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Values Embodied in Information and Communications Systems
Professor: Helen Nissenbaum
Department of Culture and Communication 
Spring '03 (E38.2160-001)
Virtually all parts of our lives are touched by computing and information technology. It
mediates much private and public communication, interaction, and transaction,
and forms the infrastructure for critical social and institutional functions
such as commerce, banking and finance, utilities, national defense, education,
entertainment, and more. Given the ubiquity of these systems and the
confidence we have invested in them, it is important to step back and consider
what wholesale commitment to this technology means for moral, social, and
political values. Our course undertakes this mission. We investigate how
computers and information systems promote and obscure the values to which we,
individually and as societies are committed, values such as freedom, privacy,
justice and autonomy. We do so by examining ways in which computer and
information systems "embody" values.
The course is divided into roughly two parts. In the first, we study a varied
tradition of work in the humanities and social sciences that looks at the
social, political and moral dimensions of technology generally - the rich and
sometimes troubling relationship of humanity to technology. We will ask
whether technology is a neutral force and what this question even means. We
will ask whether and to what extent technology is determined by internal
forces of science and engineering or broader social, moral and political
forces. In the second part of the course, we turn attention to information
and communications technology, carrying forward themes and principles learned
in the first part.
The syllabus tries to steer an even course between theory and application.
Through the readings we gain acquaintance with a number of theoretical
approaches in the philosophy and social study of technology. Students will be
expected to gain competency in theory and gain familiarity with key cases,
especially those that have generated controversy and disagreement. They will
be given opportunity to demonstrate this competency in classroom discussion
and written assignments.
READINGS
Weekly readings assigned from course readers and textbooks must be completed
before each class meeting. The following books are available in the
Bookstore:
- Katie Hafner and Matthew Lyon (1996) Where Wizards Stay up Late: The
Origins of the Internet. New York: Touchstone Books
- Lawrence Lessig (1999) Code and Other Laws of Cyberspace. New York: Basic Books
- Course Reader: A course reader is available for purchase at the MacDougal Copy Center, 127 MacDougal Street (between W 3rd and 4th), Ph. 212-460-8591.
COURSE REQUIREMENTS & GRADING POLICY
Grades will be assigned on the basis of a term research paper and various smaller assignments, including classroom presentations.
50% Term research paper. Term papers should offer an analysis of a
case or a few cases drawing on course readings. Examples: content filters;
peer-based file-sharing, digital rights management, search engines, cookies,
P3P, etc
50% Other: Including in-class participation, preparation of study questions, presentations.
COURSE HOMEPAGE
The homepage will serve as the hub of the class and should be checked regularly. The following important elements will be found there: syllabus, which will be updated as we go along; discussion group where students can post
questions, ideas, and observations; useful external links.
SCHEDULE
1/21 Introduction
1/28 Technology: Utopia or Dystopia
Perspectives on technology vary greatly. Some are wildly optimistic, holding
technology to be the key to solving difficult social problems. Others present
darker views, believing that blindly adopting technical "fixes," will
compromise essential aspects of our humanity. Readings represent a range of
perspectives, including theoretical insights as well as illustrative case
studies.
Readings:
- John Perry Barlow, "Coming into the Country" In Computers, Ethics and Social
Responsibility (1995), Deborah Johnson and Helen Nissenbaum (eds.)
Englewood-Cliffs: Prentice Hall.
- Ellul, Jacques. "The Search for Ethics in a Technicist Society." Research
Philosophy and Technology. Mitcham, Carl, ed. Ethics and Technology Vol. 9,
Greenwich, Con: JAI Press, Inc. 1989, 23-36
- Florman, Samuel. "In Praise of Technology." Controlling Technology:
Contemporary Issues. Ed. W. B. Thompson. Buffalo, NY: Prometheus Books, 1991,
148-156.
- Kramer, Mark. "The Ruination of the Tomato" In Controlling Technology:
Contemporary Issues, W.B. Thompson (eds.) Buffalo, NY: Prometheus Books, 1991,
131-141
- Kwitny, Jonathon. "The Great Transportation Conspiracy." Controlling
Technology: Contemporary Issues. Ed. W. B. Thompson. Buffalo, NY: Prometheus
Books, 1991, 265-274.
- Marcuse, Herbert "From Negative to Positive Thinking: Technological
Rationality and the Logic of Domination" One Dimensional Man: Studies in the
Ideology of Advanced Industrial Society Boston: Beacon Press, 1964, 144-169
(Concentrate on pp. 155 onward.)
