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9.2: Anatomy of an AI System

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    “Anatomy of an AI System” is a large-scale map and long-form essay produced by Kate Crawford, a senior principal researcher at Microsoft Research, and Vladan Joler, Professor at the Academy of Arts at the University of Novi Sad in Serbia. The project, initially published in 2018, aims to illustrate the complex network of resources, labour, and data required to create and operate a single AI system, in this case, the Amazon Echo.

    The essay and map unravel the lifespan of an AI system, from resource extraction to its eventual disposal. They highlight the environmental, labour, and data implications involved in the making of these technologies. This includes the vast infrastructure needed to train AI, the material and human costs, and the vast data collection involved in its operation.

    A few key themes explored in the “Anatomy of an AI System” include:

    The main conclusion of Crawford and Joler’s work is to emphasise that AI systems aren’t intangible or magical but are deeply rooted in Earth’s geology and underwritten by human labour and ingenuity. Through their project, they argue that we must critically examine the full lifecycle of AI systems to fully understand their social and ethical implications.


    9.2: Anatomy of an AI System is shared under a CC BY-NC 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by LibreTexts.

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