UDUPA, S., MARONIKOLAKIS, A. & WISIOREK, A. (2023) ETHICAL SCALING FOR CONTENT MODERATION: EXTREME SPEECH AND THE (IN)SIGNIFICANCE OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

In this article published by Big Data & Society, we present new empirical evidence to demonstrate the severe limitations of existing machine learning content moderation methods to keep pace with, let alone stay ahead of, hateful language online. Presenting a decolonial critique of the “human vs machine” conundrum and drawing attention to the structuring effects of coloniality on extreme speech, we propose “ethical scaling” to highlight moderation process as political praxis.

Related resources

UDUPA, S.(2026) PROMPT ETHNOGRAPHY: CRITICAL METHODOLOGY FOR GENERATIVE AI

This chapter develops “prompt ethnography” as a critical methodology to scrutinize generative AI. Prompt ethnography employs reflexive interactions with generative models and public controversies around model behaviors as empirical touchstones to draw inferences about why AI models say what they say about politically charged topics, and interrogate the larger structures of power that define the code, content and consternations undergirding model outputs. It is published in the Handbook of Anthropology and Artificial Intelligence (edited by Udupa S. & Hervik P., Edward Elgar)

UDUPA, S. & HERVIK P. EDS. (2026) HANDBOOK ON ANTHROPOLOGY AND ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

Featuring 33 chapters and the editors’ introduction, this Handbook provides a groundbreaking collection of anthropological research on artificial intelligence (AI), examining how anthropology can help to comprehend and critique its development. Evaluating the limits, hopes and fears of AI, leading experts explore its influence as a sociocultural phenomenon rather than a discrete technological system.