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Blog Post #11

Q1. What kind of social media platform are you creating? 

Music sharing platform – users will post/share what they listen to or their favorite songs/artists

       o Users can choose to share their top 100 played songs, favorite artists/songs, personally created playlists, and the associated feedback/comments to them

       o Can also introduce a live feed so users can see what you listen to in real-time (whatever is playing on your phone etc. [able to turn off feature])

Q2. What will you measure?

I will measure what music each listener focuses on to create a listener profile based on, genre, sub-genre, decade, content, beats per minute, and mood

Q3. How will you weigh these factors? 

 I will weigh the following categories from most important to least: 

     1.     Genre

     2.     Sub-genre

     3.     Mood

     4.     Content (message of the lyrics)

     5.     Decade

     6.     Beats per min

Q4. What factors will not be measured?

Not weighted: All personal characteristics to the user – this platform prides itself on user privacy

         o During account set up, it will not even require gender, age, location, or other possibly discriminatory demographic questions

         o Only the essentials:

                  1.     Over 13 years old  “yes or no?”

                  2.     Email

                  3.     Password

                  4.     Language

Q5. How will the model learn or adapt to new information? 

The model will adapt and learn by suggesting music based off preferences as well as similar users suggested to become online friends

         o Each time you play a song, it keeps a record and will suggest new music based off preferences

         o Each time you dislike a song it will ask why

                         o Dislike the artist, melody, speed, content of lyrics, or other?

Q6. What biases are built into the model? How does this affect the algorithm’s outcome? 

This platform will hopefully be created with almost no innate bias programmed into the software

         o The algorithm will be limited initially to US trending music but eventually can be updated to encompass a global population once the app has greater popularity

        o Bias of age will affect what type of music is suggested due to popular music of that time

Q7. How will the model live out the ethical practices we have discussed? 

This model can live out ethical practices as there is no biases of the algorithm specifically on race, gender, socioeconomic background, or any other defining demographic descriptor. 

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Blog Post #10

Q1. How did the events of 9/11 lead to further government surveillance?  

           After the events of 9/11, congress passed the Patriot act which was legislation aimed at increasing surveillance in order to better protect Americans from terrorism. Parenti explains that this act only legalized the previously used tactics of wiretapping, search warrants, subpoenas, and pen/trap orders for any persons suspected or accused of terrorism. Following these changes, agents were allowed to unknowingly videotape suspects, record phone calls, and analyze personal emails even without the consent and knowledge of individuals. This government surveillance further perpetuated the racist and xenophobic biases that target middle eastern and other racial minorities disproportionately. The act also aimed to create a single server for all web traffic, which would allow easier surveillance and collecting of data from certain groups or based on content viewed.

Q2. How can surveillance of social media platforms protect or hurt the general population?

           In Power’s article, “How your Twitter account could land you in jail,” he begins by detailing the arrests and surveillance associated with the two men charged with coordinating the 2009 G20 protests. The author reports the two were arrested for distributing information over Twitter regarding organizing protests, alerting of summit scheduling, and warning of possible police interference. Reportedly the protests were still successful with the least number of arrests as compared to similar summits at different locations. This sparked a major issue as the defendants claimed they were practicing their protected 1st amendment right to free speech, but were charged with attempts to coordinate a riot, as well as other minor charges such as possession of an object with intent to harm and hindering apprehension to protestors. This is an example of how our government can surveil and target specific people and groups only attempting to voice their legally protected opinions.

Q3. What public and private security issues were created at home following 9/11?

            The events of 9/11 initiated many major changes within America, including legislative advancements such as the Patriot Act. This act legalized further government surveillance of personal information in order to better prepare for future terrorist attacks. This act also allowed for investigators to monitor all forms of communication including phone calls, emails, or internet searches through wiretapping or other monitoring. The new legislation initiated new personal security issues at home by invading personal privacy and legalizing recording without consent. This law also classified terrorists as anyone who violated the law with intent to harm themselves or others in order to promote an agenda or educate on a civil policy issues, which further categorized protestors as domestic terrorists for breaking any laws. Another major issue was allowing prosecutors to pick and choose the judge they wished to assess the plea for a warrant, introducing personal bias (racist/xenophobic beliefs) to the process.

Q4. How do algorithms play a role specifically in targeting populations after 9/11?

