Networking, Capital, and Cloud Computing (60)
Find narratives by ethical themes or by technologies.
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- 7 min
- The New York Times
- 2021
On October 4th, 2021, Facebook’s servers experienced an outage which left its apps, including the commonly used Facebook, Instagram, and Whatsapp, out of commission for several hours. The problem is said to be caused by a incorrect configuring of Facebook’s servers, which ultimately led to a Domain Name System error in which the numerical IP addresses determined by the computer became inaccessible. The myriad effects of this outage spread across the globe as businesses were effected by the lack of access to these social networks. Additionally, certain other internet services linked to Facebook became inaccessible.
- The New York Times
- 2021
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- 7 min
- The New York Times
- 2021
Facebook and all of its apps go down simultaneously.
On October 4th, 2021, Facebook’s servers experienced an outage which left its apps, including the commonly used Facebook, Instagram, and Whatsapp, out of commission for several hours. The problem is said to be caused by a incorrect configuring of Facebook’s servers, which ultimately led to a Domain Name System error in which the numerical IP addresses determined by the computer became inaccessible. The myriad effects of this outage spread across the globe as businesses were effected by the lack of access to these social networks. Additionally, certain other internet services linked to Facebook became inaccessible.
What are the dangers of relying on fallible networks to perform essential functions such as business? How can network infrastructure be more protected? How much data and information should Facebook be trusted with?
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- 5 min
- Indie Wire
- 2021
New virtual exhibits displayed through Web XR, or Extended Reality available over the network of internet browsers, allow Black artists and creators to present ancestral knowledge and stories while providing a new basis on which AI could be trained. This use of AI leads to an imagination free of colonial or racist constructs that may otherwise be present in digital media.
- Indie Wire
- 2021
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- 5 min
- Indie Wire
- 2021
How Black Storytellers Are Using XR and Afro-Futurism to Explore Ancestral Identity
New virtual exhibits displayed through Web XR, or Extended Reality available over the network of internet browsers, allow Black artists and creators to present ancestral knowledge and stories while providing a new basis on which AI could be trained. This use of AI leads to an imagination free of colonial or racist constructs that may otherwise be present in digital media.
How does artificial intelligence and augmented reality open doors for expression of minority voices? How can digital art be used to make a specific statement or call for a cultural shift? What are the benefits of applying wisdom from across the globe and before the digital age into the design and deployment of digital technologies?
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- 10 min
- Slate
- 2021
Using the tale of Art History Professor François-Marc Gagnon, whose video lectures were used to instruct students even after his death, this article raises questions about how technologies such as digital memory and data streaming for education in the time of coronavirus may ultimately undervalue the work of educators.
- Slate
- 2021
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- 10 min
- Slate
- 2021
How a Dead Professor Is Teaching a University Art History Class
Using the tale of Art History Professor François-Marc Gagnon, whose video lectures were used to instruct students even after his death, this article raises questions about how technologies such as digital memory and data streaming for education in the time of coronavirus may ultimately undervalue the work of educators.
What are the largest possible detriments to automating teaching, both for students and for educators? If large amounts of data from a given course or discipline were used to train an AI to teach a course, what would such a program do well, and what aspects of education would be missed? How can educators have more personal control over the digital traces of their teaching? At what point might broader access to educational materials through digital networks actually harm certain groups of people?
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- 50 min
- Science and Engineering Ethics
- 2022
Lindemann identifies grief bots as techno-social niches that change the affective emotional state of the user. With a focus on the dignity of the bereaved rather than the deceased, Lindemann argues that grief bots can both regulate and deregulate users’ emotions. Referring to them as pseudo-bonds, Lindemann does a very good job of trying to characterize a standard relationship with a grief bot. This article is mostly about the grief and well-being of users of griefbots.
- Science and Engineering Ethics
- 2022
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- 50 min
- Science and Engineering Ethics
- 2022
The Ethics of ‘Deathbots’
Lindemann identifies grief bots as techno-social niches that change the affective emotional state of the user. With a focus on the dignity of the bereaved rather than the deceased, Lindemann argues that grief bots can both regulate and deregulate users’ emotions. Referring to them as pseudo-bonds, Lindemann does a very good job of trying to characterize a standard relationship with a grief bot. This article is mostly about the grief and well-being of users of griefbots.
- What does Lindemann mean by internet-enabled techno-social niches, and what things exemplify them?
- After reading this paper, would you ever use–or allow your digital remains to create a deathbot? Why or why not?
- Outline the key data-protection and safety requirements you would test in a pilot program before approving any clinical deployment of grief bots.
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- 13 min
- Kinolab
- 2002
In the year 2054, the PreCrime police program is about to go national. At PreCrime, three clairvoyant humans known as “PreCogs” are able to forecast future murders by streaming audiovisual data which provides the surrounding details of the crime, including the names of the victims and perpetrators. Although there are no cameras, the implication is that anyone can be under constant surveillance by this program. Once the “algorithm” has gleaned enough data about the future crime, officers move out to stop the murder before it happens.
- Kinolab
- 2002
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- 13 min
- Kinolab
- 2002
Preventative Policing and Surveillance Information
In the year 2054, the PreCrime police program is about to go national. At PreCrime, three clairvoyant humans known as “PreCogs” are able to forecast future murders by streaming audiovisual data which provides the surrounding details of the crime, including the names of the victims and perpetrators. Although there are no cameras, the implication is that anyone can be under constant surveillance by this program. Once the “algorithm” has gleaned enough data about the future crime, officers move out to stop the murder before it happens.
How will predicted crime be prosecuted? Should predicted crime be prosecuted? How could technologies such as the ones shown here be affected for the worse by human bias? How would these devices make racist policing practices even worse? Would certain communities be targeted? Is there ever any justification for constant civil surveillance?
Minority Report: Opening Sequence-
- 10 min
- Kinolab
- 2018
Cassius “Cash” Green is a telemarketer who is taught to harness his “white voice,” which essentially means to exude privilege, in order to reach success. While this does eventually earn him upward mobility within the corporation RegalView, an owner of the controversial labor-contracting company WorryFree, his new status begins to conflict with his friends’ unionized protest efforts against the corporation.
- Kinolab
- 2018
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- 10 min
- Kinolab
- 2018
Identity and Mobility in a Techno-capitalist Economy
Cassius “Cash” Green is a telemarketer who is taught to harness his “white voice,” which essentially means to exude privilege, in order to reach success. While this does eventually earn him upward mobility within the corporation RegalView, an owner of the controversial labor-contracting company WorryFree, his new status begins to conflict with his friends’ unionized protest efforts against the corporation.
Have corporations become more or less adept at image control in the digital age? Does the common laborer have any more of a voice than they did before digital communication channels? How might the “white voice” be interpreted as commentary on how digital communication channels allow one to act in a completely different identity, no matter how false it is?