#tlc25

Do modern day games create a false reality of a racist and misogynistic view? 

I was utterly shocked when reading the article The Revenge of the Yellowface by Jeffrey A. Ow, even talking about it in class was very interesting and came from a point of view I would have never assumed. Ow describes how he plays a game that targets asians and forces gamers to fit into the role of a colonizer. Thinking about this article and games nowadays we do have so many games that share hatred into the world where fantasy characters eliminate their opponents that are offensive and unideal. “This yellowface cyborg terminator, amalgam of middle class white man and digital ninja, revels in the maternal hybridity between human and machine, using this positionality to transcribe master narratives based on racial and colonialism” (Ow). I never thought the games I would play growing up had such a negative and bad context behind them. From my own point of view, I am thankful I never had to fully be aware of them, but now as I am older, I realize how much harm these fake characters can cause to so many ethnicities and cultures. 

Do games play into sexist, racist, and stereotypes? Do the creators view their characters? 

I wanted to talk more about Ow's article. I think it’s extremely important to clarify. In modern day video games we see women portrayed as either prostitutes, in domestic violence situations, or even needing to be rescued by a man. As a woman I think it’s extremely offensive that the men get to be seen as a powerful figure, war hero, playboy, and more. Do the creators of the game interpret women as such fragile beings and feel the need to only associate them when it’s convenient to the men. Though many games are meant for a mature audience, many young adults are buying these games. I know many of my young male cousins play games like GTA and COD, this is scary. One can only assume they will take the interpretations of the game into consideration and create their own false reality. We talked about this briefly in class. Imagine someone who has played GTA and has never been to Los Angeles before, they can create false realities based on these disgusting simulations.

What does it mean to be a cyborg in cyberspace? 

In Race in Cyberspace by Lisa Nakmaura, Beth E kolko, and Gilbert Rodman we discover a relatively newer reality as the internet begins to slowly take off. The ideal of a cyborg, touched on throughout this week's lecture in my opinion, is connected to this reading. A cyborg is almost machine like- though the article is older we see this still in modern times. Cyberspace is expressed differently as well, in modern times we would just refer to it as the internet. Hence cyborgs are created in cyberspace is an addiction which we have discussed many times before in class through algorithms. In the reading the authors express, “Participants in cyberspace, It turns out, are not just embedded in language, but tied to gender; in other words, they bring a variety of their Real-world identities to bear on cyberspace representation” (Kolko, B. E., Nakamura, L., & Rodman, G. B. 2000) Meaning we are just sucked into this unreal reality that can give us our small amount of domine with no cares about the real issues at hand. Many inappropriate conversations occur online, in which if we see we must do something. We should not just be watchers when we can be doers. 

How important is our privacy online? 

After attending the last class I realized how much danger we are in, by relying on technology. I don’t want to seem dumb, but I never knew that when you are on a website the “https” the (s) stands for secure. This will come in handy later on the intranet trying to find certain sites. However I also was unaware of how much of our everyday information is being given away online. Those cookies need to be stopped and our devices make it so much harder for us to turn it off. We talked alot about convenience during the speaker's presentation. I will admit for myself the convenience of technology is a huge part of my life. Especially when it comes to school and I need the fastest results or easiest way of working around my school assignments. However this panel was a huge eye opener to me. We discussed so many dangers within AI including face recognition, unsecure sites, and misinformation. All of which could affect anyone in their everyday lives however more often to people of color. This presentation was a great way to explore the negative side effects when you don’t pay attention and rely on the convenience of your phone like I used to. 

Kolko, B. E., Nakamura, L., & Rodman, G. B. (2000). Race in cyberspace. Routledge.

Is there a clear solution when it comes to digital safety?

Based on what I heard from the speaker there are certain aspects that you could and chose when it comes to safety online. But ultimately there is no actual safety, just certain measurements one can do. All of the apps that we use are controlled and you are constantly being watched by them. There is no way you can just stop using technology as it has become such a crucial thing in society now. I was able to learn that there are certain apps that one can use that may keep you safe and certain things you can do. Such as a text message that keeps your message private but it only works if either person you are messaging has the app as well. As well as installing VPNs on your computer or phones. Not accepting all the cookies when you enter a website or at least read their terms that apply if you do decide to accept them.

Is it up to us as a society to change our mindset as that impacts/affects the digital public sphere or should media creators be held responsible?