           Like we’ve discussed in many other weeks, algorithms have just intentions, but are innately biased and can cause serious negative outcomes. Algorithms created to categorize individuals based on racial, social, or other identifying backgrounds are generally corrupted by the constructs formed by society. Algorithms overgeneralize people to fit predisposed stereotypes there were social constructs believed by the programmers, which is a major component to perpetuating institutionalized discrimination. After 9/11, all searches and interaction with Islamic pages or content, traveling from the middle east, or even appearing to be from a certain ethnic background were reason to excessively surveil and control those populations. These algorithms negatively affect these minority populations because they are predisposed to, and inherently do not investigate traditionally conservative agendas.

References:

Parenti, C. (2003). Fear as Institution: 9/11 and surveillance triumphant, In The Soft Cage: Surveillance in America from slavery to the War on Terror. BasicBooks.

Power, M. (2010, March 11). How your twitter account could land you in jail. Mother Jones: Crime and Justice. Retrieved November 11, 2021, fromwww.motherjones.com/politics/2010/03/police-twitter-riots-social-media-activists.

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Blog Post #9

Q1. How does Black Twitter create a space for African-Americans to virtually protest prejudice in mainstream media?

          Twitter allows people from around the world to socially interact, share ideas, and create personal relationships with others on common interests that may not be possible in real life. The subculture of Black Twitter is a population on twitter representing African-Americans and allows them to share culturally specific content and address personally relevant issues. As we’ve discussed in previous weeks, social media and online interaction allows for ideas to spread more quickly and allows for more efficient organization of advocacy or protest. Having a culturally specific subset on social media allows people dealing with similar issues to communicate and support each other. Some minorities experiencing discrimination may feel like an outcast and misunderstood if they are not well connected, but with this established support system, Black Twitter lets people organize and advocate for equity.

Q2. How has the internet allowed for more efficient activism?

           The creation of the internet has allowed groups to more actively collaborate, share ideas, organize, and develop actionable changes that was previously not possible unless in-person physically. Vegh attempts to classify all forms of online activism within 3 unique categories: Awareness/advocacy, Organization/mobilization, and action/reaction. The author explains that solely advocating and spreading awareness of social issues allows for more individuals to be informed and can support further representation for a cause. They use examples of having culturally specific news outlets thar are actually foreign in nature to provide uncensored information to countries such as China or Burma to spread awareness globally to hopefully insight change. The organization/mobilization stage allows for users from any background to congregate to enact change. Commonly online email campaign, coordinating physical-offline action, or coordinating online movements such as spam or hacking tactics. The internet allows for all of these tactics to occur more efficiently and allows for the natural spread of ideas in a safe way. Finally, the action/reaction category refers to feasible action done online such as hacking attempts to control biased sites or cause logistical issues to weaken a corporation of government.

Q3. How did racism toward African Americans and other racial minorities become ingrained and institutionalized in America?

         According to Lee, the construction of the black body as a criminal was the contributing force that preluded many other forms of institutionalized and  systemic racism. Obviously, issues began with the slave trade of Africans who were captured and brought around the world unwilfully in order to benefit White men. The concept that the black body was something to be controlled was a crucial source of power and control enacted on slaves in order to maintain power over them. Since its exposition here in the US, the Black body was seen as something to be vigilant over and to control, requiring “patrollers” to watch out for run-away slaves. This has continued to be pertinent in law enforcement as certain racially profiled areas are considered “bad areas” solely due to their high percentage of minorities destined to be stuck there, as they would never be accepted, financed, or capable to live in White dominated areas (Lee). Police “patrolled and surveilled” these racially dominated areas as the Black body was destined for criminal activity. This combined with pervasive anti-black racism such as blackface, and institutionalized racist thought, allowed for the naturalization of race and the operant violence against Black bodies.

Q4. Why in Wilson and Dunn’s case study, were Facebook and Twitter less important than other forms of media?

         According to Fuchs review of various online movements, the internet is responsible for the organization of social movements and allows for an easier spread of ideas, but how does it relate to actual change. Many movements while gaining popularity online, do not actually advanced their goal other than spreading awareness and sympathy from supporters. Wilson and Dunn’s case study on the Tahrir Data project surveyed Egyptians on their perception of which form of media was most important for the spread of information and support for protects. Most commonly people relied on face-to-face communication primarily, followed by television broadcast and phone calls, and much lesser extent for Facebook and Twitter. So why is this true? Many people relied on physical or reputable sources to gather information on the movement, where social media was more of a place to share feeling concerning the protest, rather than a place to organize. Would this still be true today, 10 years later, when considering the role twitter played in the organization of BLM protests this past year?

