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A Gift of Fire Third edition Sara Baase

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Third edition Sara Baase Chapter 7: Evaluating and Controlling Technology Slides prepared by Cyndi Chie and Sarah Frye What We Will Cover Information, Knowledge, and ... – PowerPoint PPT presentation

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Title: A Gift of Fire Third edition Sara Baase


1
A Gift of FireThird editionSara Baase
  • Chapter 7 Evaluating and Controlling Technology

2
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

3
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

4
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

5
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

6
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

7
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

8
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?

9
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

10
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?

11
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

12
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

13
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?

14
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

15
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

16
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

17
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

18
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

19
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

20
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?
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