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Regulability & Tech Diffusion: Lessig's Code Theory & Tech Dialectic - Prof. Colin Potts, Study notes of Computer Science

Georgia Institute of Technology - Main CampusComputer Science
Prof. Colin Potts

Various concepts related to regulability and technology diffusion, including lessig’s code theory, everett m. Rogers’s research on diffusion of innovations, and the technological dialectic as proposed by hegel and marx. It also touches upon the characteristics of early adopters and legacy systems. Useful for computer science students and professionals who want to understand the complex relationship between technology and society.

Typology: Study notes

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Uploaded on 08/05/2009

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CS 4001: Regulability and Technology Diffusion
a) Definition of some terms
Technological utopianism
Technological dystopianism
Luddites
Technological determinism
b) Lessig’s “Code” Theory
i) How is individual behavior regulated by a powerful
agency (Government, corporation, community, etc.)?
ACTIVITYRestrict class lateness
Suppose we wanted to start class on time and prevent anyone from arriving
late? What could we do?
Law.
o(No entry by order of management.)
Custom.
o(I wouldn’t go in there if I were you.)
Market.
o(Free entry before 2:40; $5 before 3pm., $20 after….)
Architecture.
o(Lock the door. Barricade.)
ii) Lessig on the Internet.
The doctrine that the Internet promotes democratization and
freedom from coercion. Breaking down of authority/special
interests. (E.g. self-publishing, open-source, freedom of information,
primacy of content over appearance.)
pf3
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Download Regulability & Tech Diffusion: Lessig's Code Theory & Tech Dialectic - Prof. Colin Potts and more Study notes Computer Science in PDF only on Docsity!

CS 4001: Regulability and Technology Diffusion

a) Definition of some terms

 Technological utopianism

 Technological dystopianism

 Luddites

 Technological determinism

b) Lessig’s “Code” Theory

i) How is individual behavior regulated by a powerful

agency (Government, corporation, community, etc.)?

ACTIVITY Restrict class lateness

Suppose we wanted to start class on time and prevent anyone from arriving late? What could we do?  Law. o (No entry by order of management.)  Custom. o (I wouldn’t go in there if I were you.)  Market. o (Free entry before 2:40; $5 before 3pm., $20 after….)  Architecture. o (Lock the door. Barricade.)

ii) Lessig on the Internet.

 The doctrine that the Internet promotes democratization and freedom from coercion. Breaking down of authority/special interests. (E.g. self-publishing, open-source, freedom of information, primacy of content over appearance.)

 This is an argument that Internet’s architecture resists regulation.  May be true of Internet 1990, but isn’t really true of Internet 2000. Isn’t a necessary truth.  Regulation of Internet could easily happen through regulation of intermediaries: o Quote: p.50.  “It’s all politics:: Quote p. 58. c) Diffusion of innovations i) Characteristics of adopted innovations  Everett M. Rogers’s research (Diffusion of Innovations, 4th^ Edition, New York, NY: Free Press, 1995) o Relative advantage o Compatibility with existing technology o Simplicity (and therefore to explain to those who aren’t early adopters but whose approval may be necessary) o “Trialability” (e.g. typically, not an all-or-nothing infrastructure replacement) o Observability (sometimes “transparency”).  Computer science research has had mixed success in developing adopted technologies. o Consider program verification using logical proof techniques and theorem provers.  But these have had some success in VLSI CAD. Why? o But contrast this with compiler-compilers like yacc/bison. ii) Characteristics of early adopters  No younger or older than later adopters.  More formal education and are more literate.

o Brand, Stuart. The Clock of the Long Now: Time and Responsibility. New York, NY: Basic Books, 1999 (p. 85) d) Technological dialectic i) Hegel & Marx  Hegel: o Thesis-antithesis-synthesis as model for problem-attempted fix-new problem.  Marx: o Internal contradictions (e.g. free market competion leads to monopoly, thus undermining freedom of choice).  Dahlbom and Mathiassen (latter now at GSU CIS) o In a bank engaged in developing its next generation of a computer-based transaction system, there might be contradictions between a well-functioning centralized computing department and the distributed nature of the new system, the physical design of the branch offices of the bank and the way in which work is to be organized in relation to the new system, or between the requirements and expectations of the new system and the experience and competence of the system developers. (Computers in Context: The Philosophy and Practice of System Design, Cambridge, MA: NCC Blackwell, 1993. p. 60) ii) Situated/distributed cognition  Vygotsky: o Children don’t just learn how to use tools or use tools to learn; their learning becomes embedded in tool interactions  “We make tools and tools make us”  Our concept of what a presentation is (including an undergraduate class) is largely shaped by Powerpoint’s

features, just as its features have been largely shaped by market requirements.  Hutchinson: o Complex skills become embedded in technology artifacts and practices.  Navigation and maps, charts and Polynesian navigation practices. iii) Tenner  How technology bites back: Fixes to acute problems often introduce new chronic problems. Especially case with measurement or safety technologies. o Tenner, Edward. Why Things Bite Back: Technology and the Revenge of Unintended Consequences. New York, NY: Vintage, 1996.  E.g. creative subversion of measurements and displacement of danger to other hazards. Examples: o Use of lines of code per day as measure of programmer productivity detracts from reviewing and testing; o Office automation products make typing pools unnecessary but cause salaried professionals to spend more time polishing the layout of their documents/slide presentations. o Domestic equipment (e.g. washing machines) reduced the drudgery of housework but instead of giving home-makers more free time increased expectations of quality (e.g. the daily wash instead of the weekly wash). o Pesticides increase agricultural yield, but cause long-term environmental harm;