Between the Social and the Technical in Artificial Intelligence: Exploring the Research and Development Context at Viva Bem - AI Hub for Health and Well-being

• Grant number: 24/17482-2
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate
• Start date: June 01, 2025
• End date: March 31, 2027
• Field of knowledge: Humanities - Sociology - Other specific Sociologies
• Principal Investigator: Marko Synésio Alves Monteiro
• Grantee: Thaís Garcez Capovilla
• Host Institution: Instituto de Geociências (IG). Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Campinas , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Applications and technological tools based on Artificial Intelligence (AI) systems currently occupy a central position in the so-called Fourth Industrial Revolution, exerting influence and producing effects in dimensions of the economy and society. Both academic literature and initiatives from organizations, groups, and representative institutions have sought ways to understand the phenomenon of AI and propose solutions to problems arising from its use. However, little attention has been given to the context of the development of this technology, especially in research and development laboratories. We consider it essential to promote studies that aim to understand the relationships between the social and the technical in the production of specific dynamics in AI research within a laboratory. This project proposes an ethnographic investigation into the research and development context of AI at Viva Bem - AI Hub for Health and Well-being, a partnership between Unicamp and Samsung. We have selected three areas of analysis to address the multiple perspectives through which we can investigate the context involving AI production at Viva Bem: (1) institutional and organizational elements; (2) research procedures and practices; and (3) algorithmic model development. We understand that each of these three areas of analysis can reveal fundamental elements in the constitution of sociotechnical dynamics specific to the AI research and development context. This research combines the ethnographic method with semi-structured interviews and document research, the results of which will be analyzed through the lens of Social Studies of Science and Technology.