Publications [#378135] of N. Katherine Hayles

Essays/Articles/Chapters in Books

1. Hayles, NK. "Technosymbiosis: Figuring (Out) Our Relations to AI." Feminist AI Critical Perspectives on Data Algorithms and Intelligent Machines.  2023. 1-18. [doi]
   (last updated on 2026/01/19)

   Abstract:
   In this essay, Hayles aims to create a better metaphor with which to describe the relationship between artificial intelligence (AI) and its environment. This is of utmost importance to the feminist agenda. As Donna Haraway has argued, we do not ‘resort’ to metaphor but engage in wor(l)ding practices through our re-figuring of key concepts. Hayles argues that the metaphor of ‘technosymbiosis’ is appropriate for this task, because it connects the existence of increasingly powerful computational media to environmental crises while combating anthropocentrist perspectives on agency and intelligence. She uses the concept to argue that meaning-making is not only a human activity, because machines also create and convey meaning in computational processes with or without a human ‘in the loop’.