What if participation—not profit—fueled AI development? In this TED Talk, researcher and policy expert Nanjira Sambuli proposes a different way forward for creating AI models, an avenue rooted in African indigenous traditions and values. Nanjira Sambuli, “What Ancestral Intelligence Can Teach Us about AI.” TED.com, April 2025. Sambuli begins her argument about AI development with …
Category: How is Technology Changing Us?
“Guilty until proven innocent”: Tylar Macintyre and the ethics of using A.I. detectors to verify students’ writing
Generative A.I. tools are rapidly evolving, and universities are quickly developing guidelines for how – and if – students should use them in the classroom. But what do students think? This op-ed, written by first-year college student Tylar Macintyre, responds to the growing use of A.I. detector tools to determine whether students have illicitly used …
It’s never enough: Roxane Gay on desire, addiction, and TikTok
It seems like everyone is talking about TikTok: its security risks, its seeming ubiquity among teenagers and adults alike. Writer Roxane Gay––whose father introduced her to the app––describes the problem of “pleasurably wasting hours and hours of time” on TikTok and warns about its purposeful addictive and exploitive nature. Is TikTok worth it? Roxane Gay, …
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Space junk: Iris Gottlieb on the growing problem of garbage in outer space
Trash is piling up around the globe, from overflowing landfills to plastic waste washing up on shorelines. However, this problem extends beyond Earth itself. In this essay, Iris Gottlieb highlights a newer and often overlooked dumping ground: outer space. Gottlieb describes the human-made debris orbiting the planet and littering the Moon, arguing that outer space …
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Looking for human connections: Allison Pugh on why care work shouldn’t be outsourced to generative AI
Could a generative AI chatbot have a real relationship with a person? Allison Pugh, a sociologist, argues no: “there is no human relationship when one half of the encounter is a machine,” she writes. In her argument, Pugh describes how care-focused generative AI platforms–such as the ones being used in education, medical, and therapy settings–damage …
Say yes to the bots: Sidney I. Dobrin on embracing the future of generative AI writing technologies
Lots of people are understandably nervous about AI technologies, from concerns about biased algorithms and data privacy to worries about how generative AI writing technologies might change the ways people write and what students learn. Frankly, it can all feel overwhelming. So, what should instructors and students do about generative AI writing technologies? In this …
The automation of creation: Michael Russell Gunn on what’s at stake in the Hollywood writers’ strike
In May 2023, Hollywood production ground to a halt as the Writers Guild of America, a union representing over 11,500 screenwriters, went on strike. One major contention these writers have is how they are compensated for the shows and movies people watch on streaming platforms. Underneath this issue, though, lies a bigger question, one that …
Rules for the robot revolution: Ted Lieu on regulating artificial intelligence
Our daily lives increasingly rely on AI technology, from the facial recognition software that unlocks our smartphones to the smart algorithms that curate our search engine results pages. This “fourth industrial revolution,” as computer scientist and U.S. congressman Ted Lieu describes it, presents a challenge: how can people benefit from AI innovation and be protected …
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“Algorithms fault her”: Joy Buolamwini on deep-rooted racial biases in facial recognition software
Who can artificial intelligence see, and whose faces and stories remain invisible? Joy Buolamwini, poet, computer scientist, and co-founder of the Algorithmic Justice League, asks this question in her research about how racial and gender biases influence the software and search algorithms that shape our everyday lives. In this provocative spoken-word video, Buolamwini demonstrates the …
The limits of free speech: Jacob Mchangama on censorship, extremism, and hate speech
There’s no question that social media platforms like Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube can rapidly amplify and circulate hate speech and extremist content. Solutions to this problem are murky, as seen in debates over topics such as cancel culture, free speech, and censorship. In this essay, Jacob Mchangama, a Danish writer and lawyer, argues that an …
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