One thing I’ve been ruminating on: why do so many people feel compelled to downplay & minimize the people hurt by advances in technology?
Why is the narrative of Forward Progress Forever™️ so sacrosanct?
What part of their identity does questioning it threaten?
Why is the narrative of Forward Progress Forever™️ so sacrosanct?
What part of their identity does questioning it threaten?
Because if you look at the replies to my tweet about all technologies having negative space, you’ll see people having emotional reactions that surprise me in both their intensity, & their persistence in the face of further explanation.
This is partly introspection, because I minimize the downsides too - to the point that writing that thread felt like finally articulating something that had been bothering me for years about my _own_ behavior.
I guess this is sort of me being surprised that not everyone has come along with me on my journey 😅
But it feels like there’s something deeper & more systematic at work, as well.
But it feels like there’s something deeper & more systematic at work, as well.
Anyway, if you have thoughts, I’d love to hear them.
One thing I’ve noticed, which is certainly not a coincidence, is that the negative effects of technology advances are often borne by marginalized people. And then we look down on them for not being able to “adapt,” as we ourselves surely would.
But even when the effects are more widespread, or affect a more privileged set of folks, we still don’t seem to be able to acknowledge that. So I think while racial/gender/class/etc. privilege is part of it, it’s not the whole story.
This is fascinating set of ideas.
Apparently the same author wrote a book.
Algorithms of Oppression has been on my kindle for months. I think I've been avoiding it - probably because if software is Bad, Actually, then maybe I lose my ability to provide for my kids o_0
Algorithms of Oppression has been on my kindle for months. I think I've been avoiding it - probably because if software is Bad, Actually, then maybe I lose my ability to provide for my kids o_0
A couple folks have mentioned that the resistance to acknowledging negative space in technology comes from it being lizard-brain-level threatening. What if you examine the negative space and it's bigger than you thought and your work turns out to be a net negative for society?
On reflection, it's probably way better for my kids' college funds if we just all pretend the negative space of software is inconsequential, or not our concern😅
But I also don't want to deposit my kids, after college, into a world driven by ever-more-powerful software, with more and more knowledge of and control over their daily lives, if it's created by people who don't consider who they're leaving behind.
