This Workbench takes methodological and conceptual questions of studying AI into a hands-on format. It will begin with an input from Prof. Lee drawing on his Field Guide for Analyzing Artificial Intelligence (Lee 2025). Participants will then work with their own research projects to map and reflect on the methodological and conceptual approaches currently used, or potentially useful, for studying AI and algorithmic systems across TransforM.
Interactive exercises will focus particularly on questions such as:
- What aspects of AI systems become visible or invisible through different methodological approaches?
- What are our methods attuned to noticing?
- What kinds of actors, infrastructures, practices, and relations can they capture – and what might remain invisible?
By comparing approaches across disciplines and empirical sites, the Workbench will enable participants to identify methodological blind spots, exchange practical strategies, and explore new possibilities for studying AI-driven transformative technologies.
About the speaker
Francis Lee is Professor of Science & Technology Studies at Södertörn University in Stockholm, Sweden. His research examines how digital technologies—such as algorithms, artificial intelligence, and big data infrastructures—shape our understanding of the world.
He currently co-directs the research platform on Synthetic Data in WASP-HS and the InterSynth Lab, where his work explores how synthetic data are made credible and trustworthy through practical chains of reference between models, data, and the worlds they represent. He is engaged in several research projects that you can find more information about here.
About the event
This is an in-person event aimed at researchers from across the TransforM Cluster, particularly those working on AI, algorithms, digital infrastructures, and other computational or digitally mediated transformative technologies.
Register for the event here by 16 October, 2026.
Please note that the Workbench will be limited to 25 participants. Everyone who has secured a spot will receive a confirmation by email.
