What’s Due Next?
This Week
- Tuesday (today): Keyword Technology and “It’s hard to be a moral person. Technology is making it harder”
- Thursday: Response post to “Technology” (feel free to use the Vox article as an example if that’s helpful)
Near Future
- Sunday, October 3: Submit Field Experience Report on the Çudamani performance as a blog post – see assignment for details
What’s Coming Up?
- Access the full text of Keywords for Media Studies to select an original Keyword to read and report on during class on Thursday, October 14
- Read All You Need is Kill and watch Edge of Tomorrow by Sunday, October 24
Tuesday, September 28
Short Response Paper Reflection
- Reflect on writing your first short response paper on Identity using I Am Not Your Negro.
- Complete this form (follow link or use QR code) during class, and we’ll chat about your responses.
Today’s Media
- How have you engaged the keywords or concepts we’ve been talking about to date in what you’ve encountered around you?
- Have you seen or heard or learned anything that made you think about the keywords and/or concepts we’re talking about in class?
Technology
- What did you think about technology and morality from the Vox article?
- How was technology defined and portrayed in the article?
- How does that description compare to the way Slack defined and described technology in our Keyword essay?
- What do you think about the conclusion of this article?
So, what can we do? We have two main options: regulation and self-regulation. We need both.
On a societal level, we have to start by recognizing that Big Tech is probably not going to change unless the law forces it to, or it becomes too costly (financially or reputationally) not to change.
Technology as Perceived
Diagram of historical perspectives on technology. From Slack’s “Technology” keyword essay
Technology in Reality
Diagram of technology in reality. From Slack’s “Technology” keyword essay
Thursday
Technological determinism and Google’s DeepMind AI project
- What captures your interest and attention in this video?
- What causes you pause or concern in this video?
- How would you characterize the depiction of technology in this video? Why?
Follow Up Activity
Spend 10 minutes searching the web for depictions of technology in media of your choice.
- Try to find depictions of technology — like reporting on technologies, technology demonstrations, descriptive use cases, review, and the like — rather than showing technology in use.
- For example, choose a review of a self-driving car rather than a recording of the self-driving car without narrative. Our focus is on the way technology is described.
Address this question based on the depiction and prepare to discuss:
- Does this depiction present the technology from a cultural-historical perspective (i.e., where technology is a product of cultural forces) or from a deterministic perspective (i.e., where technology is a force for social progress)?
- What evidence can you bring to bear to support this position?