book_of_units.txt

Innovative methods The course embraces a range of methods that support practicebased ethical technology development. These include Participatory Action Research, Feminist, postcolonial and anarchist Human Computer Interaction, Iterative Design, Grounded Theory and Digital ethnography. This approach distinguishes the course from traditional science and technology studies, expanding the field from the domain of sociology to encompass emerging practices in ethical technology development. Ethics for as creative practice The situation of the course within a creative computing context offers a distinctive approach where ethical issues are taken as a design challenge and creative responses are encouraged, taking them beyond critique into practical action. By nature, the course fosters an ethos of collaboration, participation, and interdisciplinary. External links The course is significantly informed by a network of practitioners working in feminist, technology and activist contexts. Key staff members have founded feminist nonprofits Feminist Internet and Code Liberation and have extensive contacts in the field. Research informed teaching The course is significantly informed by the research agenda of the Institute within which it sits. It touches directly on the Institutes research theme of ‘Platforms, Big Data and Digital Citizenship, examining how the contemporary world is being defined through human computer interaction and social platforms. how power relations and structures of oppression are organized, embedded and perpetuated by internet technologies. It will equip you with critical and technical tools to understand and apply principles of equality in technology research and development, so you can contribute to making the internet and society more equal. We define internet equalities as sociotechnical relations that explicitly oppose discrimination on the grounds of race, class, gender, gender identity, sexuality, age, belief or ability. The course will ensure you are proactive in confronting social problems, facilitating greater diversity of all kinds and reducing the risk of destructive outcomes that can be brought about by unethical technologies. collaborative, open and participatory with an emphasis on peer support and community. explore a range of interrelated theories including Digital Intersectionality, Post colonial Science and Technology Studies, Digital Feminism and Queer Theory. You will learn methods including Participatory Action Research, Feminist, postcolonial Human Computer Interaction, Iterative Design, Grounded Theory and Digital Ethnography. how scholars and creative practitioners have used frameworks such as digital intersectionality and post colonial science and technology studies to push back against these power relations. address an internet equality by reviewing and critiquing current discourses and completing a practical intervention. prototype and test a method of ethical technology development. present a critique of a relevant theoretical text and its relationship to your practice. Methods covered will include Feminist postcolonial anarchist Human Computer Interaction, Participatory Action Research, Iterative Design, and Digital Ethnography. Theories covered will include Digital Feminism, Digital Intersectionality, Postcolonial Science and Technology Studies and Queer Theory. Javascript, Twitter bots and Python, considering how feminist approaches can frame the practice of coding. This unit has the explicit aim of helping you understand coding skills within a community of practitioners and ensuring you develop a foundation to tackle the rest of the course and orient your coding skills towards ethical technology development. Building on the feminist computational practices unit, this practical unit explores computational bias in the context of surveillance capitalism and big data. critical and computational approaches to address forms of discrimination and bias that are reinforced by machine learning systems and the data they are trained on. explore alternative, crowdsourced and open forms of data and their potential in creative ethical technology development. develop a technical prototype and provide accompanying reflective documentation. critically analyse the role of responsible innovation in building a more equal society, considering its place and scope within small startups and global corporations. present a proposal for a business, policy or other intervention that foregrounds responsible innovation or workplace equality. the roles of technology companies, governments, users and the law in making social platforms safe. explore legal, human rights and regulatory frameworks surrounding online liability, duty of care and online harms. data protection in the context of surveillance and platform capitalism. design an intervention to promote or enhance online safety within a public service or social network. use Participatory Action Research and Digital Ethnography to explore the role of online platforms in social change. activists and initiators of online movements and discuss the current contexts of community empowerment, collective resistance, subversion and activism. that advances internet equality. In this unit you will explore how power relations are organized, embedded and perpetuated in internet technologies, and how they can be reorganized or challenged. You will examine how individuals experience intersecting structures of oppression stemming from social phenomena including heteropatriarchy, capitalism, colonialism and white supremacy. You will learn how scholars and creative practitioners have used frameworks such as Intersectional Critical Race Technology Studies, Digital Feminism, Queer Theory and Postcolonial Science and Technology Studies, as well as creative and activist practices, to push back against and transcend these structures of oppression. Theorising internet equalities, Intersecting oppressions and power relations, Creative and activist forms of resistance. Analyse and evaluate how power relations are organized, embedded and perpetuated in internet technologies. Synthesise and critically analyse how internet inequalities have been theorised. Synthesise and critically analyse creative forms of resistance. Produce and critically evaluate a speculative intervention and its ethical implications.