LIS461 - Data and Algorithms: Ethics and Policy
Paper #3
Deadlines:
Your paper is due 5/3/24 by 11:59p on Canvas. Any paper submitted after that deadline may be marked late as early as 11:59:01p.
Note: The penalty for late submission is to receive a zero on the assignment.
Note: Early submissions are helpful to us. Papers submitted before 11:59p on 4/26 will get a 2% bump.
Assignment:
Write one or two (note the change here!!!) clear, comprehensive, concise, correct, creative, essays. Aim to write 4 pages, total. Eligible topics are as follows. Number your essays such that they correspond to the chosen prompt.
1. Danaher et al. defend the quantified relationship (QR), but their discussion of privacy is brief. Rubel and Jones discuss privacy in greater depth, but in the context of student learning analytics.
a. Present: Using Rubel and Jones, what do you see as the specific privacy-related threats of QR apps?
Note: Please focus on apps that do not violate consent between partners, and make sure that your discussion goes beyond the brief discussion of privacy in Danaher et al.
b. Object: A defender of QR apps might hold that there is no reason to single them out on privacy grounds: they are no different from other self-tracking apps, and thus present no distinctive privacy-related concerns. Use your above analysis to construct the strongest objection that you can to this thought.
c. Reply: Respond to the above objection on behalf of the defender of QR apps.
d. Evaluate: Either
i. Explain why the objection is not defeated by the reply, or
ii. Explain why the objection is defeated by the reply.
e. Expand: I assume that some apps that compromise privacy are nevertheless permissible. Afterall, people are free to engage in risky activities (within certain bounds). I also assume some apps should not exist. Afterall, there are limits to our freedom. Either:
i. Identify one type of self-tracking feature that should not be allowed for privacy-related reasons, and—building on the discussion above—explain why it should not be allowed. Or,
ii. Explain why one of my assumptions is false.
2. We considered two accounts of manipulation: the hidden influence view and the careless influence view.
a. Present: Which account do you think is the more plausible of the two? Why?
b. Object: We have considered many cases in our exploration of manipulation. Using one of those or one that you came up with on your own, concoct a problem case for the view you sided with above. That is, present a case that either
i. Seems to be a case of online manipulation but the account doesn't consider it one, or
ii. Seems to not be a case of manipulation but the account considers it one.
c. Respond: What is the best response that the proponent of the view can make in reply to your challenge?
d. Evaluate: Either
i. Explain why the objection is not defeated by the reply, or
ii. Explain why the objection is defeated by the reply.
e. Expand A recent paper in the University of Illinois Law Review states that
Online manipulation uses the consumer’s own behavioral data against her to circumvent her rational decision-making process. In this way, online manipulation is more threatening to consumers than the existing online behavioral advertising, in which our behavioral data may be used to decide the types of ads we see or offers we receive, but does not undermine our ability to assess those ads and offers. That is the essential difference between scattershot manipulation and the type of personalized manipulation possible in the Digital Age.
Of course, regulating all online manipulation would be impractical from a political perspective and unnecessary from a consumer protection perspective. [...] [A]ny attempt to regulate online manipulation should focus on the extreme personalization that makes online manipulation so troubling.
To accomplish this goal, any attempted regulation should focus on online manipulation with the following features. First, the attempted influence must be likely to exploit an individual consumer’s biases or vulnerabilities. This requirement limits the regulation to practices aimed at individual consumers, rather than the scattershot manipulation that predates the Digital Age. Second, the influencer must act with intent to exploit the individual consumer’s biases or vulnerabilities. [...] Finally, the attempted influence must be undertaken for the marketer’s advantage. This requirement limits the regulation to situations likely to distort the market and facilitate rent seeking.
Do you agree that online manipulation with these features should be regulated? Why or why not?
3. Alignment [prompt tbd]
Some details:
● Use no outside sources! The point is to develop your ability to present and criticize philosophical ideas.
Any use of outside sources makes your paper eligible to receive a zero; if the use of outside sources involves any plagiarism, this will be reported to the Office of Student Conduct and Community Standards Contacts.
● Clarity - In a clear paper, it is easy to understand the purpose of the paper, each section, and each paragraph. Further, the meaning of each sentence is easy to understand.
Tips: Have an informative title (e.g., “Why O’Neil and Gunn’s Big Claim Fails”); Have an introductory paragraph or section that states the topic of the paper and announces the plan of the paper; Divide the paper into numbered and titled sections; Make the paragraph the unit of composition (i.e., explore one idea per paragraph); Begin each paragraph with a topic sentence; Use short sentences; Use active voice; Avoid pretentious words and jargon; Use examples; Do not use rhetorical questions.
● Comprehensiveness - In a comprehensive paper, everything that must be said is said.
Tips: Provide a definition or explanation for any term or idea that the average person might not know; Provide justification and clarification for each idea you present.
● Conciseness - In a concise paper, nothing is said that mustn’t be said.
Tips: Avoid wordiness; Avoid unnecessary quotations; Don’t ramble. (Stephen King has a good ideal to shoot for: second draft = first draft minus 10%.)
● Correctness - A correct paper is free of factual errors. Further, it is fair to its opponent.
Tip: Re-express your opponent's position so clearly, vividly, and fairly that they would say, "Thanks, I wish I’d thought of putting it that way." (This advice is owed to game theorist Anatol Rapoport.)
● Creativity - A creative paper presents at least one substantial, original argument or objection.
Scoring:
You will be evaluated across five dimensions: clarity, comprehensiveness, correctness, conciseness, and creativity (each worth 20%).
Three tips:
● Talk about your project with a friend or classmate.
● Start early; work in frequent, short, relaxed writing sessions.
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