Critical AI Studies Research Cluster

An interdisciplinary research cluster focusing on critical approaches to Artificial Intelligence

The Critical AI Studies Research Cluster (CAIR) is an interdisciplinary group of faculty, students, and professionals focused on understanding, mitigating, and adapting to the rapid deployment of AI. Led by Dr. Will Robertson and Dr. Ted Maclin from the Department of Anthropology, this initiative fosters research, pedagogy and curriculum development, planning, and activism to address concerns raised by new AI technologies on campus, in Memphis, and beyond. Faculty from multiple departments bring expertise to help address both predictable and unforseen consequences of rapidy developing and adopting new AI technologies.

CAIR builds on existing strengths at the University to foster academic and community engagement with the social, economic, political, and environmental challenges of AI. We work with with goals of understanding, mitigating, and adapting to new technologies in ways that support social, economic, and environmental justice. 

What is critical AI studies?

Critical AI Studies is an emerging interdisciplinary field focused on understanding and addressing the social, political, and material causes and effects of AI. It is not a project in creating more equitable or responsible AI: rather, critical AI scholars question the motives behind the creation and use of AI and how AI interacts with existing social-technical systems. It is critical in the sense of critical theory: it is both empirical and speculative with goals of not only understanding complex issues but also effecting change, particularly redressing conditions of coercion and oppression.

Faculty Team Members:

Dr. Genia Bettancourt, Department of Leadership

Dr. Kathryn Hicks, Department of Anthropology

Dr. Jiacheng Liu, Department of Communication and Film

Dr. Ted Maclin, Department of Anthropology

Dr. Will Robertson, Department of Anthropology

For more information or to be added as an affiliate, please email Dr. Robertson or Dr. Maclin.

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Media

Will Robertson, "Surprised Monkeys," Notebook, October 3, 2026,
https://notebook.anthrowill.com/2026/10/03/surprised-monkeys/.

Ted Maclin, "The Questions We Forget to Ask About AI," hosted by Sarah Marshall, The UM3D Podcast, produced by UM3D, season 2, episode 5, October 6, 2026, audio, 28:31, https://rss.com/podcasts/the-um3d-podcast/3210682/.

Research Updates

Dr. Maclin and graduate researcher Maddy Nase will be hosting a workshop at the upcoming American Anthropological Association meeting in St. Louis this November on "AI-proofing Anthropology" focusing on approaches to making AI less relevant within the discipline.

External Links and Resources

Anna Kornbluh (UI Chicago) - against AI (https://against-a-i.com/)

Critical AI, a new interdisciplinary journal based at Rutgers University’s Center for Cultural Analysis (https://criticalai.org/)

Evgeny Morozov, The AI We Deserve (and commentary): (https://www.bostonreview.net/forum/the-ai-we-deserve/)

Fredenburg, Jill N. (2026) "Tilly Norwood and the Promise of Frictionless Creation: Feminist Pedagogy in AI-Saturated Classrooms," Feminist Pedagogy: Vol. 7: Iss. 2, Article 6.
Available at: https://digitalcommons.calpoly.edu/feministpedagogy/vol7/iss2/6