Dr. Catherine Knight Steele awarded a 2024-2026 Just Tech Fellowship!

Congratulations to Dr. Catherine Knight Steele on her Just Tech Fellowship!

Department of Communication Associate Professor and Black Communication and Technology (BCaT) Lab Director Dr. Catherine Knight Steele has been awarded a 2024-2026 Just Tech Fellowship to address the expansion of automation, machine learning, and AI in education. 

Her work in "Automating Black Joy" reimagines the role of Black youth, culture, and history in shaping our digital future. By viewing Black youth as leaders and emphasizing joy as a form of resistance, the project looks to create a collaborative educational model from high school to graduate school. It focuses on accessible research, both highlighting Black culture, history, and resistance methods, and addressing critical questions about automating Black joy and its implications. By prioritizing Black cultural production and digital technology, the project seeks to integrate social justice into AI development, ensuring a more inclusive and equitable future.

More information about Just Tech and the details of Dr. Steele's fellowship are here. 

You can also learn more about Dr. Steele and her work here!

Congrats on this wonderful award and recognition of her important work!