Ruminations on our relationship with technology
Terry Chaney Is cryptocurrency speculation one of the unintended consequences of blockchain technology? Before getting into this topic, let’s state one caveat right away. We’re not financial analysts who specialize in blockchain or cryptocurrency. So who are we to opine on this matter? We’re approaching it not from a financial analysis background but from perspectives that explore … Read more
Addictive design vs. ethical design in social media Summary: When applying professional ethics to technology design (including ethical design in social media), there’s no such thing as a ‘neutral’ design. Designers have to make design choices. And those design choices will influence people’s decisions, including how they use the technology. Therefore, designers might want to … Read more
Personal privacy and data protection regulations for social media Summary: An ongoing problem with several social media platforms is that they’re designed to monitor and manipulate what people can see or experience online. That’s because the goal is to keep users on these sites for as long as possible—namely, by commodifying their attention, collecting their … Read more
Why indefinite online censorship won’t save social media from hate speech Summary: Is online censorship inevitable on social media? Going forward, social media companies will probably need to moderate some content online to prevent dangerous speech. However, trying to moderate other kinds of online speech, such as hate speech, will likely remain an endless game … Read more
Moderating content to prevent dangerous speech online Summary: Inevitably, social media reform will have to include some content moderation, or screening and removing harmful material online. At the same time, figuring out what content social media companies should moderate is a complex question. Still, there’s at least one clear answer: dangerous speech. Dangerous speech refers … Read more
Instrumentarianism and social media Summary: Instrumentarianism refers to Big Tech’s power to monitor and manipulate what you can and can’t see online. For instance, social media sites may use this power to commodify people’s attention and private data. The goal is to keep users on their sites for as long as possible, often through click-bait … Read more
The Cambridge Analytica data scandal Many of us first heard about the Cambridge Analytica data scandal shortly after the 2016 U.S. Presidential Election. At that time, we learned that Cambridge Analytica, a consulting firm, acquired personal data from tens of millions of Facebook users before selling it all to political campaigns, without users’ clear consent. … Read more
What is surveillance capitalism? No doubt, one of the unintended consequences of social media has been the loss of privacy. (See Part I of this three-part article.) To recap, big tech companies like Facebook surveil what you do online, collect massive amounts of your personal data (your likes, dislikes, consumer preferences, locations, comments, private messages, … Read more
“Narcissus as narcosis” Throughout history, new technologies have changed culture and transformed society, sometimes with unintended consequences. For instance, the printing press had the effect of spreading literacy and transforming tribal, oral cultures into national, literate cultures. Likewise, electronic and digital technologies are transforming society in fascinating but unpredictable ways. As Canadian philosopher and media … Read more