the of different cultures (Li et al., 2007), surfacing
transition from prioritizing human cognition to the complexity in design due to the “difficulty
leveraging on cultures of users (Bødker, 2006; of determining the user, based on cultural grounds”
Rogers, 2004). HCI and design researchers have (Bourges-Waldegg & Scrivener, 1998), exploring
worked immensely in considering culture as a linguistic and visual literacy of various cultures
theoretical construct or analytic lens to look at dealing with technological features (Wang et al.,
HCI practices and design principles (Irani et 2019), comparing perspectives on technology
al., 2010; Sturm et al., 2015). Researchers have manipulation across different cultures (Gray et
suggested cross-cultural models or nationalis- al., 2021), and so on. I am signposting only a few
tic design principles including a wide range of examples of research to give a sense of what I
cultures (Hofstede et al., 2005; Marcus & Gould, am NOT going to focus on this chapter. Across
148 2000; Shen et al., 2006; Winschiers-Theophilus & all this work, the focus was always on the big-
Bidwell, 2013). A huge part of this conversation ger research space of HCI or design, users who
has argued for extending design work beyond are invited to be studied or targeted, questions
the WEIRD participants (Western, Educated, being asked through a cultural lens for design,
Industrialized, Rich, and Democratic) (Sturm et or arguments or design principles brought to the
al., 2015) to be inclusive of different cultures and table based on the cultural implications to HCI
nationalities. Waldegg and Scrivener call this and design (indicated by black ink in Figure 1).
coupling of Internationalization and Localization In this book chapter, I am not directly focusing
techniques to include culturally oriented ele- on the implications of HCI and design work on
ments in HCI designs (Bourges-Waldegg & a particular or “other” culture. My main focus
Scrivener, 1998). Waldegg and Scrivener term is trying to understand how researchers and
these dual relations of separating cultural ele- designers have used their own cultural knowl-
ments from designs (internationalization) and edge and underpinning as their research agenda
targeting local elements from a particular cul- (indicated and marked by blue ink in Figure
ture (localization) as Culturalization to embed 1). I am focusing on the researchers and designers
meaning into design and usability. themselves to describe how their own culture has
Taking culture primarily as a lens, there has been influenced their practices, space, and research
a lot of work done such as culture-based design agenda to build HCI research as a whole.
(Li et al., 2007; Shen et al., 2006), culture-sensitive In this chapter, I focus on the cultural disposition
Table of Contents
FIGURE 1: Schema representing the scope of this chapter. The blue inked marking indicates the focus of this chapter, building on the
explicit contributions in the HCI and design field, represented by the blank ink. Schema sketched by the author.
of the researchers and designers themselves the form of the outcomes produced, but rather
and portray how they draw from it for setting how the researchers have framed the research
149
their research agenda. I intend to bring knowl- agenda drawing from their own culture.
edge acquired or inspired from one’s native
I broadly ask the questions: What are different
cultural background (which I often refer to as
researchers bringing into the HCI space with
cultural knowledge in this chapter) into light to
them, from their own rooted culture of being
discuss how that impacts the field of HCI and
and living? Given the diverse nature of HCI and
design. Throughout this chapter, I refer to “HCI
design research and practice, what is the contri-
research” as a unitized body of knowledge/
practice and “design” as the creative and inno- bution of an individual researcher to this space?
vative layer for HCI (not referring to design out- Are cultural practices contributing to defy and
side the realm of HCI). Throughout this chapter, challenge standardized knowledge such as sci-
I am trying to add a different flavour to the con- entific research methods, theoretical constructs
versation in relation to the WEIRD (Western, defined by popularity in space, prestige views
educated, industrialized, rich and democratic) (from the WEIRD populations) that are being
(Sturm et al., 2015) spaces already explored in used? Indirectly, how are researchers contrib-
HCI and design-research and practice. I refer uting to the HCI research space through their
to culture, but from the position of the rooted own individual identity, to stand out and be
and personal culture of the researcher. I am talk- different to the crowd (apart from following
ing about a design and research agenda, not in the WEIRD standards and practices)?
Table of Contents
Structure of the chapter. Firstly, I am provid- of HCI/Design from more Western perspec-
ing a definition of culture and how culture has tives. This allowed me to look at my culture
already been studied or used as a theoretical as a construct and precedent knowledge that
framework in HCI and design literature. This impacted my design decisions, and through a
allows me to frame what I am trying to add to wider lens, the outlook towards the history of
the ongoing conversations under “Culture and HCI/ design as a field. I felt this conversation
HCI/design”. I also define “Design Precedent” was important to have so that I could see how
as a concept. Secondly, I am presenting four a researcher’s, designer’s, (or even an educa-
“Cases” of HCI and design researchers, to tor’s) cultural knowledge can work for their
illustrate different ways in which they have own power to set up a research agenda. Upon
used culture as a design precedent to set their retrospection, this idea had been brewing for
research agendas. Thirdly, I am summarizing a long time.
how the cultural knowledge brought in by
Firstly, back in 2015, I was doing my Bachelor’s
these researchers has helped impact the HCI
Thesis Project when my advisor asked me to
space to expand, include, and diversify itself.
explore how I could make my thesis agenda
Finally, I conclude by presenting “Feminisms
and proposal very much “my own” and
of Thought” as a framework or approach for
“Shruthi-like.” Back then, I did not connect
young researchers, who can use cultural diver-
it back to my cultural knowledge, but I did
sity and knowledge as a design precedent for
150 carving their research agendas.
some explorative research through a design
(RtD) project where I brought Carnatic Music
(South-Indian Classical music; trained for 11
Personal Background years), Mathematics (favorite subject), and
Shape Grammar together to define Visual Grids
Author’s positionality. Where is she com-
based on “Taalam” (Rhythm) of Carnatic music.
ing from? This chapter is more of a personal
The creative focus of this project in addition
reflection and provocation to engage with this
to the offered due to the addition of a cultural
focus on technological feminisms, especially
knowledge drawing from music intrigued me
brought by the researchers in HCI and design
in terms of how my own knowledge drawn
literature. Where did this idea come from? How
from Indian culture could offer creativity in
did I even think of this? I have a very personal
the selected design frames.
uptake and positionality towards this topic.
I am Shruthi, born and brought up in South Secondly, in 2021, I gave a design prompt to
India; Sai Shruthi Chivukula, worked in South challenge my design students, asking them to
Korea and the United Kingdom; and Dr. Sai formulate design principles for Conversational
Shruthi Chivukula, graduated in the US with User Interfaces (CUIs) considering the themes of
Indian roots. Throughout this whole journey, Diversity, Equity, Justice, and Inclusion. I built
my cultural roots were deep-rooted from India on the design prompt based on me being a per-
and I got an opportunity to engage in the space son of color and how most of the CUIs currently
Table of Contents
built through NLP systems are based on the researchers who have used their own cultural
WEIRD (Western, educated, industrialized, rich backgrounds to frame their research agendas.
and democratic) populations only. This exercise
gave design students a different perspective of
considering and exploring critical aspects in Definitions
design, which I framed particularly from my Culture and HCI/ design
roots of being a person of color. I used CUIs as
When I refer to culture, I am building on
a tool to investigate the inclusivity and promote
Birukou and colleagues’ definition (Birukou et
the diversity of Conversational Technological
al., 2013) of culture represented through four
artifacts. The results from the students’ projects
categories: knowledge, behavior, norms/rules, and
intrigued me because of the creativity and nov-
beliefs. There can be a range of assumptions and
elty they offered in solving this design space,
predispositions about how a person’s culture
where I was wondering if I would have come up
is built. It can be argued that a researcher can
with that prompt if not personally rooted from
be developing new cultural knowledge through
being a person of color (or just not experiencing
changes in their life, such as embedding them-
culture just from the Western roots).
selves in a certain culture for a long time. While
Thirdly, a discussion with a senior HCI profes- I agree with these assumptions, in this chapter
sor about the history of design in HCI where I have chosen to focus more on the rooted cul-
our perspectives built an argument about how ture in which the researcher was either born,
design is a “Wrapper” in HCI, but also defining raised, or embedded as their foundation, when
151
only the elitist. But, my extension of the argu- I refer to cultural knowledge. Researchers tend
ment was how “design” as a field in HCI is very to build on local practices or culture based on
new to designers and researchers in the Global geography, but in this chapter, I am going to
south (drawing from personal experiences) and extend the conversation drawing on some case
that it is changing rapidly, when I consider my examples where researchers have built on some
engagement in the field of HCI/design in the concepts from their rooted culture, and show
past decade. This conversation intrigued me examples of innovation, creativity, and critical
to find out how the pollination of non-WEIRD expansion of HCI practices, both at fundamen-
researchers and designers is starting to ask crit- tal and theoretical levels. I further define what
ical questions based on their own cultural back- I mean by culture, as I present each case later
ground and underpinnings. in the chapter.
The common thread running through all these
stories is: how my own cultural background –
a person from India, being a person of color,
Design Precedent
learning a cultural form of music – has tried to Lawson (Lawson, 2004; Lawson & Dorst,
pull the threads of innovation and creativity for, 2013) describes precedent as one of the forms
through, and in design. That is when I started to of design knowledge. As the knowledge that
reflect on examples I know about designers and is dormant yet active and mostly, personal to
Table of Contents
every designer, precedent is defined as “accre- As a side note, what am I calling design? In
tion of decisions made over time and constrain- this chapter, I tag on a range of activities, such
ing future decisions, in design precedent refers to as design, research design where researchers plan
the store of experiential (episodic) memories each their research study at minute and theoretical
designer accumulates over time – expanding their levels; product design where designers use ele-
future possibilities for actions or decisions” (Boling, ments of design to generate tangible outcomes;
2021). Not only through design decisions made and the architecture of the tools they use for their
through conducted projects or design genera- research agenda, or design activities.
tions, Goldschmidt (Goldschmidt, 2015) defines
precedent as a “stimuli” of everything and any-
Cases
thing that the designer “encounters, randomly or
intentionally, in any environment” due to the very In this section, I am going to present four case
own nature of becoming a designer and having studies to illustrate how design researchers and
a “prepared eye.” Boling (Boling, 2021) lists vari- designers build on their cultural backgrounds
to shape their research agenda. I refer to a range
ous characteristics of a precedent about it being
of ways of shaping research agendas happen-
concrete, activating its value and relevance only
ing on multiple levels – from a researcher posi-
when used, and possessing the ambiguous
tionality level, which operationalizes differently
nature of its operationalization depending on
in different research and design projects, topic
152 the context of its use.
domain level, chosen across all the research they
I build on both the formal and informal defi- conduct, or a specific research project design level,
nitions of precedent, where one is informed where the design frame, problem, or oppor-
through formal ways of conducting design and tunity is drawn mainly from their cultural
the other being built through stimuli through backgrounds.
experiential aspects for the designer. Following
The four cases presented below are a few of the
these definitions, I build an argument, specif- examples I personally came across to frame this
ically for this chapter, where design research- chapter. However, it is by no means an exhaus-
ers and designers build on their own cultural tive list of HCI and design researchers and in
background, knowledge, rituals, beliefs, and fact, it barely scratches the surface. These case
related underpinnings. Here, I am framing the studies allowed me to illustrate and represent
designer’s personal cultural background in a broader idea of work where cultural knowl-
which they have grown or majorly associate edge is used as design precedent. Additionally,
with as a design precedent, helping them to due to the lack of my in-depth knowledge, the
frame their research agenda. In cumulation of presented examples are not representative of
case-studies of different design researchers or all the different cultures we could think of as
designers, I argue how cultural diversity as a these would certainly be infinite to fit in a sin-
design precedent, contributes to the expansion gle book chapter. However, it can definitely be
and development of broader HCI research. used as a starting point to tag and identify more
Table of Contents
researchers working towards critically expand- being treated in technology design. Her work of
ing the scope of HCI and design research using race, especially “The Black Experience in
because they dig deeply into their rooted cul- Design ‘’ (Berry et al., 2022), is traced back to her
tures and get the conversation rolling. I build multi-racial family background. On her website
on this cultural aspect to Feminisms of Thought she said: “This family was my first classroom,
in the conclusion, as a disruption to the focus on where I became a student of race-ethnicity, gen-
WEIRD practices taken by researchers and design- der, class, citizenship, and diaspora – an ongo-
ers. Plus, I am hoping to mark this book chapter ing touchstone for questioning what ‘comes nat-
as a preface and just a stepping stone to build urally’’”(Ruha Benjamin, n.d.). This is not the
more such cases across the world of HCI and only famous example, but many other research-
design researchers. ers, especially people of color, bring their cul-
tural history of racial, social, and class-oriented
conversations into the design of technology. I
Case A: Cultural History as Critical Frame- am not just talking about behaviors related to
works for Design | Ruha Benjamin people of color, but even beyond to consider
In this case study, I highlight Dr. Ruha histories related to these non-WEIRD popula-
Benjamin’s work and focus on her engage- tions. This expansion and inclusion of “other”
ment with the construct of race, racial discrim- perspectives is what I tag as a part of empow-
ination, and exclusion in technology design. ered thought under the umbrella of Feminism.
I built this case study where culture is refer- 153
Many researchers and designers work in similar
ring to “learned, accumulated experience. A cul- spaces to: 1) elevate their racial background such
ture … refers to those socially transmitted patterns as Dr. Timnit Gebru, contributing to algorith-
for behavior characteristics of a particular social mic bias “for Black Lives” based on racial-based
group” (from (Birukou et al., 2013) as cited in discrimination she faced by establishing DAIR
(Keesing, 1981)); in her case, specifically race. In (Distributed Artificial Intelligence Research
her talk entitled “Which Humans? Innovation, Institute) (Tiku, 2021); and 2) incorporate their
Equity, and Imagination in Human-Centered social background such as Dr. Neha Kumar
Design” (Sigchi, 2021), Dr. Benjamin talks about and her team’s efforts to empower women
technology design “producing new forms of dis- towards menstrual dignity in marginal contexts
crimination and exclusion.” She quotes every- through her lab TanDEm (short for Technology
day examples of black-colored robots being and Design towards “Empowerment”) (Neha
impacted by racism (Snow, 2018), questioning Kumar, n.d.); all using cultural history as design
the mis-use of black race faces in police target precedent to frame their research agenda, ques-
practice, characterization of unprofessional tion, and engage with technology design.
looks to black women on Google searches, and
lack of identification of black faces during the
application of Zoom backgrounds. Through all Case B: Cultural Behaviors as Tool for In-
these examples, she questioned the way race is clusive Design Futures| Deepa Butoliya
Table of Contents
In this case study, I engage with Dr. Deepa a solution to investigate those design futures.
Butoliya’s work where she speculates design She also takes the lead by changing the narra-
futures (i.e., futures created through design tive of design futures using this cultural tool
interventions) through her concept of “Critical called Jugaad; which she re-purposed to tak-
Jugaad.” I build on this case study where cul- ing it to the next dimension from just jugaad
ture is hinting towards “the total socially acquired to do it more intentionally, as the formal sys-
life-way or life-style of a group of people. It consists tems are not made for marginalized communi-
of the patterned, repetitive ways of thinking, feel- ties and populations. Butoliya uses a cultural
ing, and acting that are characteristic of the mem- behavior or practice, not only as a form given
bers of a particular society or segment of a society” to her design practice, but as a backgrounded
(from (Harris, 1993) as cited in (Keesing, 1981)). tool with “a form of imagining and engaging with
The “acquired life-way” I refer to in her work formal systems” (Butoliya, 2015).
is “jugaad”, defined as “ingenious making prac-
tices from the Global South, a Hindi word for mak-
ing, making-do, and survival in the face of scarcity Case C: Cultural Craft as Means to explore
of resources” (Butoliya, 2019). Jugaad is not a (Algorithmic) Design| Anuradha Reddy
specific concept to the Indian population, there In this case study, I talk about Dr. Anuradha
are equivalents in many cultures such as DIY Reddy’s (Anuradha Reddy, n.d.) work where
(Do-it-yourself) in the US or “Gambiarra” or she explores heritage algorithms by foreground-
154 “Jeitinho” in Brazil. But, for Butoliya, it is a ing shape grammars in crafts to build tools to
culturally oriented practice that she leveraged explore and learn algorithm design. In this
to critically engage with design futures and case study, culture “is that complex whole which
ingenuity at the intersection of design, tech- includes knowledge, belief, art, law, morals, custom,
nology and culture. In her work, Dr. Butoliya and any other capabilities and habits acquired by
uses Jugaad, drawing from her cultural back- man as a member of society” (from (Tylor, 1871)
ground in India to study design knowledge as cited in (Keesing, 1981)). Her exploration
from global perspectives and also local aware- started in using crochet as a means to critically
ness. She expands jugaad into “critical jugaad” explore the technological artifacts. In her pro-
to “explore these marginal making practices as jects “CryptoCrochet-Key” (Halfacree, 2021)
a post-critical investigation”(Butoliya, 2018). In and “Internet of Towels” (Figure 2), she uses
her TED talk, she talks about design futures and crochet as a means to design and build compu-
how “I did not see myself in one of those projected tational objects to critically engage with hard-
futures, so it was important to me to change those ware hacks within data-driven technologies.
narratives” (Butoliya, 2019). Triggered by the Figure 2 is one such computational object she
elitist nature of design practice, she brings (and crocheted using lenticular imaging and QR
critically expands) her own cultural knowledge codes, called the Internet of Towels. In a con-
and practices of Jugaad, which has an intense versation with her, she mentioned that this was
design value of using resources in scarcity as one of her early experiments for understanding
Table of Contents
how a culturally oriented craft, such as cro- research agenda to include heritage algorithms
chet, can offer hybrid potential to be innova- as a tool to build creative pedagogical scaffolds
tive in exploring data-driven technologies in for STEM+C learners. Cultural craft, a very evi-
HCI design spaces. In the process, she narrated dent element to define or represent a certain
that she came across a range of researchers who culture, is here being leveraged as a lens to
build on various culturally oriented crafts such explore design and design principles, leading
as music, weaving, wire-bending, etc., as medi- to constantly building on conventional princi-
ums to explore shape grammars and algorith- ples and expanding possibilities of formalizing
mic design. Some engage with vernacular algo- design fundamentals.
rithms (Bristow, 2018; Gaskins, 2021) where, for
example, Tegan Bristow investigates more-than-
binary computation potential in South African
Zulu beadwork and Alex McLeans explore the
idea of Algorithmic Patterns through music and
weaving (McLean et al., 2021). In essence, these
researchers collaborate to build design princi-
ples for creative technologies from a range of
cultural craft forms. In the future, Dr. Reddy is
planning to continue her current exploration
of yarn-based practices (similar to embroidery 155
craft culture in India) through a particular craft
form named Banjara Embroidery from her
native Indian city, Hyderabad, to understand
how “color, fractal patterns and they [Banjara
community] have alike symmetries, which can
be appreciated and computationally explored.” FIGURE 2: Internet of Towels designed by Anuradha Reddy – A
In this case, many researchers such as Dr. Reddy crocheted artifact that uses a lenticular image technique to reveal a
have built on their own cultural crafts to add a QR code pattern only when it is viewed at a 45-degree angle.
creative and innovative side of exploring com-