References:

Fuchs, C. (2018). Communication Power in the Arab Spring and Occupy Movement . In Social Media: A Critical Introduction

Lee, L. (2017). Black twitter: A Response to Bias in Mainstream Media.

Vegh, S. (2013). Classifying Forms of Online Activity . In Cyberactivism: Online Activism in Theory and Practice.

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Blog Post #8

Q1. What is an example of trolling and its negative effects?

            Trolling is the intentional misleading of a population through lies or deceit in order to personally benefit the troll. There are many examples of trolling that are innately harmful, but others that are created for comical gain. One example, explained by Bergstrom, is the profile Grandpa Wiggly from Reddit. This was a supposed 80-year-old man who actively contributed in online circles of Reddit, but in fact was a much younger user impersonating an elder character to tell a story. This fictional persona was not created intentionally to hurt others, but as a joke centering around the common pitfalls of seniors and technology. Many people believed they were receiving advice from a wise older gentleman, but when in reality it was a user perpetuating this persona for personal enjoyment. Trolling can negatively impact others as this lie could have caused harm to others, lead to stress from newly learned false information, and cause perpetuate hateful or even dangerous social behaviors.

Q2. How do hate crimes online disproportionately affect minorities.

          Similarly to physical hate crimes, minority groups are discriminated against so the in group can categorize and compare themselves to a standard, in aims to inflate one’s self-concept. Trolls and online stalkers target and harass certain groups of people, generally women, racial minorities, or other social minorities due to their innate differences from common societal norms. People with dissatisfied lives seek out others to cause harm and gain pleasure from that action. Citron argues that women specifically are more targeted online as many of the advances and attempts could never be made in person, or the ambiguity of an online presence allows the individual to act covertly. Many groups have developed to pursue these vicious attacks to certain groups as there is limited regulation for online harassment and allows the individual to remain anonymous, while intentionally harming and exposing the private lives of others.

Q3. What are some creative ways to combat trolls and trolling? What role do witnesses play?

           Trolling is the action of posting content with the intention of negatively targeting certain groups to spread false information or criticize other’s ideas. Trolling occurs in various ways such as hateful comments, misleading posts, and purposely abrasive behavior online. A mechanism to combat trolls is similar to dealing with a physical bully; the least responsive people become the least likely targets. Many people troll in order to gain pleasure through the misfortunes of others, and by ignoring hateful comments and posts intended to spark controversy, the troller will receive less enjoyment and can choose other avenues to pursue. Limiting responses to trolling posts makes the troller feel unheard, deflates their sense of importance, and can limit future attempts since there was no reaction.  

Q4. How can algorithms prevent trolling?

          Trolling is such a broad topic that many platforms cannot fully control it, much less understand and identify it. Many sites such as twitter or Instagram have developed software to block and mute bot-created accounts, hateful speech, and threatening behavior from certain users, but is there a way to regulate lies posted on their sites. This is an ongoing challenge for many programs with active advancements occurring constantly. User cans finds ways around the regulations, by rephrasing unacceptable content (with numbers or asterisks) and using more symbolic language to perpetuate hateful speech, and by creating multiple fake malicious accounts. In the case of Leslie Jones, platforms were unable to help her and relied on vigilant users to report and patrol for these trolling accounts.

References:

Bergstrom, K. (2011). “Don’t feed the troll”: Shutting down debate about community expectations on Reddit.com. First Monday. https://doi.org/10.5210/fm.v16i8.3498

Citron, D. K. (2014). Introduction. Hate Crimes in Cyberspace, 1–32. https://doi.org/10.4159/harvard.9780674735613.intro

Phillips, W. (2015). Defining terms: The origins and evolution of subcultural trolling. This Is Why We Can't Have Nice Things, 55–87. https://doi.org/10.7551/mitpress/10288.003.0004

Silman, A. (2016). A Timeline of Leslie Jones's Horrific Online Abuse. The Cut. Retrieved October 27, 2021, https://www.thecut.com/2016/08/a-timeline-of-leslie-joness-horrific-online-abuse.html.

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Blog Post #7

Q1. How have women become more involved in the previously male-dominated white supremacy movement?

