Emerging 1a – Wi-Phi

1. Which of the following statements best captures this video’s assessment of the commonly held assumption that our technologies are simply “neutral tools” that help us to pursue our goals in more efficient and effective ways?

While our technological tools don’t currently live up to this neutrality assumption, technology creators could design truly neutral technological tools if they just start acknowledging that their values and biases affect their designs and then make an effort to neutralize these effects.

It’s impossible for our technological tools to be as neutral and objective as this assumption implies. We must recognize this fact and use it to help us make honest, conscious, and ethical decisions about which values and views to use as guides in designing our technologies.

Although our technological tools don’t currently live up to the neutrality assumption, such neutrality would be achievable if technology creators were not so driven by the desire to maximize profit.

Strictly speaking, it’s right to assume that there are no values or biases embedded in the cold, mechanistic devices, algorithms, and datasets themselves; but we have to face the fact that we humans are inherently incapable of using these technologies in neutral, unbiased ways.

Correct! Wrong!