Social Issues

1
Social Issues

• 7 April 2008

2
Changes

• Schedule changes
• Grading rubric

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Social Issues

• Culture of simulation
• Problems of overuse (Internet addiction)
• Social networks

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Culture of Simulation

• Sherry Turkle, cybershrink
• MIT initiative on technology and self
• Seminal work on people and technology
• 1996 interview reading
• Questions
• What about the Internet has changed since 1996?
• What is a simulation?

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Simulations in Physical Space

• Shopping mall simulation of main street
• Streets of Southpoint!
• Neighborhood developments?
• Sustainable village communities
• Television locations
• Cheers
• and bars that are simulations of the simulation
• Zoos and theme parks Busch Garden, World fairs
• Disneyland Main Street USA
• The reality

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And more specialized

• Military
• Army simulations
• War games, simulations, exercises
• Medical
• Center for Medical Simulations

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Simulations in Cyberspace

• Games
• Training flight simulator
• Medical Virtual human
• Social networks
• Chat rooms
• Multi-player online environments
• Instant messaging
• Why are these simulations?

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Define Simulation
The imitative representation of
functioning of one system
by means of the functioning of another
What variables are important?
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What is good about simulations?

• Safe place to
• Learn
• Experiment
• Opportunity to try things that you couldnt
  otherwise try
• Different places and times
• Expensive facilities
• Danger

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What is bad about simulations?

• False sense of capability
• CPR without real practice
• Flying an airplane in bad weather
• Can spoil the real thing
• Disneyland effect
• Nature videos or zoos
• Travelogs
• The Veldt (Ray Bradbury)
• discussion

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Psychologically Speaking

• Desensitization
• Psychological distancing
• In real life
• War Cold Evil (pilots dilemma)
• Enron?

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Impacts in Cyberspace

• Stalking, teasing,
• Rape in Cyberspace (1998)
• And now crossing into the real world
• Internet hunting
• Click Click you're dead
• Returning to more ordinary examples

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Communications

• How did early man communicate?
• Progression of tools
• What seems more personal? More real?
• Immersive simulations of real life social
  communication
• global classrooms

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How communications has changed

• We build our ideas about what is real and
  what is natural with the cultural materials
  available.
• high school student, 1996
• How would perception of reasonable ways to
  communicate differ over the years
• phone (1930s)
• Internet (1996)
• today

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Simulations in Cyberspace

• With your own persona
• Create communities and societies
• Communication with friends
• Are these really you?
• Do you have different persona?
• In real life?
• In cyberspace?
• Is cyberspace real?

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How humans react to simulations.

• Aibo vs. real dog
• KISMET!

• What does the Uncanny Valley refer to?
• The Undead Zone
• Crossing the valley

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Meeting people online

• Facebook, Myspace, blogs, chats
• Dodgeball.com

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Virtual World Assignment

• Zwinky