Lecture
Guest Speaker: Ayana Gray on AI, Labor, and the Environment
This session is led by Ayana Gray, founder and CEO of the Center for Democratic AI. She studied the history of science at Harvard and holds a master’s in the ethics of AI, data, and algorithms from Cambridge, and her work since has focused on getting the public a real voice in how AI gets built and governed, not just how it gets used. She’ll talk about what AI costs in labor and environmental terms, and who actually holds power over those costs — the jobs that change because of these tools, the energy and water that training and running them consume, and the distance between who decides and who lives with the decision. She’ll also walk through her work at the Center for Democratic AI, then take questions.
Come with a question about where you’ve seen AI’s labor or environmental costs show up, whether in your own work or somewhere you’ve noticed it. During the talk, note one place where you think the people affected had a real say, and one place where they clearly didn’t.
Homework
1. Labor, environment, and power reflection (250 words). Connect one question raised in class to a project you’re working on this semester.
- Name the specific cost or trade-off — a job, a resource, a decision.
- Say who had power over it and who didn’t.
- Tie it to your midterm, your final, or something else you’ve made.
2. Final project creative brief. A short brief for what you want to make for your final.
- State the territory you’re working in: design practice, storytelling, experimental, or research.
- Say what you want to make and the position you’re taking on AI.
How to submit (due Monday, December 7):
- Duplicate the Week 12 Homework template into your Process Journal’s Submissions database and rename it “Week 12 — Homework.”
- Add your reflection and your creative brief into the page, each under its own heading.