OPENNESS IN DIGITAL TECHNOLOGYFREDRICK W. BAKER III

RESOURCES PAGE

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PLAN

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• Assumptions• Philosophy of

Technology• Technology

Issues• Alternatives• Current Efforts

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Have you ever stopped to think about the

assumptions underpinning the things

in our lives?

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ASSUMPTIONS UNDERPINNING TECHNOLOGY• Use a shovel with one hand.• Write in a notebook left handed.• Use a computer with your eyes closed.• Use a telephone with your hearing inhibited.• Change the theme design of your office suite

software.

Technology is rife with bias, favoritism, inequality, barriers to use, learning curves, etc.

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ASSUMPTIONS UNDERPINNING TECHNOLOGY

By the very design DNA, tools give preference to certain skills, abilities,

behaviors, cultures, etc., over others.

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ASSUMPTIONS UNDERPINNING TECHNOLOGY

Worse, we are often powerless to change these preferences.

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ASSUMPTIONS UNDERPINNING TECHNOLOGY• Is technology making the world a

better place?• A worse one? • In 100 years will we be living in an

Orwellian nightmare or a blissful Eden?

• Do we even have control over technology?

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PHILOSOPHY OF TECHNOLOGY MATRIX

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Determinsim

Dystopian

Utopian

1Utopian

Determinist

3Dystopian

Determinist

2Utopian

Social Constructivist

4Dystopian

Social Constructivist

Social Construction

PHILOSOPHY OF TECHNOLOGYI tend to believe that: • We collectively (not individually!) decide the

characteristics of our technology.• Desirable content, aesthetics, technical

aspects, etc. • We exert SOME level of control over the

development, use, and dominance of technology.

• There are disruptive, “genie out of the bottle,” moments where we can’t return to the old.

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PHILOSOPHY OF TECHNOLOGY

Utopian or Dystopian?

I believe we have a choice…sort of…

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PHILOSOPHY OF TECHNOLOGY

I think that whether we create a utopia or dystopia is really completely up to society,

but it depends on whether or not we are critical consumers of our technology.

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TECHNOLOGY ISSUESIssues of:• Empowerment or Restraint,• Ownership or Lease,• Equality or Preference,• Oppression or Freedom,• Open or Closed.

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TECHNOLOGY ISSUES

And

Choice & Availability of Alternatives

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Freedom & Ownership

Restriction & Lease

Boils down to:

vs.

FREEDOM & OWNERSHIP VS. RESTRICTION & LEASE

What if you want to use a computer or service without being commoditized and

sold as a product?

This is the focus of this presentation.

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FREEDOM & OWNERSHIP VS. RESTRICTION & LEASE

• Are you renting your software?• Are you blocked from easily collecting

your data, usage patterns, content, etc., and leaving at any time?

• Are you being advertised to?

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FREEDOM & OWNERSHIP VS. RESTRICTION & LEASE• Does your grocery store know when

you are expecting a child even before your family?

**Source on resources page• Does your credit card company know

if you are headed for divorce?**Source on resources page

www.fredwbaker.com/2013usabaldwin** Links to Sources available at:

FREEDOM & OWNERSHIP VS. RESTRICTION & LEASE• Does your social media platform know

your age, gender, ethnicity, religious and political views, personality type, sexual preference, intelligence level, habits of substance use, tendency toward creativity, parental separation status, etc.?

**Source on resources page

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FREEDOM & OWNERSHIP VS. RESTRICTION & LEASE

The answer is probably

YES!!!And if it isn’t, there are people making

lucrative salaries to make it “yes”!!

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FREEDOM & OWNERSHIP VS. RESTRICTION & LEASE

Closed source technologies are primarily concerned with money.

If you aren’t paying to be a client, you are generally being sold as the product!

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FREEDOM & OWNERSHIP VS. RESTRICTION & LEASE

Open Source technologies are generally concerned with creating a functional product that embraces certain value

structures.

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• Freedom• Accessibility

• Sharing• Inclusiveness

FREEDOM & OWNERSHIP VS. RESTRICTION & LEASE

It is often the work of volunteers and paid project leaders working in a

community of practice.

