This Fellowship will drive a further ambitious leap forward in thinking and practice by seeking to shape—and create—new forms of AI material—algorithms, interfaces and embodiment—through the pursuit of answers to a complex question: in what ways can we make life better for all with interactive digital-physical objects that channel their physical, emotional, cognitive and even spiritual capabilities as they make sense of and choreograph their lives. Our approach is one then that sees AI innovation driven by a deep consideration of those energies.
We use the phrase Everyone-Virtuoso-Everyday (EVE) to express the form of the interactive AI systems we are interested in, the context of their use and their outcomes. The work will involve innovating and evaluating instruments that will be mastered by those who learn to use them. People will use these instruments to “play out” their rich lived experiences and through this create performances that platform deep engagements, insights and understandings for themselves and others, enhancing everyday needs for connection, contribution and contentment.
The EVE paradigm focuses on non-expert users in their everyday contexts. For example, an inspiring piece of work is the PeopleLens—a sight assistance service—to enable a boy, blind from birth, to orchestrate a playful social situation (see video below).
While one of the threats to the adoption or efficacy of AI is certainly the lack of consideration of what it means to be a human and a preoccupation or idolisation of the machine as a higher power, there is another growing concern that the Fellowship will also address. Through our work over the last decade we have come to call this the “Designed in California” problem; i.e., the predominant design ethos of digital systems is shaped by the global-California that includes mainstream, affluent, educated, privileged users across the world – from Mumbai to Swansea. In this Fellowship, then, wewill diversify and broaden the inclusion of voices less heard in AI innovation: those located in the Global South in locations such as the slums of Nairobi, townships of Cape Town and the favelas of Brazil. But you don’t have to go far from where the team is based—in Swansea—to find communities who are digitally excluded.
Matt Jones is the EPSRC Fellow leading this Programme. He is deeply committed to inclusive, diverse and responsible interactive AI to this end he is the Chief Operating Officer of Responsible AI UK and on the leadership time of EPSRC’s Include+ Network. His work is inspired and driven through long-term engagement in the Global Souths.
Gavin is a research officer at Swansea University. He is the HCI researcher for this fellowship, exploring human-focused, inclusive and diverse interactive AI. Previously, Gavin worked alongside older adults, where self-powered sensors to encourage a growth mindset for ageing-well were developed.
Zeyu is a research officer at Swansea University, specialising in AI applications with a focus on speech technology and advancing speech recognition systems. As an active member of the speech recognition community, Zeyu contributes to the development and refinement of technologies that enhance human-computer interaction through voice. Currently, he is completing his PhD at the University of Edinburgh, where he has conducted in-depth research on speech recognition.
Jenna is a Project Officer, who has spent the last 10 years working on multiple UK and European funded projects. Jenna will be overseeing the financial and administrative aspects for EVE.
Jen Pearson is a Professor of HCI and Director of Research for the Department of Computer Science in the Computational Foundry, Swansea University. Her primary research interest is centred around so-called emergent communities, learning from them and working with them to co-create digital interactive systems that better suit their contexts.
Simon is Professor of Human-Centred Computing at the Computational Foundry at Swansea University. His research focuses on future-looking interaction design with and for people who have historically had limited technology access and inclusion.
Thomas is Lecturer in Computer Science at Swansea University. He works on the interdisciplinary UnMute/Ampilfy projects to co-create spoken language interactions with communities of minority language speakers who are currently digitally ‘unheard’.