I think yes as the speaker for digital literacy mentioned technology is not racist. It is the people who design and do the coding of the technology that are influenced by society and certain ideologies that exist today. To an extent the creators of the media should be held responsible. As an example that was mentioned when it comes to digital surveillance. Most times when it comes to people of color the technology struggles to be able to identify certain people and makes errors. Which has real life consequences on people's life by these errors technology does.

Based on Nakamuras, work on what happened with the idea of the internet.

Before the internet became this whole big thing we knew people had the hope that it would be a space where everyone would be welcomed. Where there would be “perfect equality” which was the original idea and purpose of the world wide web by the creator Tim Burner. Eventually this did not end up happening and the internet became a place where racism exists that affects many people now.

Why is the “yellowface cyborg” so controversial?

How does  Cyberfeminism relate to the relationship between gender and technology? How does the political economy play a role in the engagement of cyberfeminism ?    Cyberfeminism  focuses on challenging gender roles and stereotypes through the use of technology and social media. It relates to the relationship between gender and technology by enabling individuals to challenge the patriarchy in society through social media. As stated by Jessie Daniel in “Rethinking Cyberfeminism(s): Race, Gender, and Embodiment,” it is “neither a single theory nor a feminist movement with a clearly articulated political agenda.” Rather it is the combination of various theories, debates, and practices in relation to gender and digital technology. Along with these advancements in technology comes the involvement of the political economy and their role in cyberfeminism. As mentioned by Jessie Daniels, in the United States research shows that “most of the apparent 'digital divide' in computer ownership and Internet access has been the effect of class (or socioeconomic status) more than of gender and race (Norris 2001).” It is important to evaluate the role of the political economy in cyberfeminism as we only have such technologies due to the exploitation of labor in other countries. The very people making this technology possible may not have access to it themselves. While, as Daniels states, it provides a “mechanism for resisting such gendered and racialized practices, at the same time that they reinforce established hierarchies of gender and race.”

2. How is facial recognition software being shaped by political worldviews? How can the use of these programs be detrimental to minorities ?

Facial recognition software is being shaped by political worldviews as it is used in certain instances by police to capture criminals. This can be detrimental to minorities as one big major problem with facial recognition is its inability to differentiate between minorities. According to “Another Arrest, and Jail Time, Due to a Bad Facial Recognition Match” by Kashmir Hill in 2019, a “national study of over 100 facial recognition algorithms found that they did not work as well on Black and Asian faces.” This has led to innocent people being falsely accused and imprisoned for crimes they did not commit, particularly minorities. As Kashmir Hill also mentioned, Nijeer Parks spent “10 days in jail and paid around $5,000 to defend himself” due to being falsely imprisoned by identification through facial recognition. Not everyone has the money to defend themselves against a charge like this. By allowing facial recognition to be used, it could lead to more false imprisonments and innocent people being placed in jail.

How does the use of technology in healthcare insurance and government relate to the exploitation of the lower class ? 

Many insurance companies now rely on algorithms when evaluating insurance claims and policies. This means some people will be flagged for fraud due to the algorithm, but who are the groups most affected by this decision? According to “Automating Inequality” by Virginia Eubanks, “Marginalized groups face higher levels of data collection when they access public benefits, walk through highly policed neighborhoods, enter the health-care system, or cross national borders.” This process of intense surveillance enables insurance companies to exploit the lower class as they do not have the resources or time to fight the claims. For example, social services using EBT cards as a tracking device is just one form of surveillance burdened upon the lower class. This also extends towards healthcare policies as marginalized groups are most likely to be flagged for insurance fraud. The use of technology only furthers  exploitation of the lower class as Eubanks states “We manage the individual poor in order to escape our shared responsibility for eradicating poverty.”

4. What are the dialectical contradictions between technology and race? How do social media platforms play a role in enabling these contradictions in society ? 

Social media platforms enable dialectical contradictions between technology and race as algorithms suggest certain videos and post to your feed or timeline. For a country such as the United States that values free speech this causes a contradiction as free speech may be hidden by the algorithm. Over the past week protests took place over President Donald Trump's immigration policies all over california. Many groups marched out in support of their friends and families yet in order for me to find any videos relating to the protest I had to search for them on my own. Coming from a latino household I was very intrigued by the fact that the algorithm in any of my social media accounts was not suggesting these videos. This is a dialectical contradiction as social media such as X is for free speech but perhaps they may actually be suppressing these ideas. 

References 

Eubanks, V. (2018). Automating Inequality: how high-tech tools profile, police, and punish the poor. St. Martin’s Press.

Daniels, J. (2009). “Rethinking Cyberfeminism(s): Race, Gender, and Embodiment”