alyssasethics-blog

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Week 12

We have talked quite a lot about surveillance in this course in different contexts. For this our last blog post, I would ask you to think about whether this course has changed your mind about surveillance, or changed your views with regard to any aspects of it. Are you more or less concerned about the problems of digital surveillance as a result of taking this course?

This course has helped me to realize that there is more than one way to look at surveillance espeically in the aspects of what is considered technology. I wouldnt say I’m any more or less concerned with the problems relating to surviellance but I am definitely more aware of the existence of surveillance in my daily life. I would have loved to see a slightly more inclusive look at surveillance in relation to things like: the entire gender spectrum as the LGBTQIA community deals immensely with this topic in daily life. I did enjoy being able to discuss the topics with my fellow classmates and felt they were all very open to talking further about the topics. The quizes we were given each week were also very fair and helped me to feel more prepared for the midterm exam. I did like looking at surviellance and technology in relation to feminist movements as this was not something I have done before. Thank you for making this online class so enjoyable!

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Week 11

What was the most important learning experience for you personally in this week's discussion?

https://myamericanmeltingpot.com/2018/02/26/colorism-in-the-mixed-race-family/ 

This week was a very interesting one for me in the class, as I come from a very different background than most. I have five different ethnic backgrounds in my family: Bolivian (Indigenous), Dominican, Italian, Romanian, and Polish/Jewish. Each of them have been misrepresented, racially abused, or disenfranchised in their own way but all still very different. I have grown up seeing members of my own family speak ill of backgrounds in my own blood. I have also seen my fair share of cultural influence on how technology was used and accepted. Since I was young I’ve found it almost impossible to find a hair stylist, or products to help with my hair texture. I’ve had the issue of almost every camera (both digital and film) turning me orange/yellow before being properly adjusted. However, with all the annoyances and injustices I may have seen I am not a dark skinned man or woman. I am not clearly asian, or black, or white, therefore I cannot speak to the struggles of these backgrounds. This I think is my biggest learning experience for this week. I sometimes forget that although I may experience my own versions of racism, sexism and colorism I need to be more mindful of my “passing” privilege when it come to racism and technology. While it may be an annoyance to me to not be seen as who I really am, or to be constantly misrepresented, there are many who have no other option as far as being seen. And 99% of the time the option they are given is a negative representation. 

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Week 10

Have you experienced the digital divide in your own life? How important do you think digital inclusion is to a person's life chances in contemporary society?

When I was just a freshman college student my life was very different than it is now. I was trying to start a college career while also working full time and trying to manage as an independent person paying my own rent and bills as well. At 18 years old this is no easy task, making other areas of my life suffer. I did not own a computer and did not have reliable internet access. However this was also around the same time that the iPhone 4 had been released and iPhone culture was starting to grow. I was upset that I was not wealthy enough to own a computer or afford the text books I needed so badly for my studies. I was slowly finding my lack of digital inclusion was creating a divide between me and my future. That is when I finally decided on my purchase of an iPhone 4. I immediately found it to be a cheaper way for me to have access to many of the things I needed. I could check my email for school, take notes and write papers, access copies of scanned text book pages I gained from the library and more. All from my phone. If I had not had this access to the digital realm I would have been extremely divided from the world and most likely would have dropped out due to my lack of ability to both do homework and keep up to date on various topics. 

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Week 9

Is it fair to say that, when it comes to thinking about its effects on gender equality, technology today is both part of the problem and part of the solution? Give an example to help support what you say!

I believe that this is a fair statement to make in regards to gender equality and technology today. In many ways technology helps to create a larger network for women to work together and stay safe. But other types of technology only exploit and make things more difficult and unsafe for women. I think this is largely in part that we constantly still look at women as the “victim” and men as the “oppressor” in these scenarios. Rather than looking at how we can stop the oppressor, we focus on how to make the victim less vulnerable. This way of thinking does nothing to stop the chain of abuse but only makes the “victim” seemingly more responsible or at fault for the actions that surrounds them. This type of thinking can clearly be seen when looking at rape cases in the United States. We constantly tell women to check their drinks at bars to make sure there are not drugged, instead of trying to teach and stop men from drugging and abusing women. I understand one is a much easier tactic to follow while the latter requires a whole new upbringing of America’s youth, but it is still an important message to bring up.

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Week 8

Elliot points out that it 'feels easier to use technology to change the individual than to fix the social problems' (p. 373). Examples he gives are the use of stimulants to cope with the problem nowadays of having 'soul-deadening jobs', and racial minorities getting plastic surgery in order to 'correct' ethnic features. Do these examples suggest that we should be very wary of using enhancement technology to fix problems that have social roots?

Yes I do agree with the above statement for the most part. We see so many “enhancements” for what current society believes to be the core “norm.” We have skin bleach, hair relaxer, and even eyelid tape in order to get most of the world to look like what is believed to be the “best race” (i.e. caucasian.) These are all extremely problematic as we stop recognizing and appreciating the differences we have in the world and how beautiful they can be. We should be weary of any technology that does not truly create a technological enhancement but only a cosmetic one. Focusing too much on the physical and superficial level of life can create an atmosphere for toxic technology. 

