Syllabus

Post-Helene Updates

Welcome back! Due to the time lost because of Helene, the following schedule adjustments have been made:

1. Homework 2 cancelled: In leiu of the second paper (a socio-political analysis of an AI-powered technology), the final project as been adapted to ensure that you're examining the politics of AI. The scope of your final project will be posted soon.
2. Grading weights for the course have been changed as follows:
   • 40% - Participation (used to be 30%)
     • 10% - Identity Journals
     • 15% - Discussion Forum
     • 15% - Lecture Participation
   • 30% - Homework (used to be 40%)
     • 20% - Homework 1 (Ethics & the News)
     • 10% - Labs 1 & 2 (Computer Architecture & Machine Learning)
   • 30% - Final Project
3. Content changes: Some of the topics have either been removed or consolidated (e.g. AI & healthcare, surveillance, and the in-class design workshops).
4. The course materials have been reformatted to be more conducive to remote learning.
5. Asynchronous participation: If you are unable to attend lecture, you will submit the answers to (at least) three of the lecture discussion questions to earn your lecture participation grade. For your convenience, I have posted all of the asynchronous reading response activities here.

Acknowledgements

This course builds on work that was developed in collaboration with Dr. Sepehr Vakil, Natalie Melo, and Victoria Chavéz at Northwestern University.

About this Course

Why should we care about ethical questions with respect to technology?

AI-mediated systems (e.g., search engines, Internet platforms, chatbots, decision-support tools) shape our personal, social, and political lives in increasingly complex and consequential ways – providing tremendous benefits (e.g. convenient access to information, connecting to one another across time and space) and harms (e.g. biased decision-making, mass surveillance, disinformation campaigns) that are important to examine and understand. At the same time, these tools and artifacts are also shaped by society – meaning that they come into existence within particular social, cultural, political contexts; and reflect the priorities, beliefs, values, and goals of their makers. Thus, grappling with the ethical dimensions of computer-mediated technologies requires an understanding of how computation (e.g., hardware, data, networks, algorithms) and society (e.g., values, ideologies, and design decisions) influence one another.

In this course, we will explore this interplay by examining how various technologies work “under the hood,” some of the benefits and harms of these technologies (for different people in different situations), how and why these technologies were created in the first place, and how and to what ends they are used. By taking this course, you will be in a better position to understand how tools like ChatGPT, search engines, data trackers, etc. function – both on a technical level and on a societal level. You will also be pushed to think outside your own unique situation to consider how people with different identities, subject positions, and histories of experience might reap the rewards or suffer the costs of these technological “innovations” differently. Finally, you will consider how different forms of action – design, law and policy, educational opportunities, artistic works, and so forth – might work to create a more just technologically-mediated society going forward.

What will I learn?

The course will take an interdisciplinary approach to studying computation and its impacts, drawing on ideas from Computer Science and Science & Technology Studies (STS). These readings and ideas will help you to:

1. Recognize the subjective value judgments that are made when building technologies; and some key decision points in the technology development process where biases tend to creep in (e.g. sampling, data collection practices, categorization and classification, prediction, system design, market imperatives, etc.).
2. Examine the design choices and tradeoffs that various computing infrastructures make and have made (e.g., ChatGPT, search engines, social media platforms, etc.) in relation to important societal values (e.g. individual autonomy, free speech, equity, privacy, justice, security, access to opportunity, etc.).
3. Consider some of the intended and unintended consequences of computing applications within our communities, institutions, and social systems (e.g. schooling, employment, policing, transportation, business, etc.). This involves paying attention to who wins and who loses, as well as how these technologies might amplify existing marginalities and privileges.
4. Develop a variety of analytic lenses for examining computing technologies in terms of their social, ethical, and political consequences (e.g., technological determinism, social constructionism, “solutionism,” etc.).
5. Think beyond your own unique situation to consider how people who are situated differently from you – with respect to age, class, gender, race, culture, religion, sexual orientation, ability, nationality, and so forth – might experience various technologies differently.

What technologies will we be studying?

We’ll be studying many different technologies – old and new. Studying the past is a productive way to figure out where we’re headed, as many societal concerns regarding the impacts of “intelligent machines” (e.g., future of work, schools, social institutions, and so forth) are not new. As Galligan et. al (2020) argue: “controversies over previous technologies offer insights into the kinds of concerns and resistance that might arise, groups who might be affected, and solutions that might be feasible with emerging innovation.” (p. 24). Given this, the course will examine societal shifts that accompanied the debut of the printing press, the cotton mill, the automobile, as well as the emerging technologies that mark our current moment (e.g., ChatGPT, autonomous robots, facial recognition technologies, etc.).

