Hello from Libuše!

Hi everyone!

After having been around the Human Computation Institute for more than a year, we thought it would be high time for a proper introduction!

My name is Libuše and I am a PhD student of cultural anthropology and a master’s student of computer science at LMU Munich, Germany. Fortunately, I’ve already had the pleasure to meet some of you (virtually) over the past year, others might know me from the Stall Catchers chat and forum.

Like most of the other members of the HCI, I’ve been collaborating with the institute remotely (until now). My involvement as a research intern at HCI is twofold: I joined the Human Computation Institute at the End of 2019 after having just started my PhD and have since been involved in HCI’s projects on different levels, from helping with optimizing some of the algorithms behind Stall Catchers to make it faster and organizing Stall Catchers events, to working on to developing new ideas for ethical review and AI governance.

At the same time, I’ve also been conducting research for my doctoral project about human computation systems like Stall Catchers.

In my doctoral research, I investigate human computation-based citizen science projects that rely on humans and algorithms working in tandem to tackle problems that neither can easily solve on their own. I’m particularly interested in the collaborations between humans and computers and how these systems are being formed by the interplay of different involved parties. Beyond analyzing material and design aspects, I want to explore what meanings different involved actors – e.g., designers, participants, and scientists – ascribe to these systems. The goal is to better understand how human computation-based citizen science systems impact our everyday life and how we perceive playing and doing science for example.

I take an ethnographic approach which allows focusing on the everyday application and development of and the various practices around human computation-based citizen science projects. Ethnography can be messy from time to time (in a good sense ;) ). For example, it includes participating in the projects themselves, observing daily practices, design and research behind these systems and conducting in-depth interviews. Last year, I had the opportunity to talk with some of you about your viewpoint on Stall Catchers, which was enlightening. Thanks again to all of you! It was not only a great experience to meet you all but also very valuable for my research.

So, where are the results of my research? Unfortunately, doing a PhD takes some time…but while continuing to collect data I’ve been transcribing and analyzing what I’ve collected so far and hope to begin writing up my findings at the beginning of next year..

In the meantime, I’m in Ithaca, NY where the HCI and the Schaffer-Nishimura Lab at Cornell are based to learn about their work and perspectives on Stall Catchers and… to explore Ithaca’s wonderful gorges!

I look forward to seeing you in the chat and on the forums.  If you have any questions regarding Stall Catchers or my research you are very welcome to contact me at any time!

Libuše