Papers by Vlad Schüler-Costa
Clark Glymour argued in 2004 that "despite a lack of public fanfare, there is mounting evidence t... more Clark Glymour argued in 2004 that "despite a lack of public fanfare, there is mounting evidence that we are in the midst of ... a revolution - premised on the automation of scientific discovery". This paper highlights some of the philosophical and sociological dimensions that have been found empirically in work conducted with robot scientists - that is, with autonomous robotic systems for scientific discovery. Robot scientists do not supply definite answers to the discussed questions, but rather provide "proofs of concept" for various ideas. For example, it is not that robot scientists solve the realist/antirealist philosophical debate, but that when working with robot scientists one has to make a philosophical choice - in this case, to assume a realist view of science. There are still few systems for autonomous scientific discovery in existence, and it is too early to generalize and propose new theories. However, being "in the midst of ... a revolution" it is important for the research community to re-examine views pertinent to scientific discovery. This paper highlights how experience with robot scientists could inform discussions in other disciplines, from philosophy of science to computer creativity research.
Com base em questões surgidas, porém não abordadas, em minha pesquisa de dissertação, pretendo di... more Com base em questões surgidas, porém não abordadas, em minha pesquisa de dissertação, pretendo discutir a existência de um fenômeno na comunidade otaku: os relacionamentos – “românticos” ou não – com personagens oriundas da ficção (primariamente quadrinhos e desenhos animados japoneses). Tais personagens, embora não sejam propriamente categorizadas como “humanas” ou até mesmo “reais”, ainda assim gozam de certa ambiguidade em relação à sua existência. A partir de autores como Alfred Gell, Bruno Latour e Hiroki Azuma, pretendo analisar o estatuto da existência de tais seres e, portanto, a dimensão ambivalente entre “realidade” e “ficção” que elas representam no pensamento otaku.
Simbiótica, Jun 2014
Este artigo tem por objetivo delinear os processos de “tornar-se” e “ser” um otaku (um aficionado... more Este artigo tem por objetivo delinear os processos de “tornar-se” e “ser” um otaku (um aficionado por cultura pop japonesa). Para tal, foram utilizados dados etnográficos coletados na região de Vitória (ES) ao longo de 2010 e 2011, assim como quatro entrevistas em profundidade feitas em 2011 e 2012. A partir destas, foram identificadas quatro etapas na trajetória de “tornar-se” um otaku (“familiarização”, “iniciação”, “conversão” e “legitimação”), e três “carreiras” típicas da vivência otaku (“entrepreneur”, “promoter” e “performer”). Porém, além de uma tentativa de elaborar tipologias do universo otaku, há também um esforço de, através dos casos estudados, adicionar à discussão dos conceitos de “carreira” e “trajetória”.
Thesis by Vlad Schüler-Costa
This thesis is an ethnographic exploration of the emerging field of scientific research known as ... more This thesis is an ethnographic exploration of the emerging field of scientific research known as ‘science automation’. Taking advantage of technological developments in computing and engineering, science automation researchers aim to automate, in part or in full, the scientific process itself.
Drawing on twelve months of fieldwork carried out at the Manchester Automation Lab, I look at the Lab’s development and deployment of a ‘robot scientist’ – a system which mixes artificial intelligence and robotics with the intention of producing a ‘robot’ capable of autonomously carrying out an entire experimental cycle in microbiology.
By looking closely at the work carried out by members of this and of partner laboratories, as well as the broader context in which their research is situated, I demonstrate how this project is circumscribed by human conditions intrinsic to scientific practice, despite its intention to automate scientific processes.
In this thesis, I highlight the facets of human embeddedness encountered by this project. From the project’s history and composition, through its routine research practices, to the political economy in which these practices are situated, I show how the research carried out at the Manchester Automation Lab is influenced by both internal and external circumstances.
To that end, this thesis addresses questions at the heart of science automation itself: what are the practices, rationales, structures, and constraints fundamental to the development of a ‘robot scientist’? What are the challenges, obstacles, opportunities, and solutions faced by researchers engaged in such a project?
In addressing these questions, this thesis engages with and contributes to discussions in science and technology studies and in the anthropology of science, addressing broader issues such as post-humanism, science funding, and the timescales of laboratory settings. Further, this thesis adds ethnographic depth to the understanding of issues such as the production and circulation of data, scientists’ understanding of material causality, and analyses of failure and success in scientific settings.
[In Portuguese] This work is based on a research made in mid-2014 with a virtual community center... more [In Portuguese] This work is based on a research made in mid-2014 with a virtual community centered on blogs, vlogs and podcasts about Japanese pop culture. Using digital ethnography, Skype interviews, social network analysis and a monitoring of the content produced by said blogs, vlogs and podcasts, we sought to understand the manners in which art criticism of works of anime and manga is done. Likewise, based on the data obtained in the research, we try to express the ways that taste and behavior hierarchy emerge from the consumption and criticism of artworks. Lastly, we try to show how internal action within this virtual community police and criticize the forms of social organization within this group.
(In Portuguese)
This work is a socio-anthropological analysis of the otaku social reality, focus... more (In Portuguese)
This work is a socio-anthropological analysis of the otaku social reality, focusing on the “Espírito Santo” State’s otaku reality. To this end, the theme was approached having as basis the Chicago School’s and the “Museu Nacional’s” traditions. Starting from a discussion about the trajectories and careers related to the otaku community – aided by three of its members’ life histories – an analysis was made about how this reality is, especially in respect to the many kinds of legitimacy and prestige search inside the group.
