governance of technology and governance through technology
Instructors: Charlotte McClintock, Rohit Musti
This class will focus on governance of technology and the technology of governance. As our society becomes increasingly digitized, our tools for governance must follow suit. The full benefits of digitizing government services are potentially huge, however, there are many obstacles in the way.
Government technology is currently lagging far behind industry. A joint study between McKinsey and Oxford found that government IT projects were, “six times more likely to experience cost overruns and 20 percent more likely to run over schedule than such projects in the private sector”. We have sitting representatives asking the CEO of Google about iPhones in oversight hearings. Tech monopolies sit in a unique position of power and operate as unregulated monopolies arguing for their for their own self-regulation. We need more young people with knowledge of technology and social and political systems to create effective oversight mechanisms and efficient government technology.
In order to explore this topic more deeply, we will have two content focuses: tech regulation and digital governance. For the first focus of the class we will cover tech regulation, including readings from Zuboff’s “Surveillance Capitalism”. We will examine the current state of technology regulation and ask questions about how to move forward in the current political environment. For the second focus of the class will cover civic technology, focusing on readings from Eubanks’ “Automating Inequality”. We will also examine past digital government solutions, understanding their strengths, weaknesses, new opportunities, and new exposure to threats. Throughout this course, students will have an opportunity to engage with the analysis and development process, deepening their understanding of the context of digital governance and the associated challenges.
The last 6 weeks of the class will be dedicated to a solution roadmapping project. Students will pick a governance of technology or technology of governance program and propose a new model. This can take many forms, students are encouraged to submit sketches, wire-framed models, written descriptions, and may use any other mediums as appropriate to convey their idea. Students are not required to submit a functional application, but may choose to create a simplified version of the application for demonstration.
20% - By the beginning of each class, students will have submitted new media they think is relevant to the assigned media for that particular class. Bonus love/points for choosing media from non-traditional voices and spaces. Media selections should be submitted for each class by the previous Sunday at 12pm, 24 hours in advance of the class deadline. Once an article is submitted by a student through GitHub, no other students may submit that article.
40% - Course participation - students are expected to engage with the material and their peers during the course period. Students who are uncomfortable speaking in class may send an email of their thoughts, comments and questions to the instructors. Students have one unexcused absence, and are expected to communicate with course instructors about any additional absences before the class to be missed.
40% - Final Project: students are expected to work in small teams to design a technological solution to an existing government problem or propose a regulatory structure for a technology problem.
We know life happens sometimes. Please be communicative about any problems that come up that may affect your work in this course and we will do our best to work with you to adjust deadlines and find alternatives.
The materials for this course will be open source, including the media submissions of all students enrolled. During the course term, student pages will be name identified for ease of use by instructors and other enrolled students, but at the conclusion of the semester, all names will be replaced with student initials.
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