Lucy Suchman
Also known as Lucy A. Suchman
Lucy Suchman is an anthropologist whose critical work examines the conceptions of human action that AI assumes. She earned degrees at UC Berkeley, including a doctorate in social and cultural anthropology in 1984. Her 1987 book Plans and Situated Actions was a critical analysis of the conceptions of human action assumed in AI, and in 1989 she co-founded a research group at Xerox PARC. She received the Benjamin Franklin Medal in 2002, the SIGCHI Lifetime Research Award in 2010, and the Bernal Prize from the Society for Social Studies of Science in 2014, and she was president of that society in 2016 and 2017. As of October 2026, she is president of the board at the AI Now Institute.
Timeline
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1972–1984
Anthropology degrees at Berkeley
At UC Berkeley she earns a BA in 1972, an MA in 1977 and a doctorate in social and cultural anthropology in 1984.
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1987
Plans and Situated Actions
Her dissertation becomes the book Plans and Situated Actions in 1987, a critical analysis of the conceptions of human action assumed in AI.
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1989
Co-founding a PARC research group
At Xerox PARC she co-founds the Work Practice and Technology group in 1989.
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2002
The Benjamin Franklin Medal
She receives the Benjamin Franklin Medal in Computer and Cognitive Science in 2002.
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2010–2014
Honours from SIGCHI and 4S
In 2010 she receives the SIGCHI Lifetime Research Award, and in 2014 she receives the Bernal Prize from the Society for Social Studies of Science.
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2016–2017
President of the 4S society
She serves as president of the Society for Social Studies of Science during 2016 and 2017.
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2023
Imaginaries of omniscience
In 2023 she publishes Imaginaries of omniscience, a study of automating intelligence in the US Department of Defense.
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As of October 2026
Board president at AI Now
She holds the post of board president at the AI Now Institute.
Sources and credits
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