Who can take this course?

The course is open to all students. For CS majors and minors, the course aims to help students to consider and grapple with the ethical dimensions of their work, in order to inform a more critical technical practice. For students coming into the class from other disciplinary vantage points, the course aims to provide a solid foundation for thinking about the possibilities, risks, and impacts of computer-mediated infrastructures on society.

Required Texts

We will be reading chapters from the four required books, listed below:

• Benjamin, R. (2019). Race After Technology: Abolitionist Tools for the New Jim Code. John Wiley & Sons.
  • Available through the university bookstore and on Amazon
• Crawford, K. (2021). Atlas of AI. Yale University Press.
  • Available digitally through the library
• Costanza-Chock, S. (2020). Design Justice. The MIT Press. Free, open access
• Sandel, M. (2010). Justice: What’s the Right Thing to Do? Farrar, Straus and Giroux.
  • Available through the university bookstore and on Amazon

In addition to the books above, we will also be reading excerpts from numerous scholars who study race, power, technology, and their intersections. We will also be reading / watching / listening to various news articles, podcasts, and SciFi to examine current AI developments and their impacts.

Course Format & Grading

The course format will consist of:

1. Readings and in-class discussions.
2. In-class activities and labs to help students to consider the potential impacts of different kinds of technologies and design decisions.
3. Reflective writing assignments that will ask you to analyze the social and ethical dimensions of contemporary technology debates.

You will be assessed based on three categories of work: (1) participation, (2) written assignments and labs, and (3) your final project.

Participation (40%)

Your participation grade will be based on attendance, reading reflections, discussion forums, identity journals, and labs.

Class Discussions

We will use classroom discussion as a form of collaborative sense-making to understand, critique, and interrogate the required course readings. Your timely and engaged attendance at every class is thus very important – both for you and for your classmates. Every student will need to participate in a thoughtful and productive manner in order for these discussions to be effective. Building on and reacting to other participants’ comments is encouraged, and should be done in a respectful tone even if you disagree. In order to participate fully, please do not let your laptop, phone, or other devices distract you or other participants.

Reading Responses

Students will also be required to submit weekly reading responses. Responses should be around 200-400 words in length (give or take). Sometimes, you will be given specific questions to answer. Other times you can write about themes, ideas, and questions that interest you. Your grade will be based on evidence that you did the readings. You may skip one forum discussion post without a grade penalty.

Some approaches that you could take include (but are not limited to):

• Summarizing one or more key arguments of a reading, and sharing whether / how these arguments resonate with you.
• Analyzing some of the strengths or weaknesses of the article(s).
• Writing about ideas you were confused about and/or didn’t entirely understand (and what about them was confusing / ambiguous).
• Sharing thoughts about how the readings connect to other readings we’ve done, or to current events going on in the world.
• Sharing thoughts on what you would like to learn about in more detail.

In addition to writing your own responses, you will respond to at least two of your classmates’ posts per week. Both your writing response and your responses to your classmates should be submitted before class on the day it is due. You may miss one reading response during the semester without a grade penalty.

Identity Journal

Each student will also create an “Identity Journal” that will be updated throughout the semester, both during and outside of class. The Identity Journal will be a personalized space for you to keep track of how core themes of the class relate directly to your own lived experiences, identities, and perspectives. It will also serve as an artifact of your learning that will be useful to you beyond the class. You may skip one identity journal post without a grade penalty.

Homework (30%)

You will also complete 2-3 homework assignments, which are intended to help you analyze existing technologies and debates using the ideas you’re learning in the course.

Final Project (30%)

The details for the final project are still being finalized. That said, it will involve you researching / exploring a socio-technical theme and creating some artifact – an education resource, speculative fiction piece, policy brief, game, podcast, etc. – to represent / communicate your thinking.

Expectations

• You will come to class prepared and ready to engage in an intellectual discussion about the readings.
• You will complete all assignments on time and with interest, engagement, and intellectual curiosity.
• You will bring your unique expertise, perspectives, and experiences to class and share them with others, so that we might all gain from your perspectives.
• You will respect and seek to understand the unique perspectives and experiences of others.
• You will give your classmates the benefit of the doubt (about their competence and intentions) and can expect the same from them.

All work that you submit will be your own original work; you will cite others’ work where appropriate.

