Re-Engineering Humanity

Description

Every day, new warnings emerge about artificial intelligence rebelling against us. All the while, a more immediate dilemma flies under the radar. Have forces been unleashed that are thrusting humanity down an ill-advised path, one that's increasingly making us behave like simple machines? In this wide-reaching, interdisciplinary book, Brett Frischmann and Evan Selinger examine what's happening to our lives as society embraces big data, predictive analytics, and smart environments. They explain how the goal of designing programmable worlds goes hand in hand with engineering predictable and programmable people. Detailing new frameworks, provocative case studies, and mind-blowing thought experiments, Frischmann and Selinger reveal hidden connections between fitness trackers, electronic contracts, social media platforms, robotic companions, fake news, autonomous cars, and more. This powerful analysis should be read by anyone interested in understanding exactly how technology threatens the future of our society, and what we can do now to build something better. Half title Reviews Title page Imprints page Dedication Contents Foreword Acknowledgments Note on the Text Introduction Welcome to the Experience Machine n.0 Humanity’s Techno-Social Dilemma The Structure of the Book Part I Chapter 1 Engineering Humans Introduction Fitbits at Oral Roberts University Different Forms of Tracking and Their Consequences Surveillance Creep Bedtime and Bathtime Surveillance Chapter 2 Cogs in the Machine of Our Own Lives Introduction Actuated Navigation Bodies, Technology, and Outsourcing Creep Chapter 3 Techno-Social Engineering Creep and the Slippery-Sloped Path Slippery Slope Arguments From Activity Watches to Brain Scans? The Slippery-Sloped Path and the Forces that Drive Us Part II Chapter 4 Tools for Engineering Humans Introduction Tool Use: The Basics Shaping and Being Shaped by Tools Fetishized Computers and Idealized Computation Taylor’s Scientific Management of Human Beings Taylorism Criticized Yet Expanding Chapter 5 Engineering Humans with Contracts Introduction The Experience of Electronic Contracting Electronic Contracting and Taylorism Humanity’s Techno-Social Dilemma Revisited Contract Creep Chapter 6 On Extending Minds and Mind Control Introduction Extending Ourselves: Background and Examples Technologically Extended Bodies: Contemporary Experiences Cognition: Extended and Distributed Cognitive Technology Extended Mind Extended Mind and Techno-Social Engineering Intrusion and Uncontrollability Mind Extension and Human Capabilities Chapter 7 The Path to Smart Techno-Social Environments Introduction Mass Media and the Reconfiguration of Our Lived-In Environments The Internet and Networked Digital Media Facebook’s Emotional Engineering Experiment Chapter 8 Techno-Social Engineering of Humans through Smart Environments Introduction Smart Techno-Social Environments How Smart Should Our Shared Infrastructure Be? Smart Media/Mediation Chapter 9 #RelationshipOptimization Digital Companions Linguistic Coaching, Impersonation, and Digital Immortality Martha’s Disenchantment Autonomy, Reductionism, and Meaningful Relationships Sociological Skepticism Automating Relationships Chawla’s Cautionary Tale Mood Walls in Smart Homes Predictables Algorithmic Bloodhounds Period Tracking Debating Tracking Menstruation Tracking and Beyond Creep Part III Chapter 10 Turing Tests and the Line between Humans and Machines Introduction Turing Test: A Brief Overview and Literature Review Turing Test as Useful Tool The Human Side of the Turing Line Chapter 11 Can Humans Be Engineered to Be Incapable of Thinking? Introduction Intelligence: Thinking and Not-Thinking Techno-Social Engineering Test Focused on Mathematical Computation Techno-Social Engineering Test Focused on Generating Not-So-Random Numbers Techno-Social Engineering Test Focused on Rationality Techno-Social Engineering Test Focused on Common Sense Lost and Found Chapter 12 Engineered Determinism and Free Will Introduction Natural Determinism and a Pragmatic Wager Engineered Determinism Free Will and Autonomy Practical Agency: Freedom to Act and Exercise One’s Own Will Techno-Social Engineering Tests on Free Will Moral Decision-Making Regret as a System 1 Trigger for Reflection and Self-Determination Reflecting on and Determining Our Own Beliefs Reflecting on and Determining our Intentions to Act Chapter 13 To What End? Introduction Revisiting Humanity’s Techno-Social Dilemma Frog Soup Revisiting Nozick’s Thought Experiment and Life on the Experience Machine Revisiting the Experience Machine n.0 – Life in the Machine/World Life as a Machine: The Power to Control Minds, Make Humans into Things, and Determine What Other People Do Part IV Chapter 14 Conclusion: Reimagining and Building Alternative Futures What Are We Rebelling Against? Environmental Humanism Capabilities Experience Machines and Paternalism Play Semantic Discontinuity From Logics to Strategies Challenge Conventional Wisdom with Critical Analysis Solving the Fake News Problem with a New Social Media Platform Net Neutrality and Beyond Support Human Flourishing by Engineering Transaction Costs and Inefficiencies Legal Reforms for Electronic Contracting Two Extreme Proposals Our Three Proposals May 25, 2018: Time for Change Appendices Appendix A Mass Media and the First Amendment Appendix B Perspectives on the Turing Test Appendix C Our Free Will Discussion Appendix D Modern Meal Times Appendix E Rethinking Contract Theory Notes Introduction Chapter 1 Engineering Humans Chapter 2 Cogs in the Machine of Our Own Lives Chapter 3 Techno-Social Engineering Creep and the Slippery-Sloped Path Chapter 4 Tools for Engineering Humans Chapter 5 Engineering Humans with Contracts Chapter 6 On Extending Minds and Mind Control Chapter 7 The Path to Smart Techno-Social Environments Chapter 8 Techno-Social Engineering of Humans through Smart Environments Chapter 9 #RelationshipOptimization Chapter 10 Turing Tests and the Line between Humans and Machines Chapter 11 Can Humans Be Engineered to Be Incapable of Thinking? Chapter 12 Engineered Determinism and Free Will Chapter 13 To What End? Chapter 14 Conclusion: Reimagining and Building Alternative Futures Appendix B Perspectives on the Turing Test Appendix C Our Free Will Discussion Appendix D Modern Meal Times Appendix E Rethinking Contract Theory Bibliography Index