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Invisible Technologies

Overview

This assignment challenges you to investigate the "invisible" technologies that shape your daily life by combining quantitative data collection with a qualitative, humanistic analysis. You will select one technology that has become so integrated into your routine that you no longer consciously notice its influence. By collecting data on your usage and then applying principles of justice, equity, and use-centered histories, you will uncover the "story behind the numbers" and compose a robust social history of your personal interaction with this technology.

Learning Objectives

Upon completion of this assignment, you will be able to:

Collect and analyze quantitative data on personal technology usage.

Identify and articulate the socio-technical systems embedded within a common technology.

Apply humanistic principles to critically evaluate the design, history, and impact of a technology.

Synthesize quantitative and qualitative data to create a compelling narrative or argument.

Assignment Steps

Step 1: Identify Your Invisible Technology Choose one digital or physical technology you use on a daily basis that has become so routine you rarely think about it. This could be your smartphone, a streaming service, an app you use for transportation, a social media platform, or even an appliance with embedded technology (like a smart refrigerator or speaker).

Step 2: Data Collection (The 'Numbers') For a period of one week, meticulously collect data on your usage of this technology. Depending on the technology, this could include:

Time-based data: How many minutes per day did you use the technology? When during the day was your usage highest? (Your smartphone's built-in "screen time" report can be very useful here).

Interaction data: How many times did you open a specific app? How many notifications did you receive? How many times did you interact with the technology?

Behavioral data: What specific actions did you perform while using the technology? What was the context (e.g., were you studying, socializing, procrastinating)?

Step 3: Humanistic Inquiry (The 'Story') After your week of data collection, answer the following questions. Your answers should reflect critical thinking and should be supported by research where appropriate.

1. Use-Centered Histories: What is the history of this technology, and how does your personal use align with or differ from its intended design or early uses?

2. Justice & Equity: How is access to this technology, or the data it collects, distributed among different social, economic, or geographic groups? Are there any potential biases or injustices baked into its design or the way it's used?

3. Visibility & Power: How does the "invisibility" of this technology grant power to its creators or a particular user group? Who benefits when this technology is unseen, and who is made vulnerable?

Step 4: Synthesis & Composition Combine your data from Step 2 with your answers from Step 3 to compose a final deliverable that tells the "story behind the numbers." This is not just a report; it's a social history of a socio-technical system. Use your data as evidence to support your qualitative analysis.

Deliverables & Grading

Final Report (750-1000 words) or Presentation (5-7 minutes): This deliverable should present your data, your humanistic analysis, and the synthesis of the two.

Grading: Your work will be evaluated on the thoroughness of your data collection, the depth of your humanistic analysis, the clarity of your synthesis, and the reflection/articulation of the processes you used to arrive at your final product.

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Week 3 Assignment: Methods for Data Collection 

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Week 3 Assignment: Methods for Data Collection 

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Interdisciplinary Data Methods for Socio-Technical Systems

Overview

Building on your foundational work from the "Invisible Technologies" assignment, this week you will deepen your investigation by employing a more formal, interdisciplinary method of data collection. The goal is to move beyond personal observation and apply methods used in fields like anthropology, computer science, and sociology to gather both quantitative and qualitative data. By approaching your chosen technology from a new methodological perspective, you will uncover different facets of its socio-technical system.

Learning Objectives

Upon completion of this assignment, you will be able to:

Select and justify an appropriate data collection method for a socio-technical inquiry.

Conduct a data collection process using a method from either the humanities or STEM fields.

Analyze data with an awareness of methodological limitations and strengths.

Refine your understanding of a technology's social history through a new data-driven lens.

Assignment Steps

Step 1: Revisit Your Technology and Formulate a Question Begin by either continuing your investigation of the same "invisible technology" from Week 1 or by selecting a new one. This time, instead of just observing, formulate a specific research question that can be answered using a particular data collection method. For example:

"How does a dating app's algorithm categorize users based on their interactions?"

"What are the historical origins of the keyboard layout on my phone, and what does this reveal about its designers' assumptions?"

Step 2: Choose and Apply a Method Choose one of the following interdisciplinary methods to answer your research question. You are encouraged to research the basics of your chosen method to understand its principles and ethical considerations.

Digital Ethnography (Anthropology/Sociology): Observe and document how a specific group of users interacts with a technology in a natural setting (e.g., watching how people use a ride-sharing app on a college campus). Take detailed field notes on their actions, expressions, and social context.

