HCI Digital Media Student Receives Distinction at 2017 Society for Social Studies Meeting

Posted September 6, 2017

On August 30 - September 2, 2017, at the Society for Social Studies of Science (4S) – the premier annual meeting in the interdisciplinary field of Science, Technology, and Society (STS) – Human-Computer Interaction-Digital Media student Lorina Navarro won distinction for her provocative interactive narrative “Our Driverless Futures: Speculating Moral Dilemmas of Self-Driving Cars.”

Navarro’s interactive narrative iconography is endearing and even cute, but amid its visual and narrative wit, the piece conveys serious messages about the ethical stakes of driverless cars. Navarro’s work was inspired by a paper written by Literature , Media, and Communication (LMC), which houses the HCI DM program, assistant professor of digital media, Nassim JafariNaimi, “Our Bodies on the Trolley’s Path, or Why Self-Driving Cars Must *Not* Be Programmed to Kill,” which was recently published by the 4S journal, Science, Technology and Human Values.

“Our Driverless Futures” was a part of the “Making and Doing” session of the conference, an exhibit that highlighted scholarly practices that extend beyond the academic paper or book. In addition to Navarro’s award-winning installation, graduate students Shruti Dalvi and Udaya Lakshmi presented a GVU/IPAT-supported installation, “Tracing Eyes and Hearts,” that they developed with Jafari Naimi and Anne Pollock (from LMC) and Lewis Wheaton and Regan Lawson (from Biological Sciences).  

Georgia Tech faculty and students were well-represented overall at the 4S meeting.  Several faculty worked together with colleagues on other campuses to organize panels on key topics of interest. From Literature, Media, and Communication: Carl DiSalvo on Critical Data Practices, Nassim JafariNaimi on Feminist Engagements with Smart Cities, Anne Pollock on Racism and Health. From History and Sociology: Mary McDonald on Science, Technology & Sport, and Jennifer Singh on Autism Diagnosis and Care. In addition, Hans Klein, Robert Rosenberger, and John Walsh from Public Policy also presented papers, as did Digital Media doctoral student Alyssa Rumsey; History and Sociology doctoral students Mario Bianchini, Amanda Domingues, and Renee Shelby; and Architecture doctoral student Marisabel Marratt.