Our paper on “Agonistic Image Generation”: arxiv.org/abs/2502.15242.
In collaboration with @andreiskiii.bsky.social, @ranjaykrishna.bsky.social, and @axz.bsky.social.

Presenting at #FAccT2025 on Thursday, June 26 in "Group Behaviors and User Experiences" with @andreiskiii.bsky.social! 6/6

We tested this with 29 participants. Results: it encourages deeper thinking about representation, and users were more responsive to this approach than to superficial "diversity interventions." 5/6

We built an interface that researches controversies around user prompts, generates multiple interpretations (especially controversial ones), and encourages users to reflect on them before creating images. 4/6

Most AI image tools aim to actualize your “mental image” of a prompt. But your mental image may not be the whole picture. What if interfaces helped users engage with broader debates about what prompts could mean—pursuing an interactive, social notion of diversity? 3/6

Why do we seem to care about some forms of diversity but less about others? The controversy revealed something important: authentic diversity isn't just “correct” demographic representation — it's about engaging with a pluralism of real human conflicts, views, and interests. 2/6

[FAccT 2025 paper!] 🧵
Remember the March 2024 Gemini controversy? People were upset when it generated "diverse" but historically inappropriate images—like Black Founding Fathers and female Asian Nazis. This sparked our research... 1/6

Agonistic Image Generation: Unsettling the Hegemony of Intention Current image generation paradigms prioritize actualizing user intention - "see what you intend" - but often neglect the sociopolitical dimensions of this process. However, it is increasingly evident ...

This upcoming #FAccT2025 paper was w/ an amazing duo of undergrads @andreiskiii.bsky.social @andrewshawuw.bsky.social & deeply fuses philosophy with human-AI interaction design. "Unsettling the hegemony of intention" indeed! 😛 It also won the undergrad thesis award at UW 🏅 arxiv.org/abs/2502.15242