ARTFEED — Contemporary Art Intelligence

Measuring the Machine: Evaluating Generative AI as Pluralist Sociotechnical Systems

ai-technology · 2026-04-24

A new thesis argues that generative AI evaluation must shift from functionalist benchmarks to a descriptive, sociotechnical framework. The author proposes Machine-Society-Human (MaSH) Loops to trace how models, users, and institutions co-construct meaning and values. The work reframes evaluation as examining enacted values rather than judging outputs.

Key facts

  • Thesis argues generative AI must be evaluated as a pluralist sociotechnical system
  • Proposes Machine-Society-Human (MaSH) Loops framework
  • Critiques functionalist and prescriptive evaluation approaches
  • Evaluation shifts from judging outputs to examining enacted values
  • Three contributions: conceptual, methodological, and empirical

Entities

Institutions

  • arXiv

Sources