To Build Our Future, We Must Know Our Past: Contextualizing Paradigm
  Shifts in Natural Language Processing
Sireesh Gururaja Amanda Bertsch Clara Na David Gray Widder Emma Strubell
NLP is in a period of disruptive change that is impacting our methodologies,
funding sources, and public perception. In this work, we seek to understand how
to shape our future by better understanding our past. We study factors that
shape NLP as a field, including culture, incentives, and infrastructure by
conducting long-form interviews with 26 NLP researchers of varying seniority,
research area, institution, and social identity. Our interviewees identify
cyclical patterns in the field, as well as new shifts without historical
parallel, including changes in benchmark culture and software infrastructure.
We complement this discussion with quantitative analysis of citation,
authorship, and language use in the ACL Anthology over time. We conclude by
discussing shared visions, concerns, and hopes for the future of NLP. We hope
that this study of our field's past and present can prompt informed discussion
of our community's implicit norms and more deliberate action to consciously
shape the future.