danah boyd on Digital Technology and Everyday Life
Jun 17, 2024
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danah boyd, Partner Researcher at Microsoft Research, discusses her work on digital infrastructure and the US Census Bureau. They delve into collaborative research projects in AI implementation, analyzing social solutions over technological ones, and the importance of the census in research. The chapter emphasizes the complex relationship between digital technology and mental health, as well as navigating research and collaboration in government organizations.
Techno-legal solutionism in regulating online safety for children prompts the shift towards duty of care provision and the necessity for social solutions.
Digital technology's influence on mental health calls for supportive online environments and highlights the inadvertent impacts of media on vulnerable individuals.
Exploration of census research unveils the complexities of navigating data infrastructures post-Trump's election and emphasizes addressing legitimacy concerns.
Deep dives
Exploring Techno-Legal Solutionism in Children's Online Safety Regulation
The discussion delves into the concept of techno-legal solutionism in regulating children's online safety in the United States. It highlights the shift towards a duty of care provision and the complexities of legal demands for technological fixes from companies. The paper critiques the deterministic approach and underscores the need for social solutions, emphasizing the inadvertent impacts of regulatory demands on tech companies and the necessity to focus on vulnerable youth.
Challenging Misconceptions of Technology's Influence on Behavior
The conversation navigates the nuanced relationship between digital technology and mental health, reflecting on the varied impacts of media and information on vulnerable individuals. It outlines the multifaceted nature of influence, citing examples from suicide triggers to radicalization processes, prompting the exploration of social safety nets and the value of supportive online environments.
Unraveling the Journey into Census Research
The narrative unfolds the trajectory that led to delving into census research, starting from encountering white nationalist discussions on census manipulation. The shift towards exploring AI and big data intersected with an unexpected turn towards census inquiries post-Trump's election win. Engaging with government officials and Census Bureau personnel, the journey into census exploration unfolded, emphasizing the complexities and significance of navigating census data amidst evolving socio-political landscapes.
Importance of Considering Data Infrastructure Legitimacy in Federal Agencies
Exploring the role of data infrastructures in decision-making processes within federal agencies highlights challenges related to legitimacy crises. Understanding communication complexities driven by political influences and ensuring data quality assurance becomes crucial. Efforts towards privacy protection, particularly for vulnerable populations, require a delicate balance with data publication. Implementing strategies like differential privacy faces political and operational challenges, emphasizing the significance of addressing legitimacy concerns in data infrastructures.
Challenges of Deterioration in Infrastructural Systems and the Need for Maintenance
The concept of degradation within infrastructural systems, akin to Jenga politics, underscores the gradual decline in administrative state functionality. Emphasizing socio-technical resilience and the importance of maintenance and repair in preventing system vulnerabilities becomes essential. Evaluating the phenomenon of 'enchitification' in commercial platforms reveals the repercussions of degraded user experiences and the subsequent reliance on subpar AI solutions. Recognizing the urgency of addressing system decay before irreversible consequences arise is imperative for sustainable infrastructural governance.
Peoples & Things host Lee Vinsel talks with danah boyd, Partner Researcher at Microsoft Research, founder of the Data & Society Research Institute, and a distinguished visiting professor at Georgetown University, about her career and work. The pair discuss boyd's the genesis and intellectual background of boyd's now classic text,It's Complicated: The Social Lives of Teens (Yale UP, 2014) as well as her more recent work on digital infrastructure and the US Census Bureau.
