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Feminists Tackle AI Series: 12 Problems with AI

Friday, March 27, 2:30-4 p.m.

SN-4022; online

Facebook page link: https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1EfFKbgxCX/

Event description:

Join us on Friday, March 27th from 2:30–4:00 PM at the Nexus Centre (SN-4022) or virtually for “12 Problems with AI,” the first event of our Feminists Tackle AI series!

To attend virtually, register at this link: https://shorturl.at/0hyW0

In this talk, Mél Hogan surveys the main critiques of artificial intelligence (AI) by looking beyond marketing hype to the material, political, and social harms caused by the industry (Big Tech). From the vast energy demands and environmental toll of large-scale computation to AI’s entanglement with military research, surveillance, and extractive labour in the global south, AI needs to be understood as a deeply political project rather than as a technological advancement. Together, we will consider how these critiques unsettle dominant narratives of AI as inevitable and situate it within broader histories of political power and planetary-scale developments.

Keynote Speaker: Mél Hogan (she/her) is the host of The Data Fix podcast (thedatafix.net) and co-editor of Heliotrope (heliotropejournal.net). She is Associate Professor in Film & Media at Queen’s University (Canada). Her research focuses on environmental media and data infrastructure in the contexts of planetary catastrophes and collective anxieties about the future. You can follow her on Bluesky at @melhogan.bsky.social

Moderator: Carol Lynne D’Arcangelis (she/her) is Associate Professor in Gender Studies at Memorial University, where she received the Dean’s Award for Teaching Excellence. Her work on settler–Indigenous solidarity—The Solidarity Encounter: Women, Activism, and Creating Non-Colonizing Relations (2022)—won the 2023 Atlantic Book Award for Scholarly Writing.

Respondent: Julia Polyck-O’Neill (they/she) is Assistant Professor in the Department of English and Communication and Media Studies at Memorial University. Their research explores historical and contemporary feminist, digital approaches to interdisciplinary artists’ archives and intersections between preservation, computational technologies, and creative praxis.

Respondent: Rhea Rollmann (she/her) is an award-winning journalist, writer, and author of A Queer History of Newfoundland. Among other distinctions, her work has garnered three Atlantic Journalism Awards, the Andrea Walker Memorial Prize for Feminist Health Journalism, and in 2024 she was short-listed for the NL Human Rights Award.

We hope to see you there! Light refreshments will be provided.

This event is co-sponsored by the Departments of Gender Studies and Political Science, and the Nexus Centre.

Presented by Rabble Rousers, MUN Gender Studies Department

Event Listing 2026-03-27 14:30:00 2026-03-27 16:00:00 America/St_Johns Feminists Tackle AI Series: 12 Problems with AI Facebook page link: https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1EfFKbgxCX/ Event description: Join us on Friday, March 27th from 2:30–4:00 PM at the Nexus Centre (SN-4022) or virtually for “12 Problems with AI,” the first event of our Feminists Tackle AI series! To attend virtually, register at this link: https://shorturl.at/0hyW0 In this talk, Mél Hogan surveys the main critiques of artificial intelligence (AI) by looking beyond marketing hype to the material, political, and social harms caused by the industry (Big Tech). From the vast energy demands and environmental toll of large-scale computation to AI’s entanglement with military research, surveillance, and extractive labour in the global south, AI needs to be understood as a deeply political project rather than as a technological advancement. Together, we will consider how these critiques unsettle dominant narratives of AI as inevitable and situate it within broader histories of political power and planetary-scale developments. Keynote Speaker: Mél Hogan (she/her) is the host of The Data Fix podcast (thedatafix.net) and co-editor of Heliotrope (heliotropejournal.net). She is Associate Professor in Film & Media at Queen’s University (Canada). Her research focuses on environmental media and data infrastructure in the contexts of planetary catastrophes and collective anxieties about the future. You can follow her on Bluesky at @melhogan.bsky.social Moderator: Carol Lynne D’Arcangelis (she/her) is Associate Professor in Gender Studies at Memorial University, where she received the Dean’s Award for Teaching Excellence. Her work on settler–Indigenous solidarity—The Solidarity Encounter: Women, Activism, and Creating Non-Colonizing Relations (2022)—won the 2023 Atlantic Book Award for Scholarly Writing. Respondent: Julia Polyck-O’Neill (they/she) is Assistant Professor in the Department of English and Communication and Media Studies at Memorial University. Their research explores historical and contemporary feminist, digital approaches to interdisciplinary artists’ archives and intersections between preservation, computational technologies, and creative praxis. Respondent: Rhea Rollmann (she/her) is an award-winning journalist, writer, and author of A Queer History of Newfoundland. Among other distinctions, her work has garnered three Atlantic Journalism Awards, the Andrea Walker Memorial Prize for Feminist Health Journalism, and in 2024 she was short-listed for the NL Human Rights Award. We hope to see you there! Light refreshments will be provided. This event is co-sponsored by the Departments of Gender Studies and Political Science, and the Nexus Centre. SN-4022; online Rabble Rousers, MUN Gender Studies Department