Case Studies

CSCI 3921w Social, Legal, and Ethical Issues in Computing
Adriana Picoral

Group Activity

In your group, pick a case study and build a short timeline:

  1. Before: What warnings existed? Who raised them?
  2. Harm: Who was harmed? Who was not?
  3. After: What changed (law, policy, practice, nothing)?
  • At which point on the timeline could an engineer have changed the outcome?
  • Was the harm caused by automation bias? Did it cause unequal harms?
  • Who bore its risks, and who got its benefits?
  • Has any regulation been created as a result?

Be prepared to share with the class

Chose a case study

Or pick another computing technology you know

Group Discussion

  • Where do you see automation bias and unequal harm today?
  • If you could pass one proactive law about current transformative technologies, what would it be? What disaster would it be trying to prevent?

Journal Writing

Reflect on what you liked and disliked about this lecture, what you learned, and what you wished you’d learned.

  1. What you learned from the lecture and discussion – this can be something that surprised you, something you had not considered before, a new way of thinking about something
  2. What you wish you’d learned from the discussion – this can be questions you still have and questions you would like to explore further
  3. Anything you liked of disliked