134 Posts Categorized "Kean University 2021"

Digital Storytelling course at Kean University taught by Mia Zamora and Alan Levine (all blogging at the Net Mirror 2021 site)

Kean University 2021, The Network

AI E I O…and on that farm

teacheng on March 29, 2021

In an old skit from Writer and Comedian, George Carlin, he talks about how the world has become one big technological “club” and if a person was not a member of “Big Business” or part of a “Mega-Corporation” that person was not part of the “club”. In fact, most Americans don’t qualify to become part of the “club” Carlin spoke about. Only about one percent of the entire American population actually qualifies to be a part of the “club”. It’s […]

Kean University 2021, The Network

I Can’t Breathe…

jessielb928 on March 29, 2021March 29, 2021

Ruha Benjamin from Princeton University discussed a sensitive but unfortunate reality that has become more real now than ever before. Science and technology is at an all-time high now, especially with the constant innovations of various technologies being used to understand humans better. But the question arises, are these creations helping or hurting the society it’s being made for and becoming part of? Her article Catching Our Breath highlights the studies of science and technologies with critical race theories and […]

Ch 10: Race & Technology, Kean University 2021, The Network

Anticipatory Conformity & Algorithimic Bias

mzamora on March 28, 2021March 28, 2021

I am glad we have spent some time thinking about the everyday consequences of data surveillance, and I think that discussing the “Screening Surveillance” films has been a great way to get at the issues (moving beyond mere conceptual analysis) as we start to think about how this ubiquitous reality is shaping our everyday lives. The conversation we had about “A Model Employee” and more recently about “Blaxites” lead to some meaningful insights on your part. Doing some speculating together […]

Kean University 2021, The Network

Power Balance

hgatica on March 26, 2021

Ruha Benjamin’s Catching Our Breath: Critical Race STS and the Carceral Imagination does an excellent job in discussing the many racial inequalities that can coexist with developing technologies. It was a point that was brought up before with AI face-scanning and criminal record analysis, but this particular argument is framed around the “proliferation and intensification of carceral approaches to governing human life.” One quote that caught my attention was by Everett Hughes, who asked “Why didn’t sociologists foresee the explosion […]

Kean University 2021, The Network

I Ai Therefore I Exist

Prof Alan on March 25, 2021March 25, 2021

Hi, my name is Jeremy, and I am helping Alan out this week with some activities. But I should introduce myself. I have been working to launch a blockchain startup called Ideolium that has an exciting new technology of interest to those designing a post pandemic university. We are busy with launch, but I can share a preview of our website. Click to see full sized version I hope I can tell you more if we can meet up soon. […]

Kean University 2021, The Network

Can You See Me?

vickbwrites on March 25, 2021

Joy Buolamwini’s TED Talk “How I am fighting algorithms with bias” discusses the biases and discriminatory encounters that individuals of color face when using technology. It is disheartening that we are in 2021, and we have yet to find recognition software that can detect diverse faces. Buloamwini provided her experiences with completing assignments during her undergraduate year but not being able to as her robot could not see her. She had to borrow her roommate’s face. With the current pandemic […]

Kean University 2021, The Network

Don’t Look at Me Like That

thesunthatruns on March 25, 2021March 25, 2021

This has been a pretty interesting week, but it is also the week where I’ve managed to hit my “semester slump.” It’s becoming more and more difficult for me to sit down and want to type everything out, and all my thoughts and feelings are starting to really box me into this perpetually tired and semi-resentful mindset of “But what is the point if no one sees me and my work? Why keep going?” It’s exactly the kind of mindset […]

Kean University 2021, The Network

Virtual Justice and Algorithms

krock5228 on March 25, 2021

The content for this week was interesting on so many different levels. First, I want to touch on the TED talk regarding algorithms and Bias. Dr. Zamora, Alan and Ryan would be the only ones to remember this, but I actually presented on this topic last year in this class. I thoroughly enjoyed it because of all of the different rabbit holes, so to speak, that it allows us to go down. The reason why this is so important is […]

Kean University 2021, The Network

Off Topic

blueknights on March 24, 2021

Greetings to all eyes that have fell upon this blog. I wanted to take a little bit of time to offer each of you some advice. I know, advice is like opinions and everyone has one. There is another saying, but it’s language is inappropriate for the intended purpose. I ask that you please be patient and hear me out. Maybe something I have to say will stick with you and help you in your future coursework. The past year […]

Kean University 2021, The Network

Diversity, Equity, and Humanity

M.E. O'Neill on March 24, 2021

I’d like to start this week’s blog by sharing the gif I made of a scene from the Screening Surveillance film “Frames.” This short film shows a dystopian society in which surveillance cameras and facial recognition technology track your every move. It presents an uncomfortably plausible future (in fact, the social credit system the video hints at already exists in China), and it strengthens the points made in this week’s videos about the need for equitably designed facial recognition software […]

Change, Kean University 2021, Parable of the Sower, The Network

Becoming Shapers of Change

agently on March 23, 2021

We want change to have an end goal. Even the language we use around change lends itself to sustaining this hopeful delusion: working towards a more ______ society, becoming a more ______ person, creating a world where ______ is no longer an issue. The problem isn’t the desire found in these visions of change, it is in the notion that eventually there is a place of rest from striving for them. Deep down, each of us hears the whisper […]

Kean University 2021, The Network

Achieving Justice

teacheng on March 23, 2021

As I began to watch the video, “Viral Justice: Pandemics, Policing and Portals,” I wasn’t sure if I was part of the target audience. At first I wasn’t really sure who the actual audience for the piece would be. But then I further listened to what Ms. Benjamin had to say I could totally feel that I was in fact part of the group of people her words were meant for. I have always been a firm believer in building […]

Kean University 2021, The Network

The Coded Gaze

jessielb928 on March 23, 2021March 23, 2021

This week’s blog is all about MIT graduate student Joy Buolamwini’s journey and realization in the world of algorithmic bias. One would assume that bias can only occur with sectors such as jobs, education, etc. but unfortunately, with the need for software’s comes the issues of skin color and the lack of inclusion. Buolamwini worked often with robots and different forms of technology to bring about convenience for certain parts of life. However, while on the search of technological convenience, […]

Kean University 2021, The Network

Coded Gazes

hgatica on March 19, 2021

I’ve watched both video for next week’s discussion on Artificial Intelligence, Race & Technology, and there is a lot to unpack and discuss for next class. We’ve already made mention of the bizarre growth technology has on what we can do and operate, and it’s showing signs of not stopping. I think as a society we’ve gone far enough that the rate of growth is too far ahead, and at a rapid pace that we cannot properly regulate, I’ve made […]

Kean University 2021, The Network

“Privacy Is Not Private”

vickbwrites on March 18, 2021

In this week’s blog post, I will focus more on Shoshana Zuboff’s “Surveillance capitalism’ and how companies are always watching us.” One may think that there is not much more to discuss in regards to artificial intelligence, automated diaries, algorithms, etc., but I found that Zuboff touched on a crucial point that has yet to be discussed. Often, we are so focused on companies and websites taking private information from individuals online. Still, from the reading, I found it interesting […]