           Daniels mentions that historically, white supremacy in print media was exclusively dominated by men, but in recent developments, “white women [are suggested to be] the fastest growing part of face-to-face organized racism.” She summarizes Kathleen Blee’s study where women in her sample who recently joined a racist organization identified as “ educated and employed [and] were neither poor before joining the movement nor reared in abusive families.” This breaks away from the stereotype that white women are forced into these roles and showcases them as active participants in online and physical racism. These women further explained their strongest linkage to the white supremacist organization “by meeting people who were already” current members. Once involved in these groups, women more “consciously identify as white” which further perpetuates systemic racial disparities and reinforces the like-minded group mentality.

Q2.  How does Haraway explain the development of cyborgs will benefit the feminist movement?

           Haraway initially defines the cyborg as a mythical creature made of half human and half machine that is programmed to function as an unbiased computing animal. She continues to explain cyborgs can be beneficial to the development of social and racial justice as these unbiased technologies do not perceive the common stereotypical categorizations. Haraway states the concepts of “gender, race, and our class consciousness” is a forced way of thinking controlled by the ��social realities of patriarchy, colonialism, and capitalism,” that have no place in the realm of the cyborg. She also claims our newer dependency and integration of technology makes us all closer than ever to achieving the role of a true feminist cyborg, a satire of absolutes present in technology and human development.

Q3. How has the “dominance of men in software engineering and programming” affected the perception and roles applied to female game characters?

           O’Riordan claims it would be a reductionist approach if only considering a male majority as to why the hypersexualization of women in video games occurs. She explains many games were initially male dominated by consumers and even directionally advertised to the more specific of white males. Programmers commonly employ the “Victorian aesthetic of tiny waists and large breast,” but drastically reduce the fabric and clothing. The portrayal of women from this standpoint over sexualizes them and shifts the gamer’s predispositions towards excluding women from this sphere of technology. As we discussed last week, commonly women are minor characters and only used as needing protection, or for a sexual adventure, and the oversexualization of female characters further forces them to conform to these roles. Although, most companies pursued this tactic for revenue based on consumer preferences, it further excluded women from appropriate representation in creating and enjoying video games.

Q4.  In what avenues are women more commonly involved with online discrimination and white supremacy?

           In the section, Liberal Feminism and White Supremacy Online, Daniels begins explaining how women are less likely to host and contribute in “mixed-sex online discussion groups” compared to men, and only control discussions when women make up the majority of participants and topic relevancy. She further applies this to white women involved in online racism who commonly participate in “discourse of white feminism” including, “liberal feminist rhetoric.” This encompasses women’s rights topics where they compare the separate concepts of race and whiteness with social issues such as access to abortions. One example thread poses the question, should abortion be legal, as “abortion is murder,” then continues to state black women have abortions more frequently than white women, but contradicts herself by stating she personally would prefer an abortion if she “were ever raped by a black guy.” This statement introduces many racist tones and specifically discriminates racial minorities and women by perpetuating antiquated beliefs in comparison to women’s right to healthcare. White women more actively contribute to racism and white supremacy when the matters solely apply to them further promoting negative stereotypes.

References:

Daniels, J. (2009). Gender, White Supremacy, and the Internet. Cyber Racism:   

             White Supremacy Online and the New Attack on Civil Rights. Rowman  

             & Littlefield

Haraway, D. (1991). A Cyborg Manifesto: Science, Technology, and Socialist-

            Feminism in the Late Twentieth Century.

O’Riordan, K. (2006). Gender, Technology, and Visual Cyberculture. Critical     

           Cyberculture Studies. New York University Press.

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Blog Post #6

Q1. How is perceived neutrality perpetuating already present racism online?

           As discussed last week in Nakamura’s Ted Talk, online racism is extremely pertinent and exists in many unconscious avenues. In Senft and Noble’s paper, they discuss many ways racist thought still exists in the shadows such as white supremacist networks or Australians organizing to attack “foreign-looking men on their beaches.” The internet has provided an entirely new set of problems to combat racial stereotypes and prejudice. Now mainly people claim to be “neutral” due to the social implications, however, may still have unconscious biases. Nevertheless, many people who actively endorse racism will describe themselves as neutral and free “from gender, race, socioeconomics, and any sexuality other than heterosexuality.” In a recent study by Marwick, white male programmers were noted to describe race and gender as “ non-issues” to their personal lives and perceived their field of work as neutral from gender and racial norms. This evidence demonstrates the systemic issues of minority representation on the internet and perpetuates the preconceived misconceptions of heterosexual cis white males. The concept of neutrality does nothing to achieve equity on the internet and will only reinforce the already present disparities.