Learning Goals

Course-specific Learning Objectives

Within this course, there are some specific learning objectives pertaining to how computer-mediated systems and society interact. Specifically:

1. Recognizing the impact of one’s own assumptions, biases, and experiences within AI-mediated systems

Students will appreciate and understand how their own assumptions, experiences, worldviews, social location, and identity categories can and do impact the design, implementation, and use of computing technologies. Ideally, students across a range of majors will become more conscious, sensitive, ethically aware, and humble thinkers/doers in the world after taking this course.

2. Identifying (and questioning) dominant/normative ways of thinking about AI, computing, and technology

Students will learn some techniques for recognizing social values in computer-mediated systems. This includes being able to identify how these systems can and do extend and challenge the power and reach of particular political and economic systems, cultural traditions, and societal norms – for better or for worse.

3. Developing a framework for thinking about the relationship between technology and society

Students will develop a framework for considering when, how, or even if technological solutions are appropriate in a given situation. There are many ways to solve problems and shape social outcomes (e.g. law, policy, institutional supports, technologies, educational initiatives, and so forth). As such, a key goal of the course is to help students to recognize and value many different forms of participation and action within sociotechnical systems, and think broadly and holistically about innovation and creative problem-solving.

4. Considering how to participate in a world that is heavily mediated by AI

Lastly, students will formulate ideas (or strengthen existing ones) around how they might use their own knowledge, skills, dispositions, and creativity to participate in the world going forward – ideally to foster a more ethical and just society. This may involve taking some future action (big or small), exploring a new idea, reading more about a topic, or something else.

Diversity Intensive Learning Objectives

In addition to the above learning objectives, we will also be seeking to understand the five learning objectives common to all Diversity-Intensive courses at UNCA. Specifically: Students understand the socially constructed nature of identities.

1. Students understand the significance of individuals’ differing relationships to power.
2. Students understand how individuals, organizations, and institutions create, perpetuate, or challenge inequality.
3. Students understand how multiple identities intersect.
4. Students are better equipped to reevaluate their ideas about diversity and difference.

Overview

This schedule will definitely change, but the big idea is that the course will cover 4 broad categories of ideas:

• Morality & Justice – a brief exploration of select ideas in moral philosophy and social psychology.
• Theories of Technology & Society – an examination of some “big ideas” from Science & Technology Studies (STS) and Media Studies – namely how tools, signs, and systems can transmit, reify, and/or disrupt various cultural, political, and economic ideas.
• Ideas in Computation – an overview of how data, networks, algorithms, and design work together in computer-mediated systems (tailored to a general audience).
• Societal & Environmental Impacts – an critical examination of the impact that computer-mediated systems have had in various domains (e.g., the environment, health, politics, news media, education, labor, policing, etc.).

See the schedule for more details.

Academic Honesty

In the past, there have been a few unfortunate instances in which students have presented work other than their own. Here are some guidelines to help you understand what is and is not appropriate. Please do not hesitate to contact the instructors if you have any questions about these guidelines.

Using Outside Tools and Materials

In this class, we encourage you to explore the broader Internet for tutorials, code samples, new coding techniques, libraries, etc. That said, you must acknowledge all sources contributing to your work. If you receive any assistance from any source (Internet, peer, social media, ChatGPT, etc.), please describe your source and that source’s contribution(s). If you have any questions about this, please don’t hesitate to contact the instructor. Students violating the academic honesty policy on an assignment will receive a grade of 0 on that assignment for the first offense, and will receive a grade of “F” in the course for the second offense. This will apply to all students involved in the violation, including both the source student and the copying student. It is your responsibility to ensure that your work is not used by other students.

ChatGPT Policy (adapted from Boston University)

Students shall…

• Give credit to AI tools whenever used, even if only to generate ideas rather than usable text or code.
• When using AI tools on assignments, add an appendix showing:
  • The entire exchange, highlighting the most relevant sections a description of precisely which AI tools were used (e.g. ChatGPT private subscription version, CoPilot, etc.)
  • An explanation of how the AI tools were used (e.g. to generate ideas, understand functions or coding ideas, etc.)
  • An account of why AI tools were used (e.g. to save time, to stimulate thinking, to handle mounting stress, to clarify prose, to experiment for fun, etc.).
• Not use AI tools during in-class examinations or quizzes unless explicitly permitted and instructed.
• Use AI tools wisely and intelligently, aiming to deepen understanding of subject matter and to support learning.

