Biography

Trained in the interdisciplinary field of Science & Technology Studies (STS), Dr Shunryu Garvey is a Zen Buddhist priest in Japan, whose research probes social decision making under the conditions of complexity, uncertainty, and disagreement. Using AI as a case study, he explores how societies can more safely, fairly, and wisely govern controversial sociotechnical systems. His history of American AI was awarded Best Early Career Paper by the Society for the History of Technology, and his history of Japanese AI was published in a special issue of Pacific Historical Review. He recently guest edited “AI and its Discontents,” a special issue of Interdisciplinary Science Reviews (2021) featuring critical analyses of AI from diverse perspectives, and published a history of early AI criticism in the IEEE Annals. In addition to advising an AI startup, he is currently working on a book manuscript, Terminated: Strategic Governance for Averting AI Catastrophe.