Q2. Why has the developments of the internet made white supremacy and racist thought more dangerous?

           Given the creation of the internet, people from around the world have been allowed to socially interact and form networks. This is an amazing advantage to connect families, share ideas, and even form closer social friends. With the creation of social media and message boards, people were allowed to meet like-minded people and discuss a variety of topics, however this has only provided more access and traction to hate speech. In Daniels chapter, “White Supremacy in the Digital Era,” he explains his three hypotheses on why the internet and social networking has only worsened the social discrimination within this country. He believes it is dangerous due to the ability for “global linkages” and organized populations to perpetuate “harm in real life” to the inflicted individuals that will deteriorate the fight for “racial equity” and “honor of cultural values.” One example of the internet aiding in a hate crime occurred in 1999 when a man opened fire in a Jewish daycare center and attributes his aspiration “from white supremacist websites.”

Q3. What are the potential implications of corporations gathering online personal information?

           With the new dependence of technology and advancements in technological management, many websites or companies will employ algorithms to collect, analyze, and synthesize information based on data trends. However, algorithms are specific and must be programmed with direction and intent to actually perpetuate preconceived stereotypes. Many online companies collect our personal information such as cookies and cache that most internet users are completely unaware of. For example, Benjamin explains that companies like Netflix, google, or other commonly used services do not ask for personal identifying questions such as race or sexuality. They instead rely on algorithms to identify what we watch and compare with the common searches and subscription preferences as other people falling into the same social group. This can personally impact us by discriminating and limiting our own preferences and perpetuate previous racial prejudice in this unchanging paradigm.

Q4. How do unconscious microaggressions further racist thoughts online?

           Microaggressions are minor unconscious, unintentional discrimination towards a marginalized group. An example of a perceived harmless microaggression is a white woman crossing the street to avoid walking past a black man. These actions have no intent of harm to any parties but constantly and persistently remind the marginalized member of their social discrimination. Senft and Noble describe microaggressions as an everyday system of “terror and pleasure” while living as a person of color. They explain mainly personal experiences that usually begin with the phrase “not to be racist” or “no offense” and proclaim a form of unintentional prejudice and discrimination. Another example is the substitution of the word ‘ghetto’ for ‘unpleasant’ which the authors explain have adverse effects due to the persistency of hearing these phrases throughout their lifetime. The internet provides an environment where these ethnocentric cultural competencies are described and showcased only furthering racial disparities.

References:

Benjamin, R. (2020). Race after technology abolitionist tools for the new jim code. Polity.

Daniels, J. (2009). Cyber racism: White supremacy online and the new attack on Civil Rights. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers.

Senft, T. M. & Noble, S. (2013). The Social Media Handbook: Race and Social Media. Routledge.

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Blog Post #5

Q1. How does the romanticization of a “cyborg” affect the thoughts of children regarding gender and race?

      J. Ow explains that the computer game 3D realms depicted a cyborg in who robbed, raped, murdered many innocent Japanese civilians as the main goal of this game. Because a cyborg is a partially artificial being that was created, they cannot entirely be held accountable for their actions. This mindset is what makes this game such a dangerous image to fill people’s head with. In this game the cyborg disproportionally affects women and people of color and was marketed to the average video game player: white males. This only further perpetuates racist thought and reinforces negative treatment of racial and gender minorities.

Q2. How do different games that were created to bring people together affect minorities uniquely?

      Pokémon GO is a game made for all that was designed to increase player’s exercise and allow for multiple people to play together. However, this game caused an issue due to the location of playing the game as the economically privileged could end up in a low-class area. Or vice versa, many minorities just simply on a walk have had police called, hassled and even shot for being in the “wrong neighborhood.” Although this game does not overtly enforce stereotypes, it allows for the engrained and institutionalized racist beliefs from people to come out. On the other spectrum, a more recent video game that reinforces racist stereotypes is all the Grand Theft Auto series. This game focuses on the life of a gang member (racial minority) who commits crimes with fellow gang members, such as stealing cars, robbing, and even assaulting prostitutes (also always pictured as minorities). These video games are so influential to the many people that play them and reinforce unconscious stereotypes that adversely affect minority populations.