putational thinking and design. As quoted in a Case D: Cultural Beliefs as Design Constraints
conversation with Dr. Reddy, she is employing | Shadi Kheirandish & Sara Nabil
pedagogies of critical making (Ratto, 2011) and In this case study, I talk about two design
craftivists (Greer, 2014) to elevate and leverage researchers’ work about how they build on
on her childhood interactions with the Banjara their cultural beliefs as design constraints when
tribe and their vibrant culture, connecting two they frame their design products. Here, I use
different phases of her life. Reflecting back Biskjaer and Halskov’s proposed concept of
on improving her childhood ways of learning decisive constraints for design, which can act as
math and science fundamentals, she crafts her both radical and creative enabler or hindrance,
Table of Contents
often “applying a radical, self-imposed creativity Second, design researcher Sara Nabil’s work
constraint to stimulate the process” (Mose Biskjaer in her lab on The Interioraction Design (iStudio
& Halskov, 2014). Again, I build on the same Lab, n.d.) combined calligraphy with furniture
definition of culture as in the last case study, but design to represent dual-identities and peace
from the perspective of how it is being used as around Western-Muslims. In their Pictorial
an evident element in products. (Nabil & MacLeod, 2020), Nabil and colleagues
worked with a combination of English and cul-
First, researcher Shadi Kheirandish uses “spirit-
tural calligraphy Arabic script as a representa-
uality as a valuable thing in my life and because of
tion and visual constraint to build the interac-
my cultural background” (quoted during an inter- tive portions of a piece of furniture. Dr. Nabil
view for (Gray et al., 2022)) in her work while also shared another design project with us,
designing an ethics-focused method called where she designed the ‘Sound Scarf’ (Figure 3)
HuValue (Kheirandish et al., 2015, 2019). In this as a part of Soft Speakers (Nabil et al., 2021). It
case, the researcher built on her own cultural was the first hijab with embedded embroidered
beliefs to provide certain design constraints to speakers within the fabric itself, to enable those
shape the problem frame to formulate a design who cannot use headphones or earpieces on top
method to generate value-centric designs; these of or underneath their head-covering for reli-
values specifically drawn from spiritual angles gious or cultural purposes. In both these design
and targeting virtue ethics of the designers. cases, the designer built on cultural forms and
156
FIGURE 3: Sound Speaker designed by Sara Nabil - A sound scarf to be inclusive of Western Muslim women to embed speakers in their Hijaab.
Table of Contents
experiences to build design products using cultural elements such as race (as in Case A),
technology to represent inclusivity and diver- societal norms (as in Case A), daily practice (as
sity. Here, designers used various elements from in Case B), crafts and heritage (as in Case C and
their culture – such as heritage in the form of cal- Case D), cultural beliefs (as in Case D), and ste-
ligraphy, practices in terms of wearing a certain reotypes (as in Case D), have enabled various
clothing, and beliefs in terms of spirituality – as kinds of opportunities to be brought into HCI
design constraints – such as design elements in and design research. Bringing in this range of
their products or design frames to scope their elements has helped in questioning users and
projects. Their personal knowledge of their own also the materials being included in technology
cultural elements allowed the designers to eas- (like in Case B), expanding use cases for the use
ily connect and implement those design con- of technology (like in Case C and D), and criti-
straints in their design process and begin their cally re-framing the repercussions of technology
creativity in a comfortable space, rather than on society (like in Case A). Researchers have ele-
learning an entire new precedent knowledge. vated their practice by incorporating elements
of their own, that might not be represented the
same by another researcher, given the personal,
Discussion: Cultural Knowledge and its felt, and complex nature of everyone’s relation to
impacts their cultural knowledge. Despite the complex-
In this section of the chapter, I am building on ities involved, these researchers have brought
the previous cases which illustrated how the innovative and rooted opportunities, that have 157
cultural dimensions can be framed as a range subsequently allowed them to provide a new
of design precedents. In this particular section, perspective to traditional WEIRD thoughts that
I present my analysis of what this all means to previously dominated HCI research and design.
the larger HCI and design research and practice. In all cases, we were able to observe a cross-pol-
I answer the questions that I started to write this lination of theoretical frames which were nat-
chapter with, namely: How are the researchers urally rooted in the researcher’s own cultural
building on their roots trying to tell us through their background. Just to reflect on the prosperity of
research agendas? What does personal cultural roots this practice; let’s just counter our reflection to
have to do with HCI and design research? think about answering the question that guided
this chapter: What would happen to creativity in
Here, I analyze and summarize how the four
design frames if various cultural crafts, some sub-
cases presented showcase how cultural knowl-
merged in originated history, are not brought into
edge of the researchers impacted the kind
HCI and design? How will the HCI research and
of work they contribute to HCI and design design boundaries grow if they are not considered and
research. questioned in the way they were represented in the
Elevating cultural elements in research design above four cases? This cross-pollination and inter-
expanding HCI research. In the above examples, action of cultural knowledge by these research-
it is clearly illustrated how bringing in different ers has led to innovation, creativity, criticality,
Table of Contents
and a pragmatic outlook in HCI research and of instances expand the field of HCI and design
design across a range of use cases; in turn, open- where young researchers like us bring our cul-
ing up possibilities in HCI and design research ture into the design work we do. I am trying
that were previously not asked to be inclusive, to connect this back to portray a feminist way of
or were simply WEIRD-focused. looking forward in our field.
Incorporating cultural aspects to build criti- From a previously written article of mine, I define
cality in HCI and design thinking. In the above the “Feminisms Through Design: A Practical Guide
examples, we can imply how various cultural to Implement and Extend Feminism” (Chivukula,
backgrounds, experiences, and beliefs have led 2020), where I define four angles (knowledge,
the design researchers to bring those opportu- methodology, self/community, and artifact) of
nities, mostly issues into design. For instance, using feminisms as design material. Through
in Case A, Ruha Benjamin’s work drawing the cases presented in this chapter, I extend on
from race and similar researchers’ work draw- this conversation to see how the self- angle (rep-
ing from societal issues in their cultural setting resenting the researcher) projects feminisms of
has brought in an opportunity area to repre- thought towards the other three angles (knowl-
sent Third World problems (as in Case A), ques- edge, methodology, and artifact, primarily
tion current technology design (as in Case A), drawing from culture). I would like to elevate
include unheard design perspectives (as in Case the self-angle to shift the conversation from
HCI and design theoretical innovations to the
158 B), consider inclusivity in the selected design
researchers behind such improvements and con-
frames (as in Case D), elevate cultural history
tributions. A researcher as a whole is a combi-
through design (as in Case C), and so on.
nation of the positionalities that they build from
Building on “own” cultural knowledge lead- their personal, societal, and rooted cultures. I
ing to the feminisms of thought (FtT). In the want this chapter to be a tribute to elevate all the
above examples, we have seen how researchers feminisms of thought and practices brought for-
draw from their own rooted cultural experi- ward by HCI and design researchers, especially
ences, opportunities, practices, and often acci- women, in expanding the horizons of possibili-
dental critique of the space. This allows them ties in technology design and critique.
to shift the focus from the domain of work rep-
resented through various cultures, to how the
researchers were actively, provocatively, criti- Feminisms of Thought being represented
cally, and creatively thinking of the space. This through:
is expanded on in the next section. Recognizing non-representation and forms of
activism to carve that space for themselves.
Here, Feminisms of Thought (FtT) is repre-
Conclusion: Feminisms of Thoughts (FtT) sented through the agency and activism of
As a conclusion to this chapter, I build on the researchers and designers carving a space by/
case studies to also talk about how these kinds for themselves to create their own agenda by
Table of Contents
drawing from their own cultural precedent. FtT Firstly, this is not to encourage a space to equate
encourages younger researchers to ask critical someone’s personal life (built and rooted in
questions built on their own knowledge and to a culture) with their work, but to make their
feel comfortable with the discomfort of carv- research agenda comfortable with in their own
ing their own space, one of which can be from thoughts, draw from the body of knowledge
their rooted culture. For instance, in Case B that they already have, and encourage them to
and Case C, researchers Butoliya and Reddy repurpose it.
are constantly carving their own space in order Secondly, this does not mean that only specific
to expand the traditional elitist design world, researchers are currently engaging in FtT either,
than any other non-feminist way. but rather that every researcher is a part of the
Promoting innovation, inclusivity, and respon- FtT in some polarity, and I only encourage
sibility through the diversity of cultural everyone to always regard FtT as an encourag-
knowledge and background. Here, Feminisms ing framework for building research agendas.
of thought (FtT) is elevated through the diver- Thirdly, FtT encourages multiple notions draw-
sity brought into HCI and design research and ing from personal and rooted culture knowl-
practice that is drawing from culturally rooted edge, which can come with its own risk of mul-
knowledge and experiences of researchers from tiple perspectives fighting against one another.
different parts of the world. For instance, in As much as researchers and designers carve
Case A and Case D, researchers Benjamin and their own spaces, which collectively will have 159
Nabil are critically questioning and developing multiple of those dents, FtT must aim to protect
inclusivity in design which when multiplied the (intellectual) clashes these dents can pro-
and collectively looked at, only makes society duce to one another, given the cultural fights.
inclusive in technology design. As much as optimism is encouraged through
Encouraging cross-pollination of ideas to build FtT, it is required to deliberately, consciously,
the larger research agenda for HCI design. Here, and cautiously be aware of the boundaries of
Feminisms of thought (FtT) is projected to trace these thoughts in practice.
the trajectory of HCI and design research and
practice for the need and encouragement of
bringing in cross-cultural perspectives and cri-
References
tique to the current practices. This is a two-way Berry, A. H., Collie, K., Laker, P. A., Noel, L.-A.,
exchange from individual researchers and the Rittner, J., & Walters, K. (2022). The Black Experience
collective HCI research community, to encour- in Design: Identity, Expression & Reflection. Simon
age the critical questions and novelty in disrup- and Schuster. https://play.google.com/store/
tion through cultural knowledge that younger books/details?id=mlk1EAAAQBAJ
researchers bring to the space. Birukou, A., Blanzieri, E., Giorgini, P., &
Feminisms of thought definitely comes with its Giunchiglia, F. (2013). A Formal Definition of
own Disclaimers: Culture. In K. Sycara, M. Gelfand, & A. Abbe
Table of Contents
(Eds.), Models for Intercultural Collaboration and Butoliya, D. (2019, March). Design Through the
Negotiation (pp. 1–26). Springer Netherlands. Lens of Jugaad. TED. https://www.ted.com/
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-5574-1_1 talks/deepa_butoliya_design_through_the_
lens_of_jugaad
Bødker, S. (2006). When second wave HCI
meets third wave challenges. Proceedings of Chivukula, S. S. (2020). Feminisms through
the 4th Nordic Conference on Human-Computer design: a practical guide to implement and
Interaction: Changing Roles, 1–8. https://doi. extend feminism: position. Interactions, 27(6),
org/10.1145/1182475.1182476 36–39. https://doi.org/10.1145/3427338
Boling, E. (2021). The Nature and Use of Deepa Butoliya. (2021, June 4). https://
Precedent in Designing. In Design for Learning. www.ecuad.ca/events/deepa-butoliya-crit-
EdTech Books. https://edtechbooks.org/id/ ical-jugaad-marginal-making-practic-
precedent es-from-the-global-south
Bourges-Waldegg, P., & Scrivener, S. A. R. Goldschmidt, G. (2015). Ubiquitous

