Mariam’s research explores the cultural and affective dimensions of technology, with a particular interest in how creative and speculative methods can deepen ethnographic inquiry.
Methodologically, she works ethnographically and often draws on experimental approaches to investigate how technologies shape—and are shaped by—social, political, and sensory practices.
Mariam is affiliated with the Center for Critical Data Practices and the Digital Aesthetics Research Center (DARC).
Mariam Khaled is a PhD fellow at at the Department of Digital Design and Information Studies at Aarhus University. In her project, Mariam explores how AI as a socio-technical & cultural phenomenon, has evolved from an abstract metaphor into something that shapes the very fabric of modern society—a shift from the imaginative to the literal.
Rooted in STS and Critical Data Studies, the project aims to rethink how AI is understood and implemented, in order to contribute to ethical and responsible approaches to AI development, influencing both technology and culture.
Questioning the narratives and metaphors used to describe it, the project ultimately investigates what happens when machines are thought of as "thinking", "dreaming" and "hallucinating".
