The Social Dilemma Syllabus

Netflix最近的纪录片《海洋之神590网址》(The Social Dilemma)引发了人们新的兴趣社交媒体在我们生活中的作用，我们如何与这些数字媒体互动网络，以及幕后操纵，这些操纵框定了——而且往往模糊了——我们的观点通过社交媒体与世界和彼此的关系. This syllabus was developed 由CMS的教师提供更大的背景下，在这部影片中所涵盖的材料并帮助观众批判性地评估它的主张.

2020年10月，海洋之神590网址的传播与媒体研究项目为学生和教职员工在Netflix上观看了这部电影的一部分. 而这部电影作为一个坚实的底漆，广泛采用的沧桑 of social media in contemporary life, 这部电影缺乏深入表达所必需的背景和细微差别社交媒体融入我们生活的复杂性. This syllabus works to close some of those gaps, providing accessible information in five key areas:

Technological Determinism
The Digital Utopia
Racism and Gender Bias in Tech
Labor and the Attention Economy
Privacy and Surveillance

What to Know About The Social Dilemma Syllabus

We recommend that you watch the film before engaging with this syllabus. 一旦你准备好了，这里有一些有用的 things to know:

This 不是对电影的全面反驳，但却是一个很好的开始填充的地方 in some gaps and learning more.
The materials included on the syllabus are appropriate 对于所有的参与水平-无论你知道很多，一点，或一无所知 these 问题是，这些材料对你有好处.
Syllabus materials are all available for the price of an internet connection. There is a list recommended readings and viewings at the end of the syllabus that may have associated costs. 在任何可能的情况下，我们都与免费或经济有效的资源联系在一起.
We expect to update the syllabus regularly. If you have suggestions for additions, email them to Dr. Meghan Grosse.

The Social Dilemma Syllabus

技术决定论是指我们的社会、文化和政治生活完全取决于我们使用的技术吗. A foundation of The Social Dilemma is that social media necessarily and singularly drives changes in our everyday lives, decisions, and behaviors. This idea is technologically deterministic. 当代传播和媒体海洋之神590网址经常抵制这些说法，相反寻找更复杂的相关性来代替这种因果论证.

“Technological Determinism and Social Media," Vorapilailuck Thitivesa, Medium

The digital utopia, sometimes also called techno-utopia技术及其相关工具可以帮助培育新的社会 and better world for everyone. 数字乌托邦首先假设技术Y是中性的，其次，用于善的技术总是会产生善第三，这些积极成果为所有人所共享. 然而不可否认的是，科技改善了生活的某些方面, those improvements are neither universal nor solely positive. 其中的两个例子是数字鸿沟——那些能访问互联网的人之间的鸿沟 to 互联网和使用互联网的技术和知识，以及那些不使用互联网的人 — and the dis按比例来说，技术和自动化对穷人产生了负面影响 in the United States.

“Technology is Not Neutral – It’s Political,” Ritse Erumi, The Ford Foundation

“社交媒体平台有什么更大的义务? Good?,” Eli Pariser, TEDSummit

The Digital Divide

“数字鸿沟:四分之一的国家没有宽带，” Karl Vick, Time

“59% of U.S. 收入较低的父母表示，他们的孩子可能面临数字障碍 in schoolwork,” Emily A. Vogels, Pew Research Center

Technology’s Impact on Poverty and the Poor

“High-Tech Homelessness,” Virginia Eubanks, Scientific American

“旨在消除贫困的算法实际上会使情况变得更糟，” Virginia Eubanks, Scientific American

The Social Dilemma features interviews with industry insiders – former programmers, developers, and executives who worked for companies like Facebook, 谷歌，Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest等等. 这些受访者提供了对这些公司的见解，同时, they reflect the lack of diversity in the tech field. This lack of diversity extends into the content itself and into the algorithms that shape user engagement with technology.

“社会困境未能解决科技领域的真正问题，” Pranav Malhorta, Slate

“Technology and Race with Ruha Benjamin” Factually! With Adam Conover podcast

“How biased are our algorithms?” Dr Safiya Umoja Noble, TEDxUIUC

“哈里王子和梅根，苏塞克斯公爵和公爵夫人，讨论错误信息 with Silicon Valley's Biggest Critics” Eliana Dockterman

“A New Jim Code? With Ruha Benjamin” 哈佛大学伯克曼克莱因互联网与社会研究中心

《海洋之神590网址》 Virginia Eubanks, The American Prospect

“Big Data is a Civil Rights Issue,” Wade Henderson and Rashad Robinson, Talking Points Memo

2020年12月，有色人种女性蒂姆尼特·格布鲁(Timnit Gebru)是谷歌伦理道德项目的联合负责人人工智能团队(AI Team)因为批评该公司缺乏技术而被谷歌随意解雇少数族裔招聘以及谷歌人工智能系统中潜在的种族偏见—— the exact thing she was hired to study. 人工智能和社交媒体密切相关. Learn more:

“人工智能对社交媒体的影响，" Peyton Wang, Humans for AI

谷歌研究人员称，她因论文突出A中的偏见而被解雇.I.," Cade Metz and Daisuke Wakabayashi, The New York Times

“我们读了迫使蒂姆尼特·格布鲁离开谷歌的那篇文章. Here’s what it says." Karen Hao, MIT Technology Review

Black in AI

这部电影重申了一个越来越普遍的公理:如果你're not paying for the product, you are the product. User attention, user engagement, and data produced from those 是社交媒体和搜索利润的基础吗 companies. 但这个过程的基础是无形的 labor of many – you included.

Who Watches the Internet?

“Social Media’s Silent Filter,” Sarah T. Roberts, The Atlantic

“网络内容审核的黑社会”， Isaac Chontier, The New Yorker

“Why AI can’t fix content moderation,” Zachary Mack, The Verge

User Labor and Control

“如何让你的iPhone变成黑白(以及为什么你应该这样做),” Megan Holstein, BetterHumans

“远离社交媒体的7个简单方法” Phoebe Avison and Mia Mercado, Bustle

“我是如何通过限制应用程序来减少社交媒体使用的，” Gregory Ferenstein, Forbes

“Why You Should Quit Social Media,” Cal Newport, TED x Tysons

“社交媒体:对大脑的最大威胁 Amber Quinney, TEDxYouth@Buffalo

“Is Social Media Hurting Your Mental Health?,” Bailey Parnell, TEDxRyersonU

“Go Rando,” Ben Grosser

“Twitter Demetricator,” Ben Grosser

“Safebook,” Ben Grosser

Digital t技术——社交媒体、数字搜索、移动应用程序等等 typically require users to agree to lengthy terms of service and 通常默认设置为允许以各种方式跟踪您的活动的设置 of ways. The这些都是经济问题，同时也是隐私问题 speak to more fundamental questions about what it means to control information about oneself, what the impacts of surveillance 取决于个人的心理和行为吗以及收集和汇总大量数据可能产生的影响 user data.