I was intrigued by a couple of videos that I came across today. These videos concern the merits and accomplishments of Artificial Intelligence (AI) systems. They provide an interesting contrast in approaches that we may adopt about the increasing role of AI in our lives.
In a recent post about telegraph delivery boys, I noted that their employers were reluctant to take responsibility for collisions between them and pedestrians. This, and many other points about the history of cycling on the roadways of the United States are related in "Bike battles" by James Longhurst of the University of Wisconsin.
I have been reading "Bike battles" by James Longhurst of the University of Wisconsin. The book is a review of the history of cycling in the United Stastes, with particular emphasis on the cultural and legal aspects of how bicycles have been granted (or not) access to public roadways.
I may have more to say about this interesting book later. However, a passage on telegraph boys in the early 20th century struck me (pp. 112ff).
How can science help us understand ethical issues in sports?
A topic of perennial interest in technology studies is how technology shapes the way people think. It is clear that the way people think affects technology, as in the example of how gender is encoded in architecture, recently noted in this blog.
It is less obvious that influence goes the other way too. People tend to think that they have fixed or solid set of ideas and preferences and, then, design technology to conform to them. This view is represented in the expression that technology is "just a tool."
Annmarie Adam's book Medicine by design (2007) examines how hospital architecture shaped and responded to changing ideas about medicine and its place in the urban realm. It uses the development of the Royal Victoria Hospital in Montreal (1893–1943) as its central case study.
In our class on Design & Society, we discuss the so-called dilemma of progress. With any design whose introduction poses potential risk, there is a decision to make on how to regulate it. In simplest terms, there are two possibilities:
Under conditions of uncertainty, it can be difficult to know which strategy is best.
I was interested to read about a recent study of genetic connections between ancient and modern inhabitants of the Levant.
A number of interesting posts concerning privacy showed up today, which made good reading together. In particular, these articles concern privacy, in this case, the control that people have about data concerning themselves.
An enduring theme in design is the relation between form and function. For example, is there an ideal form that corresponds to a given function? How do form and function relate and develop over time?