Global perspectives on urban AI

INDIA HCI 2020 WORKSHOP

Global Perspectives on Artificial Intelligence in Cities

Examining Urban AI in the Global South and North

Workshop at IndiaHCI online Nov 5, 2020 2:00– 5:00pm IST (more information on conference workshop website)

Call for papers

This workshop will examine global and multidisciplinary perspectives on urban AI – a research topic scrutinizing the intersections of Artificial Intelligence(s) and cities, i.e. urban life, spaces, places, and infrastructures. AI technologies have the ability to touch on every aspect of urban lives; yet, far from being value-neutral, urban technologies are fundamentally shaping and shaped by the societal, political, geographical, economical and ecological contexts in which they are created, implemented and used. Thus, Urban AI must be contextualized in every way, and in this work, one of the main issues is the need to highlight and include various global perspectives, for instance those pertaining to the Global South and North.

In this workshop, we attempt to answer the question: how can we incorporate global perspectives, e.g. those relating to the Global South and North, into the research, design and implementation of urban AI?

We invite those interested to submit an extended abstract (500–1500 words) in the SIGCHI new Full Paper format. These contributions may address, for example:


  • Theoretical considerations; e.g., utilising key theoretical concepts from various fields to analyse urban AIs and inform their design in ways that highlight global difference

  • Case studies; empirical works that explore the way AIs affect cities and urban lives, especially from the point of view of Global South, North, etc.

  • Design-based explorations of urban AI implementations in real-world settings around the world

  • Methods: including the challenges and opportunities urban AI’s will present to methodologies such as participatory design, speculative design, citizen science, ethnography, research through design, etc. in various cultural contexts

  • Thematic issues; e.g. cultural and ethical dilemmas of AI; aesthetics of AI and urban environments; data privacy and surveillance in cities around the world; identifying use cases and users of urban AIs globally; consequences of AI’s on urban life and/or infrastructures in the Globan South, North, etc.; emerging geographies of AI around the world; developing design thinking through global perspectives; wellbeing; user experiences; global views on sustainability and AI; etc.


Important dates

Deadline for position papers: 03 Oct 2020 (Extended)

Notification to workshop participants: 04 Oct 2020

Workshop Duration: 2:00– 5:00pm IST

Position papers should be sent to: aale.luusua@oulu.fi and sumita.sharma@oulu.fi and johanna.ylipulli@aalto.fi

Registration for approved authors on the IndiaHCI website

Workshop programme

TBA