Connection Topics

Overview

Connection topics is an umbrella term that refers to a set of activities, which will allow us to cover one of the big ideas of the course, interdependence, the idea that computational technology should be in service of human flourishing.

While technology is often regarded as a good thing for society, its adoption often causes problems that need to be addressed. In this semester, our discussions will highlight the remarkable work of women researchers, who have helped shape our understanding of technology's impacts on society.

The activities in a connection topic include:

• Reading or watching materials about the topic in the week in which they are posted
• Answering questions about the materials in the three quizzes associated with the corresponding week
• A 30-minute class discussion about the reading on a day shown in the schedule

Connection Topic 1: Technology and Privacy

In this topic, we will discuss the work of Dr. Latanya Sweeney, the Daniel Paul Professor of the Practice of Government and Technology at Harvard Kennedy School. She earned her PhD in computer science from MIT in 2001, being the first black woman to do so.

You will watch and take notes from this keynote lecture that Dr. Sweeney gave at a Women in Data Science event at Stanford University in 2018.

Video lecture by Prof. Sweeney

Questions about this material will appear in these quizzes: Quiz 1 pretake, Quiz 1 Regular, Quiz 1 Retake.

A discussion about the topic will happen in class on February 7, 2022.

Optional materials

• Dr. Sweeney visited Wellesley College in 2012. We have a video of her lecture, if you are curious to learn more about her work.

• Dr. Sweeney gave an updated version of the lecture you will be watching on Jan 19, 2022 (at Berkeley). The video (which you can find here) contains a section with questions from students. You might be interested in listening to that section.