(1998). Meaning, the central issue in cross-cul- Serendipity: Potential Visual Design Stimuli
tural HCI design. Interacting with Computers, are Everywhere. Studying Visual and Spatial
9(3), 287–309. https://doi.org/10.1016/ Reasoning for Design Creativity, 205–214. https://
S0953-5438(97)00032-5 doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-9297-4_12
Gray, C. M., Chen, J., Chivukula, S. S., & Qu,
160 Butoliya, D. (2015). CRITICAL JUGAAD AND
L. (2021). End User Accounts of Dark Patterns
DISRUPTIVE SPECULATION. Academia.
as Felt Manipulation. Proc. ACM Hum.-
edu. https://www.academia.edu/16043573/
Comput. Interact., 5(CSCW2), 1–25. https://doi.
BUTOLIYA_LITERATURE_REVIEW_2015_
org/10.1145/3479516
CRITICAL_JUGAAD_AND_DISRUPTIVE_
SPECULATION Gray, C. M., Hasib, A., Li, Z., & Chivukula,
S. S. (2022). Using decisive constraints to cre-
Butoliya, D. (2018). Critical jugaad: a (post)
ate design methods that guide ethical impact.
critical investigation into marginal making
Design Studies, 79, 101097. https://doi.
practices from beyond the anglo-European
org/10.1016/j.destud.2022.101097
sphere. Making Futures, 5, 2042–1664. https://
www.researchgate.net/profile/Deepa- Greer, B. (2014). Craftivism: The Art of
Butoliya-2/publication/350591291_Critical_ Craft and Activism. Arsenal Pulp Press.
Jugaad_A_Post_Critical_Investigation_ https://play.google.com/store/books/
into_Marginal_Making_Practices_from_ details?id=wBMwCgAAQBAJ
Beyond_the_Anglo-European_Sphere/ Harris, M. (1993). Culture, People, Nature:
links/606755f292851c91b19b8454/Critical- An Introduction to General Anthropology.
Jugaad-A-Post-Critical-Investigation-into- HarperCollins College Publishers.
Marginal-Making-Practices-from-Beyond-the- https://play.google.com/store/books/
Anglo-European-Sphere.pdf details?id=E2nSqx6RloQC
Table of Contents
Hofstede, G., Hofstede, G. J., & Minkov, M. a case study with German and Vietnamese
(2005). Cultures and organizations: Software users. Proceedings of the Second African
of the mind (Vol. 2). Mcgraw-hill New York. Conference for Human Computer Interaction:
http://homecont.ro/pitagora/Hofstede-4- Thriving Communities, 1–12. https://doi.
dimensiuni.pdf org/10.1145/3283458.3283459
Irani, L., Vertesi, J., Dourish, P., Philip, K., & Lawson, B. (2004). Schemata, gambits and
Grinter, R. E. (2010). Postcolonial computing: precedent: some factors in design expertise.
a lens on design and development. Proceedings Design Studies, 25(5), 443–457. https://doi.
of the SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in org/10.1016/j.destud.2004.05.001
Computing Systems, 1311–1320. https://doi. Lawson, B., & Dorst, K. (2013). Design exper-
org/10.1145/1753326.1753522 tise. Routledge. https://www.taylorfrancis.
iStudio Lab. (n.d.). Retrieved March 23, 2022, com/books/mono/10.4324/9781315072043/
from https://istudio.cs.queensu.ca/ design-expertise-bryan-lawson-kees-dorst
Keesing, R. M. (1981). Cultural Anthropology: A Li, H., Sun, X., & Zhang, K. (2007). Culture-
Contemporary Perspective. Holt, Rinehart, and Centered Design: Cultural Factors in Interface
Winston. https://play.google.com/store/ Usability and Usability Tests. Eighth ACIS
books/details?id=S4cjAQAAIAAJ International Conference on Software Engineering,
Artificial Intelligence, Networking, and Parallel/
Kheirandish, S., Funk, M., Wensveen, S., &
Distributed Computing (SNPD 2007), 3, 1084– 161
Rauterberg, M. (2015). Tracking Spirituality
in Human Values Research Over The Last 1088. https://doi.org/10.1109/SNPD.2007.489
Century. International Convention of Psychological Marcus, A., & Gould, E. W. (2000). Cultural
Science (ICPS). https://www.researchgate. dimensions and global web user-interface
net/profile/Shadi-Kheirandish/publica- design: What? So what? Now what. Proceedings
tion/334965109_Tracking_Spirituality_in_ of the 6th Conference on Human Factors and the
Human_Values_Research_Over_The_Last_ Web, 19. https://www.academia.edu/down-
Century/links/5d47fb4b4585153e593d03f9/ load/51291759/Cultural_Dimensions_and_
Tracking-Spirituality-in-Human-Values- Global_Web_User-20170110-6070-1dafig3.pdf
Research-Over-The-Last-Century.pdf Mose Biskjaer, M., & Halskov, K. (2014). Decisive
Kheirandish, S., Funk, M., Wensveen, S., constraints as a creative resource in interaction
Verkerk, M., & Rauterberg, M. (2019). HuValue: design. Digital Creativity, 25(1), 27–61. https://
a tool to support design students in consider- doi.org/10.1080/14626268.2013.855239
ing human values in their design. International Nabil, S., Jones, L., & Girouard, A. (2021).
Journal of Technology and Design Education. Soft Speakers: Digital Embroidering of DIY
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10798-019-09527-3 Customizable Fabric Actuators. Proceedings of
Lachner, F., Nguyen, M.-A., & Butz, A. (2018). the Fifteenth International Conference on Tangible,
Culturally sensitive user interface design: Embedded, and Embodied Interaction, 1–12.
Table of Contents
https://doi.org/10.1145/3430524.3440630 Snow, J. (2018, August 3). Even black robots

Nabil, S., & MacLeod, R. (2020). Peace: are impacted by racism. Fast Company.
Projecting Dual-Identities on Interactive https://www.fastcompany.com/90212508/
Furniture. Proceedings of the Fourteenth even-black-robots-are-impacted-by-racism
International Conference on Tangible, Embedded, Sturm, C., Oh, A., Linxen, S., Abdelnour Nocera,
and Embodied Interaction, 837–848. https://doi. J., Dray, S., & Reinecke, K. (2015). How WEIRD
org/10.1145/3374920.3375006 is HCI? Extending HCI Principles to other
Neha Kumar. (n.d.). Neha Kumar. Retrieved Countries and Cultures. Proceedings of the 33rd
March 15, 2022, from https://www.nehaku- Annual ACM Conference Extended Abstracts on
mar.org/ Human Factors in Computing Systems, 2425–2428.
https://doi.org/10.1145/2702613.2702656
Ratto, M. (2011). Critical Making: Conceptual
and Material Studies in Technology and Social Tiku, N. (2021, December 2). Google fired its
Life. The Information Society, 27(4), 252–260. star AI researcher one year ago. Now she’s
https://doi.org/10.1080/01972243.2011.583819 launching her own institute. The Washington
Post. https://www.washingtonpost.com/
Rogers, Y. (2004). New theoretical approaches technology/2021/12/02/timnit-gebru-dair/
for human-computer interaction. Annual Review
of Information Science and Technology, 38(1), Wang, Y., Li, Y., Gui, X., Kou, Y., & Liu, F. (2019).
87–143. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/ Culturally-Embedded Visual Literacy: A Study
162 abs/10.1002/aris.1440380103?casa_token=b- of Impression Management via Emoticon, Emoji,
Sl1o-V9jWYAAAAA:iFsnrDoSLA3s_N7X- Sticker, and Meme on Social Media in China.
Tj0Qf_XHdM-yCrFdQ6DUB3CSruuejiO4wf1 Proc. ACM Hum.-Comput. Interact., 3(CSCW),
dyJ7ZnfjyQlEkR3BKm3dL6LqOPbT 1–24. https://doi.org/10.1145/3359170
Ruha Benjamin. (n.d.). Ruha Benjamin. Retrieved Winschiers-Theophilus, H., & Bidwell, N. J.
March 15, 2022, from https://www.ruhabenja- (2013). Toward an Afro-Centric Indigenous
min.com/about HCI Paradigm. International Journal of Human–
Computer Interaction, 29(4), 243–255. https://
Shen, S.-T., Woolley, M., & Prior, S. (2006). doi.org/10.1080/10447318.2013.765763
Towards culture-centred design. Interacting
with Computers, 18(4), 820–852. https://doi. Zheng, F., & Hermawati, S. (2021). Cultural
org/10.1016/j.intcom.2005.11.014 aspects for the user interface design of health and
fitness apps. https://nottingham-repository.
Sigchi, A. (2021, May 12). Ruha Benjamin: worktribe.com/index.php/output/5363463/
Which Humans? Innovation, Equity, and cultural-aspects-for-the-user-interface-design-
Imagination in Human-Centered Design (Keynote). of-health-and-fitness-apps
Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/
watch?v=kDcz44ifdQw
Table of Contents
How to be a Woman
in Science: An
interview with Ana
Viseu by Renata Frade
about Feminism, Gender
and Technoscience
perspectives
How to be a Woman in Science
How to be a Woman in Science: An interview with Ana Viseu
by Renata Frade about Feminism, Gender and Technoscience
perspectives
Ana Viseu
ICNOVA, Instituto de Comunicação da NOVA
IADE - Faculdade de Design, Tecnologia e Comunicação, Universidade Europeia, Portugal
www.anaviseu.org | ana@anaviseu.org
Renata Frade
renatafrade@ua.pt; lovelacersoftheworld@gmail.com
165
Abstract technoscience, actor-network theory, cyborg anthro-

pology and care so as to show how these can be
In this interview Professor Ana Viseu, one of
used to better understand technoscientific innova-
Portugal’s most important science and technol-
tion and particularly, how emergent information
ogy studies scholars, discusses her fascinating
and communication technologies are envisioned,
professional and personal trajectory in the coun-
used and regulated and how they transform and
try and abroad, offering an original and innova-
create new realities, entities and worlds.
tive perspective on what it means to do science.
In addition to being a model for new generations Keywords: nanotechnology; technoscience; fem-
of scientists, in this interview with Renata Frade, inism; care; gender studies; women in science.
Ana Viseu examines aspects related to her interdis- “The strength of my dreams is so strong, that
ciplinary work and ample experience in scientific exaltation is reborn from everything, and my
projects, publications and teaching, and how these hands are never empty”. Sophia de Mello
relate to issues such as diversity, inclusion and, chal- Breyner Andresen is a Portuguese writer and
lenges and achievements to women in science and this quote is one of my favorites and I think it fits
technology. In this interview, Prof. Viseu engages Ana Viseu’s profile very well: a Portuguese sci-
with concepts central to her work such as, feminist entist with a courageous, outstanding, unique
Table of Contents
academic and professional path. One of my complexity on tech projects, especially in rela-
most wanted goals while curating and editing tion to nanotechnology and ‘bodily’ technolo-
this book was to find a very important female gies, but also points out new conceptual paths
STEM role model. I think I was very fortunate, such as her perspective on the concept of care.
because what you as my readers will attest to, According to her auto-biography58, Ana Viseu is
is not only her successful career in research in an Associate Professor at Universidade Europeia
Portugal, Canada, and United States, among and a member of ICNOVA - Communications
others, but also that she is a woman with a sim- Institute of Faculdade de Ciências Sociais e
ilar background to mine, with many intellectual Humanas at Universidade Nova de Lisboa. In
outlooks in common. We are both Portuguese 2011, she became a Marie Curie Fellow and in
citizens raised in American countries, we come 2013 she resigned from York University (Canada),
from Social Communications Bachelors, we where she worked as an Assistant Professor in
both developed studies in technoscience and the Dept. of Communications. Her Ph.D. thesis
techno-feminism and believe in interdiscipli- developed at University of Toronto in 2005 exam-
nary Social Sciences and Technology Studies ined the multiple and conflicted meanings of
as a means to understand and propose new bodily augmentation through wearable comput-
paths to understand the entanglements of tech ers. She was also a Cornell University Research
with society and vice-versa, such as digital plat- Associate in the USA. In 2019, Ana Viseu was
forms, for example.
166 honored by Ciência Viva (Portugal’s National
Jenkins, Ito, Boyd (2016) said “I do not think Agency for Scientific and Technological Culture)
technologies are participatory; cultures are. as one of Portugal’s top 100 Female Scientists and
Technologies may be interactive in their design; was elected as a Member Council of the Society
they may facilitate communications between for Social Studies of Science (4S) in 2018.
many people; they may be accessible and adapt- In my point of view, this interview has impor-
able to multiple kinds of users; and they may tant characteristics, such as:
encode certain values through their terms of
use and through their interfaces. But ultimately, 1 - To be a documentary and historical record
those technologies get embraced and deployed for current and future generations of the path of
by people who are operating in cultural con- a female role model in Academia, particularly
texts that may be more or less participatory”. in issues related to diversity and social inclu-
When we think about online activism, tech- sion, feminism and technoscientific culture.
nofeminism, interaction design, or design jus- 2 – To explore theoretical contributions in the
tice, for instance, we cannot forget the mutual field of ‘science and technology studies’ (STS),
relationship between social dimensions and feminist technoscience; pioneer in studies of
tech development and impact on people. Ana emerging technologies such as wearable com-
Viseu’s research not only embraces this huge puters, care and nanotechnology.
58 http://anaviseu.org
Table of Contents
3 – To highlight some of the challenges of being Ana Viseu: I would love to say that I always
a female and a Portuguese researcher that must knew what I wanted to be/do, but that is not
be overcome and consecrated in funded studies the case. My path has been serendipitous and

and awards. shaped by many: family, friends, places, men-
4 – To discuss Gender issues in general and par- tors, institutions, funding opportunities, tech-
ticularly those pertaining to technoscience. nological developments, and luck, to name a
few. All these factors and relationships made
5 – To present Ana Viseu’s innovative qualitative
me who I am today.
(mostly ethnographic) methods to study how
emergent information and communication tech- This being said, as I go back in my mind, my
nologies are developed and an article published thoughts turn to my stepfather, Eduardo, and to
in one of the most renowned scientific publica- Nicaragua. When I was a teenager, we moved
tions in the world, Nature, for instance. to Nicaragua because of my stepfather’s work.
He worked for the United Nations and, at a
In this interview, I was able to exchange, learn
time when the world was not yet global, he
and be surprised by Ana Viseu’s inspiring biog-
was. Because of that and because I attended an
raphy and history. She is a researcher who is syn-
American high school filled with people from
onymous with scientific rigor and who will cer-
all over the world, my existence also became
tainly leave important legacies and inspirations,
especially for female researchers. global. This stuck with me in more than one
way: In Nicaragua I became fluent in English 167
and Spanish (which made it easy to study in
Renata Frade: You completed a B.A. in Spain and North America); and, at an age when
Communication Sciences (Faculty of Social and peer-pressure was high and the need to con-
Human Sciences, Universidade Nova de Lisboa form higher, I suddenly had friends with many
and between 1995-1996 studied at Roskilde different ways of doing and being. At that time
Universitetscenter, Denmark/Erasmus). You hold Portugal was a homogenous, conservative and
an M.A by the European Master in Interactive still a very insular country and in Nicaragua
Communications, Telecommunications and I discovered (it really was a discovery!) that
Multimedia, Department de Comunicació most of what I held as the way to do things was
Audivisual i de Publicitat, Universitat Autónoma actually just one way to do them. Sociocultural
de Barcelona, Spain,
and also hold a Ph.D. from norms are powerful and seem self-evident and
the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education living in Nicaragua showed me that they are
(OISE), University of Toronto, Canada. Your the- very much constructed. In Nicaragua, I saw
sis title is “Augmented Bodies: The Visions and that there is not one world but multiple worlds
Realities of Wearable Computers” (with external that we enact, reify, transform and (attempt to)
examiner Joseph Dumit, MIT). impose on others. This freed me, it made me
How did you choose this academic route? Was there attuned to difference, and piqued my interest
anyone, a family member, who had inspired you? in studying distinct enactments of culture.
Table of Contents
I am not sure if this is why I became an aca- my postdoc. Without this national investment in
demic, but I do know that it is why I ended me and my studies, my career would certainly
up living abroad for so many years and why I have been very different. At the same time, the
study technoscientific cultures. late nineties were a time when the world was
changing rapidly: the internet went mainstream
and was so novel that it came enveloped in pos-
Renata Frade: Your professional and academic sibilities - this was a time of utopian discourses
path is marked by the interdisciplinary and of a new and improved techno world, and it
ample experience and perspectives in sci- was also a time of realization that the shift to
entific projects, publications, classes. You ‘online’ brought with it changes to identities,
worked with engineers, natural scientists, bodies and agencies that needed studying.
artists and designers. Your ability to cross
disciplinary boundaries provide you with a One of the best things that happened to me
flexibility and ability to communicate in lay and was key to my trajectory, was that I did
language. It also inspires your teaching out- my PhD at the Ontario Institute for Studies
side normal disciplinary boundaries and prac- in Education59 (OISE) in the Department of
tices. You are also an expert on ‘responsible Human Cognition and Applied Psychology.
research and innovation’ which requires the As I stated earlier, from an early age I had an
ability to work in interdisciplinary projects. interest in culture and in understanding how
distinct people construct and enact their worlds
168 How did the choice for a plural and dense differently. At OISE I was exposed to a mode
theoretical-empirical vision that encompasses of reasoning that helped me stem away from
several disciplines come about? Could you essence and liberal individualism and into
explain how this trajectory was? What were relational thinking. I was introduced to think-
and still are the biggest challenges of a scien- ers like Vygotsky (1962, 1981) or Luria (1974,
tist with this profile? 1994) who posit that cognition is a sociocultural
process – thought is first social and only later
internalized – and that our tools and practices
Ana Viseu: Let me start by situating my reply:
shape us and our cognition. This resonated with
I finished my BA in Communication Sciences
what I already knew about McLuhan, and his
in the nineties, and, at that time, a number of
notion that “We shape our tools, and thereafter
important things were taking place that shaped
our tools shape us” (cited in Lapham, 1994, p.
my trajectory. This was a time when Portugal
xxi; see also Culkin 1967). Together, it meant
was making an important commitment to fund-
that in a very real sense we are in and with the
ing post-graduate scientific education (unfor-
world, and that the shift towards new infor-
tunately this is no longer the case). I applied
mation and communication technologies has
for, and was fortunate to receive, funding to go
profound transformative effects.
abroad and pursue my research from my MA to
59 The Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE) which is part of the University of Toronto.
Table of Contents
From here on, it was a bit like falling into Alice’s introducing to the possibility of studying sci-
rabbit hole: I wanted to think further about the ence and technology as sites of power, inequal-
relationship between humans and technology ity, and exploitation, but also as sites for respon-

