Networks (23)
Find narratives by ethical themes or by technologies.
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- 4 min
- Wall Street Journal
- 2019
The automatization of technological repair and maintenance through AI allows systems to monitor themselves and correct themselves more quickly than a human worker could.
- Wall Street Journal
- 2019
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- 4 min
- Wall Street Journal
- 2019
AI Powers “Self-Healing” Technology
The automatization of technological repair and maintenance through AI allows systems to monitor themselves and correct themselves more quickly than a human worker could.
What are the potential dangers of having “self-healing” computers by taking the human element out? How might using algorithms to analyse networks be better or worse than human oversight? What effect does repair automatisation have on the previous employees?
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- 5 min
- Kinolab
- 2019
In an imagined future of London, citizens all across the globe are connected to the Feed, a device and network accessed constantly through a brain-computer interface. Lawrence, the CEO of the tech monopoly which created the Feed, explains to his son Tom that the newest model of the Feed is a quasi-organic implant which automatically appears in the makeup of an infant’s brain; they are born with it, having no say in whether or not it should be there and being unable to remove it. Lawrence and Tom then debate the pros and cons of this approach.
- Kinolab
- 2019
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- 5 min
- Kinolab
- 2019
Genetic Implants and Choice
In an imagined future of London, citizens all across the globe are connected to the Feed, a device and network accessed constantly through a brain-computer interface. Lawrence, the CEO of the tech monopoly which created the Feed, explains to his son Tom that the newest model of the Feed is a quasi-organic implant which automatically appears in the makeup of an infant’s brain; they are born with it, having no say in whether or not it should be there and being unable to remove it. Lawrence and Tom then debate the pros and cons of this approach.
Which side presented here do you tend to agree with more? Does Lawrence have a point in stating that the opportunity for anyone to innately have this implant might solve problems such as inequity and chaos? Does Tom have a point in stating that agency and autonomy of all people are at risk in this new imagination of society? Does one of these viewpoints outweigh the other? Should tech monopolies be able to determine what “societal progress” means, even if they have the means to achieve their specific vision? Can tech monopolies alone be trusted to make progress in trying to make the world a more equitable place?
The Feed: Lawrence's Justification-
- 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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- 7 min
- Chronicle
- 2021
The history of AI contains a pendulum which swings back and forth between two approaches to artificial intelligence; symbolic AI, which tries to replicate human reasoning, and neural networks/deep learning, which try to replicate the human brain.
- Chronicle
- 2021
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- 7 min
- Chronicle
- 2021
Artificial Intelligence Is a House Divided
The history of AI contains a pendulum which swings back and forth between two approaches to artificial intelligence; symbolic AI, which tries to replicate human reasoning, and neural networks/deep learning, which try to replicate the human brain.
Which approach to AI (symbolic or neural networks) do you believe leads to greater transparency? Which approach to AI do you believe might be more effective in accomplishing a certain goal? Does one approach make you feel more comfortable than the other? How could these two approaches be synthesized, if at all?
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- 7 min
- Wired
- 2020
In discussing the history of the singular Internet that many global users experience every day, this article reveals some dangers of digital technologies becoming transparent through repeated use and reliance. Namely, it becomes more difficult to imagine a world where there could be alternatives to the current digital way of doing things.
- Wired
- 2020
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- 7 min
- Wired
- 2020
Hello, World! It is ‘I’, the Internet
In discussing the history of the singular Internet that many global users experience every day, this article reveals some dangers of digital technologies becoming transparent through repeated use and reliance. Namely, it becomes more difficult to imagine a world where there could be alternatives to the current digital way of doing things.
Is it too late to imagine alternatives to the Internet? How could people be convinced to get on board with a radical redo of the internet as we know it? Do alternatives need to be imagined before forming a certain digital product or service, especially if they end up being as revolutionary as the internet? Are the most popular and powerful digital technologies and services “tools”, or have they reached the status of cultural norms and conduits?
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- 5 min
- Gizmodo
- 2020
The data privacy of employees is at risk under a new “Productivity Score” program started by Microsoft, in which employers and administrators can use Microsoft 365 platforms to collect several metrics on their workers in order to “optimize productivity.” However, this approach causes unnecessary stress for workers, beginning a surveillance program in the workplace.
- Gizmodo
- 2020
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- 5 min
- Gizmodo
- 2020
Microsoft’s Creepy New ‘Productivity Score’ Gamifies Workplace Surveillance
The data privacy of employees is at risk under a new “Productivity Score” program started by Microsoft, in which employers and administrators can use Microsoft 365 platforms to collect several metrics on their workers in order to “optimize productivity.” However, this approach causes unnecessary stress for workers, beginning a surveillance program in the workplace.
How are excuses such as using data to “optimize productivity” employed to gather more data on people? How could such a goal be accomplished without the surveillance aspect? How does this approach not account for a diversity of working methods?