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Additional case examples to consider

This section includes various case examples of digital projects and research that participants may look into and discuss in relation to the ethical questions and concepts addressed, time-permitting.

Ex. 1: USC Study on “Black Twitter”

Read this brief article and discuss:

  • Does this project involve “human subjects”?
  • Are Tweets “public” data?
  • In reference to the article, why did this project invoke such controversy? Do you agree with the article?

Note that USC has removed the study from its website, otherwise we would also examine its site directly too.

Ex. 2: Interference Archive (IA)

Check out their website, read this brief article and discuss:

  • What kinds of materials does IA host and do they have rights to it?
  • In reference to the article, how does IA see itself as “resisting the hierarchy”?
  • What levels of impact does IA aim to take into account?

Fun fact: I helped paint that #NoDAPL banner - with others at Decolonize this Place - shown in the article's first photo.

  • Relatedly, might public syllabi projects - e.g. the #StandingRockSyllabus - also be understood as "resisting the hierarchy"? What are some other project examples that attempt this?

Ex. 3: “The Science of ‘Gaydar’”

Review Joshua Tabak and Vivian Zayas's academic article and their summary of it for the New York Times, and discuss:

  • What kinds of “human subjects” are involved in this study?
  • Is a social media photo of oneself an extension of the self?
  • Does their methodology raise any ethical concerns?

Further reading: Patrick Sweeney, "Images of Faces Gleaned from Social Media in Social Psychological Research on Sexual Orientation"

Ex. 4: “Breaking the Black Box”

Check out ProPublica’s project “Breaking the Black Box,” and discuss:

  • What kinds of tools and information is this project producing?
  • What levels of impact does it aim to take into account?
  • Does this project involve “human subjects”?

Also check out - ProPublica's series of articles on "Machine Bias: Investigating Algorithmic Injustice"

Ex. 5: The Gender API

Check out the Gender API's website and click around its various sections to read about how the API works, and discuss:

  • What kinds of information is this API producing?
  • Who might be the users of this API? What may be their intentions in using this API?
  • Does the use of this API raise any ethical concerns?

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