and I started reading ‘science and technology sibility, accountability, gender, affect and care.
studies’ (STS). With STS, I learned about the Feminist technoscience has done tremendous
co-shaping of science, technology and soci- work exploring science and technology as sites
ety, and about thinking of technoscience as a of worldly (re)configuration, of implosion, of
culture, authority, and expertise. I then came boundary-making. My goal has been to con-
across Actor-Network Theory (ANT) and it tribute to this work, to use emergent informa-
again opened up a new world for me. It allowed tion and communication technologies as sites
me to take objects seriously, not only in their to examine the multiple realities that we are
ability to shape us and our consciousness, but forever building, negotiating and attempting to
in their ability to act on their own accord. I am impose on others. Having found these strange
talking here of the work by foundational ANT worlds, I never left.
scholars such as Latour and Woolgar (1979), I would remiss if I did not emphasize that
Callon (1986), Law (1991), or Akrich (1992). throughout my career I have been privileged to
Latour’s Aramis, or the Love of Technology (1996) work with amazing professors, colleagues and
is still one of my favorite books. ANT’s empha- students who in different capacities trained,
sis on the agency of non-humans, on agnosti- mentored, challenged, taught and supported
cism, on generalized symmetry, on following me60. Feminist theory is keen on relationality,
169
the actors, on identity as a result of the shape of and I am quite aware that I have not done this
the networks we inhabit, have all been incred- alone: I am sustained by the many relationships
ibly important for my work. ANT gave me a that shaped who I am today.
vocabulary and a method to think about real-
ity as composed of heterogeneous networks of
humans and nonhumans. It seems almost triv- In the book The Fuzzy and the Techie: Why
ial today, but the idea that the objects act within the Liberal Arts Will Rule the Digital World,
the world and that if we want to understand the venture capitalist and Stanford politi-
science and society, we have to take nonhu- cal science degree Scott Hartley defends the
mans seriously in their worlding practices, was importance of social sciences, especially the
profoundly ground-breaking for me. Feminist liberal arts, in technological development
technoscience thinkers – like Donna Haraway, and in the STEM areas (Science, Technology,
Susan Leigh Star and Lucy Suchman, and many Engineering and Maths). He created two con-
others – further complicated these notions by cepts for professionals and researchers: fuzzy
60 I cannot do justice here to everyone who has contributed to my journey, but I would be remiss if I did not mention a few key profes-
sors, mentors and colleagues who at different points in my life have been there for and with me. I am forever indebted to – in no particular
order, Michel Ferrari, Keith Oatley, Andrew Clement, Lucy Suchman, Derrick de Kerckhove, Bruce Lewenstein, Aryn Martin, Mike Pollard,
Natasha Myers, Maria Puig de la Bellacasa, Michelle Murphy, Ulrike Felt, Noortje Marres, and Francisco Rui Cádima, and so many others.
Table of Contents
(belonging to the Humanities, whose impor- studying high-tech have made me cautious
tance in a world ruled by algorithms and big about using Silicon Valley authors and catego-
data is to provide tools that allow creating con- ries. This being said, I wholeheartedly agree
texts and responses to social complexities) and that the social sciences are vital both to innova-
techie (engineers and people who have stud- tion and to our understanding of said processes.
ied computer science, which have always been There are authors - some feminist like Donna
associated with innovation and disruption). Haraway, Lucy Suchman or Karen Barad - and
With an also interdisciplinary view, the author others not like Sheila Jasanoff and Brian Wynne
believes that solving complex problems and - that give us nuanced and incisive understand-
innovation is related to social problems and ings of how the social sciences contribute to our
that human-centered design is central to pro- understanding and shaping of science, technol-
jects in the present and future. ogy and society. With this short preamble, let
You advocate along a similar academic line. On me take a step back to answer your question
your website61 you mention: “Anchoring my (with apologies for the overlap with the previ-
thinking in cultural studies of technoscience, ous answer).
feminist technoscience and science and technol- I find my intellectual home in two areas that
ogy studies. I specialize in ethnographic studies have many interfaces: Communications and
of technoscientific innovation. In the media and STS (‘science and technology studies or ‘science,
170 policy realms, what I do is sometimes called technology and society’). I will focus here on the
‘social and cultural implications of science and latter as it shapes much of my thinking and it is
technology.’ Engineers refer to it as ‘human-fac- not so well known (at least, and unfortunately,
tors research’, but these terms are deceivingly in Portugal). For me, and I realize this is not
simple. In my research, I strive to characterize consensual, STS is an interdisciplinary disci-
and retain the complexity of our relations to pline or perhaps an interdisciplinary field. At its
technoscience, examining how distinct tech- core, STS is about recognizing that science and
no-sciences materialize, reify and transform society are not distinct spheres, but are instead
particular understandings and imaginaries of continuously shaping one another. From an
the world. I seek to represent and often inter- STS perspective, reality is neither natural nor a
vene in these strange hybrid worlds”. given, it is the product of particular actions and
How has the reception to these academic works choices. Using STS as a lens allows researchers
with this very different and differentiated pro- to simultaneously observe the worlding prac-
file been, nationally and internationally? tices of different actors (social, technical, human
and nonhuman). However, we must acknowl-
edge that not all actors are equal. Feminist tech-
Ana Viseu: Let me start by saying that I noscience is vital here because it brings to the
have not read this book and that my years of fore the issues of power and politics: Who gets
61 http://anaviseu.org
Table of Contents
to define and who is defined? Who benefits and continuous access to information, seamless
who is excluded? Who does the speaking and mobility, and the creation of personal/body
who cannot speak? Who configures and who/ networks, wearable computers condensed and

what is reconfigured? This is where I have been materialized many of the tenets that rule con-
for the past many years, grappling with these temporary Western societies. Furthermore, by
questions as they apply to emergent technol- being hosted on the body, wearable technolo-
ogies, their practices – both of development, gies brought to the fore issues of embodiment,
use and governance – and our identities, bodies agency, and personhood.
and agency. And so, my journey into the field of wearable
Now, the late-nineties – when I started my PhD computers – and more generally, into personal
– were a time when we were beginning to exam- emergent technologies – was initiated. I should
ine the many transformations that arose from say that I study emergent technologies with a
‘being online’. Much of the mainstream think- mixture of admiration and apprehension. I feel
ing was utopian (think for instance of Barlow’s admiration and respect for those who spend
Declaration of the Independence of Cyberspace [1996]) their time creating new ways of transform-
and we were flooded with hype and visions of ing, improving or augmenting humans and
quick techno fixes to societal problems (unfortu- our world; those who spend their time defy-
nately, this is still a prevalent discourse). It was ing well-established categories; those who are
at that time that I came upon a phenomenon that not shy of putting forward their often strange, 171
piqued my curiosity. It seemed to me, that the geeky or extreme views of the future. However,
latest technological ventures no longer focused and for the exact same reasons, I cannot stop
on building machines that imitated human myself from being apprehensive about the
beings, like the traditional artificial intelligence kinds of future such visions entail and the types
efforts, but rather on producing machines that of assumptions they are based upon.62
augmented humans with their own strengths. My work has been dedicated to examining the
This reversal interested me. Instead of imitating strange worlds of emergent ICTs – their future
the ability of humans, the focus was on bringing oriented discourses, their funding, their prac-
what machines do best, their “infallible logic”, to tices, and their enactments in the world. I am
augment humans. interdisciplinary because my background
Wearable computers seemed the perfect site to exposed me to different disciplines and I under-
investigate these issues. In 1999, the dot-com stood quickly, that each had something to offer
bubble had not yet burst, and a climate of unbri- me; but I am also interdisciplinary because to
dled, visionary and revolutionary technologi- study emergent technologies (and to study our
cal rhetoric dominated mainstream discourse. incredibly complex world, I would say) we
With their promises of personal empower- need to spend time learning about the world of
ment through the technology’s “smartness”, engineers, technologists, scientists, technicians,
62 The arguments presented in this and the last two paragraphs are extracted from my doctoral dissertation (Viseu, 2005).
Table of Contents
users, et cetera, and to do that … well, it is other hand, we create and maintain a system
important to have an open mind to different that is very distrustful of its human actors (do
modes of thought, distinct ways of being and not forget that researchers and faculty in public
disciplining the world. universities are public servants) and is therefore

However, I don’t want to romanticize interdis- designed to keep their actions and identities in
ciplinarity. Interdisciplinarity is hard to do and check with restrictive and at times obstructive
hard to be! I would say that there are at least labels, categories, regulations and bureaucracy.
two main issues that should be highlighted: Successive governments proclaim to want to
structural and personal. foster innovation by strengthening the bonds
between academia and industry and society,
In terms of structure, it comes as no surprise
while at the same time insisting on a conver-
that academia is still organized around dis-
sative, old school and incredibly stiffened and
ciplines and being interdisciplinary makes it
controlled academia. In this sense, it was easier
harder to justify your presence and your work.
for me to both work and get recognition for my
This was not so much of an issue in Canada
work abroad.
and the US because STS and its contributions
to our understanding of the world have a much Spending the bulk of my academic career
stronger presence there, but I have found it to be abroad was key to my path not only because,
problematic in Portugal where academia is still as I said, there is a wider recognition of the
importance of STS as a way of thinking about
172 quite conservative, where STS is still fringe, and
where lack-of-disciplinarity is often used as an the world, and this gave me the freedom to
excuse not to recognize you and your work. In explore the emergent worlds I am interested
fact, the entire process of being an academic in in, without having to worry about disciplinary
Portugal is predicated upon belonging to a par- boundaries, but also because these worlds (of
ticular discipline and, in the most archaic twist, high-tech and innovation) are more easily avail-
the disciplines that do ‘exist’ are institutionally able abroad. It is also why I have spent most
defined (the infamous CNAEF - Classificação of my career in Communications Departments
Nacional de Áreas de Educação e Formação because communications and our media keep
[CNAEF 2005]). All this while espousing a undergoing radical changes and these depart-
rhetoric of the need for interdisciplinarity to ments are therefore welcoming of difference
approach today’s problems (XXIII Governo and new ways of thinking. I should add that
2022). It seems to me that in Portugal, we always in the years since I returned to Portugal, I have
live in a strange paradox where on one hand, been very fortunate to work in institutions that
we are immersed in institutional discourses of embrace my work, but I would be naïve if I said
boundless faith in technological innovation as that there have not been opportunities that I
a catalyst for social improvement, while on the have missed because of this.63
63 I do want to acknowledge again that I was very fortunate to receive funding from Portugal’s national funding agency to pursue my
studies abroad, which is in itself evidence of the recognition of interdisciplinary work. But, as I said earlier, Portuguese funding for research
has since then been severely decreased and is now mainly directed towards STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics).
Table of Contents
Personal identity issues are no less trouble- education graduates these subjects was 47%
some. As a social scientist, working in high-tech in 2020 and 59% in 1994.
and doing interdisciplinary research too often

The document “Igualdade de Género em
means performing lonely, undervalued, service
Portugal – Boletim Estatístico 2021 /Publicação
work. This is hard and it wears you down. The
da Comissão para a Cidadania e a Igualdade
difficulty is not only with the interface with
de Género - CIG e da República Portuguesa)
the ‘hard’ sciences. If I am being honest, I am
- Educação, formação e ciência” reveals that
often plagued by insecurity about not know-
in 2020, for every 100 people with higher edu-
ing enough about a particular (social science)
cation, 61 were women and 39 were men. The
discipline. It is not easy to live every day with
number of women without any level of educa-
this discomfort. In both instances, it is vital to
tion (about 356 thousand) was higher than that
find a like-minded community. I would finish
of men (about 121 thousand). Both in enrolment
by saying that, for me, this discomfort, though
and in higher education completion, the num-
costly and unpleasant, has also made me a bet-
ber of girls was greater than that of boys in all
ter researcher because it forces me to be humble.
areas, except in services, engineering, manufac-
It makes me more sensitive to others and obser-
turing and construction industries and in infor-
vant of nuances and detail. But it definitely has
not made my life easier! mation and communication technologies (ICT).
In 2020, the percentage of women working in
technology companies was 19%, representing 173
Renata Frade: According to Diário de Notícias
a decrease of 5.3% compared to 2012. In terms
(2021), between 2019 and 2020 the number
of training in the ICT sector, 81% were men
of graduates recorded in Portugal: 86,000
and only 19% were women. Inequality is even
graduates, most of them women. The data
more pronounced than it was almost ten years
is from the Ministry of Science, Technology
ago. The data are from Eurostat, released by
and Higher Education. More than half of
Joana Ferreira, from Eco Sapo (2021).
the graduates (57%) were in STEAM areas
(Science, Technologies, Engineering, Arts You are a Portuguese scientist and teacher. In
and Mathematics), with a 20% growth in your personal and professional experience,
degrees in information and communication have you ever thought about giving up in the
technologies. face of entering and staying in the academic
world, especially when you joined projects
According to PORDATA (Contemporary
and studies in STEM domains?
Portugal Database, organized and devel-
oped by the Francisco Manuel dos Santos Could you please give your opinion on pos-
Foundation), in 2021 there were 42.5% of sible solutions to reverse this diversity, inclu-
female students enrolled in higher educa- sion, entry and development of women in sci-
tion (Science, mathematics and computing), ence and technology issues in Portugal? What
and 64.2% in 1991. The percentage of higher are the biggest challenges and achievements?
Table of Contents
Ana Viseu: The numbers you cite here are strik- you combine it with statistics showing that there
ing, but before going into them, let me comment are lower numbers of women working in tech
on the shift from reporting on STEM (science, tech- now (19%) than there were in 2012, the overall
nology, engineering and mathematics) to STEAM picture is grim and frightening. It is scary for me
(science, technology, engineering, arts and math- as a woman, but it should worry us all as citi-
ematics). I am curious to know when and why zens because diversity and representativity are
Portugal started utilizing this new acronym. It vital to building worlds that are livable, equitable
certainly does not seem to be accompanied by a and just. In class, I use Lessig to explain this to
funding commitment to the arts (funding consti- students. In 1999, Lessig famously argued that
tuting a flawed but nonetheless tangible way of “in cyberspace, code is law”. What this means
measuring importance). In fact, FCT (Fundação is that just like legislation materializes how we
para a Ciência e Tecnologia) does not even report want to live together as a society, so does code.
the ‘Arts’ as a scientific domain when discriminat- Both codes are political because both represent,
ing the funding results of its 2021 call64. Moreover, codify and materialize choices and values: they
if you look at what is currently being funded, you define who we are, who we want to be, and what
will see that the engineering, technology and the can(not) be done. But, while legislation is shaped
natural, exact sciences (STEM) get 54.9% of the by our elected representatives (and these should/
pot65. If you add medicine that amount rises to must be diverse too!), code is a kind of private
72.8% of the total funding. So, when the Ministry law, made by corporations and guided by their
174 of Science, Technology and Higher Education own self-interests, which then affect us all because
puts out data on STEAM it is disingenuous. As a being online is not a choice and nowadays there
qualitative researcher, I always tell my students is barely a boundary between on and offline.
that numbers and statistics are often deceiving. Code is power and so it matters greatly who is
They are given to us a proof of reality; they seem writing it (both the computational and legisla-
authoritative and neutral but they are the prod- tive kinds). Anais Nin famously said that, “we
uct the (often political) decisions that bring them see the world not as it is but as we are”. If those
into existence. In Portugal – and unfortunately, writing code are not diverse and representative
we are not alone in this – we are witnessing a of distinct modes of being and living – and I do
serious, sustained and detrimental disinvestment not mean only in terms of gender but also race,
in non-STEM areas. religion, political beliefs, et cetera – then the
This being said, let me answer your question. Th code they produce will further exclude these
numbers you cite here are worrying, because they groups making them evermore marginal and
describe a country where less and less women invisible. In this particular case, if we want our
are choosing STEM in higher education - from increasingly sociotechnical societies to address
an enrolment of 64.2% in 1991, to one of 42.5% women’s issues, women have to be at the table
in 2021. This represents a drop of over 20%! If and at the computer.
64 Portugal’s national science funding agency
65 https://former.fct.pt/noticias/index.phtml.pt?id=694
Table of Contents
Let me say a few words about how being a career, I have started doing it but I am aware it
woman has influenced my own path. I start by is not enough. My other modest contribution is
stating the obvious which is that my female body that as a Professor, I make a point of discussing

