‘AI for Everyone? Critical Perspectives’, edited by Dr Pieter Verdegem, Reader in the Westminster School of Media and Communication, has been shortlisted for the Media, Communication and Cultural Studies Association (MeCCSA) Outstanding Achievement Awards 2022, in the ‘Edited Collection of the Year’ category.
The MeCCSA Awards recognise outstanding research in media, communication, and cultural studies. Nominations can be made for outputs published or released in the public domain, or for doctoral research. They are then reviewed by a panel, selected by the MeCCSA Executive Committee, who decide on the shortlists and the awards. The winners will be announced during the MeCCSA Annual Conference 2022, hosted by Robert Gordon University, Aberdeen, on 7-9 September.
‘AI for Everyone? Critical Perspectives’ brings together critical interrogations about Artificial Intelligence (AI), its impact and its inequalities in order to demonstrate what it means for AI to deliver benefits for everyone. The book is divided into three parts, addressing critical perspectives on human-machine dualism, the nature of ‘desirable’ AI and what makes this possible, and an examination of power and inequalities to explore how the implementation of AI creates challenges that need to be addressed urgently. The open access book was published by the University of Westminster Press (UWP) in September 2021.
Governments and businesses are seeking a data-driven change and there is an assumption that the rise of AI is inevitable. However, a debate on the fundamental questions AI raises has barely started, and there is no deeper understanding of the consequences of such changes. Drawing on an international line-up of leading scholars on AI, from a range of disciplinary backgrounds, this collection begins to explore these consequences and sets out the need for critical perspectives.
Speaking about his book’s nomination for the award, Dr Verdegem said: “I’m really honoured that the book ‘AI for Everyone? Critical Perspectives’ has been nominated for the MeCCSA Outstanding Achievement Awards 2022. The edited volume really is a collective project, and I would like to thank all the contributors and the University of Westminster Press for making this possible.”
The book has been described by MeCCSA judges as: “An original and timely collection that, in analysing discourses surrounding AI, challenges notions of technological determinism and highlights the enduring importance of concepts of power within mass communication.”
‘AI for Everyone? Critical Perspectives’ was published by UWP as part of the Critical, Digital and Social Media Studies book series, edited by Christian Fuchs , previously Professor at, and Director of, the Communication and Media Research Institute at the University of Westminster, and now Professor of Media Systems and Media Organization at University of Paderborn.
Philippa Grand, Press Manager at UWP said: “This is an excellent book on a highly topical issue that has achieved impressive global usage figures since it published. We are up against titles from some long-established, highly prestigious publishers, and it’s a huge honour for a newer press like UWP to have a book in the running for this award, and is a strong endorsement of the quality of titles we are publishing”.
UWP is an open access publisher of peer reviewed books and journals, founded by the University of Westminster in 2015. The Press is part of a new movement in academic publishing supporting non-profit, value-driven and open access publishing with no charges for authors or readers. UWP is mainly focused on publishing in the fields of communication, media and cultural studies, urban/tourism studies, the environment, political science and law.
Download ‘AI for Everyone? Critical Perspectives’ for free on UWP’s website.