Q3. How do different cultures’ perceptions of race affect racial stereotypes?

      In the introduction to Race in Cyberspace, the authors explain that different cultures use different terminology to classify race. For example, the word “black” in the U.S. refers to a person of African descent, while in Britain the same category encompasses a larger group of people of color including Asian and Indian cultures. In South Africa, the term “black” is reserved for people of 100% African ethnicity while any mixture of African and European heritage is termed “colored.” And to add to the variety, in the U.S., ‘colored’ is deemed an outdated and ignorant term similarly to “mulatto” but is accepted in other countries. The inconsistencies of race and racial categorization support the idea that there is no genetic or biological component to race/racism and is solely a social construct.

Q4. How does voice profiling of users contribute to perpetuating racism in the present?

      In the TED talk, 5 Types of Online Racism and Why You Should Care, Dr. Lisa Nakamura explains that auditory profiling is a form of discrimination and over-generalization that unfairly affects cultures that sound ‘different’ than cis white America. She uses the example of Rampage Jackson to provide an example of prejudicial and ignorant behavior that adversely impacted him solely based on his ‘black-sounding’ voice. The next example of the “xxxGayBoyxxx” username is something I have personally experience while playing video games. When people are behind a screen they feel as if what they say does not matter as much as it would in person, however, this form of discrimination is actually representatives of thoughts of a larger group of people. Personally, I have experienced discrimination just for having a ‘higher pitched’ or feminine voice leading to beratement of homophobic slurs.  

References

Fickle, T. (2019). The race card: From gaming technologies to model minorities. New York University Press.

Kolko, B. E., Nakamura, L., & Rodman, G. B. (2000). Race in cyberspace. Routledge.

Ow, J, A. (2003). The Revenge of the Yellowfaced Cyborg Terminator: The Rape of Digital Geishas and the Colonization of Cyber-Coolies in 3D Realms’ Shadow Warrior. New York, Routledge. Print.

TEDxUIllinois. (2011, October 11). 5 types of Online Racism and Why you Should Care | Dr. Lisa Nakamura [Video]. YouTube.

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Blog Post #4

Q.1 Can algorithms ever be truly unbiased, or are they innately biased because they were created from humans?

       Computer science algorithms are biased due to the perceived stereotypes of the world and only further perpetuates those stereotypes, intentionally or unconsciously. It is evident that Google promotes oppressive symbols and literature that disproportionately affects people of color, women, and socioeconomic minorities. In Algorithms of Oppression, Noble presents information regarding internal controversy over the “antidiversity manifesto” which was harsh on the diversity of the company and stating men were superior at computer science to the females. On further investigation into Google, the site had either no filter, or intentional coding choices to discriminate against people of color, women, and especially black women. The site allowed racial slurs as suggested searches and had images of black people under “ape” and “gorillas.” All of these issues combined explains that algorithms, artificial intelligence, or any form of coding will ever be unbiased due to the nature of prejudicial people creating it.

Q2. How can a person’s given name impact the successes and hardships they will face throughout their life?

       In the white-dominated United States, many names heir from European heritage. These names are seen as normal, and names traditionally from African, Islamic, and other foreign cultures are looked down upon as unprofessional, and even to the point of judging a person professional competence based on their name. Ruha Benjamin explains her personal struggle naming her son due to the prejudice and discrimination people face with “black sounding” or “Arabic” names. She explains that this decision of his name will follow him the rest of his life and influence his job opportunities. People with “white-sounding names” receive call back for interviews fifty times more than “black-sounding names.” Names are even stereotyped to the point of racist and xenophobic beliefs, which is still perpetuated in the algorithms and technologies created. In an audit of the government website of California gang members 87% were either black or Latino, however, a significant portion of the names were attached to children of a few years or less with Latin or black sounding names just do to an algorithm, a non-white name, and a zip code.

Q3. How was the internet unintentionally racist since its creation?

       In her work, The Revolution Will Be Digitized: Afrocentricity and the Digital Public Sphere, Anna Everett critiques the ethnocentric formation of the internet and explains why socioeconomic minorities were left behind. In the 1970s when the internet was first invented, it was a white male dominated field and was only accessible to the elite. Like all new technology, it was extremity expensive when it first came out and was only accessible for the rich and the connected. It was not until the 1990s when African American presence on the internet became well known. It was not until 1995, 25 years following the first webpage that Yahoo created an Afrocentric search engine subset with culturally specific information. Since its creation the internet and computers have been elitist and not allowed all social groups to engage and enjoy. Now with technology and distance learning, good products and fast internet connectivity is essential to got to school and eve later in life for many different career choices.

