The Good Robot - (Theory in the New Humanities) by Eleanor Drage & Rosi Braidotti & Kerry McInerney (Hardcover)

About the Book

"What is good technology? Is 'good' technology even possible? And how can feminism help us work towards it? The Good Robot addresses these crucial questions through the voices of leading feminist thinkers, activists and technologists. Each thinker provides a snapshot of key challenges, questions and provocations in the field of feminism and technology. While the question of whether various AI and technological advances can be ethical is not new, the embedded nature of feminist perspectives pulls out whether this perceived 'goodness' or 'wrongness' might actually impact our lives in the 21st century. This book explores both the radical possibilities of technology to disrupt practices of patriarchy, colonialism, racism and beyond but also provides a significant critique of how we can contain the ethical possibilities of entities we cannot predict. In exploring unjust technological practices and engaging critical voices in the tech industry, the existing moral issues are brought to light as well as the possible ethical quagmires. This book opens a new space of discussion on digital technologies - one that insists that the future of AI is an urgent feminist issue." --

Book Synopsis

What is good technology? Is 'good' technology even possible? And how can feminism help us work towards it? The Good Robot addresses these crucial questions through the voices of leading feminist thinkers, activists and technologists. Each thinker provides a snapshot of key challenges, questions and provocations in the field of feminism and technology.

While the question of whether various AI and technological advances can be ethical is not new, the embedded nature of feminist perspectives pulls out whether this perceived 'goodness' or 'wrongness' might actually impact our lives in the 21st century. This book explores both the radical possibilities of technology to disrupt practices of patriarchy, colonialism, racism and beyond but also provides a significant critique of how we can contain the ethical possibilities of entities we cannot predict. In exploring unjust technological practices and engaging critical voices in the tech industry, the existing moral issues are brought to light as well as the possible ethical quagmires.

This book opens a new space of discussion on digital technologies - one that insists that the future of AI is an urgent feminist issue.

Review Quotes

"A marvelous collection of 22 short essays derived from a similarly titled podcast series hosted by the University of Cambridge Centre for Gender Studies." --Choice

About the Author

Eleanor Drage is a Senior Researcher at the University of Cambridge, UK, where she uses feminist and anti-racist ideas to prevent and contest harmful uses of AI and improve AI providers' engagement with the EU AI act. She is co-host of The Good Robot podcast.
Kerry McInerney is a Research Associate at the University of Cambridge, UK and one of 100 Brilliant Women in AI Ethics(TM) 2022. She is co-host of the podcast The Good Robot and contributor to The Guilty Feminist project.