BEXP 15A04 -

SUMMARY We are entering a digital world where synthetic technologies are designed by technologists to triumph. After the early iterations of the prehistoric web, techno-entrepreneurs are inviting us to walk toward a new technological horizon. A "synthetic horizon" where the Metaverse, crypto-assets, and AIs will coexist to help humanity meet the challenges ahead. But will they really help? This course will examine the ambivalent role of digital technologies in our societies and interrogate our future by questioning their relevance. OBJECTIFS DU COURS / COURSE GOALS For the first time in human history, we are moving from a perfectly analog world where automated machines barely exist to a digital world where artificial intelligence triumphs. After the era of the prehistoric web and its first iterations, techno-entrepreneurs invite us to walk towards a new technological horizon. A "synthetic horizon" where the Metaverse, cryptos, AIs, and other services such as GPT-3 or Stable Diffusion will coexist, supposedly for our sole benefit and for the progress of humanity. To talk about it, two intertwined narrative lines stand out. The first describes a world where technology is being deployed at an unprecedented speed in our societies. The second narrative is a little different. It speaks of a world where physical constraints apply to everyone despite the dreams that drive them. Two stories with very different points of view that nevertheless describe the same reality. Two imaginary worlds fed by discourses that clash violently. The proposed futures rest on powerful ideological foundations. One, resolutely techno-optimistic, sees digital techniques as liberating and heralding considerable progress. The other depicts recent advances as irreparable mistakes. This course proposes first to see where we come from, and how the pre-web world prepared us for this new reality, notably through science fiction. Then it invites us to understand what is happening in our daily lives by deciphering the announced technological advances and their effects on reality. Finally, he proposes to imagine together a horizon, the one that seems the most desirable for all. Descriptif du cours / Course description Session 1. | An analog world: context of a pre-digital world The digital world inherits a cultural, political, ideological, and technical context that was developed in an analog world. What is it, how does it influence us and why is it important? In this class, we're going to explore the very beginning of synthetic tech from Alan Turing to Tim Berners-Lee, right before the Internet arrives. Travaux / Assignments Read: the “Declaration of the independance of Cyberspace” and the declaration of the “Future of the internet” and make a comparative analysis. What are the main philosophical differences ? ⚠️ Group presentation. Session 2. | A synthetic world in the making: foundational layout of the Web 3 The early stages of web development are critical to the evolution of web 3 and to understand how it works. From a centralized infrastructure to a decentralized network, the Internet has undergone a major evolution that has led to an even greater paradigm shift. Web 3.0 is therefore based on bricks inherited from web 2.0 but is philosophically different. What are these differences, and how does it work? Let's review the basic concepts you will find throughout this course. (definitions, etc.). Travaux / Assignments Read: Web3: A Decentralized Societal Infrastructure for Identity, Trust, Money, and Data and explain if and if so, how, digital identity is a desirable dimension of web 3. ⚠️ Group presentation. Session 3. | The rise of tech figures: mythology and storytelling From Steve Jobs to Mark Zuckerberg to Elon Musk, these characters shape the digital industry and the economy by making headlines and sometimes even shocking public opinion. This media image is supported by a powerful narrative framework, whose characteristics approach mythological stories, and which millions of fans around the world adopt as an example of success and personal achievement. Is the figure of the innovative geek who invents disruptive technologies in his garage still relevant in our world? Should we rely on these providential men or should we discard them to move forward? Travaux / Assignments Read: “The devastating cost of the Big Tech billionaires” immense wealth” article from Fast Company to go a bit further Session 4. | Disrupting everything: a new ethical horizon for the tech industry Disruption is the lifeblood of tech startups, but it also causes a great deal of chaos in traditional industries that struggle to stay afloat and continue operations. Are we seeing Schumpeter's famous destructive creation unfold here, or does the desire to destroy everything actually hide a toxic dynamic? Let's take the information industry as an example and see how it is evolving. Travaux / Assignments The world is and will yet be profoundly changed by the emergence of new technologies, who's responsible for that evolution ? Should the tech companies be held responsible for that or should it be the role of the legislator or governments to control the diffusion of new technologies ? ⚠️ Write a 2000 words minimum essay on that question plus a 5 min summary that you will present to the class if you are selected. This is an individual work. Session 5. | Ethical challenges: The blockchain, a fundamental brick for the next digital revolution Blockchain is a fundamental building block of the Web3 ecosystem. Among its by-products, NFTs and DAOs are revolutionizing the very principles of Web 2.0 and giving rise to a new type of relationship. Bitcoin and ethereum have made some first-time adopters rich but have also led others to ruin. Carried by a minority of industrial and economic actors in the world, whose libertarian ideological foundations have greatly influenced the sector, blockchain is still perceived as an important factor of progress for the times to come. What are the real effects of this technology and do its advantages outweigh its cost? In this section, we will look at the case of blockchain and crypto-assets. Travaux / Assignments Read: the Cyberpunk Manifesto. Describe what was the original intent and how the big four ( or the Gafam or the Gamma which stands for Google, Apple, Facebook, Amazon et Microsoft) twisted it. Focus on Meta and its attempt at creating Libra (Diem). ⚠️ Group presentation. Session 6. | Ethical challenges: AI, the rise of the machines ? Artificial intelligence holds the promise of an optimized and simpler world. A world where human inefficiency has been corrected to allow us to have more personalized experiences or to be free of thankless tasks. Its outlets are multiple, we already live with it and yet, we might not want it. Carried by a minority of industrial and economic actors in the world, artificial intelligence remains perceived as an important factor of progress for the times to come. What are the real effects of this technology and do its advantages outweigh its cost? In this section, we will look at the case of AI and machine learning, particularly in the context of information, entertainment, and communication. Travaux / Assignments Read: Anatomy of AI - Kate Crawford and Map in your own daily life contact points you might have with Artificial Intelligence and try to grasp how much it influences your life ( in a google doc ). ⚠️ Group presentation. Session 7. | Ethical challenges: Synthetic worlds, the second rise of virtual universes Mark Zuckerberg's Metaverse seems to be a resounding flop at the moment. The promise of a virtual world in which we could develop a "second life" remains a cliché of science fiction works. If virtual reality is a tempting invitation to withdraw from the real world and its vital challenges, should we succumb to it? Let's explore together this ancient environment influenced by the imagination of the '80s implemented in video games and of which it is predicted that we will all be citizens. Travaux / Assignments If possible to https://secondlife.com/ create a free account and test the platform. Then describe your experience as if you were an explorer. If you are already in a persistent universe like Star Citizen, animal crossing, eve online, roblox, minecraft or others like this, do the same exercice and try to include memories of your first encounter in these spaces. ⚠️ Group presentation. Session 8. | The effect of synthetic technologies: rise of inequalities, gender issues, toxic content creation The production of toxic content continues to grow steadily on the Internet. From hate speech to conspiracy theories to revenge porn and sexfakes, it generally targets women, the LGBTQIIA+ community and underrepresented minorities, as well as certain activists, and is driven by specific actors who take advantage of freely distributed technologies. Where is the limit of the free availability of digital tools? Travaux / Assignments Read summaries of : Surveillance Capitalism - Shoshana Zuboff | Evgeny Morozov - To save everything, click here ! Should | Weapons of Math Destruction - Cathy O'Neil. These three books have something in common, can you spot what it is? Explain their main ideas, how they connect to each other, and what they are trying to say about the tech industry ? ⚠️ Group presentation. Session 9. | The effect of synthetic technologies: the Vulnerable world hypothesis Are digital technologies part of the solution to the challenges facing us in the coming years or, on the contrary, are they catalysts of chaos? The theory of the vulnerable world questions our notion of progress, of innovation and of the choices we make to follow this or that technological branch. Travaux / Assignments Read : The Vulnerable World Hypothesis - Nick Bostrom and explain if (and if so, why) this applies to any synthetic tech we explored in class. ⚠️ Group presentation. Session 10. | Looking for truth or reality ? Look elsewhere Much has been written about the post-truth era. Synthetic technologies bring with them their share of deception and more or less detectable manipulation. From fake porn to synthetic influencers and artificial voices, our online interactions will increasingly be confronted with a new kind of reality. But don't we all need to have the same reality to be a society? Travaux / Assignments Should we ban deepfakes or are they part of a toolset that is directly connected to freedom of expression ? Formulate at least 5 arguments for and against synthetic media that you can defend in class. ⚠️ Group presentation. Session 11. The future of synthetic tech: should we embrace it, should we protest it, does it even make sense in a challenging world ? Synthetic technologies have a bright commercial future if we are to believe the techno-optimists and other entrepreneurs from Silicon Valley or French Tech. But as citizens do we have a say? Isn't there a kind of techno-colonialism going on that would force us to adopt a way of life we don't agree with? Travaux / Assignments Can we refuse technologies, do we have examples in history that actually show a similar movement or is it an illusion? ⚠️ Write a 2000 words minimum essay on that question plus a 5 min summary that you will present to the class if you are selected. This is an individual work. Session 12. The future of synthetic tech: What is your place in all that ? You're part of tomorrow, we might want to think about our relationship to synthetic techs. Open session Biographie enseignant / Biography A photojournalist for nearly 12 years and an award-winning web-documentarist, Gerald now works as a journalist-product manager specialized in editorial innovation. He has collaborated with various press companies such as Liberation, Condé Nast or Les Échos for the most recent ones. Gerald is editor of the Journalism.design website where he writes about the future of online press and the “Synth” newsletter specialized in synthetic media and deepfakes.

