Robin Mansell and I are editing a collection about words–often metaphors coined by Big Tech–that fool us into thinking the digital technologies we use every day are beautiful, benign, and consequence-free.

They’re not.

Let’s rebrand.

More information: bit.ly/CFPRenameTech

At the recent annual conference (May 2023) of the Canadian Society for Digital Humanities, I gave a talk titled “Whrite.” Based on my long-term research with Google Smart Compose, I argued that we—scholars, practitioners, educators, and especially those of us in dominant groups—must engage in projects to rename information and communication technologies (ICTs) in ways that announce their racial politics. Language describing ICTs deployed by Big Tech, turning on reductive and misleading metaphors, often enacts real harm on minoritized individuals. By way of renaming, we can recast ICTs in terms of what they do to us as opposed to what Big Tech maintains they do for us.

Chokshi, C., & Marriot, J. (2022). Security Camera Obscura: Reflecting on the work of John Marriott. Surveillance & Society, 2(2). https://doi.org/10.24908/ss.v20i2.15077

Chokshi, C. (2022). (Not) environmental media: A playlist. Canadian Journal of Communication, 47(1), 241-244. https://doi.org/10.22230/cjc.2022v47n1a4253

Chokshi, C. (2021). In other words: Smart Compose and the consequences of writing in the age of AI. Culture Machine, 20. https://culturemachine.net/vol-20-machine-intelligences/in-other-words-smart-compose-and-the-consequences-of-writing-in-the-age-of-ai-crystal-chokshi/

Chokshi, C. (2021, March 31). The shape of more. Heliotrope. https://www.heliotropejournal.net/helio/the-shape-of-more

Chokshi, C. (2021, January 19). Recommended writing. Real Life. https://reallifemag.com/recommended-writing/

“This is the class everyone in PR looks forward to every week. It’s not only made me a better communicator but a better learner.” — Student in Interpersonal Communication, Winter 2023, Mount Royal University

“Crystal is the best prof I have had to date. She makes everyone feel valuable and safe in class, and makes a 3 hour lecture in the morning something I look forward to.” — Student in Introduction to Public Relations, Fall 2022, Mount Royal University

“Through her care, encouragement, and passion, Crystal empowers her students, as learners and people.” — Students in Algorithmic Culture, Fall 2021, University of Calgary

“Crystal goes out of her way to get to know students—something I have never experienced before her class.” — Student in Rhetorical Communication, Winter 2020, University of Calgary

I invite you to browse through my creative dossier.