Information School News

A team led by Lecturer Dr Sharon Wagg has produced a case study on digital inclusion for The British Academy. The team also includes Dr Sara Vannini and Dr Efpraxia Zamani. This case study is part of a wider project on digital technology and inequality, which identified 5 lessons for policymakers at local, regional and national levels. Read the case study here .

When it comes to chatbots and humanoid robots, women appear regularly. They have names like Alexa and Siri – chatbots gendered as women, but designed by male dominated teams.  Chatbot technology and robotics are evolving rapidly, and women are there but not as makers. Instead, men are responsible for re-coding women's identity within technology – amplifying gendered issues from the past – and without inclusion of real women's voices.  The Information School is working with feminist network Women Reclaiming AI to create a platform for women to reclaim their voices in AI. The team will design a collaborative statement on how women in AI wish to be (or not be) represented in a technology-driven present and future.  The project will bring together women from across the globe to assert their own needs, wants and desires within technological development.  Dr Caitlin Bentley , Lecturer within the Information School, is helping to create the statement. She said, “we want...

Earlier this week, Dr Paul Reilly was interviewed on BBC Radio Leicester's Jonathan Lampon show about recent research findings on nomophobia. Nomophobia is anxiety associated with not being able to access and use smartphones, and recent research suggests that it is becoming an increasing problem amongst young people. Dr Reilly spoke about this and also whether or not it affects older smartphone users. The article which sparked this conversation and references this research was this one from the Daily Mail. You can listen to Dr Reilly's interview by clicking here  and skipping forward to 1:46:40.

Earlier this month, Professor Paul Clough was interviewed on the first episode of Machine Minds, a podcast about the influence of technology in modern life. The episode, entitled 'Search Engine and Bias', looked at bias in search engines and Paul's input was based on work he undertook with Dr Jo Bates from the Information School and Jahna Otterbacher from Open University Cyprus. You can listen to the podcast here.