SDRC Receives Grant for Feminist AI Research from the Instituto Tecnológico de Costa Rica

Department of Philosophy faculty member Dr. Hazel T. Biana, along with research team members Dr. Melvin Jabar, Dr. Homer Yabut, and Ms. Rosallia Domingo, received a grant from the Fundación Tecnológica de Costa Rica and the Instituto Tecnológico de Costa Rica. Housed under the Social Development Research Center, the competitive fund was established to finance research articles and develop the <A+> Alliance project entitled Feminist AI Research f<A+i>r: Incubating Feminist AI: From Paper to Prototype to Pilot. The A+ Alliance project is made up of Women at the Table and the Instituto Tecnológico de Costa Rica. Women at the Table is a Geneva-based global civil society organization founded by Caitlin Kraft-Buchman, which helps feminists gain influence in sectors that have key structural impact on the economy, democracy and governance, technology and sustainability.

Other teams from Chile, Mexico and Thailand have also received grants from the said fund. Dr. Biana’s team will be working specifically on the project entitled AI-(Em)powered Mobility of Women, which seeks to uncover the socio-cultural, psychological, personal, and spatial factors involved in the urban transit safety of women. A feminist framework based on observations, perspectives, and experiences of women, transit authorities, operators, and app developers will inform a concept for an empowering AI-Driven Filipino women safety app. The project is in line with Sustainable Development Goal 11 in seeking to address the safety and inclusiveness of transport systems, particularly improving road safety with special attention to the needs of those in vulnerable situations, including women. The project is interdisciplinary in that it involves experts on sociology, behavioral sciences, anthropology, psychology, gender and development, philosophy, and user-based design.