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Casey Fiesler, PhD, JD, geekD Profile picture
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Jan 24 • 4 tweets • 1 min read
Random commenter: Why does CS need an ethics focus?
Me: Because technology hurts people and maybe if doesn’t have to.
Them: Technology is just a tool.
Me: That. That is why CS people need more ethics focused training.

I swear this is 100% real.
I’m so tempted to do a video reply to this comment on TikTok because I don’t think everyone realizes that this is an actual attitude. Torn between two trending sounds: “the woman was too stunned to speak” or “this is a joke right?”
Oh wow I wasn't expecting that original tweet to take off. If you're interested in hearing me talk at length about the role of ethics in computer science education:
Though I'll note that lately I've been thinking a lot about (a) how 'ethics' though good shorthand doesn't encompass everything, like justice/social impact and (b) how important it is that students are learning applied things in CS classes but ALSO deep dives from outside experts

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More from @cfiesler

Casey Fiesler, PhD, JD, geekD Profile picture
Dec 19, 2021
This tumblr post about a middle school science class points to a huge worry I have about research integrity & incentives. TL;DR An entire class lied about results of an experiment b/c they assumed getting the "wrong" result would earn a failing grade. 🧵 luulapants.tumblr.com/post/663893051…
The crux of it is that incentive structures in academia - what can get published, what gets attention that results in citations or press - are often based on the *findings* rather than the quality of the science that gets you there.
So as not to repeat myself, here's a recent-ish thread I did on this issue, featuring the gay marriage data fabrication scandal, peer review, the replication crisis, etc.
Read 4 tweets
Casey Fiesler, PhD, JD, geekD Profile picture
Dec 19, 2021
Hi all! I was thinking of doing this same assignment for my Online Communities class next semester. If so I will provide a starter list of books to choose from (or let them pick others) - can you all give me your suggestions for books about online communities/social media?
To start here are a few I think would be great but there are SO MANY more:
Participatory Culture, Community and Play: Learning from Reddit by @hegemonyrules
My Tiny Life by @juliandibbell
Distributed Blackness by @DocDre
This Is Why We Can't Have Nice Things by @wphillips49
Also when I was in grad school I was trying to post photos on Flickr that people could use to illustrate blog posts and such, so here's a very small stack of books I had back then. Some of these I read in @asbruckman's class for my MS degree in 2005. :) flickr.com/photos/cfiesle…
Read 4 tweets
Casey Fiesler, PhD, JD, geekD Profile picture
Dec 18, 2021
This thread describes a research study that utilized deception and may have resulted in harm. I believe university IRBs are failing researchers who have been taught (incorrectly) to rely on them in good faith to flag & help navigate all possible ethical concerns in a study. 🧵
The methods described here are similar to resume and similar audit studies, and there has been debate over research ethics related to this kind of deception research for years, despite unquestionable benefit from findings that have provided evidence for discrimination.
To my knowledge, these kinds of studies have fallen under the purview of ethics review boards. For example, this paper about the ethical issues calls on ethics review to be more critical in requiring justification for deception. journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.11…
Read 13 tweets
Casey Fiesler, PhD, JD, geekD Profile picture
Dec 17, 2021
The reaction to the TikTok school threats is fascinating (and troubling) because - despite school closures all over the country and a ton of media coverage - it appears there might not have even been threats in the first place. A threat didn't go viral - fear did. 🧵
Last night when I spoke to @washingtonpost about the TikTok school threats (there's some vague thoughts from me: washingtonpost.com/technology/202…) I pointed out that I hadn't actually seen any such videos (just reactions) and couldn't even find a description of what the originals were.
The journalist I spoke to also had only seen TikToks ABOUT the threat. Teens expressing fear to go to school and encouraging others not to. Some possibilities: (1) there was a threat that did not circulate much but got a reaction that did; (2) the original was a fictional fear.
Read 8 tweets
Casey Fiesler, PhD, JD, geekD Profile picture
Oct 28, 2021
Facebook's re-branding/focus raises a question: if "connection is evolving," then how will the problems with connection via social media evolve? Coincidentally, today in my information ethics and policy class students did a speculative ethics exercise on this exact question. 🧵
Groups of students chose one of the issues raised in the facebook papers reports (algorithmic curation, misinformation, body image, content moderation, hate speech, etc.) and speculated about how that might manifest in the metaverse, and then about possible solutions/mitigation.
For example:
Disinformation. How might inaccurate perceptions of reality be even more severe in VR/AR? There have already been discussions about watermarks on deepfake video - should easy distinction between what's real versus not be a required feature?
Read 20 tweets
Casey Fiesler, PhD, JD, geekD Profile picture
Oct 26, 2021
Belatedly, I wanted to say a bit about what was discussed yesterday with the @sigchi Research Ethics Committee at #CSCW2021. What is the committee and what are folks in our community struggling with or thinking about when it comes to research ethics and processes?
The SIGCHI research ethics committee serves an advisory role on research ethics in the SIGCHI community. We can answer questions generally, but typically we come in during the review process to help reviewers who raise ethical issues. (We advise but do not make decisions.) (typical process) Outreach ...
The most common outcome when we weigh in on ethical issues that arise during paper review is that reviewers ask authors for clarifications or more information or reflection in their paper. Here is a list of some general topics that have come up in recent years. Potential risks to vulnerab...
Read 14 tweets

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