Credit: Alexas_Fotos at https://pixabay.com/images/id-1448361/ In “Race After Technology”, Dr. Ruha Benjamin ’s central thesis is that tech corporations are not doing enough to address systemic racism and society’s racist tendencies. In many cases, technology is amplifying racist actions through algorithms, machine learning, and intentional design in some cases. Benjamin (2019) states, “This is why we must separate ‘intentionality’ from its strictly negative connotation in the context of racist practices and examine how aiming to ‘do good’ can very well coexist with forms of malice and neglect . In fact a do-gooding ethos often serves as a moral cover for harmful decisions” (p. 61). This “do-gooding” ethos has permeated much of ed-tech as pointed out by Audrey Watters in her article summarizing “ The 100 Worst Ed-Tech Debacles of the Decade .” Companies generally only care about their bottom line and they follow this line of reasoning to its bitterest en...
A look into how technology affects our lives from a philosophical, social, and fictional perspective.