Q4. What is the term intersectionality and how does it relate to racial/gender biases?

       According to Dr. Kimberle Crenshaw, intersectionality is defined as the combination of different social categorizations such as gender, race, socioeconomic status, etc., and how the combination of a person’s intersectionality will affect a specific person. She gives the example that in public schools, black girls are six times more likely to be suspended that white girls, which is an issue of the intersection between race and gender. To analyze this issue, one must investigate with both unique spectrum of views of race and gender to understand how the intersection of these two identity characteristics affect social development.

References:

Benjamin, R. (2020). Introduction. In Race after Technology Abolitionist Tools for the New Jim Code. essay, Polity.

Everett, A. (2002). The Revolution Will Be Digitized: Afrocentricity and the Digital Public Sphere. Social Text, 20(2(71)) pp.125–146. Doi:10.1215/01642472-20-2_71-125.

NAIS. (2018, June 22). Kimberlé Crenshaw: What is Intersectionality? [Video] YouTube.

Noble, S. U. (2018). Algorithms of oppression: How search engines reinforce racism. New York University Press.

TED. (2016, December 7). Kimberlé Crenshaw: The Urgency of Intersectionality. [Video] YouTube.

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Blog Post #3

Q1. How do automated technologies and algorithms target typically marginalized racial, social, and economic minorities?

       Technology and computing has become popular as it can facilitate complex data analysis and comparisons in order to promote more efficient processes. Eubanks begins her work with an anecdote explaining our limited understanding of the models and algorithms that affect our daily lives. However, the three examples explored all disproportionately affect traditionally marginalized groups of low-income communities and ethnic minorities. They collect data from public benefits, when crossing borders, and from health care information. This technology seeks out preconceived stereotypes and over-generalizations which disproportionality affects people of color and socioeconomic minorities.

Q2. How has the development of the internet benefited the feminist movement and formed the new subtype of cyberfeminism?

       Daniels explains that cyberfeminism is not a single movement with one unique goal, but rather a new area for the movement which can pursue a cause in any direction. The development of technology has not directly improved the feminist movement and does not necessarily hinder cis white male hierarchy. But technology does allow for more active global communication which aids women from poorer and more restrictive countries to educate themselves and fight the oppressive and sexist regimes. Although the internet does nothing to change the traditional hierarchy, it also allows for the spread of ideas to be more instantaneous allowing women with more progressive likeminded views to organize together and develop their own personal and social groups.

Q3. How can an algorithm unintentionally perpetuate racial bias?

       Nicole brown explains that algorithms use data analysis to try to predict future data, and that data is innately biased due to the information. For example, she describes the healthcare cost analysis program, Optum, which predicted future costs and consumers of different healthcare departments and specialties. This  analysis identified a trend that black Americans have spent less on healthcare in the past, generally correlating to a lower median income compared to white Americans. However, this program perpetuated this bias into future data hypothesizing even many years in the future black Americans will be projected to earn less and be less active healthcare consumers compared to whites. This is not only unethical by prioritizing patients and procedures by compensation, but over generalizing people based on social groups as well.

Q4. Do the benefits of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies in policing outweigh the costs?

       Utilizing AI and other algorithmic based programs presented great promise to be used in development and betterment of policing. There are many manners AI can be introduced such as ‘risk scores’ which increase police surveillance of nonviolent citizens with no criminal history based solely on data trends (Brown, 2020). Another example is using facial recognition technology that has been shown to disproportionately affect people of color from any background as the standard is based on white males. In 2019, Nijeer Parks was arrested based on facial recognition of a fake ID left at a crime scene which determined he was connected to multiple charges; however, his only crime was being a black man (General & Sarlin, 2021). Facial recognition software is innately biased because it was made to incriminate and control these minority social groups already unjustly profiled by policing. 

References:

Brown, N. (2020, September 18). Race and technology. YouTube.           

       https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d8uiAjigKy8&t=10s.

Daniels, J. (n.d.). pp. 101-1024. In Rethinking Cyberfeminism(s): Race, Gender, 

       and Embodiment (Vol. 37). essay.

