On May 3, 2024, EASTS hosted a lecture titled “The Digital Politics of AI: An Ethnographic Introduction” by Dr. John Postill, a Vice-Chancellor Senior Research Fellow in the School of Media and Communications at RMIT University, affiliated with the Digital Ethnography Research Centre. The lecture was organized in collaboration with the International College of Innovation (ICI) and the Department of Public Administration at National Chengchi University (NCCU).
The first half of the lecture focused on digital ethnography, a methodological question that has also recurred among EASTS articles. Dr. Postill emphasized the versatility of digital ethnography by describing it as a “flat methodology,” or in simpler terms, “whatever works.” While traditional anthropological methods stress the importance of physical presence in the field and active participation in communities, Dr. Postill argued that “lurking” online and archiving posts on social media also play a crucial role in conducting ethnography in the digital realm. He provided examples from his research on the politicization of the digital sphere and the digitization of the political field, where he meticulously followed various political debates and culture wars on digital media platforms. Dr. Postill illustrated how these methods of data collection can offer new insights into social and political movements.
