Rooted in the Collective: A Culturally Situated Artificial Intelligence (AI) Education Workshop For Urban Farmers

This paper describes our experiences related to a culturally situated Artificial Intelligence (AI) education workshop for urban farmers. The farmers explored the concept of AI and its implications in the context of their own farm. They engaged in hands-on activities, including using traditional sensemaking practices in conjunction with sensor technology to collect contextual data. They then used a tangible educational tool: a corkboard with push pins and images to build tactile AI models based on their farm data. Throughout this process, they discussed their hopes and desires regarding AI in farming, and their concerns about AI technologies. The perspectives of the urban farmers reveal their preference for AI systems that are contextual, integrate community values, Indigenous knowledge, and environmental concerns, and are rooted in community ownership of data. Our report provides a starting point for conducting future workshops that involve ‘critical participatory design’ of AI technologies to promote AI literacies rooted in the community.