Eubanks, V. (2019). Automating inequality: How high-tech tools profile, police, 

       and punish the poor. Picador.

General, J. & Sarlin, J. (2021, April 29). A false facial recognition match sent this 

       innocent black man to jail. CNN. 

       https://www.cnn.com/2021/04/29/tech/nijeer-parks-facial-recognition-

       police-arrest/index.html.

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Blog Post #2

·      How do news outlets perpetuate unconscious bias?

         Gonzalez and Torres explained how the development of media in the U.S. was first to spread new legislative policies by federal law makers and other portions of government. However, the media industry caused a shift in the rules of governing and forced them to be more accountable as seen by everyday citizens. Originally the newspaper, radio, and TV perpetuated “non-white minorities as threats to white society by reinforcing racial ignorance, group hatred, and discriminatory government policies” (Gonzalez & Torres, 2). These stereotypes were presented against all non-white people, specifically African and Native Americans, and were infused into the thought process of average white Americans based on the subjective perceptions from media agencies.

·      How has news media developed over the years and affected the transmission of information to broader groups of people?

            Media and news communication in the United States originally began during the revolutionary war to spread information from government and patriot polices. With the addition of radio, this new technology was able to reach more people who were illiterate and previously unable to read the paper. This change although still only accessible for the wealthy brought political and social information to a larger group of people. The development of TV allowed for visual interpretations of information to again a larger group of people but retained the same unconscious biases due to the limited controlling agencies. Lastly, addressing present modes of communication such as phones, internet, and social media have allowed for the most independence of critical thinking of media information. These new avenues of media allow for amateur journalism to actively spread information that may not be supported by certain government or financial institutions, and therefore are not expressed on other news platforms.

·      In the beginning chapter of What is a Critical Introduction to Social Media, how is sociality different from social media ?

             Fuchs explains that in order to understand social media, one must “engage with the different forms of sociality on the internet in the context of society (6).” He explains that socialization is the network of interactions that is essential for all human survival, and that we are social beings that rely on the interaction between our species for development of social cues, group understanding, and cultural values and norms. Social network is the sharing of media and news in a manner that is similar communicating in a social manner but does not directly require physical social interaction. The formation of networks has allowed for sharing on information from many different parts of the world, without being directly social, and allows for new social categorizations to develop based on common interests.

·      How does the new development of social media affect critical theory?

            Critical theory is the reflective sociology approach at understanding the differences and development of cultural norms and power hierarchy. With the new invention of social media and portable internet capable technology, new avenues of amateur and social journalism have developed. These new developments have brought light to critical theory, specifically critical race theory or other theories that assess and explain the systemic institutionalized disparities between racial, social, and economic minorities. This new understanding, which is shared more efficiently through social media, has allowed for more social advocacy that would have initially been impossible. Activism such as the Black Lives Matter movement gain significant following due to certain videos or group organization that are only possible through social networking.

References:

Fuchs, C. (2014). Social Media: A critical introduction. Sage Publications.

Gonzalez, J., & Torres, J. (2013). News for all the People: The epic story of race and the American media.

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Blog Post #1

A time when technology didn’t live up to the hype was about three years ago when after receiving a text from my mom that my sister was in birth, I headed over to the hospital right after school. Of course, when I needed my navigation to work, it failed me. But every time before that it worked fine and would not glitch or give wrong information, but the day I needed it most it decided to not work. At the time, I was using Apple Maps to navigate to the hospital and was directed through completely stopped traffic on the freeway, even after showing no traffic or accidents on the route. Only to find out that there in fact was a huge accident with over 5 cars involved that happened before even looking up the hospital, which I expected to have been already reported. After being parked on the freeway for over an hour, waiting for the cars to continue moving, everyone was already there visiting the newborn and my sister while I was still waiting to get there. After hearing that and seeing all the pictures being sent to me, I was getting really frustrated because I was like the last one to meet her and I was extremely tired from school. At that point, it was reaching 9 pm, which was close to when visiting hours were over, and I was still stuck in traffic. I was at the point of turning around and just trying again the next day, but I was so close and stuck through it. And finally, after hours of waiting I was able to make it to the hospital before the visiting hours were over to meet my niece for the first time. From that day on, I’ve used Waze, which is another navigating app but a lot more accurate and have not had this issue since.