Archival Research (History): Investigate the historical development of your technology. This could involve searching for early patents, company marketing materials, news articles, or academic papers to understand its initial design, purpose, and the cultural context of its creation.

User Interviews / Surveys (Sociology/Human-Centered Design): Interview 3-5 users about their experiences, feelings, and beliefs regarding the technology. Alternatively, create and distribute a short survey to a larger group to collect broader qualitative data.

Simple Data Scraping or API Query (Computer Science/Data Science): If the technology has a public API or a web interface that allows it, collect a small dataset of public information (e.g., scraping reviews from an app store, or querying a social media API for a few public posts on a specific topic).

Step 3: Analyze and Synthesize Use the data you collected in Step 2 to answer your research question. Then, integrate your findings with the humanistic principles you've been exploring. How does the data you collected through this new method confirm, challenge, or deepen the "story" you began to tell in Week 2? What new insights have you gained about issues of justice, equity, or power?

Deliverables & Grading

Final Memo (500-750 words): Your deliverable should be a short memo that outlines your research question, explains your chosen method, presents your findings, and synthesizes them with the humanistic themes of the course. You should also reflect briefly on the strengths and limitations of the method you chose.

Other Modality Options: Instead of a memo, you could also present your research question, methods and findings in another mode, such as a short video, visual infographic, website or other modality depending on the audience you are trying to reach with your ideas.

Grading: Your work will be evaluated on your ability to formulate a clear research question, the appropriate application of your chosen method, and the depth of your analysis and synthesis.

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Ethics and Bias in Data: A Critical Reflection

Overview

In this assignment, you will examine the ethical implications of data collection and how biases can be embedded in datasets and algorithms. Building on your previous work in Weeks 2 and 3, you will move from the role of an investigator to that of a critical evaluator. By reflecting on the data you collected and analyzing a real-world case study, you will develop a nuanced understanding of the responsibilities inherent in working with data and technology.

Learning Objectives

Upon completion of this assignment, you will be able to:

Identify and articulate potential ethical concerns and biases in a data collection methodology.

Critically analyze a real-world example of algorithmic bias or unethical data use.

Propose ethical guidelines for the design and use of socio-technical systems.

Reflect on the limitations and responsibilities of your own role as a data investigator.

Assignment Steps

Step 1: Reflecting on Your Own Data Return to the technology and the data you collected in Weeks 1 and 3. Consider the following questions:

What was left out? What aspects of the technology's use or impact did your chosen method fail to capture? Who or what was made invisible by your methodology?

What assumptions did you make? Did you assume a certain kind of user, a specific type of use, or a particular context? How might these assumptions have introduced bias into your findings?

What are the ethical implications? If your data collection had been on a larger, public scale, what potential harms could it have caused? (e.g., privacy violations, misrepresentation of a community, etc.)

Step 2: Investigate a Case Study of Bias Research and analyze a real-world case study of algorithmic bias or a data-related ethical failure. Examples could include:

Racial bias in facial recognition software.

Gender bias in hiring algorithms.

Predictive policing software that reinforces existing social inequalities.

Unethical use of social media data for political campaigns.

For your chosen case, describe the technology, the bias or ethical issue that emerged, and its real-world consequences.

Step 3: Propose an Ethical Framework Based on your reflections and your case study, develop a short ethical framework. This can be a set of 3-5 guiding principles or a brief manifesto. Your framework should be designed to prevent the kind of bias or ethical problem you identified in your case study and could even be applied to your own data collection process from earlier in the course.

Deliverables & Grading

Final Reflection Paper (750-1000 words): Your paper should be structured in three parts, following the steps above: 1) a critical reflection on your own data, 2) an analysis of your chosen case study, and 3) your proposed ethical framework.

If you don't want to write a paper, you might consider recording a Podcast or producing a YouTube Video Essay.

Additionally, you might consider using NotebookLM to collect source material, write your own material through the Notes feature, and use the "Audio Overview" feature of NotebookLM to create an audio 'Podcast' of this assignment.

Grading: Your work will be evaluated on the depth of your critical reflection, the clarity and thoroughness of your case study analysis, and the originality and practicality of your proposed ethical framework.