Reviews by Vlad Schüler-Costa
PoLAR: Political and Legal Anthropology Review
Conference Presentations by Vlad Schüler-Costa
Anais do Seminário Nacional da Pós-Graduação em Ciências Sociais - UFES, Jun 1, 2011
Otakus são membros de uma sociabilidade juvenil específica que gira em torno de produtos da cultu... more Otakus são membros de uma sociabilidade juvenil específica que gira em torno de produtos da cultura pop japonesa, tais como histórias em quadrinhos (mangá), desenhos animados (animê), jogos (games) seriados (tokusatsu) e música (J-Music). Desse “consumo cultural” resultam diversas formas de sociabilidade e de manifestações culturais, como, por exemplo, o cosplay (ato de se fantasiar de um personagem de um mangá ou animê), o animekê (ato de cantar músicas de animê), clubes e lojas especializados, que provêm variados serviços (desde produtos como DVDs e revistas até cursos de maquiagem e confecção de roupas para cosplay), e o “evento de animê” (uma convenção aonde os otakus podem exercer tais formas de sociabilidade), entre outras. O objetivo deste trabalho é buscar a compreensão e a descrição da carreira moral de otaku, com suas fases e variações no domínio do universo simbólico do grupo.
Drafts by Vlad Schüler-Costa
[Published on Medium] This is a reflection on my Master’s fieldwork experience, conducted with a ... more [Published on Medium] This is a reflection on my Master’s fieldwork experience, conducted with a group of Brazilian anime and manga fans that used Twitter as its central communication hub. I discuss the problems I had with the literature, my own methodological shortcomings and experiences, and argue, towards the end, that ‘traditional’ participant observation is possible (and indeed desirable) as an ethnographic approach to Twitter.
(In Portuguese) Essay about western cultural influence on japanese culture after the opening of t... more (In Portuguese) Essay about western cultural influence on japanese culture after the opening of the country to foreign potencies.
Ensaio sobre a influência cultural ocidental na cultura japonesa a partir da abertura do país às potências estrangeiras.
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Papers by Vlad Schüler-Costa
Thesis by Vlad Schüler-Costa
Drawing on twelve months of fieldwork carried out at the Manchester Automation Lab, I look at the Lab’s development and deployment of a ‘robot scientist’ – a system which mixes artificial intelligence and robotics with the intention of producing a ‘robot’ capable of autonomously carrying out an entire experimental cycle in microbiology.
By looking closely at the work carried out by members of this and of partner laboratories, as well as the broader context in which their research is situated, I demonstrate how this project is circumscribed by human conditions intrinsic to scientific practice, despite its intention to automate scientific processes.
In this thesis, I highlight the facets of human embeddedness encountered by this project. From the project’s history and composition, through its routine research practices, to the political economy in which these practices are situated, I show how the research carried out at the Manchester Automation Lab is influenced by both internal and external circumstances.
To that end, this thesis addresses questions at the heart of science automation itself: what are the practices, rationales, structures, and constraints fundamental to the development of a ‘robot scientist’? What are the challenges, obstacles, opportunities, and solutions faced by researchers engaged in such a project?
In addressing these questions, this thesis engages with and contributes to discussions in science and technology studies and in the anthropology of science, addressing broader issues such as post-humanism, science funding, and the timescales of laboratory settings. Further, this thesis adds ethnographic depth to the understanding of issues such as the production and circulation of data, scientists’ understanding of material causality, and analyses of failure and success in scientific settings.
This work is a socio-anthropological analysis of the otaku social reality, focusing on the “Espírito Santo” State’s otaku reality. To this end, the theme was approached having as basis the Chicago School’s and the “Museu Nacional’s” traditions. Starting from a discussion about the trajectories and careers related to the otaku community – aided by three of its members’ life histories – an analysis was made about how this reality is, especially in respect to the many kinds of legitimacy and prestige search inside the group.
Reviews by Vlad Schüler-Costa
Conference Presentations by Vlad Schüler-Costa
Drafts by Vlad Schüler-Costa
Ensaio sobre a influência cultural ocidental na cultura japonesa a partir da abertura do país às potências estrangeiras.
Drawing on twelve months of fieldwork carried out at the Manchester Automation Lab, I look at the Lab’s development and deployment of a ‘robot scientist’ – a system which mixes artificial intelligence and robotics with the intention of producing a ‘robot’ capable of autonomously carrying out an entire experimental cycle in microbiology.
By looking closely at the work carried out by members of this and of partner laboratories, as well as the broader context in which their research is situated, I demonstrate how this project is circumscribed by human conditions intrinsic to scientific practice, despite its intention to automate scientific processes.
In this thesis, I highlight the facets of human embeddedness encountered by this project. From the project’s history and composition, through its routine research practices, to the political economy in which these practices are situated, I show how the research carried out at the Manchester Automation Lab is influenced by both internal and external circumstances.
To that end, this thesis addresses questions at the heart of science automation itself: what are the practices, rationales, structures, and constraints fundamental to the development of a ‘robot scientist’? What are the challenges, obstacles, opportunities, and solutions faced by researchers engaged in such a project?
In addressing these questions, this thesis engages with and contributes to discussions in science and technology studies and in the anthropology of science, addressing broader issues such as post-humanism, science funding, and the timescales of laboratory settings. Further, this thesis adds ethnographic depth to the understanding of issues such as the production and circulation of data, scientists’ understanding of material causality, and analyses of failure and success in scientific settings.
This work is a socio-anthropological analysis of the otaku social reality, focusing on the “Espírito Santo” State’s otaku reality. To this end, the theme was approached having as basis the Chicago School’s and the “Museu Nacional’s” traditions. Starting from a discussion about the trajectories and careers related to the otaku community – aided by three of its members’ life histories – an analysis was made about how this reality is, especially in respect to the many kinds of legitimacy and prestige search inside the group.
Ensaio sobre a influência cultural ocidental na cultura japonesa a partir da abertura do país às potências estrangeiras.