Hicks conclusion
"The failure of British computing points to the
problems with seeking a 'technological fix.' Technologies often
cement or widen existing social and economic divisions rather
than break them down. Often, this is an intentional part
of a technology's implementation." p. 224
technological fix:
- use technology to solve social
problems (one that involves human behavior)
- but social problems are often
more complicated than what technology can do
- in this case people in British
government thought that they could use the new technology of
computers to make British society less traditional and more
innovative
- but what happened was that the
new technology was fit to traditional social patterns
- eventually the social patterns
changed, but technology alone wasn't enough to change it
Stephanie
(Steve) Shirley (Ted
talk)
- founded a software startup
letting women programmers work from home
- used Steve as a nickname to
avoid getting bids rejected out of hand
but don't just focus on the women programmers who
found ways to succeed
- the ordinary operators were also essential to
the field
- we tend to focus on machines, but who are the
workers who make new technologies possible
- notice how rapidly what is considered women's
work can change
- and how strong our stereotypes are
- the gender division starts out as about
lowering labor costs, but then when computer programming
becomes prestigious, keeping men on top becomes more important
than reducing costs
Technocracy:
- decisions are made by technical experts (or
supposed experts) instead of by the voters
- being involved in new technology was becoming the
source of power in society
Present day examples