By Joe Arney
Photos by Kimberly Coffin (CritMedia, StratComm鈥�18)
When Bianca Perez called her mom in the middle of the day to tell her she鈥檇 been accepted to a prestigious doctoral program at one of the nation鈥檚 foremost universities, she expected there might be some tears.
She wasn鈥檛 wrong. But it wasn鈥檛 her mother who cried.
Perez鈥檚 mother, Leyda, was born and raised in Mexico, while her father, Ernesto, came to the United States from Peru. For almost 30 years, they have worked tirelessly at growing Perez Cleaning Services, in Steamboat Springs, in order to provide their daughter with opportunities they couldn鈥檛 imagine鈥攁nd don鈥檛 always understand. When she explained that she was applying to schools to be a doctor, Perez (Comm, MediaSt鈥�24) would clarify 鈥渁 doctor of words,鈥� since her family thought she was maybe interested in a medical career.
Now, as she explained on speakerphone that she was accepted to the PhD program at the University of Pennsylvania鈥檚 prestigious Annenberg School for Communication, in Philadelphia, 鈥渕y mom wasn鈥檛 sure what to make of it,鈥� Perez said. 鈥淚 could tell she was happy because she could hear the excitement in my voice.鈥�
But the client her mother was speaking with when Perez called couldn鈥檛 believe his ears.
鈥淲hat I have is like a wish coming true. You can work very hard and that can still not be enough, and I鈥檝e seen that happen to people around me my whole life.鈥�
Bianca Perez (Comm, MediaSt鈥�24)
鈥淗e was like, 鈥楧id I just overhear that your daughter's going to graduate school at Penn?鈥欌�� she recalled. 鈥淎nd I could hear him start crying, and my mom said to me, 鈥極h, no, I have to go, one of the clients is upset.鈥� But he wasn鈥檛鈥攖he guy went to UPenn for his undergrad, had wanted to go to grad school there but couldn鈥檛, and he was so happy and excited for me.
鈥淚 think for my mom, seeing a random person cry like that and be so joyful, helped her understand just how exciting this was for me.鈥�
Driven to change the world
It鈥檚 not the first time she鈥檚 had to overcome the barrier separating her lived experiences from those of her parents. But her working-class upbringing鈥攃ombined with her curiosity, care and enthusiasm for working hard鈥攈as already made her a promising scholar in the realm of artificial intelligence and labor.
鈥淚t鈥檚 because of her humble background that she understands that the ability to be in college, to read books and write for a living, is a privilege,鈥� said Sandra Ristovska, an assistant professor of media studies at the College of Media, Communication and Information at the University of Colorado Boulder, and Perez鈥檚 advisor. 鈥淚t鈥檚 unsurprising she鈥檚 interested in questions around technology and labor because she is seeking, through her research, to improve the lives and livelihoods of working-class people, immigrants and people of color.鈥�
Perez studies generative artificial intelligence and labor through the lens of copyright law. In the past year, artists and publishers have sued tech companies that have used copyrighted work to train generative A.I. platforms like ChatGPT, opening up a larger question of how to fairly value labor鈥攏ot just of plaintiffs like J.K. Rowling, Stephen King and The New York Times, but everyday social media users, whose likes and shares train algorithms to better recommend content that keeps people online.
Because that data is disassociated from the users, the labor of whoever generated that data鈥攖hose likes and shares鈥攊s obscured, meaning they can鈥檛 be compensated. And these are, of course, some of the world鈥檚 deepest-pocketed tech companies, whose forays into the development of A.I. are far ahead of gridlocked government regulators and already-alarmed ethicists. 听
鈥淲e have no way to check these models, even though we鈥檝e all been producing them through our work,鈥� Perez said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a new and complex expansion of wage theft. They鈥檙e taking all our labor and remixing it to make something else鈥攂ut it鈥檚 still our labor. How is that fair?鈥�
Fairness focus
That question of what鈥檚 fair is central to Perez鈥檚 identity. Just the time and space to work as hard as she does, she said, is a privilege, especially when in high school she would see other smart, ambitious students fall behind because of work or family commitments.
