Assistant Professor in Journalism and Mass Communication / Director of the Public Tech Media Lab
College of Letters & Science | School of Journalism and Mass Communication
Tomás Dodds is an Assistant Professor in Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, an Affiliated Faculty at the UW Center for Journalism Ethics, and a Faculty Associate at the Berkman Klein-Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University. His research examines the evolving relationship between journalism and technology, with a focus on how journalists and media organizations can develop open-source tools and artificial intelligence systems that serve the public interest.
Dr. Dodds prefers in-person talks. His talk can also be offered in Spanish.
Talks:
Refusing AI: How Journalists Avoid Falling for AI’s Hype
Following a year-long series of interviews with journalists and newsworkers, this presentation draws from the concept of technological refusal to understand how journalists are anticipating and appropriating AI systems in their newsrooms. Refusal can take two forms. On the one hand, it can signal the withdrawal from engaging with certain technologies. “I will not work with AI.” On the other, refusal does not have to be a conversation-ender. As my research shows, journalists are, on an informed basis, refusing to engage with artificial intelligence systems on the terms set by third-party stakeholders.