Meredith Broussard wears many hats. She is a data journalist who specializes in computational journalism or algorithmic accountability reporting, and writes about tech culture, social issues, artificial intelligence, and more. Her work has been published in the New York Times, The Herald, and The Atlantic (just to name a few). She is an assistant professor at the Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute of New York University, an affiliate faculty member at the Moore-Sloan Data Science Environment at the NYU Center for Data Science, and a Fellow at the Tow Center for Digital Journalism at Columbia Journalism School. Her work is thought-provoking, approachable (i.e. non-computer science nerds can synthesize the information relatively easily), and dedicated to revealing the limitations and issues with our beloved technology. It’s incredibly inspiring to learn about an accomplished woman who is knowledgeable about all things computer technology and can articulate herself so brilliantly through her written words.
Her book, Artificial Unintelligence, covers how computers work, how computer programs are built, how lack of access to technology perpetuates inequality, artificial intelligence, machine learning, and much more. The book’s goal is to empower people around technology and provide an understanding of the limits to what technology can and should do. The hope is that we will start making better decisions about when and why to use technology, leading to systems that truly are more inclusive and accessible, instead of empty promises of improvement.
Another goal of the book is to make an argument against technochauvinism. What’s that you may ask? Technochauvinism is the belief technology is always the solution to everything from a minor inconvenience to larger, oppressive societal systems. Broussard believes this is a “flawed assumption” and does not adhere to that ideology. She believes that much like mathematics or science, there are fundamental limits to what we can (and should) do with technology and at times, it can make our life harder, confusing, or increase inequality. Want to learn more about the relationship between technological advancement and inequality? Check out this article from The Atlantic.
In my digital studies minor from Grand Valley State University, I have been fortunate enough to take many courses that explore how the technology we use is created by and for people, and can contribute to societal issues. I’ve learned about racist algorithms, flawed artificial intelligence, Giorgia Lupi’s concept of data humanism, how to better utilize digital tools in my own life, and gained digital literacy skills. Broussard’s opposition of technochauvinism highlights what I’ve learned, that the data and technology we use is human-made and thus, contains flaws and biases. It isn’t the answer to all of our problems. Through my experiences in my minor thus far, I have gained confidence in how I approach digital technology and feel empowered to make better, more informed decisions.
I believe one of the goals of the digital studies minor is to get students to take a step back and learn how to navigate the digital world and approach these topics through a critical lens. The minor’s student learning outcomes center around epistemology (learning how the digital and data affect what we know and how we know it), ethics (learning to articulate ethical responsibilities as one uses digital technologies), systems (exploring what digital technologies exist and their functionality), culture (critically examining how digital technologies shape culture and human relationships), and problem solving (learning to critically use and evaluate digital tools for problem solving). Finally, I believe Broussard’s work hits on many of these areas by educating readers to understand the technology they use and the people behind it, and how these systems relate to larger, complex social systems.
