Platform Problems is meant as a connection between the Platform Lab and the DiGS Lab (Digital Intimacy, Gender, and Sexuality Lab). The participants were invited to help brainstorm around “platform problems” suggested by our presenters.

Marc Steinberg (Platform Lab director) and Stefanie Duguay (DiGS Lab director) have been brainstorming ideas for fostering connection across departments and labs while (and because) working remotely. This informal workshop, named “Platform Problems” happened with the participation of PhD students, who have overlaps in their research pertaining to technology, infrastructures, platforms, AI, etc. Each participant talked about their research for a short amount of time and presented a ‘problem’ of sorts – which could be something the students came up against in their research or a broader theoretical or analytical problem. Following this, a collective discussion happened to think through these problems.