What is the Problem with Problems? An Investigation of Knowledge and Power in the Company of Evil AI, Failed Robots, and the Computer System Gustav
28th April 2025, 1-2 pm GMT+1
Speaker: Dr Lina Rahm
Chair: Professor Jen Ross
Online
Abstract
This presentation explores what happened when I, together with students, designed fictional technologies to solve all the problems in schools. It also discusses a robot that was hired as a reading dog in a library and, finally, what happened when the computer system Gustav became intelligent. What these examples have in common is that they represent technical solutions to urgent societal problems. But perhaps, above all, this presentation is about what critical EdTech research and research in digital education can contribute when we try to understand and solve wicked societal problems.
Biography
Lina Rahm is associate professor of media and environmental history with a specialisation in artificial intelligence and autonomous systems at the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm Sweden. Her research is focused on the overlap between education and AI politics, with a special interest in ecotechnological imaginaries and problematisations.
For any enquiries concerning this event, please email MHSES-RKEI-Events@ed.ac.uk.