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Week 6

Both Feenberg and Fuchs say that the new possibilities of the web might promote new forms of democracy, either by changing the 'overall competitive character of society (Fuchs, p. 107) or by allowing the organization and expression of 'participant interests' (Feenberg p. 15). But at the same time, many people worry today about the internet's capacity to spread lies and misinformation, see for example: nytimes misinformation and npr internet misinformation. Are you optimistic or pessimistic (or a mix of both!) about the internet as a positive force for change in our society? Explain why!

I feel very strongly in both directions about this topic. I really do love how the internet has done such an amazing job of making all information and platforms accessible to all who wish to view it. However, I don’t love the misinformation being spread around to those who do not know better. When the leaders of government say that there is “fake news” being spread, but lying about what exactly is fake and is truth, you create a confused and vulnerable political climate. While the internet tends to help people of opposite mindsets than me gain more insight creating a tougher climate for change for democratic beliefs, I cannot say it is a bad thing. To get upset that there is an equal playing field only breeds hate for equity and equality of mankind. 

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Week 5

Feenberg argues that democratic participation in the design of technology is very important for bringing in new and under-represented social interests. Do you think Feenberg is right to believe that this might lead to significant transformations of technology?

I think that this is only partially true as a democratic set up paves the way to help make sure the the main goals and views of all people are taken care of and represented. Democracies usually don’t do well with helping foster a better environment for the under-represented. We can see this with the current political climate today. More radical democrats (being called socialists) are trying to push for increased interest in the under represented and get a lot of backlash for it.

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Week 4

Faulkner says that the campaign to increase the number of women in technology will not do much without a plan to transform technology 'into a practice that is more democratic and respectful of diversity, with products that are safer, friendlier, and more useful' (p.234). How would you like to see technology transformed, both in terms of how it is designed, and also in terms of what kind of products get made?

I think it is very important for young women to visibly see women in roles of technology in advertising, textbooks and media such as movies and TV shows. Toys should not be so gendered and material in nature as they are for young girls. Instead of giving us fake jewelry, dresses and babies to play with we should have toy computers and play businesses. Here is a link to a brand called Wonder Workshop. Their main goal is to help bring coding to children of all ages and genders. They help bring coding to schools, create coding competitions and make fun games for children as young as 6 to play with and learn. The best part? When you click on the link above is there anything you notice? The entire first page is exclusively images of girls both younger and older. It not pink, its not “girls only” nor does it say anywhere anything about campaigning to women. It just is. As you go through the rest of the site you will see a mix of both women and men but the importance of the very first page being only women helps to make girls feel more inclined and included to continue browsing. I find it to be a very important message. 

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Week 3

In your blog post this week, you might want to think about the four objections to Actor Network Theory that Sismondo lists (p. 292-295). Which of these objections do you think is the most serious or most important, and why?

Sismondo has a lot of interesting points to his writing but the one I agree on most has to be #2 the problems of agency. I think it is one thing for a robot or automatic machine to perform the actions of humans but it's another to say they understand why they're doing the action. It is truly how the automatic items work, for if they understood what they were doing it would drive them crazy. This is the sole reason why we do not have artificial intelligence that matches the human brain. This reminds me of a scene from the show Silicon Valley where one of the characters gets stuck on an island of all "automatic people". Because they have no sense of what they're doing or why or even what is going on around them, the character cannot seek any help and awaits a "real person" to come help him.

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Week 2

In the discussion of Heidegger and Borgmann this week, we noted that their thinking can be described as a form of 'technological determinism' or 'essentialism'. Feenberg is very critical of this idea, and suggests Heidegger and Borgmann fail to reflect on its problems.

Do you think it's helpful to think about an 'essence' of technology, or do you agree with Feenberg that how technology works depends on what a society does with it and how it integrates it with other things? Use an example or two to support what you say!

I do think its helpful to think about the essence of technology specifically HOW it works depending on what society does with it and integrating with other things. In the easy example of dinner at the kitchen table, I think the core “essence” would be the true sharing of the meal. It doesn’t matter where the food comes from as long as its being shared together. With my own family the process of cooking the meal together is just as important as sharing it. When speaking about this with my boyfriend who did not grow up with a family that cooked, enjoyed his time eating fast food meals or precooked items, still with family creating a bonding experience. 

[alyssasethics-blog]

Week 1

The quote “This reduction of nature to what is calculable has, as is plain to see, proven to be extraordinarily successful. It has brought us the most astounding discoveries, and placed in our hands the greatest means of power – although at the cost of an impoverishment that is hard to estimate..” really stuck with me. I’m not sure I find that the reduction of nature to just be the things that are calculable to be a good thing. To reduce nature to only tangible things inhibits ones abilities to perceive what potential the world holds. It inhibits our options of discovery and knowledge. The human experience can be removed from natures as so much of it is unknown. Emotions and many responses to outside stimuli are so far unknown at the moment it would feel wrong to say it is not “nature” just because it is currently incalculable. 

I also enjoyed the concept of origin in the word technique as the word “textile.” To think of technique as a mode of weaving together different things to create one final end result is interesting. Having a refined technique to the way you complete a task helps to create a polished result. 

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Alyssa, nursing student from New York! Let’s see where this class takes us!