Tanja Knaus

PhD candidate at the University of Oslo

Knaus is a PhD Research Fellow in Science and Technology Studies (STS) at TIK, University of Oslo. Her project is part of the work package 2 'AI in Society' at the Norwegian Research Center for AI Innovation (NorwAI) at NTNU, Trondheim. Her research interests are in the areas of software studies, science and technology studies (STS), human-computer interaction, affect theory and digital labour. She previously studied Cultural Studies (MA) at the Department of Media, Communication and Cultural Studies at Goldsmiths University of London. She also holds a MA in Media and Interaction Design and BA in Information Design. She is particularly interested in how human and nonhuman agency are negotiated within algorithmic systems, the sociotechnical implications of automation and how the human voice became productive for AI innovation.

Tell us about your project!

I explore the automation and standardization of affective data, inferred from vocal biomarkers that can identify a person and signify affective and mental states. Vocal signals are recorded, processed, and classified by voice recognition software systems found in many devices today. Tech companies hope that these systems enable devices to react to human emotions, detect diseases and disabilities, and improve human-computer interaction. Instead of replacing human capacities, these semi-autonomous technologies augment the user and assist not only with crucial decision making but also with the extension of human senses. This will become more and more prevalent as we increasingly live and interact with autonomous machines. But do these systems that analyze mental states according to bare bodily signals found in the voice reduce the mind and body to its materiality? How is the voice understood and configured as a material, that is in turn mathematically figured through machine learning?

“I explore the automation and standardization of affective data, inferred from vocal biomarkers that can identify a person and signify affective and mental states.”

— Knaus on her research project “The automation of affective data: Infrastructure and data(base) practices of voice recognition systems.”