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FREEDOM & OWNERSHIP VS. RESTRICTION & LEASE

Open Source technologies are often updated more frequently, and reflect a

broader range of design considerations and therefore generally meet a wider

variety of needs such as accessibility, flexibility, etc.

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FREEDOM & OWNERSHIP VS. RESTRICTION & LEASE

BUT…

Money is a big motivator. It definitely impacts quality, functionality,

stability, etc. in many products!Corporate products are often sleek and

functional.

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FREEDOM & OWNERSHIP VS. RESTRICTION & LEASE

And…Open Source is not always the best

option. Projects lose support, tools may be

unstable or don’t always function well, or there may be a steep learning curve

instead of a neat Graphical User Interface (GUI).

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FREEDOM & OWNERSHIP VS. RESTRICTION & LEASE

The point is that we must be critical consumers!

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CHOICE & ALTERNATIVES

Do you have a choice in whether you use open or closed source?

Sort of…

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CHOICE & ALTERNATIVESTools with great open source options:

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• Operating systems: • Linux (Ubuntu,

Linux Mint, Trisquel)• Web Browsers:

• Chromium• Firefox

• Office Suites:• Open Office• Libre Office

• Web Search: • Duck Duck Go• Startpage

• Photos & Graphics: • GIMP• Inkscape

• Website Platforms:• Wordpress

CHOICE & ALTERNATIVES

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CHOICE & ALTERNATIVES

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CHOICE & ALTERNATIVESTools with problematic/difficult open source options:

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• Phone OS: • Android (Google Dominated)• Ubuntu (new)

• Social Media: • Diaspora • GNU Social (know anyone here?)

• Twitter • Computer/phone Hardware

• Statistics Programs: • R Statistics(Huge learning curve)

• Email: • Self-hosted (requires know-how)• Obscure services

• Social Bookmarking?• Dropbox/cloud services?

• Ubuntu one

CHOICE & ALTERNATIVES

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#ProjectReclaim

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PROJECT RECLAIM

Purpose is to extricate yourself from dependence on corporations and reclaim your data from third-party

services.

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PROJECT RECLAIM• Started in 2011 by Boone Gorges• Picked up by D’arcy Norman and

Doug BelshawOne is a programmer, one works for

Mozilla, and one researches software effects on teaching in CoP.

All discovered that it is not easy to free yourself.

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PROJECT RECLAIMNSA PRISM has created an interesting

dialogue in these projects.• 1 has changed focus to fight for

privacy, • 1 expressed hopelessness & used

NSA revelation as evidence for need,• 1 said reaction to NSA is overblown

because the Gov’t already watches us— said we should vote people out.

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PROJECT RECLAIM

Is it reasonable to expect limits on government surveillance?

Is your digital life private? If so, to what degree?

Is it possible to live a digital life free from reliance on corporations and

invasions of privacy?

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#ReclaimOpen

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RECLAIM OPEN

Cooperative effort of Digital Media & Learning Hub at UC Irvine and the MIT Media Lab, as well as other educators

and organizations.

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RECLAIM OPEN

Working to find or develop open online and networked learning tools which would

operate under better value structures and assumptions than current options.

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RECLAIM OPEN

Response to the rise of Massively Open Online Course (MOOC) Providers

looking to commoditize students and are simply replicating traditional lecture

based instruction.

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The goal is to take advantage of the open web.

Focus on creating viable education options.

Create Choices & Alternatives.

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RECLAIM OPEN

The project is seeding innovative approaches to open connected learning.

Encouraging others to take charge and innovate solutions for everyone.

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RECLAIM OPEN

I advocate being a critical consumer of technology, reflecting on the costs and assumptions of the tools you use, and

working to create alternatives where you feel they are needed.

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CONCLUSION

You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something,

build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete.

~Buckminster Fuller

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PLAN

www.fredwbaker.com/2013usabaldwin

• Assumptions• Philosophy of

Technology• Technology

Issues• Alternatives• Current Efforts

http

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You can connect with me at:

Twitter: @fredwbakerEmail: fredwbaker@gmail.com

RESOURCES:www.fredwbaker.com/2013usabaldwin