Why I’m marching for <computer_science>
Saturday, April 22, around the world, millions of global citizens will join the #MarchforScience in Washington, DC and 500 satellite marches around the world. I will be speaking on stage at the Denver march alongside a geologist (who happends to be CO governor John Hickenlooper), a meteorologist, a veterinarian, an engineering professor, a biologist and more. The mission is to champion scientific discovery for human freedom and prosperty. I am am definitely on board with that, but to put a finer point on it — I will be marching for computer science.
I am marching for computer science because scientific discovery and innovation is a team sport. A multi-disciplinary team of scientists, engineers and technologists made it possible to sequence the human genome, and a team of engineers, programmers, mathematicians, and scientists put the first human in space. I’m anticipating the next giant leap forward in human achievement that will result from collaborations such as these. Whether techies realize it or not, they are on the team.
I am marching for computer science, because although I am not a computer scientist, coder, or technologist myself, I recognize the central role that computing plays in the modern world. I recognize that understanding, studying, and researching the digital environment we inhabit is as important as studying nature and the air we breathe. Scientific study helps us understand, evaluate, and learn from the world around us. It lets us know what holds promise for good and understand what might cause harm. We spend most of our waking hours interacting with technology. Understanding the social, cultural, and ethical implications of that technology is critical to understanding and thriving in our rapidly changing world.
I am marching for computer science because it is disruptive and impactful. On a visit to NASA, I was priveleged to see one of the first digital cameras ever created. Covered in gold leaf and as big as a kitchen table, this behemoth by modern standards was created by NASA to transmit images from space. This innovation resulted from 15M in research and development investments by the US government — investments that contributed to launching a completely disruptive technology that has spurred innovative uses we could never have imagined and changed the way we interact as humans. Without digital cameras we would have no selfies, be able to capture video and photos whenever and wherever we are, and Instagram, Snapchat, and YouTube wouldn’t exist. Social media would be pretty boring. But more importantly, we would be a less connected society and have a less robust economy. Digital photography may have killed the film developing industry, but it spawned tenfold economic activity in its place. It democratized access to photography and filmmaking, and reduced the cost of photos to a negligible amount. We do no longer have to be selective of what is worth recording. Digital cameras dramatically increased the speed and distance at which images could be shared. One could argue that digital cameras have fundamentally changed the human experience to one that is being constantly recorded and shared. This has both positive and negative impacts, which need to be studied (see above).
I am marching for computer science because computing is foundational to virtually all scientific research and innovation. I am marching for computer science because I hope to see a cure for cancer in my lifetime, I want energy to be available to all without great environmental costs, and I look forward to the advances in health and longevity achieved through understanding and unlocking the secrets of the human genome. Like I said before, scientific discovery is a team sport. We need the entire team on the field.
I am marching for computer science because it is science — because the emerging fields of artificial intelligence, virtual and augmented reality, nanotechnology, and many more are the result computer science research. Thanks to computer science research we have 3D printing, laser surgery and precision medicine, advanced manfucturing and of course — robots.
Finally, I am marching for computer science for all American students. Though computing is foundational to virtually all scientific and technical innovation, it is largely absent from our educational pipeline. Today only 40% of US K-12 schools offer rigorous computer science courses, and though there are 1.1M expected job openings in computing related fields by 2024, only 45% of these jobs could be filled by US computing degree recipients at the current rate. Activists nationwide are working to change these statistics. You can learn more and join in at csforall.org — because fixing computer science education and growing our talent pool is fundamental to growing our economy and achieving economic prosperity. When America computes, America competes.
So this weekend I will march for computer science with so many others (S/O to the women of Aspirations in Computing and OSU OSTEM and ACM-W). Join us and let us know you are there #CSforAll along with #MarchforScience. And as you share your #MarchforScience #CSforAll experience using your smart phone, digital camera and transmitting the images and messages across the Internet — remember you have computer science to thank for that technology.
