report

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ENCS
 393
 Fall
 2013
 
Final
 Project:
 Critical
 Technology
 Assessment
 

 
This
 is
 project
 involves
 a
 presentation
 (done
 in
 pairs),
 giving
 feedback
 to
 your
 peers
 
about
 their
 presentation
 (done
 in
 pairs),
 and
 writing
 a
 report
 (done
 individually).
 

 
Preliminaries
 
1. With
 your
 partner,
 you
 will
 identify
 a
 new
 or
 emerging
 technology,
 service,
 or
 

technical
 method
 that
 interests
 you
 and
 that
 you
 feel
 will
 have
 significant
 social
 and
 
ethical
 impacts.
 
 
 See
 notes
 in
 class
 about
 how
 to
 pick
 a
 good
 topic.
 

2. Think
 about
 who
 will
 be
 affected
 by
 this
 technology
 and
 how.
 
 Think
 about
 who
 is
 
advocating
 for
 or
 against
 this
 technology.
 
 Utilize
 the
 three
 main
 concepts
 about
 the
 
technology-­‐society
 relationship
 that
 we
 have
 learned:
 technological
 determinism,
 
socio-­‐technical
 systems,
 and
 politics
 of
 technology.
 
 
 

3. Consider
 (first
 alone,
 and
 then
 with
 your
 partner)
 what
 value(s)
 is/are
 at
 stake
 here
 
related
 to
 your
 technology,
 and
 how
 is
 it/are
 they
 compromised.
 
 We
 can
 define
 the
 
term
 ‘values’
 in
 this
 case
 to
 mean
 “things
 that
 people
 care
 about.”
 
 We
 will
 discuss
 
many
 values
 throughout
 the
 class.
 
 But
 here
 are
 some
 to
 get
 you
 thinking:
 
friendship,
 intimacy,
 vulnerability,
 imperfection,
 health,
 education,
 privacy,
 security,
 
accessibility,
 convenience,
 creativity,
 democracy,
 environmental
 protection,
 
economic
 gain,
 social
 order.
 
 This
 is
 by
 no
 means
 a
 comprehensive
 list.
 

4. Devise
 a
 definition
 for
 the
 key
 relevant
 values
 you
 identified
 as
 they
 relate
 to
 the
 
technology.
 

5. Articulate
 the
 trade-­‐offs
 in
 values
 and
 how
 ethical
 frameworks
 would
 judge
 these
 
trade-­‐offs.
 

 
Oral
 Presentation
 (10%
 of
 total
 grade)
 
 
Presentation
 
With
 your
 partner,
 you
 will
 present
 an
 8-­‐10
 minute
 case
 study
 to
 the
 class,
 including
 the
 
following
 material:
 
 
1. A
 very
 brief
 introduction
 to
 the
 technology
 (What
 is
 it?
 
 How
 does
 it
 work?)
 
2. Social
 meaning
 scenarios
 
 (Who
 may
 likely
 benefit
 or
 be
 harmed
 by
 it?
 How?
 Who
 is
 

taking
 a
 stance,
 advocating
 a
 position,
 and
 influencing
 the
 development
 of
 the
 
technology?
 Think
 about
 multiple
 scenarios
 and
 about
 technology-­‐society
 concepts.)
 
 

3. Ethical
 meaning
 of
 the
 technology
 (What
 values
 and
 rights
 does
 it
 enhance
 and
 
endanger?
 
 How
 do
 the
 different
 ethical
 frameworks
 judge
 these
 value
 trade-­‐offs?
 
 
See
 3-­‐5
 above.)
 
 

 
You
 are
 free
 to
 decide
 how
 you
 will
 present
 this
 material.
 The
 only
 constraints
 (beyond
 
those
 of
 good
 common
 sense)
 is
 that
 all
 members
 must
 speak,
 and
 that
 the
 
presentation
 fall
 within
 the
 8-­‐10
 minute
 time
 frame.
 

 

You
 will
 lead
 the
 class
 in
 a
 short
 (5
 minute)
 discussion
 after
 your
 presentation.
 
