Dr Kristrun Gunnarsdottir

Current Teaching

This autumn I gave a guest lecture on cognitivism in artificial intelligence (AI) research in a course titled: "Language and the Mind", for 2nd yr students at Cardiff University. The main focus of the lecture was to show how the failure of AI researchers to create general-purpose intelligence - operating much like our own -  has led to substantial re-evaluation of Cartesian mind-body dualism, as well as the use of mechanical metaphors in explanatory models of mind. Convener: Dr Michael Arribas-Ayllon.

Research Interests

Gunnarsdóttir is a patronymic, not a family name. I am properly referred to by my given name "Kristrún".

I came to Cesagen to work on ICT-related FP7 projects, my first research post since I was awarded a Doctorate degree. See our website on European-funded projects at Cesagen. Prior to that, I worked for over a decade as a conceptual/visual designer and ICT professional. I developed interfaces for a range of applications, and I worked in the development of digital libraries and in operations management of information systems (e.g. at Cornell University Library and the National and University Library of Iceland).

My ICT-related research interests are focused on two distinct topics:

1. Socio-technical analysis and assessment of ICT innovations and visionary work, public engagement, policy programmes and governance.
2. Human-device interdependence in situated practice and problem-solving, in particular how anomalies and other phenomena of disorder can manifest issues of social relevance (including issues of responsibility, competence, accountability and legitimacy), and how they are recognised and managed on an ongoing basis.

The former interest I began developing in an article about http://arXiv.org, an electronic preprint exchange developed by physicists and, among similar publication initiatives in the 1990s, has had a major impact on scientific publications:

• Gunnarsdóttir, K. (2005). Scientific Journal Publications: On the Role of Electronic Preprint Exchange in the Distribution of Scientific Literature. Social Studies of Science 35(4): 549-579.

Continuing in this direction, I analyse blog and forum discussions by stakeholders and publics with particular focus on socio-technical imaginaries, attitudes, opinions and concerns. I also analyse S&T mission statements, future scenarios and research agendas, reviews and the technical literature, with particular focus on establishing criteria for ethical reflection and social responsibility in agenda-setting and early stages of development:

• Gunnarsdóttir, K., MacKenzie, A. and Wynne, B. (2011). Technolife: Work Package 4 - Introduction and Summary of Results (research paper). See also Technolife Reports with more detailed analyses of online forum data.
• Rommetveit, K., Gunnarsdóttir, K., Jepsen, K. S., et al. (in press). The TECHNOLIFE Project: An experimental approach to new ethical frameworks for emerging science and technology (my draft copy, Nov 2010) International Journal of Sustainable Development.
• Gunnarsdóttir, K. and Arribas-Ayllon, M. (work-in-progress). Promissory innovation narratives: The case of AmI (my draft copy, Mar 2011).
• Gunnarsdóttir, K. (2010). The Convergence of the Physical, Mental and Virtual (Editorial). Studies in Ethics, Law, and Technology 4(3): Article 1 (my draft copy, Dec 2010).  See also the Special issue of Studies in Ethics, Law and Technology 4(3), 2010.
• Gunnarsdóttir, K. (work-in-progress). The burden of security: democracy, mobilities and securitization. (written for non-academics). Final draft submitted as a book chapter in a Spanish collection on the Technolife project (FP7-230381). ICARIA Publishing House.

My other ICT-related research interest - human-device interdependence - I developed in my PhD thesis, The Archive Saga: Shepherds of data, document and code, and their will to order, using methods and insights from studies in Ethnomethodology and CSCW. I am keen to continue work in this area. In particular, I am interested in the hands-on operations and management of new and emerging systems, designed specifically to detect and identify critical anomalies in a person's condition or behaviour and set in motion the necessary interventions. Of particular thematic interest is what the detected phenomena actually are, and how detection and interception of that which is not in order is achieved.

Current Research Projects

My research at Cesagen is focussed on two projects, ICTethics and EPINET, both of which are funded under the 7th Framework Programme of the European Commission (Science in Society). See our website on European-funded projects at Cesagen.

EPINET (now being contracted) investigates conditions for the development of more integrated technology assessment (TA) methods. It establishes a weak or "soft" framework within which the plurality of different TA practices can be explored in a concerted and holistic manner; EPINET uses this to study four cases: wearable sensors, cognition for technical systems, synthetic meat and smart grids.

ICTethics, performs an integrated ethical, socio-economic and legal analysis of strategic ICT developments in four domains:

• Personal Health Systems
• Assistive Robotics and Advanced Bionics
• Radio-Frequency Identification (RFID)
• Biometric Identification

Technolife (Transdisciplinary approach to the Emerging CHallenges of NOvel technologies: Lifeworld and Imaginaries in Foresight and Ethics) completed 30th Nov 2011.