Cultural Implications of Tech
CS 340
SPRING 2015
Where did you hear about North Korea hacking
into Sony because of Sony’s film The Interview?
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A. Phone call / conversation
B. Read about it on Facebook, Twitter
or other social media
C. Read about it in the paper
newspaper or other media
D. Read about it at an online news site
E. Saw it on television
F. This slide…
Where do you get your news?
Where do you get your news?
Ch. 6 “How Computing is Changing Who We Are”
Page 195, Brinkman’s Ethics in a Computing Culture
◦ “Computing is transforming our sense of personal identity,
affecting the meaning and significance of our interpersonal
relationships…
◦ Google and Wikipedia are changing the way we construct
knowledge…
◦ Whether these changes are beneficial or detrimental is the subject
of heated debate.”
Early Networking Methods
Before the semaphore, the fastest information
could travel was by horse.
◦ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HZxTdzsrcIw
◦ Optical networking method
Next came electric-line telegraph service in US,
1840s.
Then, telephone development, 1860s-1870s:
◦ Initial adoption rates
◦ Proliferation after patent expiration in the 1890s.
French, late 1790s
Does technology create new
problems?
Cell phone interruptions. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CXZU_teQjMU
PC Mag’s Five funny cell interruptions
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2398930,00.asp
Is this a *NEW* problem?
Sara Baase’s A Gift of Fire:
Often, technology merely places “old
problems into a new context.”
Example: The landline telephone
◦ 1897 article, about NY Gov. Chauncey
Depew.
◦ “unwanted intrusion,
unwelcome interruption”
◦ Could now be used to describe cell
phone & text messages.
Bullying  Cyber-bullying
Compare and Contrast class discussion
Well known victims:
◦ Phoebe Prince (Jan ’10)
◦ Tyler Clementi (Sept ’10)
Watch Anderson Cooper segment: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bgxNItGmiC4
◦ Sentencing: http://www.cnn.com/2012/05/21/justice/new-jersey-rutgers-sentencing/
See the fact sheet: http://www.stopbullying.gov/image-gallery/what-you-need-to-knowinfographic.pdf
Stalking  Cyber-stalking
Compare and Contrast class discussion
Oversharing to a few  the world
Compare and Contrast class discussion on
http://www.slideshare.net/USArmySocialMedia/social-media-roundupgeotagging-safety
Things to focus on:
◦ Adam Savage twitter example
◦ Wired magazine experiment
◦ Know about geotagging
Distracted driving
Does the Internet introduce new, unique issues and dangers?
◦ What kind of statistics/facts have you heard?
◦ Distracted driving:
vs.
Impact of choices
Thinking about the choice to adopt
new technology in our lives.
Amish Ideals
Principles:
Humility
Modesty
◦ Gelassenheit
Patience
Conformity to goals and community
activity
◦ Ordnung
Other concepts:
◦ No single governing body
◦ Different groups: Old Order, Mennonites,
Brethren
The Amish Viewpoint
on Technology Adoption
Central question: does it bring us together or draw us apart?
◦ Ex. Telephone
◦ Ex. Gas grill
Does this bring us together
or draw us apart?
SKYPE
FACETIME
The set of rules that the Amish follow is
A. Gelassenheit
B. Gesundheit
C. Ordnung
D. Regeln
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Ch. 6 “How Computing is
Changing Who We Are”
Case 6.1: Kratos and Poseidon’s Princess
Jamal is the father of two sons who want to play the game.
The only way to finish a level is to kill the princess.
What would Aristotle say about the kids
playing this game?
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A. Video games are pretend so what is
the big deal?
B. It is wrong to use people as means
to an end.
C. Mimicking violent and evil acts will
not help the boys develop virtuous
habits.
D. It’s okay as long as the boys get their
homework done first.
What would Kant say about the kids
playing this game?
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It’
A. Video games are pretend so what is
the big deal?
B. It is wrong to use people as means
to an end.
C. Mimicking violent and evil acts will
not help the boys develop virtuous
habits.
D. It’s okay as long as the boys get their
homework done first.
Case 6.2 Virtual Two Timing
Mitch and Meghan play an online game.
Meghan is dating mutual friend Erik IRL
In the game there is sweetheart’s day, and Mitch and Meghan’s characters wear banners
proclaiming love for each other.
Opinion: Is Meghan being unfaithful to
Erik with this behavior?
A. Yes
B. No
C. Maybe
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Opinion Question: Is it possible to date/be in a
relationship with someone that you have never met?
A. Yes
B. No
Book section 6.5.3, pp. 216-217
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The Internet and Self
Self concept, p. 198-199
Article for discussion: “Facebook causes envy ‘on unprecedented scale’”
◦ http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/facebook/9820910/Facebook-causes-envy-on-anunprecedented-scale.html
Sociopathic behavior on the Internet
Dissocial personality disorder, definition quote, top of page 196
Types:
◦ Cyberbully: uses the Internet to harass a particular target, often using fake identities or public
Web sites to enable harassment; often chooses targets known in real life
◦ Troll: posts in a public forum or chat room, with the goal of either subverting the conversation
or otherwise provoking an emotional response
◦ Griefer: online version of a spoilsport; enjoys making other players not enjoy online games
Ethics in a Computing Culture
26
Antisocial definition
Ethics in a Computing Culture
27
Social Network & Graph
Terms:
◦Nodes /vertices = Interconnected objects
◦Edges =
links/lines that connect
Theories
Traditional: 6 degrees of separation
◦ ‘67 Prof. Stanley Milgram’s experiment (6.5
steps), page 210
Modern:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/22/tech
nology/between-you-and-me-4-74degrees.html?_r=1&
◦ Note figure
◦ Note between US residents figure
ETHICS IN A COMPUTING CULTURE
28
How the Internet Changes How We Know
Epistemology: study of the nature of knowledge and how we know what we know
Acquired:
◦ Indirect
◦ Direct
Growing role of intentional bias in finding information
Ethics in a Computing Culture
29
6.5.1: Homophily
Homophily: the tendency for people to have close friendships primarily with people
similar to themselves
◦ When searching for information about political issues on the Internet, would you prefer that the
pages be sorted by quality only, or would you like your beliefs taken into account, so that highquality pages that agree with you are shown closer to the top than high-quality pages that
disagree with you?
◦ Would you prefer to see online advertisements that are randomly selected, or would you prefer
to see advertisements for things that your friends like?
Ethics in a Computing Culture
30
6.5.2: Expert fear of Wikipedia
In evaluating the quality of information you use in your academic work, how important is
it to you that the author is an expert in the topic?
◦ For example, would you be more likely to trust a Wikipedia article on U.S. history if the author is
a history professor, instead of an average person? Why or why not?
Crowdsourcing
Wisdom of Crowds
Ethics in a Computing Culture
31
Which term relates to a collective opinion of a large set
of people being as accurate or better than an expect?
A. Homophily
B. Wisdom of the crowd
C. Crowd sourcing
D. Six degrees of separation
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