Gérald HOLUBOWICZ

Séminaire

English

Spring 2022-2023

Travaux / Assignments When I give you an assignment, I welcome every question. If something isn't clear, feel free to ask either by shooting an email at gerald.holubowicz@sciencespo.fr I expect you to upload your work ON TIME. A deadline is a deadline, you won't get any more time when you'll be on the field. So please, be punctual and respect that. ONLY EXCEPTIONS: force majeure (which means serious problems, not a flu) If you cannot upload your work on time, please send a message to tell me what is wrong. You can form groups to work together, with no more than 5 students per group. Please register your group here A group could be called randomly to present their work unless it is said otherwise (in case of a debate for example) Modalités d'évaluation / Grading Students will be graded (out of 20). The criteria are the following: During the semester, I'll be judging your work following these criteria: 1️⃣ The quality of the assignments : Which means, the outcome of the assignment. Is it a good experience? Is it professional alike? Do you have an interesting angle? Did you manage to use the tools properly? Is it something that a media could publish? 2️⃣ The quality of the presentation : Which means, how do you present your work. Graphic quality, is there a contextualization of your work, did you explain what was your goal, your motivations, your process, the techniques you employed? 3️⃣ The quality of your engagement : Which means, your general involvement. Were you curious? Proactive? Empathetic? Helping? Did you participate in class, on Slack, were you on time, did you respect the deadlines? Did you manage to work well with your team? Did you follow the instructions? 4️⃣ The overall progress : Which means the progress that you've made during the semester. How much did you learn? How the quality of the work improved over time? Were you able to help others with the acquired knowledge?