has forever shaped my reality and identity; it is issues of gender, discrimination, Othering, power
not possible for me to fathom who I would be if and representativity in the classroom. And I am
I had a different body66. On top of this, sexism encouraged by the shifts I have seen happening.
is systemic which makes it so common to the Every year, in class, I raise awareness of how gen-
point of paradoxically becoming invisible. This der, inequality and discrimination is materialized
means that, like for many other women, I have in the world around us – in the objects we use, in
a hard time pinpointing specific ways in which the laws and computational platforms and soft-
my gender had an impact. I do recall a few, even ware that govern us. We discuss issues of power
some recent ones, but they seem trivial. However, and its relationship to diversity, representativity
I will say that looking back on my trajectory, I and gender-quotas, among others. When I first
realize that I was very fortunate to have studied started teaching in Portugal, it was disheartening,
and started my career in North America where few students were interested in these issues, and I
there are clearer lines for how (not to) behave. In always had students (often females) arguing that
Europe – and certainly in Portugal – this is fre- gender was not an issue at school or in the work-
quently mocked as an American obsession with place, that our world is a meritocracy, and that
being politically correct that borders on paranoia. diversity should not be nudged through gender
I have heard it criticized for constraining social- quotas, to name a few. But this has changed and 175
ization and liberty. Without wanting to sound with each passing year I see more students who
naïve about the abuses that take place in academia are interested in researching gender and power
in both the US and Canada – I have colleagues issues, including a growing number of men. We
who underwent serious and sustained harass- discuss how it can be otherwise, and I encourage
ment – I would say that the existence of clear my students to look for alternatives and inter-
rules helps ameliorate the problem, it certainly vene there. Sometimes this feels like it is enough,
did for me. What is noteworthy – and extremely others it does not. I am nonetheless encouraged
depressing – is that I only realized how freeing to see it happening in a country like Portugal,
and vital this was when I returned to Portugal, where sexism is often so deeply entrenched as
where these rules do not exist and where sud- to seem ‘normal’.
denly I found myself in contexts where sexism
and homophobia were rife and normalized. This
troubles me deeply and I think we have much to Renata Frade: Your curriculum and profile
learn from our colleagues from across the ocean. accredit you as a role model to inspire and
This is a place to start. Calling out sexism rather motivate young scientists and women inter-
than dismissing it as jokes, or part of our cultural ested in researching and working in the tech-
background. With age, and as I progressed in my nological job market. Do you take any action
66 I subscribe to the notion of ‘embodied cognition’ that makes AI dreams of ‘minds in vats’ impossible.
Table of Contents
in your routine aimed at this motivational extremely aware and interested in these issues.
goal? What does it mean to be a Portuguese In Portugal they often said gender was not an
scientist today? When did you start your aca- issue, they spoke against quotas, they argued
demic-professional career? that meritocracy is not only possible, but also

a neutral judgement. But over of the years I
have been teaching here, this has changed. I
Ana Viseu: There are a number of things I incor- am tremendously encouraged by the fact that
porate in my practice as a scientist. First and every year more and more of my students bring
foremost, as I mention above, I make a point up these issues themselves. I have more and
of including and discussing issues of power more self-proclaimed feminists in class. All of
and technoscientific politics in my classes. For this gives me hope. I know, like all professors
instance, in my research methods classes (and do, that many of my students will not do any-
I teach many of these), I start by expanding the thing with what I tell them. But some will and
definition of Science. We discuss science as a that is a great measure of change for me. That
culture, a profession and a source of author- is a palpable impact I can make in the world.
ity; we unpack notions of Objectivity and the
I don’t have many students interested in pur-
importance of situated knowledges; we discuss
suing a career in academia or science, but when
the history of science – the shift towards exper-
I do teach research methodologies, there are a
imentation but also, and importantly, who got
few things I say that I believe are important for
176 (and gets) to be a scientist and who did not; we
junior scholars. I emphasize and explain that
discuss what science does in the world, how
doing research is not neutral, nor is it a matter
it is constructed, but also how not to fall into
of studying and describing the world. Research
relativism, et cetera.
– and the methods and theories we utilize – is
In other classes, I make sure to discuss gender, an act of creation, an act of shaping and creating
representativity, diversity and discrimination. realities. This means, at least, three important
We not only examine how these affect us today, things: the first is that we should, in as much as
but also historically. We engage in a discussion we can, choose sites and themes we care about,
of how values get materialized and incorpo- that matter to us. This is needed because doing
rated into objects, spaces, laws and online research is so often an uphill battle that having
platforms. We talk about our responsibility a will to intervene and engage is important for
to engage, and the importance of imagining our personal motivation. The second is that as
and contributing towards better alternatives. researchers, we must be humble and remind
We discuss the importance of engaging with ourselves that our participants are the experts
technology, understanding how it works and and we the novices. Last but not least, we
what it does. As I said earlier, when I started should always strive to give back to those we
teaching in Portugal, my students did not care study, to those who share their time, knowledge
much and often pushed back. This was a sur- and worlds with us. I don’t mean giving back
prise for me, because in Canada students were in a grandiose way (“making the world a better
Table of Contents
place” is a Silicon Valley slogan) but in some Renata Frade: Science and technology stud-
tangible way. This should be designed into our ies, feminist technoscience, cyborg anthro-
project, rather than being an afterthought. pology, ethnography, emergent technologies,

body-machine interaction, innovation stud-
There are some specificities about Portugal
ies, politics of technology, identity and agency
that also important to note. Being a scientist
and cultural studies of science are some of
in Portugal is tough and too often precarious.
the scientific domains that characterize you
Professors have very high teaching loads and
as a researcher. Could you talk about works
the ability to do research is a luxury. English is
in these domains that you have developed?
the lingua franca of science and that constitutes
What are your biggest academic or intellectual
a barrier for many people. Funding is scarce for
influences, the main theoretical foundations
all of us, but if you are in the social sciences or
and research methods that you have devel-
humanities, it often feels like an unsurmount-
oped that have been awarded and recognized?
able barrier because hardly any money allotted
to these areas. The funding scarcity is, in my
experience is a global problem, but in Portugal Ana Viseu: These are all different labels that
it is compounded by its unpredictability. There I have used at different times to identify and
seems to be a lack of long-term strategic plan- categorize my research. I am not very good at
ning on the part of policy-makers and national categorizing because I am more interested in
funding agencies and so scientists never know connections, so these stem from attempts to 177
if/when there will be a call for funding and highlight these connections and the interdisci-
therefore cannot adequately prepare for it. To plinarity that we discussed in earlier questions.
make matters worse, our policymakers always In other words, they are all part of the same
seem to be fascinated by the latest hype, by fol- ‘object’, but point to distinct features of it. Often
lowing someone else’s steps, rather than setting when I give a talk about my research, I get to
our own (planned and strategic) path, which the end and someone asks if X is good or bad
means that researchers keep having to shift (X can be wearable computers or nanotechnol-
their research agendas to fit the latest fad. This ogy, among others). Other times, I am accused
is dispiriting. Not to finish on a pessimistic note, of being anti-technology. Neither is true. I was
I would also say that as the world becomes a never interested in moral, normative judgments
globalized part of the isolation that Portuguese about technology. In fact, I am so fascinated by
researchers often suffered from, being in the technoscience that I have spent years studying
margins of Europe, has been ameliorated. It is it! There is a quote by Latour (2002) that I use
easier to participate and lead European pro- frequently where he states that,
jects, collaborate with international colleagues The question to be asked from [techno]sciences,
and take part in ongoing global debates. In this is not if they are or not constructed, but rather,
sense, there has never been a better time to be ‘how is it manufactured?’, ‘how can you ver-
a scientist in Portugal. ify that it is well constructed?’. “Here is where
Table of Contents
negotiations could begin: with the question of transformed by technological innovation. Closer
the right ways to build (Latour 2002: 40). to my work, I am thinking of Hayles´ (1999) argu-
ment on cybernetics and “how information lost
This is what I try to do. I use qualitative –

its body” helped me think deeper about how
mostly ethnographic – methods to study how
technologies that are purportedly designed for
emergent information and communication
bodies (like wearable computers) have also lost
technologies are developed, governed, and
their bodies, as they become information. I am
used. What worlds are being produced through
thinking of the work by Suchman (1987, 2007)
and within emergent technologies? Who gets to
who examines how the premises that underly
define them? What actors and sociotechnical
discourse of artificial intelligence and robotics
imaginaries are, to use Callon’s words (1986),
are based on particular understandings of the
enrolled and mobilized? How are these enacted,
neoliberal subject. I am thinking of Dumit’s (1997,
by whom and with what effects? And impor-
2003, 2004) work on the circulation of scientific
tantly, how could it be otherwise? What other
and medical facts and how we fashion (volun-
figurations, configurations and worlds can we
tarily even) our identities based on them. I am
envision and foster? I have focused these criti-
thinking of Foucault’s work (e.g., 1990) on sex-
cal examinations on techno-sciences that posit
uality, on discourse and the will to knowledge
the body at the interface between biology and (among others). And I am, of course, thinking
information. In other words, I explore how of Haraway’s “we are all cyborgs now” (1991)
178 information and communication technologies where she convincingly shows how nowadays
reify and transform particular concepts of per- our bodies are theorized through technoscience,
sonhood, embodiment and agency. and recrafted with the tools of communications
I am following here in the footsteps of numer- and control technologies (164). I could (perhaps
ous communications, STS, and feminist tech- should?) go on, suffice to say that there are many
noscience scholars. All have shown how con- others who should be acknowledged here.
cepts such as technology, media, embodiment There is an exercise I like to do with my stu-
or personhood are not static, given or natural. For dents to get them to understand the entan-
instance, we tend to think of a body as an entity glements of technoscience and the body: I ask
demarcated by its skin boundaries, but what a them if genes play a part in their connections
body is, where it starts, where it ends, what it can to their parents. The answer is always ‘yes’. I
do, and how it is seen (by ourselves, by others, ask if they think genes are important in shap-
by science) is everchanging. I am thinking here ing who they are. Again, the answer is ‘yes’.
for instance, of Bowker and Leigh Star’s (1999) Then, I ask them if they know what genes are.
book on Sorting Things Out where they describe, Normally they don’t. I do this to show them
among others, the workings of the apartheid sys- how our understanding of who we are, of our
tem to decide who was/was not white. Or Lock’s bodies and identities is technoscientific. And
(2002) description of how the concept of ‘death’ they get it. This is STS in practice. It is also a
– both in its medical and lay versions - has been sort of cyborg anthropology.
Table of Contents
I added another dimension to my research on STS (Science and Technology Studies), which
emergent technologies when I was studying intersects with Gender Studies. STS investigates
nanotechnology: the issue of technoscientific how political and cultural values influence tech-

governance. Because of shifts in science pol- nological advancement and scientific research, as
icy, there has been a push to integrate social well as, conversely, scientific and technological
scientists in large, publicly-funded, technosci- influences on society. The Feminist Technology
entific projects, and I was one of the first social Studies (FTS, Feminist Technological Studies)
scientists to be hired in one such position. I reinforce the need to engage technology with
was both a token representative of the public feminist praxis, in the search for the develop-
and a protector against said public. This led me ment of theoretical and methodological tools for
to start thinking more deeply about scientific the analysis of technology and gender simulta-
governance and politics. There is an important neously, in equal depth.
strand of STS studies on technoscientific gov- One of the main concepts of technological
ernance, and I will not cite them all here, suffice feminism came with Donna Haraway, the
to say that authors like Wynne (2007), Jasanoff “Manifest for Cyborgs” in 1985, a work that
(2011), Guston (2011), Nowotny et al (2001) or became a turning point for the emergence
Lewenstein (2005) were tremendously influen- and evolution of a post-feminist technology
tial in my thinking. Together they all reflect on period. The cyborg is a cybernetic organ-
how what counts as knowledge, what role is ism, resulting from a hybrid of machine and
given to the public, and how we can make tech- organism, a creature of social reality and fic-
179
noscience more democratic and accountable. tion, it implies the collapse of pre-established
On a side note, and because I believe this may binary relationships (nature / culture; human
be useful for junior scholars, I would say that we / machine; subject / object; man / woman) and,
often speak of our research and our paths within therefore, it produces a releasing effect.
science and academia as focused, organized and You seek to collaborate with colleagues and
tidy. We certainly engage in this clean-up behav- students focused on science and technology
ior when writing grant applications. But research studies, feminist technoscience, actor-network
is often messy and opportunistic: there is funding theory or cyborg anthropology approaches
for a particular issue, there is the possibility of to critically examine the practices of techno-
access to a site, there is hype surrounding a new logical development and use, particularly in
phenomenon, there is a personal investment in regard to information and communication
a topic. Whenever possible, we should use these technologies, emergent techno-sciences. How
opportunities as starting points. I have been rather these theoretical and conceptual domains
successful in doing so, and I am grateful for that. unfold in a cyborg anthropological work?
Renata Frade: Technological Feminism has Ana Viseu: Over the years, I have come to wear
yielded a vast existing production in the area of my feminist identity closer to my skin both in
Table of Contents
my research and in my teaching. This has been kind of cyborgs are we becoming, and, impor-
not only liberating but also generative. I should tantly, the kind of cyborgs we want to become.
start by explaining that, like many other femi-
Let me use the example of wearable computers

