Academics

 

Primary Research Interests & Dissertation - AI Literacy, Rhetoric & Bias

Areas: digital, ai bias, critical race theory, rhetoric, sustainability, system design, media archeology, new media

Rhetorical Theory  & Criticism &

New Media

 

I am a Doctoral Candidate at the University of Waterloo, where I focus on the space of AI Literacy, through the lens of their associative computed biases. My research examines how AI discursivity informs the material effect and lived experience of people, particularly the marginalized, where bias often exists in the AI models that are meant to serve everyone, equally. My research is predicated on the idea that Technology is nothing short of a digital Colony, amplifying analogic biases, and that understanding how AI models work can better inform how they make decisions, void of bias. Further, I seek to contribute to hermeneutic methods of assessing AI models and their inherent meanings as forms of digital “TEXT” – advanced black-boxed literary forms whose own literacy is at an event horizon and is critical in advancing our collective knowledge and AI impact on society.

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My research posits that artificial intelligence (AI) models are “rhetorical” linguistic systems, wrought with many instances and opportunities for “baked in” bias. These biases inform the reception, perceptions, representations and (mis) representation of digital “subjects,” and, in some instances, do so negatively. But nowhere is it as detrimental as how it affects the marginalized groups of society. The growing use of AI in the public sphere becomes even more problematic as it impacts, and in some cases, usurps civic functions and practices, which can range from healthcare, judicial systems, hiring practices, educational decisions. Understanding such a system's machinations is critical to delivering service to all members of society, void of bias. My research advances that people's digital constructions are nothing short of a kind of impersonation of the analogic human, rendered digitally and with motives. I suggest the digital construction bears all the characteristic traits of the rhetorical devices, ethopoeia - or as we may refer to it, in the context of Technology, a user profile.

Today, there are myriad ethical dilemmas, now compounded by our growing reliance on technology, further amplified by the COVID-19 pandemic. Together, these circumstances force us to confront society's reliance on technology and the AI models that drive service delivery with the “user profile,” as the basis of algorithmic modelling.

 

Research Assitanceship

 

Research: “Ethical Tech Innovation: Uniting Education Initiatives and Profession Practice.”

Key Research Assistant to Drs. Heather Love, Jen Boger and Jason La Joie @ (the University of Waterloo Council for Responsible Innovation and Technology) - CRIT
Funding Source:  SSHRC

CRIT is committed to advancing education and governance around socially responsible innovation and technology. CRIT aims to transform the culture at Waterloo, in Canada, and internationally by focusing on four key areas: research, education, policy, and outreach and connection.

  • promoting active engagement with social and ethical issues in research, design, and development,

  • educating and empowering faculty, staff, and students to be ethically responsible citizens,

  • developing policies that ensure and support responsible innovation, and

  • fostering interdisciplinary connections within the Waterloo community and beyond.

Teaching Assistanceship

 

Course: Discourse of Dissent

TA to Dr. Frances Condon ENGL 309 G

This course focuses on the social, historical, and rhetorical dimensions of collective action. We will study the manufacture of consent and conformity in order to understand why, how, and to what effect dissent is enacted. We will explore the complex relationships between power and domination, coercion and consent, resistance and transformation, as well as the philosophical, social, organizational, and rhetorical features of effective dissent.

COVID has created many challenges for executing on-line classes. I support this course by providing technical logistics, along with the standard duties of a UW TA. such as supporting students and correcting papers.

Course: Genres of Business Communication * 2 instances

TA for University of Waterloo ENGL 109

This course explores the genres of communication in business and other organizations. Students will study and produce instances from several of the following: reports (of several kinds), letters, email messages, marketing materials, public relations materials, and any other types of organizational communication.

A real-life business simulation conducted online that takes students through numerous assignments that prepares them for communication in a myriad of professional environments. I was responsible for correcting papers and guiding a portion of the class (25 students) through the term. This is a scholarship apprenticeship that prepares Doctoral students for Teaching in institutions of higher learning and is a required part of completing this degree.