- Weinberg, Alvin M. "Can Technology Replace Social Engineering." Controlling
Technology: Contemporary Issues. Ed. W. B. Thompson. Buffalo, NY: Prometheus
Books, 1991, 41-48.
2/4 Technological Determinism
Must we accept the course of technology as inevitable? Technological
determinists hold that technology is driven purely by the internal forces of
science and engineering, and that though it has the capacity to affect people
and society in drastic ways, it is not affected by social forces. In
systematic writings on the subject of technology, one seldom finds support for
the most simplistic and extreme versions of technological determinism, but
through the voices of various commentators and critics we will consider a
number of variations on its central themes.
Readings:
- Bimber, Bruce. "Three Faces of Technological Determinism." Does Technology
Drive History? The Dilemma of Technological Determinism, M.R. Smith and L.
Marx (eds.) Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1998, 79-100.
- Feenberg, Andrew "From Essentialism to Constructivism: Philosophy of
Technology at the Crossroads" Technology and the Good Life? Ed, Higgs, Eric,
Light, Andrew and Strong, David Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000,
294-315
- Marx, Leo and M. R. Smith. Introduction from Does Technology Drive History?
The Dilemma of Technological Determinism. Ed. M.R. Smith and L. Marx.
Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1998.
- Misa, Thomas. "Retrieving Sociotechnical Chance from Technological
Determinism." Does Technology Drive History? The Dilemma of Technological
Determinism, M.R. Smith and L. Marx (eds.) Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1998,
115-141
- Postman, Neil. "The Judgment of Thamus" Technopoly: The Surrender of Culture to Technology New York: Vintage Books, 1993, 3-20
2/11 Is Technology Neutral?
GUEST LECTURE: TBA
Some people argue that technology is neutral. Its good and bad consequences
are the result not of technology itself, but of the uses to which it is put:
"Guns don't kill, people do." In this segment we evaluate this claim as well
as views that dispute it.
Readings:
- Balabanian, Norman. "Presumed Neutrality of Technology," In Controlling
Technology: Contemporary Issues, W.B. Thompson (eds.) Buffalo, NY: Prometheus
Books, 1991, 249-264.
- Bentham, Jeremy "Panopticon; or the Inspection House The Panopticon Writings
New York: Verso, 1995, 31-34, 86-95
- Latour, Bruno. "Where Are the Missing Masses? The Sociology of a Few Mundane
Artifacts." Shaping Technology/Building Society. Ed. W. Bijker and J. Law.
Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1992. Pg. 225-258.
- Wajcman, Judy. Feminism Confronts Technology. Cambridge, UK: Polity Press,
1991, 137-161.
- Winner, Langdon. "Do Artifacts Have Politics." The Whale and the Reactor.
Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1986, 18-39.
2/18 What are Values?
What are the values that technology may promote or suppress? Whose values? Is
there a difference between individual values, or collective value? What values
does and should technology embody? Browse through the two state constitutions.
In U.S. case, focus in Bill of Rights.
Readings:
- Constitution of South Africa:
http://www.polity.org.za/govdocs/constitution/index.html
- Constitution of the United States of America:
http://lcweb2.loc.gov/const/const.html
- Nagel, Thomas. "The Fragmentation of Value" Mortal Questions. Cambridge, MA:
Cambridge University Press, 1979, 128-141
- Taylor, Charles. The Diversity of Goods" Moral Philosophy: Selected Readings
2nd ed. Ed. Sher, George, forth Worth: Harcourt Brace Publishers, 1996,
581-593
2/25 Are Values Universal and Objective?
A timeless question for morality is whether its precepts and values are
universal and in any sense objective. We will discuss these questions with particular interest in how answers to them affect various positions on technology and values.
Readings:
- Gilligan, Carol "In a Different Voice" Moral Philosophy: Selected Readings
2nd ed. Ed. Sher, George, forth Worth: Harcourt Brace Publishers, 1996,
581-593
- Harman, Gilbert. "Is There a Single True Morality?" Explaining Value and Other
Essays in Moral Philosophy. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 2000, 77-99
3/4 No class
3/11 Social Construction of Technology
Among the challenges of technological determinism is that technical artifacts
and systems are socially constructed, determined not by science and
engineering alone but shaped by social, political and cultural forces. What do
they mean? Is their stance any more defensible than the ones they challenge?
