Notes for all knowledge clips / lectures of the course Technology, Policy & Society, BA3 course, by dr. Moody. For Public Administration and MISOC at Erasmus University Rotterdam.
3.3: Technology, Policy & Society: Summary of reading material and lectures
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Technology, Policy and Society (FSWBC3030A)
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Lectures Technology Policy & Society
Knowledge clip 1
Nowadays, it’s hard to find somebody who has no mobile devices or 0 interaction online. Our
lives now depend on it. Based on an ICT setting, that interacts with our environment, as well
as with ICT environment
- That is what this course is about: ICT interacts on different levels in different ways
with our lives. We focus on society and public domain.
- This is important!!
- Democratic process is influenced by ICT and how we use it.
- It poses solutions but also problems, not all technology is necessarily good or
bad, so we will look at both sides.
Grading
- Paper during tutorials
- Exam: proctor MC
- Not classic MC: with vignets, more interpretation based. There will be a
practice exam before last q&a.
- Exam: ⅓ book, ⅓ articles, ⅓ lectures: content of lectures is not the same as
the book.
The technology debate
Extremely old debate, for over 100 years and still no solution. Philosophical way of looking at
technology. Your position here matters, it determines how you look at technology. You must
see your own and that of others to judge the positions.
- Not about theory, about philosophy, what is the difference?
- Theory: set of assumptions about reality you can test to see if hypothesis is
true or false
- Epistemology / philosophy of science: comes before that, you have a
positions that allows you to formulate certain hypotheses and not others.
- Holds 4 positions
Instrumentalism
Technology is anything man-made, computers, pens, blankets, couches, etc etc. People in
this positions believe technology itself does nothing, it’s there because we want it to be
there, technology does not affect us, maybe the use only, it’s there to be used how we want
it to be used.
- F.i. an axe: can use it for whatever reason you want to use it for and it’s your choice,
you as person has autonomy to decide to cut a tree or murder someone, the axe will
do what you want it to do, nothing on its own.
- Simple position: we use technology how we want to use it.
- Do guns kill people? No, people kill people and decide to use a gun, guns do nothing
- Problem: almost nobody is instrumentalist, too simple and technology influences us
too
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,Determinism
People in this position believe technology in itself has influence, the technology itself.
- Guns do people! If there were less guns, less people would be murdered. Guns in
itself have the effect of getting people so far to kill people
- Seems awkward: who would at first believe technology has effects we do not want it
to have?
- But we do see this all the time, f.i. not playing violent videogames because
children will be violent, technology designed to entertain will lead to certain
behaviour of person
- Not person is master of behavior, but the video game!
- Technology will lead us to do things that we would otherwise not do
- Technology as an artefact has an effect on people and society.
- But we created it right? We could make it do what we want?
- No technology can act in itself: it might have been created for certain
purpose, but technology can have different unintended effects, used for
something else and you can’t turn this around anymore!
- Technology has mind and effect beyond our control, we cannot control technology
- Example: laundry machine. For consumer use: thought it would cause women to be
more productive, women did not need to go to the river anymore (so less work), more
time for other things that are not housework, like paid job or socially active. But this
backfired: the minute everybody got a laundry machine, women started to do more
laundry! Before, you had 2 sets of clothes (week and sunday). After laundry machine,
everyone decided they would want to change clothes more often. So the feminist
idea did not work out: women spent the same amount of time on laundry, they started
doing more
- Example of determinist: invented to make activities quicker and make sure
people had more time outside of house, but in practice did not cause this,
only caused us being cleaner.
- Different effect from what designer intended the technology to have
- Lots of people here are against innovation, because they can’t control technology. It
will do what technology wants to do and influence people
(Social) Constructivism
Technology does not have mind of its own to act autonomously, but it does act: in the way
we as society decide for it to act. Once there is technology, we together as society decide
what it means. In the beginning there will be different groups of opinions, at a certain point a
dominant idea will emerge about what the technology means, then that is what it means.
Once it has been given meaning, then it will do what it does. Technology will start acting
more or less autonomously, after we have given meaning to it.
- Going back to f.i. the axe: you can regard it as tool or murder weapon. If we regard it
as murder weapon, we would probably prohibit it! By this idea that it’s a murder
weapen and illegal, having an axe would make you criminal, so law abiding citizen
would not buy an axe. Technology becomes that! It would behave like that as well,
being held then only by criminals
- If we regard it as a helpful tool, then a lot of people would have an axe!
- → Technology becomes meaningful in society, it does impact us, because we gave
meaning to it
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, - Other example: internet, when it came out, we thought it would democratize the
world, participating is public sphere, communicating worldwide. Because we believed
that, it became partly true. Some countries started censorship, which they would not
have done if you didn’t believe it would democratize! Because we believe the internet
will democratize, it will do that!
Information ecology
Combines determinism and constructivism. Attractive but complicated. Doesn’t look at
individual but broader: world is made up of different ecosystems that interact with one
another, fields interacting (just like in nature). Within these systems, tehcnology and society
influence each other: technology has some parts that determine without people doing
anything, together at the same time, also parts of technology that will only act and influecne
once they have been given meaning
- Difficult: wher eis the line between determinist and constructivist?
Table put together
- Try to define your position: at first, people would often like to be ecologist as it’s
nuanced, but difficult. If they want to be constructivist they will find determinist points,
so it’s difficult. Position you have doesn’t matter, but know which one you have, and
understand what they entail and how to recognize them in others.
To make a link to policy and society
Policy process views (rational, political, institutional, cultural), we dealt with philosophy now
time for policy
- Rational: policy is made in certain way by looking at problem, looking at solutions,
calculating effects and picking the best one
- Nobody believes this anymore, you can’t collect all solutions and are not able
to determine consequences, and to come up with “the ebst” is difficult
- ICT is considered convenient to calculate everything and pick best solution! It
will help to calculate and pick best!
- Political: policy is made by several groups with different interests fighting each other,
winning groups will have interests reflected in policy
- Use ICT to strengthen position and push your interests forward, like
calculating results, limiting other parties, etc.
- ICT will help to gain power as one of these groups, power relations
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