nist scholars, the brand of feminism I espouse
to explain how I engage with this notion and
is not only concerned with women or gender.
how it shapes my understanding of our rela-
It is concerned with all the bodies and beings
tionship with the technoscientific worlds we
that are marked as the Other. Some of these
inhabit. I conducted an ethnography of a pilot
are women, but others are people of color, dis-
study to equip telephone repair and mainte-
abled people, immigrants, refugees, the poor,
nance field technicians with wearable comput-
or non-human animals. Like many other femi-
ers. What became clear through my research
nists, I am interested in understanding the log-
is that a telephone repair technician equipped
ics of power through which knowledges and
with a wearable computer is a different entity
‘the norm’ are defined, the imaginaries and
than one without a wearable computer. All the
practices that drive the futures we will collec-
actors in my research agreed with this start-
tively inhabit, and in exploring alternative con-
ing point: the wearable computer manufac-
figurations for better and more livable worlds.
turer, management and the field technicians
I am not dogmatic or constrained by particular
strands of theory. I align closely with scholars, themselves. Now, the question is, what kind
self-described as feminists or not, whose goal is of person (cyborg) are they becoming? And
180 to promote responsible and accountable world- that is where things get interesting. For man-
ing practices that emphasize equality, relation- agement and wearable developers, these tech-
ality and responsibility, that recognize unequal nicians would be improved – better communi-
positionalities and forces, and that ask how it cation capacities, increased productivity, more
can be otherwise by imagining and intervening empowered workers. Management paradox-
in the configuration of our realities. ically insisted that the wearable technology
would augment the capacities of workers, while
As you mention above, I often describe my work
simultaneously not changing their identity. In
as a kind of “cyborg anthropology” (Downey,
other words, they would be transformed (for
Dumit & Williams 1985) in that it theorizes
the better), but still the same as ever.
and encourages participation in contemporary
culture by examining the definitions, bound- Now, while this was going on, field techni-
aries and relationships between humans and cians – the actual users of wearable comput-
machines. My takeaway from Haraway’s mani- ers – had a different experience. They quickly
festo is that cyborgs have histories, they are not understood that the new wearable technology
innocent nor universal, and that we are respon- they were asked to use profoundly changed
sible for who/what they are. I have often used their job and their identity. It transformed
this as a starting point for my research, because them into information that could be tracked,
if ‘we are all cyborgs now’ as Haraway states, it transformed the way their productivity was
then one of my research goals is to examine the measured, it even transformed the practices
Table of Contents
of the job itself. Moreover, while information this irony of a profound recognition of non-hu-
is weightless, wearable computers aren’t and man agency (the best ANT defenders), while
therefore they produced bodily transforma- simultaneously falling back on strong neolib-

tions. In sum, while managers and developers eral humanism.
understood wearables as empowerment, tech-
nicians experienced them as forms of control.
More importantly, while managers described Renata Frade: In The Atlas of AI (2021), Kate
any changes deriving from their use as super- Crawford says “AI is neither artificial nor intel-
ficial, technicians knew it changed their identi- ligent, it is both embodied and material, made
ties. What technicians realized, though they did from natural resources, fuel, human labor,
not verbalize it as such, is that this was not the infrastructures, logistics, histories, and clas-
kind of cyborgs they wanted to become. And sifications. AI systems are not autonomous,
so, they engaged in all manners of resistance rational, or able to discern anything without
and subversion. extensive, computationally intensive training
with large datasets or predefined rules and
This research continues to inform my thinking
rewards. In fact, artificial intelligence as we
on emergent information and communication
know it depends entirely on a much wider set
technologies and technoscience in general. Let
of political and social structures. At a funda-
me highlight two important issues: First, field
mental level, AI is technical and social prac-
technicians, like STS scholars, understood that
technologies are not neutral, they transform; tices, institutions and infrastructures, poli- 181
like ANT scholars, they understood that the tics and culture. Computational reason and
incorporation of this new actor into their net- embodied work are deeply interlinked: AI
work changed its identity and agency; and like systems both reflect and produce social rela-
feminist technoscience scholars, they under- tions and understandings of the world”.
stood that agency is relational and that power How does the advancement of artificial intel-
issues are part of these relationships. I am, of ligence development in platforms, artifacts
course, artificially separating these three things and technological products impact ethical and
– STS, ANT and feminist technoscience – when moral issues in projects related to the body
in reality, they overlap. Second, the rhetoric of and in the power relations in society in your
wearable computer developers and the manag- projects? Could you talk about the impacts of
ers involved in this study is a staple of infor- data on techno-sciences?
mation and communication technologies dis-
course: new and emergent technologies will
empower, enhance, and augment us, but at Ana Viseu: Already in 1991, Haraway wrote
the same time we remain the same neoliberal that, communications sciences and modern
subjects, that is, individual, natural and sepa- biologies are constructed by a common move
rated from technoscience, and we are also still - the translation of the world into a problem
very much in charge. I have always appreciated of coding, a search for a common language in
Table of Contents
which all resistance to instrumental control dis- we need to examine and make visible the imag-
appears and all heterogeneity can be submit- inaries that guide us and who gets to set them;
ted to disassembly, reassembly, investment, and we need to learn to study algorithms that are
exchange. (Haraway 1991: 164) largely secret and opaque; we need to study
This statement seems prescient of our times. how data is used to reify, shape and transform
It is not only about AI. It is, I believe, first and our social organization and with what implica-
foremost about data. We currently live in a tions; we need to insist on responsibility, trans-
cybernetic world that is made of data67. Data parency, accountability and justice. In sum, we
has emerged as the common language, the must better understand, again, the worlds we
great equalizer: all actions (online and offline) are creating and the cyborgs we are becoming.
are translated into data that is then used to My modest contribution to this problem, the
understand, anticipate, and manipulate us, issue I am grappling with nowadays concerns
and as Haraway announced, thereby reduc- difference. I argue that STS and feminist tech-
ing the possibility of resistance to instrumen- noscience scholars have done an amazing job
tal control. Like AI, data appears to us as dis- of creating theories, methods and vocabular-
embodied, invisible, and omnipotent, but it is ies that allow us to simultaneously examine
neither. It relies on people, expertise, infrastruc- and describe humans and nonhumans. We
tures and institutions. It needs processing and have highlighted the co-shaping of society
182 storage. Data is made of knowledge, politics, and technology, emphasized ‘generalized sym-
power, economics, social structures and cul- metry’ (Callon 1986: 200) between social and
tural practices. technical actors. This is important work but,
I would say that first and foremost, we need in our largely opaque cybernetic world of data,
more work on the many and varied dimensions where identity equals action equals data equals
and impacts of data. There is already excellent manipulation, I find it increasingly pressing to
work on this, for instance, a number of research- find ways to retrieve and highlight difference
ers have done incredible work on algorithms – between humans and (some) nonhumans - as
(Gillespie 2010, Striphas 2015), on manipulation a mode of analysis, of subversion and of resist-
of behavior (Schull 2014), on the datafication of ance. This is one of the things that occupies my
childhood (Mascheroni & Siibak 2021), on the thoughts these days.
smartification of our homes (Bridges 2021), on When I am not thinking about difference, I am
the invisible human work that sustains this real preoccupied with examining the sociotechni-
time datafication (Gray and Suri 2019), and of cal imaginaries and material instantiations of
course, on the creation of Surveillance Capitalism the old dream of ubiquitous computing and
(Zuboff 2018), to name a few. But we need more. connectivity ‘all the time, everywhere’. I am
We need to examine the who, how, when, involved in a project that examines domestic
where why of data collection and processing; engagements with the internet-of-thing, and
67 I would love to read a history of how we went from ‘information’ to ‘data’.
Table of Contents
I have proposed a project that will examine the lives they study and the worlds in which
‘smart shops’ to understand the visions behind they intervene”. In your point of view care
them, their implementation, and how they are is deployed as a means for technoscientific

used. governance. You observed a growing trend of
STS researchers in state-funded science as an
exercise of caretaking, “trained in the ethical,
Renata Frade: In one of your most emblematic, legal, and social implications are employed to
important and recognized texts, ‘The Politics take care of science”.
of Care in Technoscience (2015), published in
the renowned Social Studies of Science, there Would it be possible to frame this concept
is an exposition of the concept of care as an in the fourth wave of feminism, cyberfemi-
asymmetrical exercise in power relations, nism, or would it be part of a new movement
in the discipline of bodies, for example. It or trend to develop science projects with a
exposes the relationship of care with feminist broader, more diverse and inclusive approach?
theories, such as you brought in the work of Could you talk about how, since this concept
Carol Gilligan, in the 1980s, who drew atten- was presented in scientific publications, it has
tion to “a notion of ‘an ethic of care in which been a cornerstone of your projects and other
care was feminized, devalued, overlooked, or researchers’ case studies?
rendered invisible by materially and morally
privileging mind over body, public over pri- Ana Viseu: This article, which was written as 183
vate, reason over emotion, and waged labor an introduction to a special issue on the ‘The
over unpaid care work. Later studies began to Politics of Care in Technoscience’ that I co-ed-
recognize deeper stratifications in care work, ited with Martin and Myers (2015), has indeed
profoundly racialized and classed dimensions inspired numerous colleagues. The idea to cre-
(Collins, 1990). Contemporary works in sci- ate it came out of a workshop that we organ-
ence studies aimed at recovering the contri- ized at York University (Canada) in 2012. The
butions of neglected actors such as women workshop was extremely successful in getting
scientists (e.g. Abir-Am and Outram, 1987; us all to start unpacking this notion that has a
Keller, 1985; Rossiter, 1984) or the ‘invisible complicated history. Care is a generative con-
technicians’ (Shapin, 1989) who made epis- cept because of its ambiguity: it is generally
temically significant contributions to science cherished as a positive, thoughtful practice
by caring for ‘big men of science’ as well as while at the same time being devalued and
their instruments, their specimens, and their made invisible because it is understood as a
data (Cooper, 2008; De Chadarevian, 2002; feminine endeavor. We wanted to draw out
Pycior et al., 1996)”. this ambiguity and understand how else it was
This work also relates how “feminist sci- being mobilized. Care – the ability to enact it
ence studies scholarship drew attention to or mandate others to do so – is, we started to
how researchers in STS come to care about understand, a technique of power (see, Viseu
Table of Contents
2015; Murphy 2015). The special issue drew out conceives a mutually conforming relationship
these many meanings of care. I should say, and I between gender and technology, in which
think my co-authors share this feeling, that I did technology is the same time as the source
not expect the notion of ‘care’ to strike such a and consequence of gender relations. Gender
deep nerve in STS. It generated a great amount relations materialize in technology. Wajcman
of amazing work and I am both humbled and has a constructivist view of technology as a
grateful for this. Looking back, it is almost as sociotechnical network, and recognizes the
if many of us in STS were looking for another need to integrate the material, discursive and
way to examine and theorize our engagements social elements of technoscientific practice.
with the worlds we study and create, as well (…) In technofeminism, politics is a character-
as the worlding practices that constitute them. istic and a necessary extension of the analysis
For me personally, this concept was incredibly of the red. The relationship between social
generative. I had been grappling for a num- analysis and social transformation projects
ber of years (yes, years!) with my experience is what marks the fundamental difference
with nanotechnology. Care provided a means between conventional technoscience studies
to make sense of it, not in a negative and merely and technofeminism”.
critical way, but in a way that highlighted the We live in a platform society, under the influ-
deep, structural power asymmetries that were ence of algorithms, which has caused some
built into it and how this was (is) done by
184 design, but rather as a means of governance.
problems of prejudice, racism, for example.
How can projects be designed to impact tar-
When I started thinking about with ‘care’ it get audiences taking these facts into account,
became obvious this was the right concept. protecting minorities? How science produces
You ask if the concept of ‘care’ can be framed knowledge, also considering gender issues
within cyberfeminism or if we intended it as with technology and feminism as fundamen-
part of a new movement to make science more tal assumptions of care in times when humans
democratic. I would say both. The goal, at least are increasingly hybrid beings with machines
for me, is not to set a path for this concept but and that the platformization and algorithmi-
rather to have other scholars use it in produc- zation of society has caused, at different levels,
tive ways and these can pertain to fourth wave biases of prejudice, racism, injustices against
feminism, to help develop a more inclusive sci- minorities?
ence, to creating alternative configurations that
are more just, to call attention to those who are
still invisible, among others. Ana Viseu: I am not a fan of one size fits all
solutions; we cannot come up with one solu-
tion (or parameters) that will solve the many
Renata Frade: One of the main technolog- and distinct problems we are currently faced
ical feminism concepts is technofeminism with. In your question, you name a few: prej-
(Wajcman, 2006). According to the author,” it udice, racism, injustice, algorithmization, and
Table of Contents
platformization. To these I would add environ- for instance, a few high-tech companies/plat-
mental concerns, and to be honest, there are forms have assumed positions of unrivalled
so many others. It is not possible (nor perhaps (and largely unchecked) power (Gillespie 2018).

