SOC 334 : Technology and Society

Course Material 

Through this course, I examined the intersection of technology, society, media, economics, and human behavior. This class was especially interesting as it allowed me to view technology not directly from a technical lens but also from a societal standpoint. It explored topics such as governance, mental health, attention, etc.

I conducted multiple meaningful assignments as part of this class. One particular assignment was the Phone Usage and Phone Unplugged Experiment. I logged a full day of phone usage and compared it to a day completely unplugged. This experience was challenging but also revealed how deeply integrated smartphones are in our daily routines. As a college student, I used my smartphone primarily for communication, education, and occasional scrolling. Through this experiment, I was able to understand my dependence on technology as well as think about sociological discussions surrounding the use of smartphones.

In another report for the class, I analyzed TikTok's global influence and the political debates surrounding its ban in multiple countries. This was a particularly interesting assignment as it allowed me to examine the ethical concerns of technology. Through this report, I researched national security, mental health, and governance implications of modern-day technology.

Additionally, in my AI-focused written report, I examined how artificial intelligence will shape the future of computer vision research, an area I am highly interested in. This assignment connected technical knowledge with ethics, workforce evolution, and government changes.

Across these assignments, I engaged with interdisciplinary perspectives, combining computer science, sociology, psychology, ethics, and more to analyze modern technological systems.

Reflection:

As a computer science student with a specialization in computer vision, I am often in the midst of quantitative metrics, model algorithms, and technical frameworks. This class allowed me to step out of the technical bubble and inspect the various sociological and ethical considerations of computer vision, AI, and other technologies.

The phone experiment made me realize how dependent humans are on their personal devices and how these devices affect our attention, mental clarity, sleep, and more. I started viewing our personal devices as more than just technology and as systems embedded within the social structure.

The TikTok assignment helped me understand how technology operates under geopolitical tensions and cultural settings. This was helpful in understanding how technology may not always withstand policy and ethical scrutiny.

The AI future-of-work analysis reinforced that my career in AI will not be isolated to just machines and me. This career requires a heavy amount of societal engagement involving emotional communication, social organization, and vast labor markets. Thinking about AI as a synergy between humans and technology has solidified my direction into this field.

Joy of Living Aspect: 

The theme of Joy of Living emphasizes human flourishing, human identity, and the overall betterment of society. This course was imperative in creating a synergy between systems that support Joy of Living for me. For example, the phone challenge demonstrates how Joy of Living requires intentional engagement with any system rather than being passive in order to truly ensure joy.

The TikTok assignment was important in understanding that humans can feel joy with technology when it does not demand constant attention but rather operates as a natural process, which is one of the many reasons TikTok may be looked down upon.

But the most important assignment was assessing the future of computer vision research using LLMs. Computer vision is a field that requires the input and opinions of humans to build and advance. Maintaining synergy between humans and computer vision is important as it allows humans to stay connected to the joy that these systems bring.