CMSC 304
Social and Ethical Issues in Information Technology
Paper #2
Speculative Ethics & Moral Imagination
Upcoming Schedule
Monday 11/18: Our librarian Brianna will return to talk about how to find valid sources for paper #2
Wednesday 11/20: Paper #2 unboxing
Monday 11/25 & Wednesday 11/27: Activity worth -250 points
Wednesday 11/28: Official UMBC holiday
Remaining classes: Writing Studios
- Please attend our last class on 12/9
As you watch, consider how it ties into the topics we've discussed in class
- How is this world different from our own? How is it similar?
- How does the rating system amplify existing societal biases, such as those related to race, class, and privilege?
- What privacy implications arise from an omnipresent rating system? How does it compare to the ways social media tracks and influences behavior today?
- Recall we talked about privacy as necessary for developing a sense of self, and lack of privacy can influence people's choices. Consider this idea: “What happens when the tool itself begins to change the shape of its user?”
- Lacie’s pursuit of a higher rating relies on her interactions with “high fours.” How does this reflect the role algorithms play in shaping who has visibility, power, and influence on social media platforms today?
As you watch, consider how it ties into the topics we've discussed in class
- Implications of ubiquitous monitoring: Note how the presence of constant surveillance affects characters’ freedom of expression. Consider this idea: “What happens when the tool itself begins to change the shape of its user?”
- Acts of resistance: Watch how some characters choose to disengage from the system and the consequences of their actions.
- Moments of inauthenticity: Pay attention to how Lacie and others tailor their actions to achieve higher ratings.
- Emotional and psychological impact: Notice how the rating system affects Lacie’s mental health and her sense of self-worth.
- Parallels to contemporary issues: Identify moments in this fictional world that feel eerily similar to our own world. In each world, who has visibility, power, and influence, and how do they get it?
- Visual symbolism: Observe how the pastel aesthetic and cheerful atmosphere/toxic positivity contrast with the underlying social tensions and personal struggles.
Sci-fi + Ethics
- Sci-fi is a great tool for ethics. It can create cognitive estrangement by making viewers see their own world through a distorted lens
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Design fiction: a combination of science, design, and science fiction that visualizes a sociotechnical future
- goal is to start conversations about the societal and ethical dimensions of an imagined, but plausible future
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Extrapolation: begins with some aspect of the present and asks: what might this future look like if this goes on?
- For example, if population growth continues at the present rate, we might expect X in 2070. If the trend toward automation continues, ... If we continue to ignore climate change, ... etc
Black Mirror Discussion
1. The Nosedive rating system relies entirely on crowdsourced feedback rather than algorithmically generated scores. Why might this be significant in terms of privacy, bias, mental health, justice/fairness, social norms, etc.?
2. People's ratings can change rapidly based on even small interactions (that one guy was like "it wasn't a meaningful interaction: 2 stars"). What challenges (ethical and technological) might software developers face when implementing such a dynamic, real-time scoring system for everyone on earth? For example:
- significant figures? why scores out of 5 rather than 10? 20? 50? data storage? hackers? wireless? power outages? what happens when "the machine stops"?
- retinal implants allow characters to access and display ratings in augmented reality, rather than looking on their phone. Why do you think the writers of this episode chose to do this?
3. If this episode were to have a multi-season spin-off, what do you think might happen in seasons 1-4? How would the series end?
Paper #2
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We’ve spent a lot of time talking about the present:
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current technology, current ethical dilemmas
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And also the past
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historical biases poisoning our models, reactive legislation and regulation based on case histories, etc etc.
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But what of the future?