Readings:
- Bijker, Wiebe, and John Law. Introduction. In Shaping Technology/Building
Society. Ed. W. Bijker and J. Law. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1992. Pg. 1-14.
- Feenberg, Andrew "Subversive Rationalization: Technology, power and Democracy"
in Technology and the politics of Knowledge" ed. Feenberg, Andrew and Hannay,
Alastair Indiana: Indiana University Press, 1995, 3-22
- Hughes, Thomas. "The Evolution of Large Technological Systems." The Social
Construction of Technological Systems. Bijker, Hughes and Pinch (eds.)
Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1987, 51-82
- Pinch, Trevor and W. Bijker. "The Social Construction of Facts and Artifacts:
Or How the Sociology of Science and the Sociology of Technology Might Benefit
Each Other." Shaping Technology/Building Society. Ed. W. Bijker and J. Law.
Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1992, 17-50.
3/18 Spring Recess
3/25 The Internet
The history of the Internet, short as it is, illustrates the way technical and
social themes are woven together to form significant technological systems. In
reading about the advent of the Internet, we can consider themes raised in
earlier discussions of social construction of technical systems.
Readings:
- Hafner and Lyon, Where Wizards Stay Up Late: The Origins of the Internet
(1999) New York: Touchstone Books
- Abbate, Janet. Inventing the Internet. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1999,
chapters 3 and 4, pp. 83-145.
4/1 Information Technology and Values
One interpretation of the idea that computer system embody values is that,
through their structure, computer systems acts as a regulating force in
society. The result of this "regulation" is the promotion and suppression of
various values. With the rich set of cases Lessig describes in his book we can
explore further ways in which technology is not neutral.
Readings:
- Halimi, Serge. "The Well-connected Rich." Trans. by Harry Forster. Le Monde
diplomatique. (October 2000), Online:
www.monde-diplomatique.fr/en/2000/10/05netrich.
- Lessig, Lawrence. Code and Other Laws of Cyberspace. New York: Basic Books,
1999. Ch. 1-5.
4/8 Information Technology and Values
Readings:
- Lessig, Lawrence. Code and Other Laws of Cyberspace. New York: Basic Books,
1999. Ch. 6-10.
4/15, 4/22 Value Sensitive Design - Critical Evaluation and Case Studies
Having acknowledged that technical systems may embody values, the next step is
to explore whether and the extent to which humans can control the design of
systems with the intention of bring about certain value-relevant changes. We
will consider various approaches to this issues, in particular an approach
called "value sensitive design." We will also consider obstacles and
problems. A commitment to values is usually not enough as there are a myriad
forces with which even the most conscientious designers and developers must
contend. What are these forces? What can we do to help well-intentioned
producers of technology?
Readings:
- Berners-Lee, Tim and Frischetti, Mark. Weaving the Web: The Original Design
and Ultimate Destiny of the World Wide Web by its Inventor. San Francisco:
Harper, 1999, 7-66
- Friedman, B. and Kahn, P. H., Jr. (2003). "Human values, ethics and design".
In J. Jacko and A. Sears (Eds.), Handbook of Human-Computer Interaction (pp.
1177 - 1201). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
- Friedman, Batya and Helen Nissenbaum. "Bias in Computer Systems." Human Values
and the Design of Computer Technology. Ed. Batya Friedman. New York: Cambridge
University Press, 1997, 21-40.
- Hockenberry, John. "This is the Story of the Most Fearless Entrepreneur Ever,
The Human Brain" Wired Magazine, August 2001, 99-105
- L. Introna and H. Nissenbaum, "Defining the Web: The Politics of Search
Engines" IEEE Computer, Vol. 33, No. 1, Jan. 2000: 54-62.
- Nissenbaum, Helen. "How Computer Systems Embody Values" Computer, Vol. 34,
Number 3, March 2001, 120-118
- Nass, Clifford, Moon, Y., Morkes, J., Kim, E., and B. J. Fogg. "Computers are
Social Actors: A Review of Current Research." Human Values and the Design of
Computer Technology. Ed. Batya Friedman. New York: Cambridge University Press,
1997, 137-162.
- Sara Kiesler and Lee Sproull (1997) "'Social' Human-Computer Interaction" In
Human Values and the Design of Computer Technology. Ed. Batya Friedman. New
York: Cambridge University Press
- Perry, John, Macken, E., Scott, N. and J. McKinley. "Disability, Inability, and Cyberspace." Human Values and the Design of Computer Technology. Ed. Batya Friedman. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1997, 65-90.
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