ethics

Two hands exploring a pile of paperwork on a desk. The image has been highly stylized to appear toxic.

Toxic Tech #5: Generative AI: Sustainability, Equity, and Living Our Values (or not)

What Is Generative AI, Anyway? In my last post, I went on at some length about what Generative AI is and its limitations. Rather than rehash it all here, I’ll refer you back to that section, but here’s what I think is the most salient point: It’s a prediction machine. And its predictions are often…

Two rockets are parallel in front of an image of the earth. The text reads "Long Ago, Far Away." This is the cover of Amazing Stories, September 1959.

Robots Marking Robots: The AI Arms Race

Hello Detox readers, and greetings from deep within my plague house. As most parents of young children will confirm, everything is a virus and the children are always unwell; my little germ factory came home early from school on Tuesday and hasn’t been back since. My thoughts are with anyone who is also living in…

blue neon text on a black background reads Stay Weird

Digital Detox #2: The LMS, Tech-Driven Pedagogy, and Making Bad Choices Too Easy

It’s common discourse in teaching and learning circles to hear the comment that we can’t let technology drive our pedagogy. But is it true? If I walk into a classroom and the chairs are fixed rather than movable, it changes how I approach the lesson plan; if there’s no whiteboard or no surface to write…

a row of brightly coloured cacti
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Digital Detox #8: Moving Forward with an Ethic of Care

We’re at the end, my Digital Detox friends. (Well, almost: we have two round-up posts coming on Monday, and if you’re on the TRU campus I hope we’ll see you at the closing face-to-face session on February 7th — you can register by clicking here.) If you’ve read all eight of my missives — thank…

three succulents in pink pots
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Digital Detox #5: Questions to Ask Before Giving Up

I’m borrowing the title from a marvellous poem — linked again in context down below — by Kaitlyn Boulding. It’s wonderful to share with students at difficult moments in the semester. To peel back the lid of the sardine can, what we’ve been engaging in this month, so far as we have been talking primarily…