Co-designing ML Models with Data Activists

In this talk I will introduce the principles of data feminism and give a first-person report from a large participatory-action-research-design project where we are co-designing technology with data activists. The “we” in question is myself, Silvana Fumega, and Helena Suárez Val, and we work in collaboration and solidarity with activist groups producing data to challenge feminicide – fatal gender-related violence against women – across the Americas. As all practitioners know, practice is messy and rarely adheres cleanly to pleasing principles. Throughout the talk, I will highlight resonances and tensions between our design process and the principles of data feminism, showing how we tried to operationalize these principles in interactive digital tools and machine learning models. I hope to surface my aspirations for more participatory technology design processes as well as raise lingering questions to the community so that we may think together about the limitations of co-designing for justice.