CS 293

Social and Ethical Issues in Computing

Spring 2018

Section 003: Mondays 1:00–1:50 — Dane Smith Hall 232

Section 004: Wednesdays 1:00–1:50 — Dane Smith Hall 232

Dr. Marina Kogan
email: mkogan@unm.edu

Class Schedule

Choose at least three to read articles unless otherwise noted. Readings that are bolded should be included in these three.

1. INTRODUCTION & CLASS GOALS (Jan 15/Jan 17)

No Monday class - Martin Luther Jr. Day

2. TECHNOLOGY & POWER (Jan 22/Jan 24)

One-page single-spaced essay on the readings is due in class

3. FREE SPEECH & CENSORSHIP (Jan 29/Jan 31)

One-page single-spaced essay on the readings is due in class

4. CASE STUDY: TWITTER (Feb 5/Feb 7)

Read all of these:

One-page essay on the readings is due in class

5. INTELLECTUAL FREEDOM & OPEN SOURCE (Feb 12/Feb 14)

One-page essay on the readings is due in class

6. PRIVACY & PERSONAL DATA (Feb 19/Feb 21)

One-page essay on the readings is due in class

7. SURVEILLANCE & GOVERNMENT (Feb 26/Feb 28)

One-page essay on the readings is due in class

8. INFORMATION INEQUITY (Mar 5/Mar 7)

One-page essay on the readings is due in class

9. SPRING BREAK (Mar 12/Mar 14)

10. INTERNET RESEARCH ETHICS (Mar 19/Mar 21)

One-page essay on the readings is due in class

11. AI & ROBOTS (Mar 26/Mar 28)

One-page essay on the readings is due in class

12. CASE STUDY: CHATBOTS (Apr 2/Apr 4)

One-page essay on the readings is due in class

13. ALGORITHMS & BIAS (Apr 9/Apr 11)

One-page essay on the readings is due in class

14. CASE STUDY: PREDICTIVE POLICING (Apr 16/Apr 18)

One-page essay on the readings is due in class

15. NO CLASS (Apr 23/Apr 25)

Work on your final project

16. RESPONSIBILITY (Apr 30/May 2)

One-page essay on the readings is due in class

16. FINALS WEEK (May 7/May 9)

Final projects due

Write a high-level script for a Black Mirror episode (or any similar sci-fi show that deals with implications of technology) or a short story:

Syllabus Details

Society is continuously challenged by new advances, inventions, and the social and ethical repercussions of technology.

This class explores these issues, from the perspective of technology policy, design, and potential impilications for the lived experiences of the technology users. Throughout the course we will cover privacy, intellectual property, issues of digital divide, algorithmic bias, professional responsibility and codes, online communities, chatbots, and the social and legal impacts of these and other technologies.

Assignments

Every week you will have to turn in a one-page single-spaced written essay. These should be turned in, printed out, each week in class. Based on the weeks reading, please discuss the following:

Expectations

You are expect to attend class, to have completed the assigned readings, and to participate in class discussion. If you must miss a class, please send an email in advance. All assignments should be done individually.

Grades

Office Hours

Mondays 2:00PM-3:00PM
Farris Engineering Center, Room 2130

The course materials are largely based on Casey Fiesler’s Ethical and Policy Dimensions of Information, Technology, and New Media course and the course description builds on Patrick Kelly’s earlier iteration of this course.