WASP-HS together with The Swedish Collegium for Advanced Study (SCAS) has launched an international symposium series on AI transitions in global context. The first of three workshops took place last week with participants from the African continent, Japan, and the Nordics.

Titled “Human Futures – AI Transitions in Global Context,” the initiative brings together researchers from across regions and disciplines to broaden discussions on AI beyond dominant US and Western European perspectives.

“We initiated this seminar series to stimulate exchange and collaboration on human-centred AI as we are convinced that knowledge production benefits from a diversity in perspectives and experiences,” says Christofer Edling, Program Director of WASP-HS and Professor of Sociology at Lund University.

Inaugural Workshop Mapping Global Perspectives on AI

The first symposium, held at SCAS in Uppsala, focused on understanding global views on AI. Rather than presenting finished research, the workshop was designed as a space for collective exploration and alignment.

“We are pleased to collaborate with SCAS, as they provide an ideal environment for thinking together and share our belief that thinking in itself is an important good,” continues Christofer Edling.

A central objective of the workshop was to begin mapping how AI is understood across disciplines and contexts, and to identify areas where perspectives converge, diverge, or remain in tension.

“AI technologies are often framed through technological competition or dominant regional perspectives. Through Human Futures, we aim to foster a different conversation – one that is comparative, interdisciplinary, and grounded in diverse experiences,” says Ericka Johnson, Co-Director of WASP-HS and Professor of Gender and Society at Linköping University.

Follow up symposia are planned in collaboration with Stellenbosch Institute for Advanced Study and Tokyo College.