Orality, Technology and Memory

Tuesday, August 20, 11am –12:30 pm US Paciﬁc, East Wing Music Hall

Chair and Presenter: Brittany Edwards, Yahoo
Panelists: Jake Culbertson, HGA; Jillian Powers, Slalom; Christina Wasson, University of North Texas

The documentation of culture is an essential part of research and innovation – and colonialism. When we turn social experience into written language and digital data in order to make it tractable for analysis, computation, and persuasion, are we losing as much as we are creating?

This session explores these questions and the implications for our work as researchers, designers, and strategists. Speakers will discuss the nature of language; the importance of engaging the oral, nonverbal, embodied, and ephemeral aspects of sociality; and how “AI” and other technologies may be shifting social phenomena like memory, trust, integrity, and truth.

BRITTANY EDWARDS is just your average dancing-while-eating, Jamerican (Jamaican American) UX Researcher and strategy-forward creative thinker hardwired to solve problems. Brittany is also a Fulbright Taiwan fellow, blackcomputeHER fellow, and author. Brittany’s family restaurant was the center of her childhood and constantly reinforced the complexities of her identities: first generation college student, first generation American and neither fully American nor Jamaican. As a researcher, Brittany’s practice leads with the empathy to hold space for others’ truths and a genuine curiosity to drive human-centered solutions that enhance experiences.

JAKE CULBERTSON is a Design Anthropologist, Senior Associate, and member of the Design Insight Group at HGA. He draws on his training in anthropological and design research methods to understand how people use built environments, to facilitate design and decision-making for designers and clients. He also has taught anthropology and environmental design at Haverford College and the University of California, Davis. Jake holds a PhD in anthropology.

JILLIAN POWERS, PhD, is an applied sociologist and ethnographer with over 10 years of experience in strategic mixed-methods research, service/system design, and product realization. With her background in Responsible AI and Digital Ethics she brings a deep understanding of the technical reality, the regulatory landscape, and the human contexts. She earned her PhD from Duke University, and her BA from Dartmouth College and lives in Brooklyn, NY.

CHRISTINA WASSON is Professor of Anthropology and Affiliated Faculty in Linguistics at the University of North Texas. Her work centers around design anthropology, UX and user-centered design. She also maintains an independent practice, working on mobile apps, self-driving cars, and many other projects. Christina was a core member of the organizing team for the first EPIC conference in 2005 and has been an active member of the community for 20 years. She holds a PhD in linguistic anthropology.