Information Society

What is the mainstream definition of the information society?(Mansell, 2010)​

one where increased use of information communication technologies (ICTs) is linked to progress, innovation, economic growth and better living standards.

Why must this view be challenged? (Mansell, 2010)​

“The hegemony of the singular construction – The Information Society – should not go unchallenged.”

What belief does techno-solutionism promote?

Techno-solutionism: the idea that tech can solve complex social, political and economic issues

What percentage of consumers believe AI will help solve society’s challenges?

86% of consumers believe AI will help solve the most pressing challenges facing the human race and society today. (Roshni Modhvadia et al., 2023)

What does McMillan Cottom say about exclusion in platform capitalism? (Cottom, 2020)​

To both expand and exclude, the platform-mediated era of capitalism that grew from Internet technologies specializes in predatory inclusion.

How does Terranova describe user-generated content and engagement online? (Terranova, 2000)

“Free labour: Producing culture for the digital economy.”

How much revenue did Meta generate primarily through advertising?

“Meta Platforms... generated over $134 billion in revenue, primarily through advertising.”

What did Sweeney (2013) find about Google ad discrimination?

“Searches for Black names were 80% more likely to produce arrest-related ads, compared to 30% for white names.”

What does Benjamin argue about algorithmic objectivity? (Benjamin, 2019, Race After Technology)​

Far from coming upon a sinister story of racist programmers... the desire for objectivity, efficiency, profitability, and progress fuels the pursuit of technical fixes across many different social arenas.

What are the error rates in AI facial recognition? (Buolamwini & Gebru, 2018)​

“Error rates of 34.7% for Black women as opposed to 0.8% for white men.”

What happened to Robert Williams?

Robert Williams, an African American man from Detroit, was arrested in 2020 due to misidentification by AI facial recognition.” (Your essay; see Buolamwini & Gebru, 2018)​

What is an example of digital colonialism in practice? (Agarwal & Wankhade, 2006)​

“E-waste disposal sites such as Agbogbloshie in Ghana and sites in Delhi expose marginalised workers to toxic material with severe health risks.”

What does your essay say about erasure of Global South labour in AI?

“The contributions of underpaid data annotators... are erased under the guise of techno-determinism.”

What market share does Google have in global search engines? (Statista, 2023)​

“Google is the site of 92% of the world’s searches.”

What % of cloud infrastructure is controlled by Big Tech? (Ulrich, 2017)​

“Google, Apple, Facebook, Amazon and Microsoft control over 75% of global cloud infrastructure.”

What happened to Aaron Swartz?

“The arrest of Aaron Swartz for attempting to make JSTOR articles publicly available... undermines this notion of free access.”

What did Human Rights Watch find in 2023? (Younes, 2023)

“Systemic and global censorship of Pro-Palestinian content on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.”

How is the internet structurally biased, according to Noble? (Noble & Tynes, 2016)

The Western Internet, as a social structure, represents and maintains White, masculine, bourgeois, heterosexual and Christian culture through its content.”

What does Noble’s research on Google search show? (Noble, 2013)

Google profits from hypersexualized misrepresentations of Black women and girls.”

What does Roberts say about content moderation? (Roberts in Noble & Tynes, 2016)

“We are able to see how the logics of racism, sexism, and state power operate in an uneven and politicized way.”

What does Glendinning argue Neo-Luddites oppose? (Glendinning, 1990s)​

“What we oppose are the kinds of technologies that are, at root, destructive of human lives and communities.”

What does Mansell suggest about imagined futures? (2010)

“A plurality of visions of future information societies exist, embracing potentially conflicting values and priorities... analytical approaches that privilege human well-being and inclusivity.”

What does Webster say about the Information Society narrative? (2005)

“The notion of an ‘Information Age’ exaggerates the extent of change while underestimating the continuities in capitalism.”

What does Mansell say about competing visions of the information society? (2010)

“A plurality of visions of future information societies exist, embracing potentially conflicting values and priorities... analytical approaches that privilege human well-being and inclusivity.”

What stat reveals gender bias in information production online?“90% of Wikipedia editors are men.” (Ford & Wajcman, 2017)​