Tech and Its’ Limits
In an article I read this week in my class by Langdon Winner, I was brought to light on some interesting concepts. Winner’s main idea that he wanted to get across was that when one was to discuss the ethics behind technology, technology itself should be at the center of it, not humans. After reading through all the articles for class, I found Winner’s article most fascinating and was anticipating other students to agree. However, during our discussion among classmates, I found that most students didn’t seem to hold Winner’s articles above the other ones as I had. This was likely because the students either did not agree with Winner’s thoughts or they did not hold Winner’s concept higher than the other author’s articles (Floridi and Castells). So I wanted to continue the discussion that Winner had started, and talk about how technology can have a political nature. The cost of a phone defines that phone's value and the person who owns that phone is also defined by it. Whether it be how well off they are financially or what they consider valuable compared to the rest of society. A lot can be said from just one decision that the creator of that phone makes.
A better example is something that I came across recently on a social media app. Many people have heard of Pinterest, an app designed for people to create and inspire ideas through pictures. There have been many changes created on this app over the past few years, but one caught my eye recently. When searching up ideas for medium hairstyles, a few icons appear below the search bar representing a lighter skin tone to a darker skin tone and separated into four options. They have included this feature for any search in which they consider users to appreciate this option. Although this feature is not a recent addition, it is a great example of how technology can have a political proposition based on how the creator designed it. This has a lot to do with the political issue of diversity.
Racism has been a reoccurring issue but has been stressed a lot this past year. Although apps and search engines work continuously on how search results come up, it’s hard to not have a predominantly white-skinned, blonde hair person show up more often than anything else. However, program developers not working persistently to find ways to create a more diverse search engine does not seem favorable either. The developers make decisions on their products every day, and what these developers choose to do will have an effect on society as well. There was a discussion in class today comparing technology being a tool to a gun being a tool. If a gun is just a tool for self-defense, then the person who owns it chooses how or when to use it. If technology is just a tool, then the person who uses it chooses how they will do so. But what if technology doesn’t present itself with the tools that the user wants? What if technology was limited to only a certain number of choices causing the user to be forced to choose only what they are offered? If the user can only base their decisions based on the tools they're given, then the real power is being held in the person who created these tools.
