With the dissertation completed (the defense still awaits), I can now turn my attention to a few other projects for the summer months. Primary among them is finishing up a book collecting various interdisciplinary research papers on Web search engines…
Month: May 2007
Google Shareholders Reject Anti-Censorship Proposal
Unfortunately, Google's shareholders have rejected the anti-censorship proposal that aimed to ensure that the important human value of access to knowledge would be adhered to by the company who pledges to "do no evil." To say I'm not surprised is…
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So, what exactly is Media Ecology? (video)
A video honoring the 5th Anniversary of the Media Ecology Association has been posted to YouTube, featuring choice clips of (roughly in order of appearance) Camile Paglila, Marshall McLuhan, Neil Postman (including his famous stint on Comedy Central's "Daily Show"),…
Escaping the Data Panopticon: Computers should “Forget”
The rise of fast processors and cheap storage means that remembering, once incredibly difficult for humans, has become simple through technology. In a faculty research working paper called "Useful Void: The Art of Forgetting in the Age of Ubiquitous Computing…
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Google: “Did You Mean: ‘He Invented’?”
Philipp Lenssen points out that when you search Google for "she invented," on the results page you are asked "Did you mean 'he invented'?" There has been lots of discussion on this seemingly misogynistic "correction" that Google provides, and those…
UNESCO Infoethics report
I missed this when it was first released back in March: UNESCO has published a survey on ethical implications of emerging technologies, "Ethical Implications of Emerging Technologies": The ethical, legal and societal implications of ICTs are one of the three…
Sherry Turkle: Can You Hear Me Now?
Sherry Turkle has an excellent essay in Forbes about the alienating consequences of the digital revolution. (She gave a related talk for the McLuhan Lecture at NYU a few months ago). Her thesis is that "Thanks to technology, people have…
Facebook & Privacy (Video)
Here's the latest in a string of slick flash videos about social & ethical concerns with Web 2.0: Does what happens in the Facebook stay in the Facebook? (Some additional background material is here) Most of this has been covered…
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