Model Collapse: The Cascading Failures of Algorithms, Ecosystems, and Economies
The mass production of synthetic data is destabilizing AI models, creating a world of distorted outputs. Meanwhile, the infrastructure supporting the demands of generative AI is polluting our ecosystems and threatening economies – ushering in the era of AI slop. In this talk, Kate Crawford will explore the multiple collapses driven by planetary-scale AI in dialogue with Clemens Apprich and Wendy Chun.
Kate Crawford (b. 1974, Sydney, Australia) is a leading scholar of AI and its impacts. Her work focuses on understanding large-scale data systems, machine learning, and artificial intelligence within broader historical, political, labour, and environmental contexts. She is a Professor at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, a Senior Principal Researcher at MSR New York, and the inaugural Visiting Chair of AI and Justice at the École Normale Supérieure in Paris. She founded multiple research centres internationally and leads the interdisciplinary lab Knowing Machines. Her book, Atlas of AI, has been translated into twelve languages, has won three international prizes, and was named one of the best books of the year by The Financial Times and New Scientist. In addition to her academic work, Crawford is also an artist, with works held in the permanent collections of the Museum of Modern Art, New York; the Victoria and Albert Museum, London; and the Design Museum, London. Her most recent work, Calculating Empires: A Genealogy of Power and Technology Since 1500 will be presented at the 2025 Venice Biennale. Crawford lives and works in New York.