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The Capstone Project: Technology, Flourishing, and the Socio-Technical System

Overview

This final project is the culmination of your work throughout the course. You will bring together the principles, methods, and critical reflections from through the course to create a comprehensive social history of a single technology and tell the story of this technology, through the data you have collected, in order to make this technology more seen and less invisible. The central goal of this project is to apply the socio-technical, interdisciplinary frameworks you have learned to investigate how a technology's "invisibility" impacts human flourishing, and to propose ways to make that technology more visible to a general audience.

Learning Objectives

Upon completion of this project, you will be able to:

Synthesize research from multiple disciplinary perspectives (e.g., computer science, history, sociology) to create a single, cohesive argument.

Construct a detailed social history of a technology, moving beyond its technical specifications to its human-centered use and cultural impact.

Define and apply the concept of "human flourishing" as a critical lens for evaluating socio-technical systems.

Design a framework or public-facing deliverable to make the invisible socio-technical system of your chosen technology visible to a broader audience.

Assignment Steps

Step 1: Select Your Technology and Refine Your Focus Choose one socio-technical system to be the subject of your project. This could be the same technology you've been investigating, or you may choose a new one. Your project should move beyond a simple device and into the larger system it operates within. For example, instead of just a "smartphone," you could focus on the "ride-sharing app ecosystem" or "the smart home grid." Once you've made your choice, formulate a central thesis or research question that will guide your project.

Step 2: Construct the Social History Using a combination of the data collection methods and critical inquiry principles you learned in Weeks 2 and 3, build a comprehensive social history of your chosen technology. This should not be a purely chronological history, but a thematic one that explores:

Origins and Intent: Who created this technology, and what were their original goals and assumptions?

Use-Centered History: How has the technology been adopted and adapted by users in ways its creators may not have intended?

Invisible Infrastructures: What are the unseen algorithms, data flows, and labor practices that allow this technology to function?

Issues of Power and Equity: How does this technology distribute power, create or address inequities, or embed biases?

Step 3: Map the History to Flourishing This is the most critical part of your project. Based on your social history, critically evaluate your technology through the lens of human flourishing. Your analysis should answer the following questions:

Defining Flourishing: How do you define human flourishing in the context of this technology? Consider well-being, community, autonomy, and justice.

Positive Impact: In what ways does this technology, or its socio-technical system, promote human flourishing?

Negative Impact: In what ways does its "invisibility" or underlying biases hinder or harm human flourishing for certain individuals or groups?

Proposing Visibility: How can we make the invisible elements of this technology visible to the public in a way that promotes flourishing and mitigates harm?

Step 4: Final Composition Your final deliverable will be a comprehensive presentation of your findings. It should synthesize your social history with your analysis of human flourishing. Your goal here is 'digital data storytelling'; merging the work you have done in this course as a data researcher, a social scientist, an engineer, a technologies and more with the work you have done as a philosopher, a writer, a historian, a graphic designer and a rhetorician. What is the story behind the numbers and how can you tell this story to a wide audience?

Final Paper (2000-2500 words): A traditional research paper that presents a cohesive, well-argued thesis supported by evidence from your research.

Public-Facing Project: A website, podcast series, or digital exhibition that makes the social history and flourishing framework visible to a general audience. This must also be accompanied by a 500-word written reflection.

Podcast

Video Essay Project

Multimodal Project

ArcGIS interactive Storytelling Project

Other ideas

Deliverables & Grading

Final Project (Paper or Public-Facing Project or other modality): This constitutes the bulk of your grade. It will be evaluated on the quality of your research, the depth of your analysis, the clarity of your writing/presentation, and the originality of your framework.

Grading: Your work will be evaluated on the depth and sophistication of your synthesis of course themes, the originality and rigor of your analysis, and the effectiveness of your final deliverable in articulating the relationship between technology and human flourishing.

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Hughes, "Technological Momentum," in Technology and the Future

https://direct.mit.edu/books/oa-monograph/5641/Person-Thing-RobotA-Moral-and-Legal-Ontology-for

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Person, Thing, Robot: A Moral and Legal Ontology for the 21st Century and Beyond

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Why robots defy our existing moral and legal categories and how to revolutionize the way we think about them.Robots are a curious sort of thing. On the one

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Read: Delgado, "Storytelling for Oppositionists and Others"

Martinez, "A Plea for Critical Race Theory"

https://www.ynharari.com/book/nexus/

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‘NEXUS’ – A new book from Yuval Noah Harari (out September 2024)

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‘NEXUS: A Brief History of Information Networks from the Stone Age to AI’ (published Sept 2024) is a non-fiction book by Yuval Noah Harari. In this thrilling new work, the historian and bestselling author looks through the long lens of human history to consider how the flow of information has made, and unmade, our world. Harari explores how different societies and political systems have wielded information to achieve their goals and impose order, for good and bad – and he addresses the urgent choices we face today, as non-human intelligence threatens our very existence.

