2024 Faculty Courses School of Engineering Department of Industrial Engineering and Economics Graduate major in Industrial Engineering and Economics

Computers in Society

Academic unit or major: Graduate major in Industrial Engineering and Economics
Instructor(s): Katelyn Adrienne Seaborn
Class Format: Lecture/Exercise (Face-to-face)
Media-enhanced courses: -
Day of week/Period (Classrooms): 5-6 Mon / 5-6 Thu
Class: -
Course Code: IEE.D435
Number of credits: 110
Course offered: 2024
Offered quarter: 4Q
Syllabus updated: Mar 14, 2025
Language: English

Syllabus

Course overview and goals

This course will introduce engineering students to fundamental theory and practice in the social, political, legal, and ethical implications of computer-based technologies. Through in-class activities, assignments, and reflection work, students will gain a basic understanding of essential concepts and theories, modern and historical cases, and guidelines for best practice. Key concepts include algorithmic bias, privacy in the social media era, digital communities, vectors of misinformation, the roles governments, companies, and ourselves play in infodemics, digital inclusion, and more. The main objective is to inform and encourage critical thinking in students who will be playing key roles in deciding, creating, marketing, governing, and disseminating computer-based technologies.

Course description and aims

By the end of this course, students will be able to:

1) Describe the key concepts in society relevant to computing in the modern era.
2) Explain the roles of social, political, legal, and ethical factors in contemporary computing research and technology innovation practice.
3) Critically reflect on these factors in their own thinking, orientations, and practice within the contexts of their education, daily lives, workplaces, and future aspirations for the development of new technologies.
4) Communicate these reflections to others as well as collaborate with others to evaluate and debate praxis and case studies.
5) Extend this knowledge and practice to future coursework and beyond.

Student learning outcomes

実務経験と講義内容との関連 (又は実践的教育内容)

An instructor with work experience in industry and research projects that interfaced with the public will provide education on the relationship between society and research practice.

Keywords

Science and technology studies, computer ethics, design practice, critical thinking

Competencies

Specialist skills
Intercultural skills
Communication skills
Critical thinking skills
Practical and/or problem-solving skills
Intercultural knowledge

Class flow

The first class each week will introduce the material for that week, incorporating interactive activities (e.g., hands-on demos, brainstorming, quick activities), individual reflection, and group discussion. Students will then be given a take-home assignment to be completed before the second class that week. That second class will start with a discussion of the take-home assignment and build on the material from the first class. Students will be expected to complete readings from the text and/or other sources before the next week of classes. Attendance is taken every class.

Course schedule/Objectives

	Course schedule	Objectives
Class 1	Foundational Topics: Key Factors & Critical Frameworks	Learn the expectations for the course, including frameworks of scholarship. Explain key concepts at a high level.
Class 2	Intellectual Property	Explain what IP is and how it is managed, especially in the modern technosphere.
Class 3	Free Speech & Individual Rights	Justify personal rights with respect to modern examples.
Class 4	Privacy & Security	Describe common challenges and situations in cyberspace. Learn how to craft a research question.
Class 5	Cyber Governance & Social Movements Online	Understand how governments and citizens can participate online. Understand how social movements use modern technologies.
Class 6	Ethical AI & Algorithmic Bias	Describe ideas behind ethical AI and give examples of algorithmic bias.
Class 7	Dark Patterns & Deceptive Design	Describe the variety of ways that user interfaces can deceive people.
Class 8	Information Liberation & Misinformation	Discuss how misinformation occurs in technospaces in relation to the open information ecology.
Class 9	Cyberwarfare & Surveillance	Explain how technology can be used to monitor citizens and attack nations.
Class 10	Digital Inclusion	Explain the idea of inclusion with respect to modern technology, online and off.
Class 11	Education in the Digital Age	Describe how computers and AI like ChatGPT have transformed education.
Class 12	Automation & Lifestyle	Describe how computers have changed our everyday lives, especially with respect to automation.
Class 13	Agents & Identity	Explain the concept of social identity and how it applies to computer agents, especially stereotypes.
Class 14	Presentations	Demonstrate communication and critical thinking skills as well as understanding of key course topics.

Study advice (preparation and review)

To enhance effective learning, students are encouraged to spend approximately 100 minutes preparing for class and another 100 minutes reviewing class content afterwards (including assignments) for each class. They should do so by referring to textbooks and other course materials.

Textbook(s)

Baecker, Ronald M. (2019). Computers and Society: Modern Perspectives. Oxford University Press: Oxford, UK.

Reference books, course materials, etc.

Baecker, Ronald M. (2019). Computers and Society: Modern Perspectives. Oxford University Press: Oxford, UK.

Baase, Sara & Henry, Timothy M. (2017) A Gift of Fire: Social, Legal and Ethical Issues for Computing Technology (5th ed.). Pearson: Upper Saddle River, NJ.

Evaluation methods and criteria

The main graded components are the weekly assignments (35%), a group project (5%+30%+15%+1%), and attendance (14%).

Related courses

ESD.A402 ： Design Thinking Fundamentals
ESD.B401 ： Engineering Design Advanced

Prerequisites

No firm requirements, but a high level of English is strongly recommended.