Qingyi Ren (任晴宜, They/Them) is a Science and Technology Studies (STS) researcher at Critical Media Lab Basel, a mentor in the MA Transversal Design program at Basel Academy of Art and Design FHNW, and a lecturer in MA Interaction Design at UAL London College of Communication.
Their research examines machine learning and AI as sociotechnical systems, with particular attention to how categories, datasets, and computational practices are produced, negotiated, and situated within specific institutional and cultural contexts. Informed by Science and Technology Studies (STS) and queer studies, their work investigates the politics of classification and knowledge production, as well as the assumptions and forms of normativity embedded in computational systems.
Their PhD project “Queerness as Gap” is funded by The Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) from 2024 to 2028.
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ABOUT ME
IN BETWEEN
2022
Through a critical examination of the narratives and language employed in face recognition technology, particularly Amazon Rekognition, I have discovered that even artificial intelligence products trained on binary gender databases struggle to define gender in a strictly binary manner. By presenting diverse photographs of individuals alongside Amazon Rekognition's gender classification results, I aim to underscore the performative nature of gender, even within the realm of cyberspace.
Consequently, I have curated a database comprising various results generated by Amazon Rekognition, spanning classifications from 50% to 99% male and female. Leveraging machine learning Generative Adversarial Networks (GANs), I have crafted a novel model capable of generating randomized portraits. This endeavor serves as a digital exploration of the performative aspects of gender, echoing and challenging the limitations imposed by technology on our understanding of identity within the digital sphere
“Feeding The Queer Archive”- The Queer Archive, Athens, Greece-From May 12, 2022 to May 22, 2022.
“IN BETWEEN“- Artscloud Digital Art Fair Top 100 Artis, Seoul, Republic of Korea - January 21, 2022-May 31 2022.