[Meet-up] How Could AI Supply Chain Research Shape HCI Inquiries And Vice-Versa?

HCI research on AI has largely focused on end-user interactions or the practices of developers working to improve system performance. This meetup proposes to broaden that scope of interaction to encompass the material, political, and economic dynamics that shape AI across its lifecycle. Drawing on STS, we recognize AI as the outcome of extended supply chains involving practitioners, organizations, infrastructures, and governance, all entangled with power asymmetries and economic incentives. Much of this supply chain remains invisible within HCI, yet it profoundly influences how AI systems are designed, deployed, and experienced. The meetup will bring together HCI scholars to explore how supply chain perspectives can enrich HCI research. We plan to gather researchers of the HCI community and beyond, in order to discuss how they could integrate the AI supply chain in their research and what would be the implications, and how HCI can further contribute to supply chain studies.