Recap // A Maroon’s Technical Practice with Maurice Jones

On September 23, the Knowledge Media Design Institute (KMDI) welcomed Maurice Jones, PhD Candidate at Concordia University, for a research talk exploring new approaches to artificial intelligence grounded in Black studies and feminist technoscience. Jones presented feral.ai, a research-creation project that reimagines AI through the lens of Marronage and Black techné—traditions of autonomy, resistance, and creative world-building that historically emerged in the margins of colonial systems. 

Rather than relying on large-scale digital infrastructures, feral.ai investigates what forms of intelligence become possible when AI is designed to operate independently of extractive computational systems. Jones shared prototypes developed using small-scale, battery-powered devices that combine embedded sound models, environmental sensing, and compact language models. These agents are intentionally modest in scale, functioning without data centres or cloud processing. Instead, they interact directly with their surroundings—listening, responding, and generating reflective “diary” entries that document their encounters in the field. 

Grounded in the concept of Black Ecologies, as articulated by Imani Jacqueline Brown, feral.ai positions technology as part of a broader network of human and environmental relationships. This framework challenges dominant narratives that separate the technological from the natural and calls for forms of technical practice that emphasize care, reciprocity, and attentiveness to place. Jones demonstrated how these principles informed the design of agents deployed in rural Quebec, where the systems developed situated awareness through sound and generative interpretation. 

At a moment when contemporary AI systems are driving unprecedented demands on energy, labour, and material resources, Jones’ work offers an alternative vision—one that questions the inevitability of large-scale, extractive infrastructures and instead explores what forms of intelligence might emerge through slower, smaller, and more relational modes of computation. The project invites renewed consideration of how technical practices can be shaped by histories of resistance and by commitments to sustainability and mutuality. 

KMDI was pleased to host this thought-provoking presentation, organized with support from Creative Labour Critical Futures (CLCF). 

To learn more about Maurice Jones’ work, please visit: 
https://mauricej.me/ | https://wilding.ai/