 You
 must
 
have
 some
 questions
 prepared
 for
 the
 class
 to
 help
 in
 this
 task.
 
 You
 must
 make
 note
 of
 
the
 topics
 and
 reactions
 that
 emerge
 in
 the
 discussion.
 
 
 

 
Feedback
 (5%
 of
 your
 grade)
 
In
 order
 to
 give
 good
 feedback,
 ask
 yourselves:
 
How
 well
 did
 the
 team
 address
 the
 three
 points
 above?
 
 
Was
 the
 presentation
 well
 structured?
 
Were
 the
 team’s
 arguments
 clearly
 stated?
 
 
Were
 the
 arguments
 well
 supported
 and
 convincing?
 
 Why
 or
 why
 not?
 
Did
 the
 team
 seem
 prepared?
 
How
 could
 the
 team
 improve
 their
 presentation
 style
 (organization,
 speed
 and
 pace,
 eye
 
contact,
 posture,
 etc)?
 

 
The
 team
 giving
 feedback
 will
 submit
 100
 to
 250
 words
 of
 pointed
 feedback
 that
 will
 
make
 the
 presenters
 better
 thinkers
 and
 speakers.
 
 You
 will
 also
 give
 a
 letter
 grade
 (with
 
plus/minus
 if
 appropriate).
 
 Remember,
 the
 goal
 of
 giving
 constructive
 criticism
 is
 to
 
make
 the
 person
 you
 are
 criticizing
 better
 at
 a
 given
 task
 and
 NOT
 to
 make
 them
 feel
 
bad.
 
 Don’t
 make
 it
 personal.
 
 You
 will
 submit
 a
 letter
 grade
 and
 100
 to
 250
 words
 of
 
written
 feedback
 by
 5:45
 pm
 on
 the
 Wednesday
 after
 the
 presentation
 that
 you
 
critiqued.
 
 You
 will
 email
 this
 directly
 to
 the
 two
 students
 whose
 presentation
 you
 
graded
 and
 copy
 the
 email
 to
 me
 and
 the
 grader
 (sargent.dylan@gmail.com).
 

 
The
 5%
 of
 your
 grade
 for
 feedback
 will
 be
 broken
 down
 as
 follows:
 
2.5%
 based
 on
 letter
 grade
 you
 receive
 from
 your
 peers
 
2.5%
 based
 on
 how
 well
 you
 give
 feedback
 on
 someone
 else’s
 presentation
 

 
Written
 Report
 (15%
 of
 total
 grade)
 
 
In
 an
 extended
 essay,
 you
 will
 introduce
 and
 examine
 the
 social
 and
 ethical
 impacts
 of
 
your
 technology
 (what
 you
 did
 in
 the
 presentation).
 
 You
 will
 then
 propose
 a
 re-­‐
conceptualization
 of
 the
 object
 of
 study,
 bringing
 it
 into
 compliance
 with
 ethical
 
practice,
 reduce
 or
 remove
 the
 ethical
 and
 social
 harm.
 
 You
 may
 organize
 the
 paper
 as
 
you
 wish.
 
 But
 it
 must
 include
 the
 three
 points
 in
 the
 oral
 presentation
 and
 a
 substantial
 
discussion
 of
 how
 you
 are
 re-­‐conceptualizing
 the
 technology.
 

 
When
 discussion
 the
 three
 main
 points
 covered
 in
 the
 presentation,
 you
 must
 
incorporate
 the
 relevant
 ideas
 that
 came
 up
 in
 the
 discussion
 you
 led
 after
 your
 
presentation,
 and
 the
 feedback
 that
 you
 received
 from
 your
 peers.
 

 
You
 must
 engage
 with
 concepts
 from
 the
 class.
 
 When
 describing
 real
 or
 potential
 social
 
harm
 or
 danger,
 utilize
 conceptions
 of
 the
 technology-­‐society
 relationship
 discussed
 in
 
the
 class
 (e.g.
 technological
 determinism,
 sociotechnical
 systems
 and
 politics
 of
 
technology).
 
