Meredith Broussard’s More than a Glitch took me a long time to read (nearly two months) for such a short book (around 190 pages before Notes and Bibliography). But if you happened to attend Cannonball Read’s Murderbot book club then you got a glimpse at part of what was bothering me about reading this book right now – and why it was so important that I do so. I’m having big issues with the onslaught of AI (specifically generative AI) especially with so little oversight on the Big Tech firms that are insisting on deploying it in seemingly never-ending areas of our lives.
Broussard’s area of expertise (and bless her for pointing out that our expertises are in areas and that just because you know your shit in one area doesn’t mean that you should be relied on in all areas – even ones that are nearby) are data journalism and public interest technology. From that background she unpacks how our societal biases are in the bedrock of the technology surrounding us, especially in algorithms that affect everything from if you’re approved for a mortgage, to police profiling, medical care, and educational technology.
I’m not rating this a five star book only because there were certain sections that I felt Broussard covered the same ground multiple times and that made for a tougher read, even though I thought her authorial tone was an excellent blend of explaining and educating while also being warm and letting her humor in – I bet she’s a really good professor at NYU. But it left me with lots to think about, other areas i want to know more about, and also helped me give good and constructive feedback to the project grants I was reviewing last month regarding ADA Plans and Compliance – specifically how few public history organizations are actively working towards the 2010 updates regarding universal design and digital presences.
Also, I hate educational surveillance technology now more than I did at the beginning of my reading and I really didn’t think that was possible. Also – add alt text to your images that is not your caption, people using screen readers will appreciate it.
Bingo Square: Tech.
Bingo #5: Détente, And also, Scandal, Tech, Rings