desirable) to build parameters that cover all
When it comes to designing sociotechnical sys-
of these issues because we inhabit “a world of
tems and platforms, I believe we must ensure
many worlds” (Blaser & de la Cadena 2018),
that users are involved upstream, and that those
populated by distinct beings and forces.
users come from diverse backgrounds. We must
This does not mean we should do nothing; ensure that the public good prevails, and this
on the contrary. It is incumbent on us, all of may entail more regulation, but it also limits the
us, to be mindful of others, both in our prac- scope of data collection by ensuring that com-
tices and discourses. Feminist intersectional- panies collect only the data they need, rather
ity (Crenshaw 1989) among others, has shown than attempting to capture as much information
clearly that we are not positioned equally in (data) as possible, as they currently do. We must
the world, our exposure to and experience in be aware that by making choices, we are always
it is different, and so is our agency. So, I would excluding and be certain that we exclude pur-
start with some basic STS, technoscience femi- posefully and not accidentally. We must keep in
nist thinking, and I cite here from van Dooren mind that technology is not neutral, but rather a
(2019) because he lays it out brilliantly, materialization of values and beliefs, that it con-
Our worlds are not pre-existing, static entities. strains or enables lives and modes of living. We 185
They are becomings that must be put together must be mindful of our responsibility to create
– from the inside – by, through, as the embod- worlds where many can live and flourish.
ied imaginings, presences, and intra-actions of But even as we do all this, we must make
innumerable beings and forces. […] Of course, mindful choices about who/what we are car-
to say that worlds are made is not to imply that ing for/about. Environmentalists have been
any of us – or any coalition we might form – can grappling with this for a while, so let me turn
unilaterally ‘decide’ how they will be made. to van Dooren (2019) for help. In his book, The
But it is to acknowledge the various forms of Wake of Crows, Van Dooren (2019) uses these
agency, of very real if always thoroughly con- animals to guide us through “possibilities for
strained influence that each of use – and not living and dying well with others – human or
just the human ‘us’ – has in the shaping of what not – in an increasingly uncertain world” (2).
is.” (8) Dealing with crows, he shows us, is different
In other words, we shape the world with our in different parts of the world: sometimes the
actions, but as we do so, we are constantly shap- goal is learning to cohabitate, other times it is
ing and constraining the agency of others. The ensuring that ravens do not eat other threat-
question is how to craft worlds that allow dis- ened species, and others still have focused on
tinct life forms to flourish. This is particularly the eradication of crows in the name of global
important in our contemporary worlds where, trade, to name a few. Environmentalists, van
Table of Contents
Dooren explains, have long understood that important thing you can study”, Jaron Lanier
caring for one animal, one species, one way of (American computer philosophy writer, con-
life, may harm others. This can lead to despair, sidered one of the virtual reality’s creator)
inaction, or lack of care. Instead, van Dooren about a new definition of internet “We cannot
reminds us that our worlds are always “par- have a society in which, if two people wish to
tially shared” (Haraway 1991, cited in van communicate, the only way that can happen is
Dooren 2019: 60) and offers a practice of “situ- if it’s financed by a third person who wishes to
ated pluralism” (55). We recognize Haraway’s manipulate them”, and the bestselling author,
inheritance here, that of “situated knowledge” Yuval Noah Harari “It’s very important to be
(1999) where she reminds us that all knowledge aware of the dangerous scenarios of new tech-
has a source and is therefore always partial nologies. The corporations, the engineers, the
(thus avoiding the notion of universal truths). people in labs naturally focus on the enor-
To this van Dooren, adds that situated plural- mous benefits that these technologies might
ism offers “only the ethic-political promise of bring us, and it falls to historians, to philos-
paying attention in necessarily partial, ongoing ophers and social scientists who think about
and multiplicitous ways – without the possibil- all of the ways that things could go wrong”.
ity of any pregiven or, indeed, ever-to-arrive Your research projects focus “on the ethno-
authorized set of principles or procedures for graphic study of the discursive and material
doing so. Paying attention as the basis of efforts
186 to make connections and craft new possibilities
practices of development, use and governance
of emergent (and contested) sciences and tech-
together” (2019: 60). This is where I would end, nologies that interact with the body”68. Here
in recommending a practice of situated plural- I want to draw attention to research related
ism that is not pregiven, but rather decided on, to nanotechnology, as it is framed in the con-
by paying attention to the need and possibility cept of care that we discussed earlier, in an
of collectively inhabitable worlds. integrated vision of a social scientist and also
centered on a feminist work on science and
Renata Frade: In an article published on the technology, how different modes of govern-
Arts & Humanities Entrepreneurship Hubs ance are developed, applied and evaluated.
website, Alonso (2019) says that despite According to you (Viseu, 2018), “integrated
the fact that the number of students in the social scientists are asked to care for nanotech-
Humanities is decreasing every year, they nology research and development by learning
are fundamental in a technological soci- how to observe but not disturb”. You mention
ety. I highlight statements published in this in this work political and economic implica-
piece by Nicholas Negroponte (founder of tions in research, such as “return-on-invest-
the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s ment”, public questioning of the direction
Media Lab) “Humanities are the most of technoscientific development, a waning of
68 http://anaviseu.org/research
Table of Contents
confidence in the self-regulation of science, In the articles you cite (published in 2015 and
a renegotiation of relations between science, 2018), I provide some ideas for what to do, but I
the state and citizens. recognize this is not a problem with an easy fix.

After years of research and defence of ethi- Research as a whole, is being simultaneously
cal and legal parameters related to the devel- shaped by many different forces: there is less
opment of technoscience, what would be the and less funding for research, and this money
legacies left by your innovative vision as a is often channelled and concentrated on big
researcher? What are the milestones still to be science issues. This is problematic, as these big
accomplished in academic development? What science projects are too often geared towards
is the impact of this vision and advocacy as a the natural sciences who are then the main
scientist on government and private projects? drivers of the work and recipients of funding.
The asymmetry is built into the very funding
system. There is also an increased emphasis on
Ana Viseu: I will start by saying that there proving the usefulness of research. This is, in
should absolutely be involvement of users and some degree understandable, we are after all
the public, social sciences and humanities in often speaking of public funding, but in my
technoscientific projects. But this isn’t saying opinion, usefulness is too manifested as instru-
much. In Western countries, the notion of pay- mental utility. There is the idea that research
ing attention to social dimensions, of involv- has to provide returns but that, of course, begs
ing the ‘public’, of responsible research and the question, returns for whom and for what? 187
innovation has become so common place as If an issue afflicts a small community, is it still
to be banal. Most if not all natural scientists deemed useful? How about ethnographic stud-
know that in order to get their grant proposals ies that take years to produce and are not gen-
approved, they must at least pay lip service to eralizable: are those useful? Another problem
these issues. The question then, is how are these pertains to evaluation which has been become
ideas and ideals actualized and enacted? And, a matter of metrics, deliverables and consen-
perhaps more to the point, how should they be sus. Evaluation is fundamental but we must
actualized and enacted? insist on the specificities of different fields/
disciplines/methodologies/studies and rec-
The problem starts with understanding what
social sciences and humanities are and what ognize that different partners have different
they can do. For instance, in this question you goals. Importantly, we must recognize that
cite Harari’s assessment that “it falls to histori- success does not have to mean consensus, but
ans, to philosophers and social scientists who instead encourage discussion. Unfortunately, I
think about all of the ways that things could would say that currently, most if not all of these
go wrong”. I take issue with this statement: it issues, tip the scale against the social sciences
is reductive and places us in the position of the and humanities.
nay-sayers who come after the fact. Neither is You start the question citing Lanier, and
true. Negroponte. Lanier is a computer scientist.
Table of Contents
Negroponte was a big proponent of techno a larger article published on Social Studies of Science
fixes for social problem – let us not forget the and both were extremely hard to write. In fact, I
‘one computer per child’ initiative. Harari is a spent years writing the article and was continu-
So, I will end by saying that it is ironic, to say ously plagued by self-doubt and self-criticism. In
the least, that neither one is a social scientist. hindsight, I needn’t have worried. The article was
Ironic but also telling. extremely well-received within the social sciences.
I had worried that people would think that my
experience was the fruit of my incompetence, but
Renata Frade: In a courageous article written instead I had many colleagues reach out to me,
by you for Nature (Viseu, 2015), you report, in talking about their similar experiences, colleagues
first person, ethical, moral, personal and profes- who found in my article a way to process their
sional issues experienced in three years devel- experience, and a reference to cite in their work.
oping projects as social scientists at the Cornell I also had colleagues tell me that now, when they
NanoScale Science and Technology Facility are invited to collaborate in large technoscientific
in Ithaca (New York) and the US National projects, they ask their natural sciences colleagues
Nanotechnology Infrastructure Network. You to read the article and make it clear to them that
consider this experience “a futile and frustrat- they are not willing to be ‘the carers’. In all these
ing time” and, in your report, mention that ways, this article has been impactful. But the rea-
“work alongside the nanotechnology scientists, son why I needn’t be nervous is because just like
188 I naively expected that my expertise as an eth- the power asymmetries that are built into policies
nographer would be useful. I was prepared to of integration of social and natural sciences, the
study the culture of a laboratory and to probe main reaction from the natural sciences was no-re-
its interaction with wider society. Instead, the action, it was apathy. There may be consequences
other scientists seemed to see my role as one of or reactions that I am not aware of, but to the best
managing a narrow list of “possible researcher” of my knowledge, there was no impact at all on
and followed my instructions and ticked boxes, the natural sciences colleagues, nor on policymak-
then I would bless them as ‘social and ethical’, ers or funding agencies. Unfortunately, I have not
and they would be free to do their work with no seen any institutional, policymaking, or funding
concerns. I was routinely (wrongly) introduced attempts change the dynamics and goals of col-
as an ethicist and was expected to find minimal, laborations between social and natural sciences.
non-disruptive ways of dealing with social and
ethical issues”.
What were the ramifications and impacts Renata Frade: What are your biggest motiva-
of this article on your career and if it had tions and goals as a scientist? What achieve-
inspired other people to face similar issues ments are considered the most relevant ones?
from a position close to yours?
Ana Viseu: Let me start by thanking you for call- Ana Viseu: There are many things that I enjoy
ing it courageous. The Nature piece was based on about being a scientist. I get to spend my time
Table of Contents
thinking and reading and that is an incredible in their events. Just this month, I took part on a
luxury. If and when I am lucky, I get to make panel discussing digital privacy and citizenship.
a difference in the world with my writing – by And I loved it, like I always do.

helping shape policy, by calling attention to
existing problems, by contributing to our under-
standing of the world, by giving back to those References
who participate in my research. On top of this, Alonso, C. (2019). The role of humanities in a high-
I am immensely fond of teaching. I enjoy being tech society. In A&H Entrepreneurship Hubs.
in the classroom and thinking with students. I Available at https://www.artshumanitieshub.
find it incredibly rewarding to help them start eu/resources/role-humanities-high-tech-soci-
to develop their own independent thinking, to ety/ (accessed 13 February 2022).
see them start to foster their curiosity and ques-
Bowker, G., Leigh Star, S. (1999). Sorting
tion the world, and if nothing else, become more
Things Out: Classification and its Consequences.
aware, more participative citizens. Cambridge, Massachusetts: MIT Publisher.
As for what I enjoy doing the most, I realize Callon, M. (1986 a). “Some elements of a sociol-
this might come across as false modesty, but it ogy of translation: domestication of the scallops
is participating in outreach events. One of the and the fishermen of St. Brieuc Bay”. In ´Law,
most memorable things I have done was par- John (Ed.), Power, Action and Belief: A New
ticipate in a small workshop on nanotechnol-
ogy that took place in Gagliato, a small village
Sociology of Knowledge?´, Sociological Review 189
Monograph, 32): 196-233. (pp. 196-233). London,
in Italy. The workshop was composed of 4-5 UK: Routledge & Kegan Paul.
nanotechnologists plus me and one night we
organized a public event for the residents. It was Comissão para a Cidadania e a Igualdade de
framed as a mixture between a roundtable and Género - CIG e República Portuguesa. Igualdade
conversation, and was scheduled to take place de Género em Portugal – Boletim Estatístico
in a public square in the center of the village 2021 [Publicação Comissão para a Cidadania
at 9pm. The event started late, more than one e a Igualdade de Género - CIG] - Educação,
hour late, but no one left. Everyone came and formação e ciência. Available at https://www.
square was filled with families, grandparents, cig.gov.pt/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/2_
parents, children, teenagers. And they were so Educacao-formacao-e-ciencia.pdf (accessed 13
February 2022).
curious. We were still there at midnight, all of
us in a public square, in a small village in Italy CNAEF. Portaria nº 256/2005, de 16 de Março.
discussing nanotechnology. I absolutely loved it. Available at https://certifica.dgert.gov.pt/legisla-
cao/cnaef-classificacao-nacional-de-areas-de-edu-
I am lucky to be frequently invited to participate
cacao-e-formacao-pdf.aspx (accessed 29 June 2022).
in events organized by Ciência Viva – Portugal’s
National Agency for Scientific and Technological Costanza-Chock, S. (2020). Design justice:
Culture. They do absolutely amazing work and Community-led practices to build the world we need.
I am always humbled and honored to take part Cambridge: The MIT Press.
Table of Contents
Crawford, K. (2021). Atlas of AI: Power, politics, Haraway, D. (1991). “A Cyborg Manifesto:
and the planetary costs of artificial intelligence. S.l.: Science, Technology, and Socialist- Feminism in
YALE UNIVERSITY PRESS. the Late Twentieth Century,” in Simians, Cyborgs
Culkin, J. M. (1967). A schoolman’s guide to Marshall and Women: The Reinvention of Nature. New
McLuhan. New York: Saturday Review, Inc. York: Routledge, pp.149-181.
Diário de Notícias (2021). Portugal regista Hartley, S. (2018). The fuzzy and the techie: Why
novo máximo histórico no número de diplo- the liberal arts will rule the digital world. Boston:
mados - No ano letivo de 2019-20 foram for- Mariner Books.
mados 86 mil estudantes, a maioria mulheres. Jenkins, H., Ito, M.; boyd, d. (2016). Participatory
Representa um crescimento de 6% face ao ano Culture in a Networked Era: a conversation on youth, learn-
anterior. Available at https://www.dn.pt/ ing, commerce, and politics. Cambridge: Polity Press.
sociedade/portugal-regista-novo-maximo-his-
torico-no-numero-de-diplomados-13902019. Lapham, L. (1994). “Introduction to the MIT
html (accessed 13 February 2022). Press edition: The eternal now”. In Latour, B.
(2002 c). War of the Worlds: What about Peace?.
D’Ignazio, C., Klein, L. (2020). Data Feminism.
Chicago: Prickly Paradigm Press, LLC.
Cambridge: MIT Press.
Latour, B. (1996). Aramis or the Love of Technology.
De Kerckhove, D. (1997). Connected intelligence: the
Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
arrival of the web society. Toronto: Sommerville House.
190 Latour, B., Woolgar, S. (1979). Laboratory Life:
de la Bellacasa, Maria P. (2011). Matters of care
The Social Construction of Scientific Facts. Beverly
in technoscience: Assembling neglected things.
Hills; London: Sage Publications.
Social Studies of Science, 41(1): 85-106.
Law, J. (1991). “Introduction: monsters,
Ferreira, J. (2021). Quase dez anos depois, há
machines and sociotechnical relations”. In Law,
ainda menos mulheres no setor tecnológico.
J. (Ed.), A sociology of monsters: Essays on power,
In Eco Sapo. Available at https://eco.sapo.
pt/2021/09/19/quase-dez-anos-depois-ha- technology and domination, (pp. 1-23). London
ainda-menos-mulheres-no-setor-tecnologico/ and New York: Routledge.
(accessed 13 February 2022) Lessig, L. (2006). Code (Version 2.0). NY: Basic
Frade, R. (2021). Inteligência artificial no ativ- Books.
ismo feminino tecnológico - contextos e reflex- Lessig, L. (1999). Code and other laws of cyber-
ões. In Cátedra Oscar Sala/Instituto de Estudos space. New York: Basic Books.
Avançados da Universidade de São Paulo
Lock, M. (2002). Twice Dead: Organ Transplants
website. Available at http://www.iea.usp.br/
and the Reinvention of Death. California:
pesquisa/catedras-e-convenios/catedra-os-
University of California Press.
car-sala/ensaios/inteligencia-artificial-no-ativ-
ismo-feminino-tecnologico-contextos-e-reflex- Luria, A. (1994). “The problem of the cultural
oes (accessed 13 February 2022). behaviour of the child”. In Van der Veer, Rene;
Table of Contents
Valsiner, Jaan. The Vygotsky reader (pp. 46-56). Thompson, C. (2005). Making Parents: The
Oxford, UK: Blackwell. Ontological Choreography of Reproductive
Luria, A. (1974) [1976]. Cognitive Development Technologies. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.