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Read: Edgerton, "Introduction," from The Shock of the Old

Schwartz Cowan, "The Invention of Housework," from More Work for Mother

Noble, "Searching for People & Communities," from Algorithms of Oppression

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Read: Slack, "Technology" from Keywords in Media Studies

Marx, "Technology: The Emergence of a Hazardous Concept"

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Read: Ashton, "The Myth" and "Creation is Ordinary" from How to Fly a Horse

Peterson, "Who Invents and Who Gets Credit"

Vats, "The iconic American inventor is still a white male"

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Storytelling for Social Justice: Connecting Narrative and the Arts in Antiracist Teaching

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Through accessible language and candid discussions, Storytelling for Social Justice explores the stories we tell ourselves and each other about race and racism in our society. Making sense of the racial constructions expressed through the language and images we encounter every day, this book provides strategies for developing a more critical understanding of how racism operates culturally and institutionally in our society. Using the arts in general, and storytelling in particular, the book exam

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Thinking about putting technological objects in context is one way to bring the humanities and STEM together in crucial ways. When technology becomes so integrated into our everyday lives it becomes invisible; this class asks how data collection and humanities principles might be used to make these everyday technologies more visible again. How can we apply humanities principles of justice, equity and use centered histories to make the stories of how we use technology more visible? Through this visibility, a more robust social history of technology and its use will emerge and students will be able to create, shape and compose the 'story behind the numbers' as they investigate the socio-technical systems that exist and often frame their daily lives.

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Foundations: Making the Invisible Visible

Week 1: Introduction to Invisible Technologies: What is a "socio-technical system" and how do everyday devices like smartphones, GPS, and smart home gadgets function as invisible infrastructure?

Week 2: Bridging the Disciplines: Examining how different fields, from computer science to history and sociology, approach and define technology.

Investigation: Data and its Collection

Week 3: Methods of Data Collection: Exploring both quantitative and qualitative methods for investigating technology, including data scraping, digital ethnography, and user interviews.

Week 4: The Data Behind the Numbers: A deep dive into the types of data that are collected by ubiquitous technologies and what those numbers can and cannot tell us.

Week 5: Ethics and Bias in Data: Examining the ethical implications of data collection and how bias can be embedded in datasets and algorithms.

Application: Humanities Principles

Week 6: User-Centered Histories: Shifting the focus from the inventors of technology to the diverse and often unrecorded stories of its users.

Begin collecting data for your Technology-In-Use Papers.

Rubric

Week 7: Technology and Justice: Analyzing how technology can perpetuate or challenge issues of social justice and equity, such as the digital divide.

Week 8: Algorithmic Fairness: A critical look at how principles of fairness can be applied to the design and implementation of algorithms and AI systems.

Synthesis: The Story and the System

Week 9: From Numbers to Narrative: Learning to compose a compelling story using both quantitative data and qualitative observations to make a system's social history visible.

Begin working on Counter/Storying Data Map

Student Example

Week 10: Mapping Socio-Technical Systems: Visualizing the complex networks of people, policies, and hardware that constitute a given technology.

Week 11: Final Project Workshop: Applying all course principles to create and present a comprehensive social history of a chosen technology and map that history onto the idea of how humans might flourish my making technology more visible through socio-technological, interdisciplinary frameworks.

Conclusion

Week 12: Future-Proofing Technology: Discussing how an understanding of social history can inform more equitable and just technological design and policy.

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1. Analyze Socio-Technical Systems: Students will be able to collect and analyze data from common technologies to reveal the underlying socio-technical systems that shape daily life.

2. Synthesize STEM and Humanities Principles: Students will be able to apply core humanities principles of justice and equity to interpret technological data, demonstrating the intersection of STEM and the humanities.

3. Compose Narrative from Data: Students will be able to translate data and quantitative analysis into a compelling narrative that composes the "story behind the numbers" for a given technology.

4. Evaluate Technology's Social History: Students will be able to investigate and evaluate how a technology's use creates a social history, making its impact on society visible and understandable.