鈥淚 always feel that there鈥檚 only a few degrees separating me being a migrant daughter who鈥檚 picking cherries, to my being here,鈥� she said. 鈥淢y parents taught me how to work very hard鈥擨 can鈥檛 underscore that enough鈥攂ut what I have is like a wish coming true. You can work very hard and that can still not be enough, and I鈥檝e seen that happen to people around me my whole life.鈥�
Fairness also ties into her related research interest in the exploitation of Black and Latino tech labor鈥攍ike DoorDash drivers during the pandemic, or Amazon warehouse workers toiling in hotter facilities in a warming climate. The combination of her interests has resulted in some unique scholarship that鈥檚 already getting noticed: This summer, Perez will present her thesis at the annual conference of the International Association for Media and Communication Research, in Christchurch, New Zealand鈥攁n honor usually reserved for PhD students and faculty.
Ristovska, her advisor, also attended a prestigious conference as an undergraduate before going on to Annenberg for her PhD, and is excited to see how sharing her work at one of the field鈥檚 most prestigious events influences Perez鈥檚 future work.
鈥淲hat she does is bring the human back to the discourse around A.I. and technology,鈥� Ristovska said. 鈥淗er work makes us think about how human creativity and human engagement are central to the development of A.I., and why it鈥檚 so important we figure out labor protections now, before the technology is even more advanced.鈥�
鈥楽omeone who knows how to push me鈥�
Perez called Ristovska 鈥渁n incredible influence on me鈥攕omeone who knows how to push me and who has held my hand on this journey, even though we were going uphill sometimes.鈥� Among her mentors, she also counts professors Omedi Ochieng and Danielle Hodge, of the communication department, as well as Rory Fitzgerald Bledsoe, who is pursuing a PhD in media studies; Perez called her first course with Bledsoe the foundational moment of her time at CU.
Bledsoe recalled Perez for both her insatiable curiosity and her writing talent, which she called 鈥渞efreshing and invigorating in an increasing sea of generic ChatGPT.鈥�
鈥淏ianca will be successful in her PhD for the normal things, like being diligent and curious, but also for her inimitable voice鈥攂oth creative and critical鈥攖hat I have no doubt will contribute to our field and make it better,鈥� Bledsoe said. 鈥淧eople would benefit from being a little more like Bianca, by following your passion until it blooms in full force.鈥�
鈥淗er work makes us think about how human creativity and human engagement are central to the development of A.I., and why it鈥檚 so important we figure out labor protections now, before the technology is even more advanced.鈥�
Sandra Ristovska, assistant professor, media studies
Perez鈥檚 focus wasn鈥檛 always so direct. She arrived at 兔子先生传媒文化作品 thinking she鈥檇 major in media production, given her interest in documentary filmmaking, but after exploring different paths, arrived at her current combination after briefly considering information science. At commencement, she was honored as the William W. White Outstanding Senior for both communication and media studies, the first time a student has been recognized by two departments. The White awards are chosen by CMCI faculty and honor students for their academic accomplishments, professional achievements and service to the college.
鈥淢y different majors helped me discover different frameworks of thinking about the topics I was interested in, which has helped me think about my research more critically,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t wasn鈥檛 always a specific lesson I was taught, but professors like Dr. Hodge showed me to think about whether what I鈥檓 working on actually speaks to the community鈥攁nd you do that by speaking with that community.鈥�
It鈥檚 a new twist on what Perez said is the most important lesson she learned at home.
鈥淭he best thing my parents taught me was to actually care about what you鈥檙e doing鈥攖o show up for others when it matters,鈥� she said. 鈥淢aybe cleaning is trivial to some people, but their business is pretty exceptional in our town, and it鈥檚 because they care very much for their reputation and the people they serve.鈥�
That鈥檚 why her mentor is convinced Perez will make her CMCI professors proud years after she has graduated.
鈥淲hether she chooses an academic career or the policy realm, I really think she鈥檒l make the world a better place, because her commitment to justice is ingrained in her,鈥� Ristovska said. 鈥淚鈥檓 so excited for what comes next for her.鈥