AI researchers want to study AI the same way social scientists study humans

It's important to note that most of these ideas aren't new. Roboticists, for example, have long studied human-computer interaction. And the field of science, technology, and society have what's known as the "actor-network theory," a framework for describing everything in the social and natural worlds--both humans and algorithms--as actors that somehow relate to one another. But for the most part, each of these efforts have been siloed in separate disciplines. Bringing them together under one umbrella helps align their goals, formalize a common language, and foster interdisciplinary collaborations.