Intraversionen von Mensch-KI-Relationen: Eine kulturwissenschaftliche Perspektive auf „Human-in-the-Loop“-Systeme

Abstract

How do human–technology relations develop in so-called human computation systems develop along technological advancements and in everyday negotiations? While the development of these hybrid systems often follows the „human-in-the-loop“ (HITL) approach, which describes the integration of humans into artificial intelligence systems, this paper argues that such an approach does not adequately capture the complexity and dynamics of these relations’ everyday unfolding. Based on several years of ethnographic and co-laborative research and the analysis of the underlying imaginations of the HITL approach, the concept of intraversions is proposed to understand humantechnology relations in their multiplicity and becoming. Using the examples of two human computation-based citizen science projects, Foldit and Stall Catchers, this paper demonstrates how continuous reconfigurations within these relations go hand in hand with the redistribution of agency, tasks, and role-attributions. This perspective also aims to highlight the potential of ethnographic research in shaping hybrid human-AI systems. Intraversions provide a reflective perspective in technology development by offering an understanding of the complex interweaving of humans and technologies in their ongoing evolution. This, in turn, helps to understand how sociotechnical systems become what they are, where they are heading, how different actors, path dependencies, and contingencies shape them, and how to incorporate these insights into implementation.