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Imagine technology as a form of life, rather than just a set of technology specifications or capabilities
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In the Black Mirror episode, we saw several kinds of “future technology” (retinal implants and holograms), & some current technology (like electric vehicles, smartphones, social media)
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But what we experienced was a "slice of life", showing how these technologies might become part of human culture, norms, and daily living
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Imagining a technology as a form of life shifts your gaze from a narrow "ideal" use case
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Instead, imagine technology-in-context that might raise unexpected but plausible additional scenarios which can then be the focus of ethical reasoning
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van Grunsven, J., Stone, T., & Marin, L. (2023). Fostering responsible anticipation in engineering ethics education: how a multi-disciplinary enrichment of the responsible innovation framework can help. European Journal of Engineering Education, 49(2), 283–298. https://doi.org/10.1080/03043797.2023.2218275
Course Rhythm
Moral imagination is our capacity to see and to realize in some actual or contemplated experience possibilities for enhancing the quality of experience, both for ourselves and for the communities of which we are a part, both for the present and for future generations, both for our existing practices and institutions as well as for those we can imagine as potentially realizable (Mark Johnson 1993, 209).
https://medium.com/speculative-futures-stockholm/making-up-design-fiction-an-express-method-4bc45358a30a
https://medium.com/speculative-futures-stockholm/making-up-design-fiction-an-express-method-4bc45358a30a
Step 1: Find and characterize some trends
- Identify a present-day technological or computing trend
- Your topic should not be identical to the Black Mirror episode we watched
- You’re free to use the same topic you researched for Paper #1, or from your group Library activity, or feel free to switch it up!
- Research and briefly describe the current state of this trend, its key drivers, and how it affects stakeholders
- You may wish to use news or media sources to curate your trends
- Also use 2-3 different, valid authoritative sources (i.e. not news articles)
https://medium.com/speculative-futures-stockholm/making-up-design-fiction-an-express-method-4bc45358a30a
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/13166132_Possible_futures_preferable_futures
Then extrapolate trends to build a world
- Try to find some Black Swans (rare, unforeseeable major events) or wild cards (low-probability, high-impact events without a strong signal preceding their arrivals)
- Consider cascading effects
https://www.fastcompany.com/90819223/design-fiction-spark-innovation
https://www.mindtools.com/a3w9aym/the-futures-wheel
Step 2: Create a Fictional Artifact, and Describe a Slice of Everyday Life
Choose a specific future technology or technological system that is plausible in your extrapolated scenario. This could be an evolution of current technologies or something novel but credible.
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Create a visual (or physical) artifact that illustrates a future “slice of life” with this technology.
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This artifact should help your audience better understand the technology, its societal context, or the ethical questions it raises, revealing something about how this future is different from today.
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The focus of this exercise isn’t just on the device but on the social context within which this technology is old, integrated, ordinary, ubiquitous, commonplace.
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Please note: you will not be graded on your artistry, so please do not fret if you cannot draw.
Artifacts
Artifact: In design, an artifact refers to any product, object, or visual representation created during the design process to communicate, explore, or test ideas. It can be physical or digital and is typically used to prototype, demonstrate, or visualize concepts, systems, or interactions within a specific context.
Artifacts
Artifacts
Artifacts
Artifacts
Artifacts
Brainstorming Artifacts
Brainstorming Artifacts
Introductory
In a world where _________________,
People ____________________________
The world
The world feels__________________________________
The world lacks___________________________________
The governments have____________________________________
Tech giants are___________________________________
Me
I hope that________________________________
Everyone carries a________________________________
And is obsessed with/And places great value on______________________________
__________________________________________________
Brainstorming Artifacts
Introductory
In a world where resources are rationed by AI-controlled distribution systems
People must prove their productivity to earn basic necessities
The World
The world feels hyper-efficient but emotionally sterile
The world lacks unregulated spaces for genuine human connection
The governments have merged with tech corporations to enforce algorithmic governance
Tech giants are the arbiters of truth, controlling history and communication
Me
I hope that underground movements preserve creativity and autonomy
Everyone carries a device to disrupt surveillance systems
And is obsessed with/And places great value on preserving freedom from digital oversight
Step 3: Raise one ethical question
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Pose a key ethical question your scenario raises (e.g., “Who is excluded from this technology’s benefits, and why?” or “How might this technology affect personal privacy or autonomy?”).
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Use one ethical principle or theory from class to briefly analyze the question (utilitarianism or virtue ethics or deontology).
- End with a reflective sentence or two that answers: What does imagining this future tell us about decisions we face today?