 When
 discussing
 social
 and
 ethical
 dilemmas,
 focus
 on
 trade-­‐offs
 between
 
values
 (e.g.
 privacy
 vs.
 security
 or
 convenience)
 and
 discuss
 how
 the
 different
 ethical
 

frameworks
 we’ve
 discussed
 in
 class
 provide
 guidance
 on
 how
 to
 navigate
 these
 trade-­‐
offs
 (see
 week
 4
 notes
 and
 reading).
 

 
Discuss
 where
 and
 how
 you
 and
 your
 partner
 disagreed
 on
 any
 value
 trade-­‐offs.
 
 Or,
 if
 
you
 were
 largely
 in
 agreement,
 discuss
 the
 process
 of
 how
 you
 came
 to
 that
 agreement.
 
 
 

 
Be
 sure
 that
 you
 pay
 significant
 attention
 to
 how
 you
 propose
 to
 resolve
 the
 ethical
 
dilemmas
 and
 social
 harm
 proposed
 by
 your
 case
 study.
 
 Think
 about
 the
 various
 actors
 
involved
 and
 what
 they
 could
 do
 differently
 to
 resolve
 the
 social
 and
 ethical
 dilemmas.
 
 
These
 include
 but
 are
 not
 limited
 to
 the
 following:
 governments,
 corporations,
 
users/consumers,
 consumer
 advocacy
 groups
 and
 other
 advocacy
 groups,
 CS/IT
 
students,
 CS/IT
 professors
 and
 teachers,
 and
 CS/IT
 professionals
 and
 professional
 
associations.
 
 You
 do
 not
 have
 to
 discuss
 all
 these
 groups,
 but
 be
 sure
 to
 address
 the
 
role
 of
 CS/IT
 professionals
 at
 some
 point.
 
 Potential
 resolutions
 could
 involve:
 changes
 
to
 the
 technological
 design,
 new
 regulations
 or
 other
 government
 policies,
 changes
 in
 
corporate
 practice
 or
 professional
 practice,
 changes
 in
 consumer
 behavior,
 new
 
educational
 initiatives
 and
 so
 on.
 
 Be
 creative,
 but
 be
 realistic.
 
 
 

 
You
 should
 discuss
 multiple
 solutions
 and
 analyze
 them
 in
 terms
 ethical
 frameworks
 and
 
value
 trade-­‐offs.
 
 Using
 this
 analysis,
 make
 an
 argument
 about
 which
 solution
 should
 be
 
adopted.
 
 Discuss
 barriers
 to
 your
 potential
 solution.
 

 
Bibliographic
 research
 and
 references
 may
 include
 published
 reports
 about
 the
 harm
 
posed
 by
 the
 technology,
 the
 ensuing
 ethical
 dilemma,
 attempts
 to
 remediate
 the
 
harms,
 relevant
 case
 studies,
 or
 promising
 solutions
 in
 other
 domains.
 

 
The
 paper
 will
 be
 1500
 words
 in
 length.
 
 The
 expectation
 is
 that
 you
 will
 produce
 a
 
technically-­‐formatted
 document,
 using
 a
 formal
 form
 and
 the
 APA
 citation
 style
 guide.
 
 
An
 introduction,
 discussion
 sections,
 and
 conclusion
 are
 expected.
 
 
 

 
Remember
 to
 write
 the
 statement
 of
 academic
 integrity
 on
 the
 first
 page
 (see
 the
 
syllabus)
 and
 sign
 it.
 
 These
 words
 do
 not
 count
 towards
 your
 1500
 word
 limit,
 nor
 do
 
any
 words
 used
 in
 your
 works
 cited
 (bibliography)
 page.
 

 
Papers
 will
 be
 graded
 for
 insight,
 completeness
 and
 form.
 
 The
 grading
 rubric
 posted
 on
 
Moodle
 will
 serve
 as
 a
 general
 guide
 for
 evaluation.
 

 
Papers
 will
 be
 submitted
 in
 hardcopy
 in
 class
 on
 Monday,
 December
 2nd.
 
 You
 are
 free
 
to
 submit
 your
 project
 earlier
 than
 this
 date,
 but
 December
 2nd
 
 is
 the
 last
 day
 to
 submit
 
the
 project.