Study Notes on Technology and Humanity (HU 245)

HU 245 - Technology and Humanity

Week 1

Overview of the Course

  • HU 245: Course signifies humanities integration with technology.
  • Focus on understanding the interplay between technology and humanity, rather than viewing them separately.

Course Questions

  • Technology AND Humanity: Critical questions to explore:
    • Why is using a phone as an alarm clock considered problematic?
    • Research shows that students learn better when phones are turned off.
    • The ineffectiveness of silent mode compared to completely turning off a phone.
    • Keeping phones in bags versus pockets affects distraction levels.
    • Handwriting notes versus typing on laptops: effectiveness consideration.
    • Examining the design of phones regarding user happiness.
    • Strategies for responsible usage of smartphones to enhance well-being.
    • Exploring lifestyles in relation to technology and identifying wise versus unwise practices.
    • What does it mean to “Live Wisely” with technology?
    • Understanding the role of a “Technology Critic.”

Case Studies and Recommendations

  • Recommendations from Tristan Harris (Design Ethicist):
    • Turn off all non-human notifications.
    • Use grayscale for your screen to reduce stimulation.
    • Restrict home screen to essential applications.

Self-Assessment Questions

  • Assessing the relationship with smartphones:
    • Time before checking the phone after waking or before bed.
    • Phone usage in situations (such as classes with no phones allowed).
    • Feeling anxiety when away from the phone, etc.

Week 2

Becoming a Tech Critic

  • Learn to be a tech critic; critical thinking about technology use.
  • Distinguished from standard consumer reviews.
  • Tech critics evaluate how technology aligns with human goals and values.
  • Importance of Critical Distance and Self-Knowledge in assessing technology.
  • Employing moral frameworks to evaluate both benefits and dangers of technology.

Michael Sacasas's Perspectives

  • Tech critics are driven by love for various ideals (community, health, etc.).
  • Introducing two types of critics:
    • Arcadian: mourns lost aspects
    • Tech Enthusiast: celebrates technological gains

Self-Assessment on Tech Critique

  • Rated inclination towards being Arcadian or Enthusiast on scale 1-5.

Week 3

Defining Technology

  • Avoid simplistic dictionary definitions of technology.
  • Emphasize a broader understanding:
    • Technology encompasses organization, systems, and artifacts.
    • Technology's role spans diverse types (communication, military, transportation).
  • Consider examples like the wheel, computers, or medical devices.

Characteristics of Technology

  • All technology is instrumental; each has goals and purposes.
  • Clarification on ethical distinctions: alteration versus novel uses.

Moral Issues in Technology

  • Pinker’s Assertion: The world is getting better (citing works like "The Better Angels of Our Nature").
  • Level of violence has decreased significantly over time.
  • Numerical Data related to homicide rates across timeframes:
    • Hunter-Gatherers: 303 deaths per 100,000
    • USA (2023): 5.7 deaths per 100,000

Understanding Public Perceptions

  • Exploration of statistical reasoning regarding violence.
  • Discussing availability heuristic: are perceived threats as prevalent as believed?
  • Journalism's Nature affecting perceptions of safety due to biases towards negative news.

Week 4

Evaluating Instrumental Rationality

  • Instrumental Rationality: reasoning to optimize goal achievement with least cost.
  • Self-assessment questions for technology use with a focus on effectiveness and worthiness.

Common Analysis Types

  • Cost-Benefit Analysis: Assessing individual technology's effectiveness.
  • Comparative Analysis: Comparing multiple technologies for goal achievement.

Potential Errors in Analysis

  • Avoid unreflective usage of technology and overlooking significant costs.
  • Understanding long-term implications of cheaper or easier tools versus their health benefits.

Ethical Questions Raised in Technology

  • Exploring critical issues such as the atomic bomb's use, genetic alterations, and social media ethics.

Week 5

Examining Strategic Rationality

  • Strategic Rationality: maximizing goals considering others' goals.
  • Common examples include competitive games, wars, and market economies.

Qwerty Keyboard Case Study

  • Old Qwerty keyboard's design entails strategic logic but is less beneficial today.
  • New designs like Dvorak provide better typing efficiency but face adoption challenges.

Prisoner’s Dilemma

  • An illustration of strategic interactions with breakdown of potential outcomes based on choices made by two individuals under pressure of imprisonment.

Week 6

Technology & Work Economics

  • Keynes's Predictions for future economic scenarios: abundance, 15-hour work week.
  • Statistical examination of time worked in various historical and contemporary contexts.

Modern Times Film Analysis

  • Reflects on the impact of technology on employment and overall worker satisfaction.
  • Insight into labor struggle mirrored in film’s commentary on industrialization effects.

Reflections on Modern Technology's Role

  • Identifying what is gained and lost in transitions between technologies such as writing, film, and everyday tools.