WPI Social Implications Of Computing : 2024 A Term : Past : 2021 A Term Archive

**Syllabus**
Date	Topics	Due	Presenters
1. Friday 2021-08-27	Introduction	All Chapter readings include Interview found after questions unless otherwise indicated.
2. Tuesday 2021-08-31	Critical Thinking	1. Chapter 1 - Catalysts for Change 2. Appendix A - Plagiarism 3. Appendix B - Introduction to Argumentation 4. Discussion Board: Movies 4. Sign up for individual presentation
3. Friday 2021-09-03	Ethics	1. Chapter 2 - Introduction to Ethics 2. DRAFT: Paper 1: Computing Technology Timeline 3. Wiki: Computing Technology Timeline
4. Tuesday 2021-09-07	Freedom of Speech	1. Chapter 3 - Networked Communications 2. FINAL: Paper 1: Technology Timeline	1. Dylan Shanes - Social Media Bad for Teens 2. Kenneth Nguyen - Censoring Social Media 3. Brendan Byrne - Social Sites and Foreign Policy
5. Friday 2021-09-10	Intellectual Property	1. Chapter 4 - Intellectual Property SKIP Interview at end of chapter	1. Emily Lin - Music Piracy Hurts 2. Justin Luce - AI Generated Code Ownership 3.
6. Tuesday 2021-09-14	Privacy	1. Chapter 5 - Information Privacy 2. DRAFT: Paper 2: Self Search	1. Cather Zhang - Data Breach 2. 3.
7. Friday 2021-09-17	Privacy	1. Chapter 6 - Privacy and the Government 2. Facial Recognition Debate Prep (paper optional) 3. FINAL: Paper 2: Self Search	1. Emily Baker - Automating Justice 2. Austin Rebello - Be Concerned About AI Surveillance 3. Liam Hall - Should Big Brother Tell You're Being Watched?
8. Tuesday 2021-09-21	Crime	1. Chapter 7 - Computer and Network Security 2. Group Project web site through topics covered to date. 3. Optional Paper: Facial Recognition	1. Qixing Xue - Encryption and Trust 2. Talia Andrews - Video Game Microtransactions 3. Brian DeFlaminio - Under the Robotic Knife
9. Friday 2021-09-24	Errors Failures Risks	1. Chapter 8 - Computer Reliability 2. DRAFT: Paper 3: Code Testing	1. Brianna Sahagian - Blame the Car? 2. Joshua Malcarne - Reducing Human Bias in AI 3. Omri Green - Self-driving Cars: Selling Your Safety
10. Tuesday 2021-09-28	Professional Ethics	1. Chapter 9 - Professional Ethics Read the newer Code of Ethics at: https://www.acm.org/code-of-ethics instead. 2. Game Debate Notes (paper optional) 3. FINAL: Paper 3: Code Testing	1. Nicole Burgess - Disadvantages of Growing Up Digitially 2. Dov Ushman - The Need For VR 3. Andrew Hariyanto - Virtual Reality In Healthcare
11. Friday 2021-10-01	Work	1. Chapter 10 - Work and Wealth 2. Group Presentation Draft 3. DRAFT: Paper 4: Automation 4. Optional Paper: Game	1. Andrei Bornstein - Stock Market and National Economy 2. Nate Sadlier - Job Creation 3. Joseph Rozman - Low Skilled Computation 4. Gabriel Buonomano - Automatically To Your Door
12. Tuesday 2021-10-05	Group Presentations	1. Non-presenter Questions 2. FINAL: Paper 4: Automation 1. Wargames (1983) - Andrei Bornstein, Liam Hall, Joshua Malcarne, Nathaniel Sadlier, Dylan Shanes, (KAP) 2. The Matrix (1999) - Ander Carbajo Perez, Shen Fang, Kenneth Nguyen, Austin Rebello, Brianna Sahagian, (KAP) 3. Deep Web (2015) - Emily Baker, Justin Luce, Qixing Xue, (KAP)
13. Friday 2021-10-08	Group Presentations	1. Non-presenter Questions 1. Black Mirror: Men Against Fire (2016) - Talia Andrews, Brendan Byrne, Brian DeFlaminio, Emily Lin, Cather Zhang, (KAP) 2. OtherLife (2017) - Nicole Burgess, Jair Meza, Joseph Rozman, (KAP) 3. The Hummingbird Project (2018) - Andrew Hariyanto, Dov Ushman, Luke Ypsilantis, (KAP) 4. The Mitchells vs. The Machines (2021) - Sean Barbour, Gabriel Buonomano, Omri Green, Cameron Mulready, (KAP)
14. Tuesday 2021-10-12	Student Choice	1. Group Evaluations 2. Group Web Sites	1. Jair Meza - Please Pass The Chips 2. Luke Ypsilantis - Sport Analytics 3. Shen Fang - Trustworthy? 4. Ander Carbajo Perez - Facial Recognition 5. Sean Barbour - Online Parasocial Relationships Harmful?

Weekly Time Guideline

 4 hours class time
 4 hours reading (2 chapters ~90 pages @ 2 minutes per page)
 8 hours practicing mastery of material
   - papers, group project, class activity preparation
--
16 hours / week

The Syllabus will change throughout the course as new interests are found and material is covered ahead or behind schedule. Changes will be made in class and recorded in the class slides. You will be responsible for the material in the assigned reading.

If you have not already done so, students with disabilities, who believe that they may need accommodations in this class, are encouraged to contact the Disability Services Office (DSO), as soon as possible to ensure that such accommodations are implemented in a timely fashion. The DSO is located in the Student Development and Counseling Center, (508) 831-4908.

The Writing Center offers one-on-one consultations, both in-person and over Zoom, to help you improve as a writer. Writing Center tutors will read your written work, give you feedback about your document's strengths and weaknesses, and help you chart a path forward as you revise. Consultations are free and open to all WPI students for all classes and projects, and tutors will happily work with you at any stage of the writing process (early brainstorming, revising a draft, polishing sentences in a final draft). To see our appointment options for both in-person and synchronous online meetings, go to the Writing Center homepage: wpi.edu/+writing

WPI's Student Development & Counseling Center (SDCC) staff are available for students in need of support: contact them directly and confidentially by phone at 508-831-5540 or email at SDCC@wpi.edu; or stop by their office at 16 Einhorn Road.

The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is a free, 24/7 service that can provide individuals with support, information, and local resources regarding suicide. Call them at 1-800-273-TALK (8255) or visit www.suicidepreventionlifeline.org. There is also Suicide Awareness & Prevention information on the WPI website.

If there is a chance someone is in imminent danger of suicidal action, WPI Campus Police can be reached at 508-831-5555 (or call 911 if off campus).