POWRE: Societal Values in An Age of Information Technology

有了这个power奖，研究者将对信息技术的社会和伦理维度进行系统的研究。她将把精力集中在三个研究领域。其中之一是基于过去对计算机系统设计中的偏见的研究，关注计算机系统可能受到社会和伦理价值观影响的方式。这项工作将向两个方向发展；一个是研究如何在计算机系统设计中嵌入其他价值，比如用户的自主权。另一个是研究科学家和工程师的角色和责任。如果在项目的设计和开发阶段将价值嵌入到系统中是可能的，那么这就造成了一个困境。一方面，我们可能希望敦促科学家和工程师以对社会负责的方式行事，并确保他们嵌入“正确”的价值观。另一方面，我们可能会怀疑把可能对社会产生深远影响的决策交给科学家和工程师的合法性。有些人可能会争辩说，这种决定更适合由有代表性的、民主选举的机构作出。第二个研究领域是隐私。在过去的几年里，关于隐私的书籍和文章的数量急剧增加。该项目解决的具体问题是调查人员所说的“公共隐私”，指的是发生在不被视为敏感或个人的领域的监控行为。智力上的难题是，这些监视行为是否完全可以被理解为侵犯隐私。由于隐私长期以来一直与个人、敏感和亲密的区域联系在一起，一些学者的回答是否定的，尽管受到了广泛的抵制。这个项目试图解释为什么公众的抵制比这些学术贡献所暗示的更接近事实。研究的第三个领域是社会和道德层面的教育和研究使用信息技术。该项目将以已经开始的研究为基础，研究：(1)信息技术在学校可能产生的非人性化影响和可接受的决策策略；(2)电子基础设施如何影响重要的研究规范、实践和惯例。这个power奖将使研究者有可能从她的全职行政工作中解脱出来，全身心地投入到研究和教学中去。为了实现这一转变，并最终在竞争激烈的就业市场上具有竞争力，她需要提高自己进行研究的速度。该奖项将为这种推动提供机会。

With this POWRE award, the investigator will conduct systematic research into societal and ethical dimensions of information technology. She will focus her efforts on three areas of research. One concerns the way computer systems may be shaped by societal and ethical values, building on past research on bias in computer system design. This work will be developed in two directions; one is examining how other values may be embedded in computer system design, values such as autonomy of users. The other is examining the role and responsibilities of scientists and engineers. If it is possible to embed values in systems during design and development stages of a project, then this creates a dilemma. On the one hand we may want to urge scientists and engineers to act in socially responsible ways and make sure they embed the `right` values. On the other hand we may doubt the legitimacy of leaving in the hands of scientists and engineers decisions that might have profound consequences for society. Some may argue that such decisions are more appropriate for representative, democratically, elected bodies. A second area of research is privacy. In the past few years, the number of books and articles about privacy has dramatically increased. The specific problem that the project addresses is what the investigator calls `privacy in public,` which refers to surveillance practices that occur in realms that are not considered to be sensitive or personal. The intellectual puzzle is whether these surveillance practices are properly to be understood as a violation of privacy at all. Because privacy has for so long been associated with the personal, sensitive and intimate zones, some scholars have answered in the negative, despite substantial popular resistance. This project tries to explain why public resistance is closer to the truth than some of these scholarly contributions would suggest. The third area of research is societal and ethical dimensions of educational and research uses of information technology. The project will build upon research already begun, into (1) possible dehumanizing impacts of information technology in schools and acceptable decisionmaking strategies; and (2) how an electronic infrastructure may affect important research norms, practices, and conventions. This POWRE award will make possible a much-needed opportunity for the investigator to step down from her full time administrative duties and dedicate herself to research and teaching. In order to make this transition, and ultimately to be competitive in a tight job market, she will need to intensify the rate at which she conducts research. The award will provide the opportunity for just such a boost.