A Gift of Fire Third edition Sara Baase

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A Gift of FireThird editionSara Baase

• Chapter 7 Evaluating and Controlling Technology

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What We Will Cover

• Information, Knowledge, and Judgment
• Computers and Community
• The Digital Divide
• Evaluations of the Impact of Computer Technology
• Making Decisions About Technology

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Information, Knowledge, and Judgment

• Evaluating Information on the Web
• Expert information or wisdom of the crowd?
• Daunting amount of information on the web, much
  of this information is not correct
• Search engines are replacing librarians, but Web
  sites are ranked by popularity, not by expert
  evaluation
• Wisdom of the crowd - ratings by public of
  website
• If millions participate, the results will be
  useful

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Information, Knowledge, and Judgment (cont.)

• Evaluating Information on the Web (cont.)
• Wikipedia
• Written by volunteers, some posts are biased and
  not accurate
• Although anyone can write, most people do not
• Those that do typically are educated and experts

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Information, Knowledge, and Judgment (cont.)

• Evaluating Information on the Web (cont.)
• Wisdom of the crowd
• Problems of unreliable information are not new
• The Web magnifies the problems
• Rating systems are easy to manipulate
• Vulnerable viewers
• Less educated individuals
• Children
• Responsibilities of site operators
• Should identify user-supplied content
• Make clear which information has been verified

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Information, Knowledge, and Judgment (cont.)

• Evaluating Information on the Web (cont.)
• Manipulation of images
• Movies and videos use special effects to add
  creativity and enjoyment of entertainment
• People can use technology for deception and fraud
• Ease with which we can modify digital images and
  video
• Should news agencies modify images and videos?
• Faking photos is not a new phenomenon more
  people can do it now because its easy

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Information, Knowledge, and Judgment (cont.)

• Writing, Thinking and Deciding
• New tools have displaced skills that were once
  important
• Abdicating responsibility
• People willing to let computers do their thinking
• Reliance on computer systems over human judgment
  may become institutionalized
• Fear of having to defend your own judgment if
  something goes wrong

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Information, Knowledge, and Judgment (cont.)

• Computer Models
• Evaluating Models
• How well do the modelers understand the
  underlying science or theory?
• Models necessarily involve assumptions and
  simplifications of reality
• How closely do the results or predictions
  correspond with the results from physical
  experiments or real experience?

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Information, Knowledge, and Judgment (cont.)

• Computer Models (cont.)
• Why models may not be accurate
• We might not have complete knowledge of the
  system we are modeling
• The data describing current conditions or
  characteristics may be incomplete of inaccurate
• Computing power may be inadequate for the
  complexity of the model
• It is difficult, if not impossible, to
  numerically quantify variables that represent
  human values and choices

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Information, Knowledge, and JudgmentDiscussion
Questions

• How do you evaluate the reliability of
  information you find on the Web? How do your
  evaluation methods compare to the way you
  evaluate information from other sources?
• Some computer models are better than others.
  What types of models work well? What types
  don't? Why?

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Computers and Community

• It is human nature to form associations based on
  common interests
• Some feared early technologies, such as
  telephones, thinking communication would be
  de-humanized
• Computers and the Internet were blamed for the
  decline in community involvement and memberships
  in clubs and organizations
• The Internet provides communities focused on
  specialized interests or problems

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Computers and Community (cont.)

• The Internet brings people together from all over
  the world
• E-mail and the Internet provide convenient and
  cheap ways for families and friends to stay in
  contact
• New trends include social-networking sites such
  as MySpace and virtual environments such as
  Second Life

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Computers and Community Discussion Questions

• How convincing is the argument that electronic
  commerce threatens small (brick and mortar)
  community businesses and thus the health of small
  communities?
• Do you think that communicating by text messaging
  and via social-networking sites depersonalizes or
  dehumanizes your relationships with friends?

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The "Digital Divide"

• Trends in Computer Access
• New technologies only available to the wealthy
• The time it takes for new technology to make its
  way into common use is decreasing
• Cost is not the only factor ease of use plays a
  role
• Entrepreneurs provide low cost options for people
  who cannot otherwise afford something
• Government funds technology in schools
• As technology becomes more prevalent, the issues
  shift from the haves and have-nots to level of
  service

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The "Digital Divide" (cont.)

• The Global Divide and the Next Billion Users
• Approximately one billion people worldwide have
  access to the Web approximately five billion do
  not
• Non-profit organizations and huge computer
  companies are spreading computer access to people
  in developing countries
• Bringing new technology to poor countries is not
  just a matter of money to buy equipment PCs and
  laptops must work in extreme environments
• Some people actively working to shrink the
  digital divide emphasize the need to provide
  access in ways appropriate to the local culture

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Evaluations of the Impact of Computer Technology

• The Neo-Luddite View of Computers, Technology,
  and Human Needs
• Computers cause massive unemployment
• No real need (We use technologies because they
  are there, not because they satisfy real needs)
• Computers cause social inequity
• Benefit big business and the government
• Do little or nothing to solve real problems
• Computers separate humans from nature and destroy
  the environment

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Evaluations of the Impact of Computer Technology
(cont.)

• Accomplishments of Technology
• Prices of food are down and raw materials are
  abundant
• Real buying power is up
• Food supplies and GDP are growing faster than the
  population
• Dramatic impact on life expectancy
• Assistive technologies benefit those with
  disabilities

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Making Decisions About Technology (cont.)

• The Difficulty of Prediction
• Each new technology finds new and unexpected uses
• The history of technology is full of wildly wrong
  predictions
• Weizenbaum argued against developing speech
  recognition technology
• Mistaken expectations of costs and benefits
• Should we decline a technology because of
  potential abuse and ignore the benefits?
• New technologies are often expensive, but costs
  drop as the technology advances and the demand
  increases

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Making Decisions About Technology (cont.)

• Intelligent Machines and Super-intelligent Humans
  - Or the End of the Human Race?
• Technological Singularity - point at which
  artificial intelligence or some combined
  human-machine intelligence advances so far that
  we cannot comprehend what lies on the other side
• We cannot prepare for aftermath, but prepare for
  more gradual developments
• Select a decision making process most likely to
  produce what people want

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Making Decisions About TechnologyDiscussion
Questions

• If you could decide what technologies should be
  developed, what would you develop? Why?
• Does the prospect of super-intelligent robots
  scare you?