You have 60 minutes including a ten minute break. 4 questions. As a group, decide when in the 60 minutes you want to take your break.
Assign one member of your group as note taker, and another as presenter.
Then, individually, read the following article:
"The politics of empathy and the politics of technology" by Zeynep Tufecki for The Message. Published Nov 24, 2015.
https://medium.com/message/the-politics-of-empathy-and-the-politics-technology-664437b6427
Content warning: the article briefly describes the aftermath of terrorist attacks, violence, and natural disasters.
After having read the article above, discuss the following questions and keep notes on your answers. Bullet points are fine.
You can keep the notes in a text file, a secret gist, a blank piece of paper, or anywhere else, as long as you'll be able to share it with your teacher when you're done. Add a note also about who is on your team and what topic you're discussing about.
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Discuss the article. What did you find confusing and/or insightful?
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The article mentions several examples of political decisions made by tech companies. List three.
Hint: to say that something is 'political' is to say that it embeds or expresses certain ideas about what is valuable in society, what is desirable for the future, and who gets to decide those things.
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Do you think, in general, that companies like Amazon, Facebook or Google create software for other people or with them? What might be different in the development process between these two approaches?
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Think of the midterm project you worked on (or are currently working on) in week 6. Come up with three ways in which the app can be considered political.
Hint: you may find it useful to think about these questions:
- Who had a say in what features the app needs to have, and who didn't?
- Who is likely to benefit from such an app, and who isn't?
- What do people need to make use of the app? Who may or may not have access to those skills or resources?
- What values does the app express about society or the future?