OxDSS Public Talks Series x AI Competency Centre: Emily Kate Genatowski Lecture - Looking back to move forward

What can history teach us about AI?

In this talk, Emily Genatowski will explore her approach of ‘looking back to move forward’: using moments from history to bring perspective and grounding to the field of AI - one often shaped by sensationalism and futuristic thinking. By tracing throughlines such as resistance, reform, restructuring and redesign, she will show how historical context can help us make better sense of current debates around AI. Drawing on examples from labour, infrastructure, mobility and human dignity, the session will consider how earlier social and technological shifts can illuminate present-day discussions about automation, robotics and academic life. This is a talk for anyone interested in AI, history, digital scholarship and the value of perspective in a fast-moving field.

Emily Genatowski is a PhD candidate in Digital Humanities at the University of Vienna, with degrees from Harvard and Columbia. A former lead at Google Arts & Culture, she now conducts experimental research and writes on AI, ethics, regulation, and society. Emily lectures across Europe, leads a national project to standardize citations of AI supported scholarship, and lives with a humanoid robot in an immersive study of human–AI integration.

Agenda

This event will include:

• a keynote talk from Emily Kate Genatowski on why history offers a valuable lens for understanding AI
• examples that connect current debates in AI and robotics with earlier moments of social and technological change
• reflections on how historical thinking can bring perspective and clarity to contemporary academic and public conversations
• an audience Q&A

Who should attend

Open to members of the University and members of the public who are interested in AI, research, digital scholarship, teaching, libraries, academic practice and the future of scholarly work.

Emily Genatowski is also leading a workshop on 27 May designed for researchers across the University. See more information on that at OxDSS Workshop x AI Competency Centre: Emily Kate Genatowski - Scholarship in the Age of AI