Its Cultural and Social Foundations. [Online]. Viseu, A. (2018). Integrating is Caring? Or, Caring
Available at: http://www.marxists.org/ for Nanotechnology? Being an Integrated Social
archive/luria/works/1976/problem.htm Scientist. In Subrahmanian, E., In Odumosu, T.,
[2003, Sept. 25]. Harvard: Harvard University & In Tsao, J. Y. (2018). Engineering a Better Future:
Press. Interplay between Engineering, Social Sciences, and
Martin, A., Myers, N. & Viseu, A. (2015). Innovation. Cham: Springer eBooks.
“The politics of care in technoscience”, In Viseu, A. (2015). Integration of social science
Viseu, A., Myers, N. & Martin, A. (Eds), ‘The into research is crucial. Nature, 525, 7569, 291.
Politics of Care in Technoscience’ special vol- Vygotsky, Lev S. (1962) [1986]. Thought and lan-
ume, Social Studies of Science, 45(5): 625-641. guage (originally published in 1934)
doi:10.1177/0306312715602073
(translated by Alex Kozulin). Cambridge, MA:
McLuhan, M. Understanding media: the extensions MIT Press.
of man (pp. ix-xxiii). Cambridge, Massachusetts:
MIT Press. ————- . (1981). The instrumental method
in psychology (originally written in 1930. In
PORDATA - Base de dados Portugal
Contemporâneo. Francisco Manuel dos Santos
Wertsch, James V. (Ed.), The concept of activity 191
in soviet psychology (pp. 134-143). Armonk, N.Y:
Foundation. Available at https://www.por- M. E. Sharpe.
data.pt (accessed 13 February 2022).
XXIII Governo. Available at https://www.
Stengers, I. (2008). A Constructivist Reading of portugal.gov.pt/pt/gc23/comunicacao/noti-
Process and Reality. Theory, Culture & Society, cia?i=a-transicao-digital-e-um-dos-maiores-de-
25(4): 91-110. safios-que-temos-pela-frente (accessed 29 June
Suchman, L. (2007). Human-Machine 2022).
Reconfigurations: Plans and Situated Actions. Wajcman, J. (2006). El tecnofeminismo. Madrid:
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Ediciones Cátedra.
Suchman, L. (1987). Plans and situated actions:
The problem of human-machine communication.
UK: Cambridge University Press. Table of Contents
Authors
Dr. Judy Wajcman
Emeritus Professor of Sociology, London School of Economics.
Authors
Professor Judy Wajcman is Emeritus Professor of Sociology at the LSE. Until 2022, she held the
Anthony Giddens Chair in Sociology. She is a Fellow at The Alan Turing Institute, where she leads
the Women in Data Science and Artificial Intelligence research project. She has been a Visiting
Professor at the Oxford Internet Institute and is a member of the AI100 Standing Committee.
Prior to joining LSE in 2009, she was the Professor of Sociology in the Research School of Social
Sciences at the Australian National University. She has held posts in Cambridge, Edinburgh,
Manchester, Sydney, Tokyo, Vienna, Warwick and Zurich. She was formerly a Centennial Professor
at LSE, a Visiting Fellow at All Souls College, Oxford, and a Visiting Professor at the Centre for
Women in Business at London Business School. In 2017-18 she held a Mellon Foundation fellow-
195
ship with the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences at Stanford University, focus-
ing on the politics of artificial intelligence.
Professor Wajcman’s scholarly interests encompass the sociology of work and employment, sci-
ence and technology studies, gender theory, temporality, and organizational analysis. Her work
has been translated into Chinese, French, German, Greek, Italian, Korean, Japanese, Portuguese,
Spanish and Russian. She has been President of the Society for Social Studies of Science (2009-2011).
Professor Wajcman is a Fellow of the British Academy. She has an honorary doctorate from
the University of Geneva. She is the recipient of the William F. Ogburn Career Achievement
Award of the American Sociological Association (2013). In 2018, she received the Oxford Internet
Institute’s Lifetime Achievement Award ‘in recognition of her contributions to the field of the
social study of science and technology’. In 2021, she was awarded the John Desmond Bernal Prize
by the Society for the Social Studies of Science.
Reference: https://www.lse.ac.uk/sociology/people/judy-wajcman
Table of Contents
Renata Frade
Authors
Doctoral Program in Information and Communication in Digital Platforms (ICPD, Universidade

de Aveiro, Universidade do Porto) student. Her investigation seeks to map and classify diversity,
inclusion and empowerment in women in technology communities.
Instituto de Estudos Avançados da Universidade de São Paulo (USP) researcher, since 2021, where
she investigates the social and operational coexistence between humans and non-humans, rep-
resented by algorithms, robots and other intelligent devices, in a multidisciplinary environment.
Her motivation for studies in the technological field was more emphasized 11 years ago, when
196 she became a technology entrepreneur and developed mobile and web projects. Fifteen years ago
she´d got to know transmedia theory and was a student of its main theorist, Prof. doctor Henry
Jenkins, at M.I.T. (Massachussets Institute of Technology, USA). During 2015 and 2017 she had
been an activist, speaker and volunteer for the international women in tech NGO Girls in Tech
Brazil. She´s been a keynote speaker (such as Gartner symposium), speaker, consultant, mentor
and teacher at feminist, human rights, diversity and inclusion, transmedia, new media, commu-
nication events and for private and governmental companies and institutions such as Instituto
Superior de Economia e Gestão da Universidade de Lisboa (ISEG), ThoughtWorks, Universidade
Anhembi Morumbi, She´s Tech conference, Porto Feminist Festival, Olabi, Mulheres no Comando.
She writes technology articles for press media such as Mídia Ninja, MobileTime and Digitalks.
She is the author of 13 fiction and non-fiction books by Brazilian and international publishers
such as Unesp, Rocco, Springer, Patuá, Ria Editorial (Portugal), Livros LabCom.IFP (Univ. Da
Beira Interior, Portugal). She took UX courses at the California Institute of Arts and USP. She was
a Science and Health reporter for InfoGlobo. Graduated in Social Communication at the PUC-Rio
(where she took courses in computing at the Rio DataCentro laboratories), Master in Literature
at the UERJ (book market thesis approved with distinction).
Table of Contents
Ana S. Moura
LAQV-REQUIMTE, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Faculdade de Ciências,
Universidade do Porto (FCUP), Portugal
Authors
Passionate about Sciences, Education, Arts, and Literature, Ana S. Moura has kept a research
publication track in several academic areas (e.g., ecotoxicity prediction; medical social networks),
while being a published author of speculative fiction, namely in the fields of Alternate History and
Science Fiction, under the pen name AMP Rodriguez. Founding member of ‘Invicta Imaginaria’,
she co-coordinated the first anthology of a new speculative fiction subgenre, the Winepunk,
released in February of 2019. Prior to becoming a published author of speculative fiction, she was
already an author of elementary and high school handbooks in the areas of Physicochemical stud-
ies, the latter within the context of national exam preparation. She also co-edited the Handbook 197
of Research on Determining the Reliability of Online Assessment and Distance Learning, released
in November, 2020. Her first long feature as co-writer, ‘Revolução (sem) Sangue’, to be released
in 2024, was a Winner Film Lab (Feature Gems Pitching Forum) at FEST - New Directors New
Films International Film Festival, in June 2022.
Table of Contents
Computer Science PhD researcher at the Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul
(PUC-RS), focusing on management of ethnic-racial diversity in Software Engineering.
Authors
198
Table of Contents
Carolina Berger
Department of Performing Arts (Post PhD) - School of Communications and Arts - University
of São Paulo
Authors
Carolina Berger is a Brazilian nomadic multiartist that works as a XR and new media arts cre-
ative director, art and technology researcher, documentarist and performer. She holds a PhD in
Audiovisual Arts Poetics and a Post PhD research in Performing Arts and technology, both at
the University of São Paulo.
199
Table of Contents
Dora Kaufman
TIDD - Programa Tecnologias Inteligentes e Design Digital
Authors
Faculdade de Ciências Exatas e Tecnologias, Pontifícia Universidade Católica de São Paulo (PUC
SP), Brasil
Professor at Pontifícia Universidade Católica de São Paulo (PUC-SP) in AI Ethics. PhD in

Communication Science at São Paulo University (USP) with Internship Program at Université
Paris-Sorbonne IV. Post-doctorate at Production Engineering Program COPPE-Universidade
Federal do Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ) and post-doctorate at TIDD/PUC-SP. Columnist at Época
Negócios Magazine/Globo Group. Among other books, she published “Does artificial intel-
ligence surpass human intelligence?” (2019) and “Demystifying Artificial Intelligence” (2022).
200
Table of Contents
Patrícia Gouveia
Authors
PATRÍCIA GOUVEIA is an artist, designer, scholar, and curator with more than twenty years of
research experience in arts, design, gaming, and interaction. She has been working in Interactive
Arts and Design since the 1990s. Her research focuses on games, playful media, interactive fiction,
digital arts, and speculative feminism as places of convergence. She is an Associate Professor at
University of Lisbon Fine Arts Faculty (Faculdade de Belas-Artes da Universidade de Lisboa,
FBAUL) and an integrated researcher at ITI, Institute of Interactive Technologies at LARSyS,
Laboratory of Robotics and Engineering Systems (ITI/LARSyS) at Instituto Superior Técnico
(IST) in Lisbon. Co-creator of the project Game Arts and Gender Equity (GAGE 2020-2023) and
201
co-curator of the Playmode exhibitions in four major cities in Brazil (CCBB 2019-2023: Belo
Horizonte, Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, and Brasília) and in Lisbon, Portugal (MAAT 2016-2019).
She was Associate Professor in the department of Interactive Media (Games and Animation)
at Noroff University College (2014-16) in Kristiansand, Norway. Invited Assistant Professor at
the Faculty of Social and Human Sciences at Nova University (Faculdade de Ciências Sociais
e Humanas, Universidade Nova de Lisboa FCSH/UNL, 2007-14) and Assistant Professor at
Lusophone University of Humanities and Technologies (Universidade Lusófona de Humanidades
e Tecnologias, ULHT, 2008-13) in Lisbon. From 2006 to 2014 Patrícia edited the Mouseland blog.
In 2010 she published the book Digital Arts and Games, Aesthetics and Design of the Ludic
Experience (Artes e Jogos Digitais, Estética da Experiência Lúdica, Ed. Universitárias Lusófonas),
a synthesis of her doctoral thesis. She has published several book chapters and scientific articles.
She has supervised more than 30 master’s, doctoral and postdoctoral theses. Table of Contents
Luciana Lima
LARSyS, Interactive Technologies Institute (ITI)
Authors
Luciana Lima has a PhD in Psychology from the University of Porto, Portugal. She is a researcher
at the Interactive Technologies Institute (ITI/LARSyS). Her academic background includes
Arts, Education Sciences and Psychology. She has more than ten years of teaching experience
in Brazilian universities. She was a guest professor in the Game Design and Digital Animation
undergraduate course at the School of Media Arts and Design of the Polytechnic Institute of Porto
(2017-2019). In 2023, she published a book entitled “Thinking Gender through Digital Games”,
where she presents the results of the research carried out between 2020 and 2022 in the scope
202 of her post-doctoral studies in Multimedia Art at the Faculty of Fine Arts of the University of
Lisbon. Her main research interests involve gender equity in technological areas, diversity and
inclusion in the digital games industry, and the hegemony of games as an interactive, technolog-
ical and artistic cultural product. Luciana Lima is the co-creator of the Game Arts and Gender
Equity (GAGE) project which aims to map the evolution of female participation and integration
in the Portuguese digital games industry.
Table of Contents
Luddy School of Informatics, Computing, and Engineering. Visiting Assistant Professor, Indiana
University, Bloomington, USA
Authors
I am a Visiting Assistant Professor at the Luddy School of Informatics, Computing, and Engineering,
IU Bloomington. In 2021, I completed my Ph.D. at Purdue University under the guidance of Dr.
Colin M. Gray and was working as a Research Assistant in UX Pedagogy and Practice Lab. In the
past, I was working as Senior UX Researcher and Designer at Samsung R&D Institute, Bangalore.
I have completed my Bachelor in Design from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Guwahati,
India where I had an academic experience in HCI, design, and engineering. My interest lies in the
intersection of Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), User Experience Design, Ethics and Values,
and critical qualitative research. 203
Reference https://shruthichivukula.com/curriculumvitae
Table of Contents
Ana Viseu
ICNOVA, Instituto de Comunicação da NOVA
Authors
IADE - Faculdade de Design, Tecnologia e Comunicação, Universidade Europeia, Portugal
Ana Viseu is Associate Professor at the School of Technology, Arts and Communication,
Universidade Europeia, and a member of the Centro Interuniversitário de História das Ciências
e Tecnologia, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade de Lisboa. Previously, she was an Assistant
Professor in the Department of Communication Studies at York University, Canada. In 2013 she
returned to her home country, Portugal, to become a Marie Curie Fellow. In 2019 she was hon-
ored as one of Portugal’s 100 Female Scientists. In 2018, she was elected by her peers as a Council
Member for the Society for Social Studies of Science (4S).
204
Ana received her doctorate in 2005 from the University of Toronto, with a thesis that examined the
multiple meanings of physical and cognitive augmentation through wearable computers, from the
visionary discourses of developers to the conflicted experience of implementation on the ground.
She subsequently held a 3 year position as a Research Associate at Cornell University with the
Cornell NanoScale Facility (CNF), and the Department of Science and Technology Studies. While
at Cornell she was the “in-house” social scientist at CNF, and collaborated with practitioners to
examine the social and ethical dimensions of nanotechnology research and development.
Her work has been published in a number of books and journals, mostly recently Nature and
Social Studies of Science. She has also participated and organized a number of outreach activities
that seek to bring science to the publics.
Reference
www.anaviseu.org
Table of Contents

TechnoFeminism - Multi and Transdisciplinary Contemporary Views On Women in Technology - VF

Uploaded by

Document Informationclick to expand document information

Document Informationclick to expand document information

Copyright:

Available Formats

TechnoFeminism - Multi and Transdisciplinary Contemporary Views On Women in Technology - VF

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

TechnoFeminism - Multi and Transdisciplinary Contemporary Views On Women in Technology - VF

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Title Scientific Committee

Feminism and Technology: Allegro ma non tropo: How Educational

Spaces in deconstruction: an DigitalSELFPresenceLab: embodying

Gender discrimination in AI models: Convergent feminism, gaming,

Head of the Department of Communication

nas tecnologias de informação precisam-se”.

Abstract: AI100 Standing Committee member. This inter-

translated into Chinese, French, German, Greek,

Feminism and Technology

backgrounding is an important tool. we are part of a really multifaceted struggle in a

Feminism and Technology

Feminism and Technology

While it is impossible to specify in advance, the

Feminism and Technology

Feminism and Technology

Exploring how the gender gap shapes scientific

Feminism and Technology

time. New Media and Society. Vol. 21(6), 2019,

Abstract interested in the use of drugs to promote nor-

3 Reference to the Greek muses of History, Comedy and Tragedy respectively.

PHASE OBJECTIVES TASK(S) METHODS EXAMPLE*

DETERMINANTS INDIVIDUAL INSTITUTIONAL

Determinant 1 Option IND1 Option INST1

To explain how the matrix works in practical

Social SUBMIT Integration || Subordinate

Hedonist REBEL Ostracization || Exile

DETERMINANTS INDIVIDUAL INSTITUTIONAL*

*According to the percentages

DETERMINANTS INDIVIDUAL INSTITUTIONAL*

Hedonist NORM Integration || Subordinate

Social EXCEPTION Solitude

structed at each new historical moment. Butler (Silveira, 2017).

preensões. Cadernos de Pesquisa, 15-49. fourth Industrial Revolution: Opportunities

Abstract a re-reading and updating for the technical

out, Artaud’s notion is primitivist and the dou-

video formats to experience presence, merging simultaneously we experienced cartography

C. (2020). Elemental: a Gesturally Controlled XXI Editores, 2006.

Abstract composition of the universe of objects in question,

Table 1: OpenAI’s medium-sized GPT-2 model, given different prompts

There is a lack of consensus around high-level ethical principles

AI systems may appear opaque and can be hard to interpret

Audits may disproportionately disadvantage or burden specific sectors or groups

There is a lack of institutional clarity about who audits whom

Table 2: Audit constraints as a mechanism to ensure AI is trusted

120 Source : Floridi et al. (2021).

4. Conclusion neutrality when being processed​by machines,

In: Advances in Neural Information Processing – Based Auditing to Develop Trustworthy

Abstract culture, restrict women’s participation in the 125

FG1 Female 35 Game Design and Digital Animation

FG3 Female 19 Game Design and Digital Animation

FG3 Male 18 Game Design and Digital Animation

FG3 Male 19 Game Design and Digital Animation

were undergraduate students. Participation FG4 Male 31 Computer Engineering

was voluntary and did not follow any recruit-

Gender Age Area and level of education Job role

Female 48 Sociology, Bachelor’s Degree Game developer and entrepreneur

Female 40 Communication Design, Ph.D. Teacher and researcher

4. Conclusion neutrality when being processedby machines,