Project Green Cheese
Thu, Oct 12
In today's class we'll review the anthropological and mass communications theories that explain, to some extent, the participatory nature of the Internet. Remarkably, scholars studying communication had largely predicted the development of what we now know as the Internet by the mid-20th century. Yet computer scientists don't often refer back to that history and the associated theories when looking at various movements and problems on social media today. We'll use the book chapter you read for this week about the hackers who manipulated the media as a case study for discussion.
We have two main in-class learning goals. By the end of lecture today you will:
- Encounter theories relevant to today's Internet from the disciplines of anthropology and mass communications.
- Appreciate that first-person historical narratives are a tremendous resource for exploring complex matters in technology ethics.
The slides for today's lecture.
Read This:
Here are the two textfiles on "Project Green Cheese" from the early 1990s. Enjoy the silliness and retro computer logs:
Cult of the Dead Cow File #253 "Better, Stronger, Faster" authored by Omega, Reid Fleming and White Knight
Phrack Magazine, Volume Four, Issue Forty-Two, File 13 of 14, HoHoCon 1992 Miscellany authored by Erik Bloodaxe
Do This:
This Week's Dialogue Group Meeting
Find at least one hour to meet with your group to discuss the prompt of the week: Is there a role for content moderation on social media today?
Fall Break
Enjoy the break. Reading quizzes and writing reflections will resume the week of the 23rd. Look for lectures for that week to appear on Monday if you want to get a head start on the reading (there will be a reading quiz due on the 23rd).
Watch This:
The Cult of the Dead Cow was remarkably forward thinking in anticipating future security threats. Watch this short documentary from the 1990s where they comment on where they think things are heading with respect to disinformation on the Internet.