I (Sarah) shall…

• Seek to understand the strengths and weaknesses or AI tools for teaching and learning, to optimize their value for student learning.
• Impose a significant penalty for:
  • Low-energy or unreflective reuse of material generated by AI tools and/or merely reproducing the output from AI tools.
  • Not double-checking that the works cited are correct or that the text used are factually correct.
  • Not disclosing whether, how, and which AI tools were used.

This policy recognizes that…

• This policy depends on goodwill, a sense of fairness, and honorable character.
• This policy takes account of the existence of subscription versions of AI tools, which are not affordable for some students; the policy may need to be revised as the differences between subscription and free versions become better understood.
• This policy may be revised in light of other policies and novel technological developments in AI tools.

Class Cancellation Policy

If a class meeting is canceled or due dates are moved due to inclement weather or any other reason, we will inform you via campus email (ending with unca.edu).

University Policies

Office of Accessibility & Academic Accommodations

UNC Asheville is committed to providing an inclusive experience, accessible learning environments and equal opportunity to individuals with disabilities in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act. If you are a student experiencing barriers to access or full participation in this course on the basis of a disability, contact the Office of Accessibility to apply for reasonable accommodations and discuss available resources. You may contact the Office of Accessibility at academicaccess@unca.edu or 828-251-6292.

Students are responsible for discussing their Letter of Accommodations (LOA) with their faculty. Students and faculty are encouraged to discuss the LOA as early in the semester as possible to allow for extended access to accommodations. However, students may disclose a disability at any point in the semester. Accommodations are not retroactive and are activated when the LOA is discussed.

Promoting Gender Equity, Addressing Sexual Misconduct

UNC Asheville is dedicated to cultivating and maintaining a safe, respectful, and inclusive environment, free from harassment and discrimination. We strive to ensure that all have equal access to the educational and employment opportunities the University provides. If you or someone you know has been affected by sex-based harassment or sexual misconduct, including sexual assault, dating or domestic violence, or stalking, please know that help and support are available. UNC Asheville strongly encourages all members of the community to take action, seek support, and report incidents of sexual harassment to the Title IX Office. You may contact the Title IX Office or Heather Lindkvist, the Title IX Coordinator, directly at 828.232.5658 or via titleix@unca.edu or learn more by visiting the Title IX website.

As a faculty member, I am a “responsible employee” and private resource. This means that if you share any information or discuss an incident with me regarding sexual or gender-based harassment, I must disclose this information to the Title IX Coordinator. Our goal is to ensure you are aware of the range of options available to you and have access to the resources you may need. If you wish to speak with a confidential resource, contact University Health and Counseling Services at 828.251.6520. Off-campus confidential resources include Our Voice (24-Hour Hotline at 828.255.7576) and Helpmate (24-Hour Hotline at 828.254.0516).

Academic Alerts

Faculty at UNC Asheville have access to an Academic Alert system. The purpose of this system is to support communication with students about their progress in courses, especially if there are concerns (e.g., academic difficulty, attendance problems). Professors use the Alert system because they are invested in their students’ success. Entering an academic alert is a great way to supplement open conversations between instructors and students about how students can improve their academic performance.

When a faculty member submits an alert that expresses a concern, the student receives outreach from their academic advisor or the team in the Office of Academic Advising. Students are no longer receiving automated notification emails when an alert is submitted. It is in the student’s best interest to address the alert quickly, as students who do so are more likely to earn credit for the course. Questions about the Academic Alert system can be directed to Anne Marie Roberts (amrober1@unca.edu) in the Academic Success Center.

Mental Health Support

As a student, you may experience a range of challenges that can interfere with learning, such as stressful life events, experiences of anxiety and/or depression, self-harm, substance use, and/or unusual difficulty with ordinary life activities. The increased stress of school can also make existing mental health struggles more difficult to manage. Support is available and treatment can help. Learn more about the confidential mental health services UNC Asheville provides to support student success at https://www.unca.edu/life/health-counseling/.

The Health and Counseling Center is located at 118 W.T. Weaver Boulevard. Appointments can be made by calling 828-251-6520. A UNC Asheville counselor on call is available after 5 p.m. and on weekends; the counselor on call can be accessed by calling the UNCA Campus Police dispatcher at 828-251-6710. Additionally available after hours and on weekends, call the Bulldog Health Link at 1-888-267-3675, where you can get immediate support for mental health, medical consultation, concern for a friend, and/or community resources. In case of an emergency, you can also call RHA’s Mental Health Mobile Crisis Unit at 1-888-573-1006.