Women in AI Finland X AI Hub Tampere would like to introduce to you Saara Ala-Luopa, Ph.D. researcher at the doctoral program of Humans and Technologies, Tampere University.
I’m Saara Ala-Luopa, a Ph.D. researcher at the doctoral program of Humans and Technologies, at Tampere University. In my Ph.D. research, I’m conducting qualitative case study research on trust in AI in expert work and domain experts’ user experience. My perspective is very human-centered and societal: multidisciplinary. Previously, trust in technology has focused mainly on technical characteristics. When AI is embedded in society and work-life, we need to approach trust from a more holistic perspective. We need to understand domain experts’ preferences and contextual variety in addition to technical details. There is a need to learn to use technology right and trust AI in an appropriate manner – we should not overtrust the technology, but distrusting the technology is not beneficial either. This also changes the user experience, especially in work environment.
I’m a humanist at heart: I did my Master’s degree at the University of Turku, Digital Culture as my major. I have always been fascinated by the constantly changing symbiosis of humans and technology. How we are affected by technology, how it changes our culture and habits, what are the core elements of humanity and humanness. I see a lot of potential in novel AI technologies empowering our creativity, problem-solving, and ability to see the bigger picture, but I’m worried that the current culture does not share these values. With my work, I aim to contribute to human-centered and responsible AI design and development and give voice to those affected by novel technologies. Empathy is the key.
With novel AI technologies we are designing our society as well. By promoting gender-inclusive AI we can ensure that this society works for all. And by this, I mean considering also other minorities, such as language minorities. The multi-stakeholder approach and inclusive design are widely discussed themes both in industry and academia. The change is coming, and I’m very excited to be part of it!
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