Anthropology Scholars Discuss AI, Host “Ghost in the Machine” Screening Sept. 21

VALDOSTA — The Valdosta State University Anthropology Club has partnered with Lowndes Citizens Against Data Centers to present a free screening of “Ghost in the Machine” Monday, Sept. 21, in the Student Union Theater on Main Campus.

Doors will open at 5 p.m. The screening will begin at 5:30 p.m.

This event is open to the public.

“‘Ghost in the Machine’ seeks to unravel the AI hype to find the untold origins of artificial intelligence,” director Valerie Veatch shared in an Independent Lens story on PBS.org. “This investigative feature-length documentary urgently excavates the forces driving the global AI boom. Over eight chapters, the history of the technology and the term ‘artificial intelligence’ take shape, while also revealing the problematic foundations of large language models rooted in eugenicist philosophies.”

Veatch shared that her documentary project “began as an exploration into an exciting new technology I was told would revolutionize filmmaking. She initially “found this technology breathtaking.”

“This, we were told, was the future of cinema,” she added. “And briefly — mortifyingly — I think I wanted to feel this was true. Then, like the drops of a coming downpour, the shadows of this technology emerged.”

“Ghost in the Machine” premiered on Sept. 14.

The screening will last approximately 1 hour and 37 minutes, followed by a discussion.

“We hope that the documentary will provide attendees with a more nuanced understanding of the history of AI, as well as the human or social/cultural consequences of AI,” said Dr. Shelly Yankovskyy, associate professor in the Department of Sociology, Anthropology, and Criminal Justice and the Native American and Indigenous Studies program at VSU. “For example, who benefits from AI and who/what are the impacts from the social and environmental costs. We also hope that attendees will get a better understanding of what a hyperscale data center is and what it means when one is built in their community.”