CSE 390HA - 142 Honors Seminar
Instructor: Hunter Schafer (hschafer [at] cs [dot] washington [dot] edu)
Welcome to CSE 390HA, the Honors section for CSE 142!
In this course we'll be exploring the impact technology has on society and being introduced to various facets of computer science that you would not see in CSE 142. Throughout the course our goal is to explore these topics through a mix readings out of the book "Weapons of Math Destruction" and articles, small exploratory homework assignments, and weekly discussions.
Required Book: Tools and Weapons: The Promise and Peril of the Digital Age
Authors: Brad Smith (President of Microsoft)
Note: Microsoft has sent Hunter enough copies of the book for students to use in our class. You should not need to buy the book in order to attend our class.
Brad Smith is the current president of Microsoft, and he recently wrote a book discussing the benefits and harms (current and future) of technology on modern society. Microsoft, being one of the largest technology companies in the world, has an outsized impact on the world with the technologies they build or deem too unethical to build. This book will hopefully give us a perspective inside the mind of this process in a corporate setting, and will hopefully give us insights and chances to critique the role of companies in "self-regulating" ethical technology.
Please contact Hunter if you are have concerns getting a copy of this book.
Credit
This is a 1-credit, discussion-based course. To earn credit for this course, you need to "complete" 7 weeks of discussion activities. To "complete" a week, you need to do the assigned reading and any assigned activities (requires some effort for completion) and attend the discussion for that week (if you finish all the tasks and attend for a week, it's "completed"). There are 9 weeks that we will be meeting so that means you are able to miss 2 and still receive credit for the class!
The readings and activities for this class are not meant to take up a lot of time and you are not being tested on your understanding of the material. The exercises are there to get you thinking about computer science, how you can apply it to your own areas of interest, and how it impacts your day to day life.
Meetings
Our class meets on Wednesdays from 4:30 pm - 5:50 pm in GUG 204.
Course Content
| Date | Info |
|---|---|
| 9/29 |
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| 10/6 |
In this section, we will all meet and get to know each other and have a broad overview of what we want the discussion to look like this quarter. We discussed the high level goals of this course:
We emphasized that 142 is about how to program computers while computer science (and computational/algorithmic thinking) is a much large scope than just programming. As a group, we discussed:
Intersting LinksAssignment Due Today:
Assignment Due Next Wednesday @ 3:00 pm: For this class, we will use Google Forms that require UW authentication to access. If you are having trouble accessing these forms, try to follow the instructions here.
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| 10/13 |
In this section, we will discuss the introduction and first chapter of the book, and discuss the role of digital infrastructure and cybersecurity brought up in the first chapter. Intersting Links
Assignment Due Today @ 3:00 pm:
Assignment Due Next Wednesday @ 3:00 pm: For this class, we will use Google Forms that require UW authentication to access. If you are having trouble accessing these forms, try to follow the instructions here.
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| 10/20 |
In this section, we will discuss the next chapters of Tools and Weapons that concern the right to privacy and the tension caused by increased demands for servaillance from governments. Assignment Due Today @ 3:00 pm: For this class, we will use Google Forms that require UW authentication to access. If you are having trouble accessing these forms, try to follow the instructions here.
Assignment Due Next Wednesday @ 3:00 pm: For this class, we will use Google Forms that require UW authentication to access. If you are having trouble accessing these forms, try to follow the instructions here.
|
| 10/27 |
In this section, we will discuss how technology intersects with international law and geopolitics when we are using data centers across the world. Assignment Due Today @ 3:00 pm: For this class, we will use Google Forms that require UW authentication to access. If you are having trouble accessing these forms, try to follow the instructions here.
Assignment Due Next Wednesday @ 3:00 pm:
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| 11/3 |
In this section, we will discuss the impact of social media on society. Interesting Links Assignment Due Today @ 3:00 pm:
Assignment Due Next Wednesday @ 3:00 pm: For this class, we will use Google Forms that require UW authentication to access. If you are having trouble accessing these forms, try to follow the instructions here.
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| 11/10 |
Class canceled today. Will discuss the reading next week instead. Assignment Due Today @ 3:00 pm:
Assignment Due Next Wednesday @ 3:00 pm:
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| 11/17 |
In this section, we will discuss how AI is used and when it might be used unethically. Here are some of the links from resources we discussed in class:
Assignment Due Today @ 3:00 pm:
Assignment Due the following Wednesday (12/1) @ 3:00 pm:
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| 11/24 |
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| 12/1 |
In this section, we will talk more about algorithmic fairness with some concrete examples of how fairness can be defined. Assignment Due Today @ 3:00 pm: For this class, we will use Google Forms that require UW authentication to access. If you are having trouble accessing these forms, try to follow the instructions here.
Assignment Due Next Wednesday @ 3:00 pm:
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| 12/8 |
This week, we will look back at all of the concepts we have discussed this quarter. We will be reading the last section of Cathy O'Neil's Weapons of Math Destruction. Assignment Due Today @ 3:00 pm: For this class, we will use Google Forms that require UW authentication to access. If you are having trouble accessing these forms, try to follow the instructions here.
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