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We are starting a reading group that we are calling Critical Prompts<\/em> to engage with critical perspectives on AI.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Here, a prompt<\/em> is not just an AI command\u2014we use the term as an invitation to analyze, question, and rethink \u2018AI\u2019. Together, we will engage with texts that offer the critical vocabulary, concepts and methods to grapple with the multiple, intersecting concerns we confront in AI value chains. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Though the AI discourse is dominated by hype and half-truths, there has also been a strong body of critical scholarship across disciplines that exposes its deep fault lines, contends with its socio-political underpinnings, challenges power asymmetries and intervenes in them to reorient the trajectories of computing. Our aim, with this reading group, is to engage with this literature, through careful reading and reflexive discussion, to inform our work in the project and foster a wider critical engagement around AI research and practice. <\/p>\n\n\n\n To kick start the reading group, we turn to recent work, particularly research papers, in the broad area that many now identify as critical AI studies. We aim to read from a range of disciplines including digital sociology, science and technology studies, political economy, geography and development studies. While we begin with a few readings from recent work, we will also revisit older texts and books to deepen our critical engagement. <\/p>\n\n\n\n This reading group is open to students, researchers, policy practitioners, and anyone with an interest in thinking critically about AI and its value chains. Whether you are engaging with AI from the social sciences, humanities, computing, or professional practice, the group offers a space to explore critical scholarship together, share reflections, and deepen collective understanding. \u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n We will run this as a hybrid reading group. To begin with, we will host the first couple of meetings as in-person sessions in Edinburgh, open to colleagues and students who can join us in-person. Following this, from November onwards, the meetings will happen over Zoom and will not be recorded. The idea is very much to create a space for shared reflections and learning. Join us to read, reflect and engage in discussions together. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The reading group will take place on alternate Thursdays, starting 2 Oct 2025, at 2 \u2013 3 PM BST (UK time). You can check what time this is for you by clicking here<\/a>.\u00a0\u00a0Here are the readings for the first two meetings: <\/p>\n\n\n\n Oct 2:<\/strong>\u00a0Crawford, K., & Joler, V. (2019). Anatomy of an AI System. https:\/\/anatomyof.ai\/img\/ai-anatomy-publication.pdf<\/a> \u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n Oct 16:<\/strong>\u00a0Suchman, L. (2023). The uncontroversial \u2018thingness\u2019 of AI. Big Data & Society<\/em>, 10<\/em>(2). https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1177\/20539517231206794<\/a> \u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n