CS 492 W24 Course Timetable

Classes are held Tuesdays and Thursdays 1:00-2:20, in E2 1732.

Timetable of Topics, RPEs, and Assignment Due Dates

In a non-RPE week, discussions will consume the entirety of the time on Tuesday and Thursday. The following is a set of readings for each week. Do not feel pressured to read each and every paper (there are a lot of papers below!) but do read at least the Must Read section, whatever else interests you in the other readings and be prepared to comment on the topics of the week. This list of papers will be updated throughout the course as students suggestions are received.

Please read this if you have trouble accessing any resources from off-campus.

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Abbreviated Time Table:

Week 1 (Jan 9, 11) - Logistics; Overview of Social Implications of Computing
Week 2 (Jan 16, 18) - The Internet; In class Video
Week 3 (Jan 23, 24, 25) - Privacy and Social Control; Assignment 1 Due Wednesday January 24th at 10:00am; Security
Week 4 (Jan 30, Feb 1) - RPE1 on Censorship; RPE4 on Misinformation
Week 5 (Feb 6, 7, 8) - Computer-Mediated Communication; Assignment 2 Due Wednesday February 7th at 10:00am; Fears of Computerization and Surveillance
Week 6 (Feb 13, 15) - RPE5 on AI; RPE8 on Computers and Children
Week RW (Feb 16, 18) READING WEEK
Week 7 (Feb 27, 29) - RPE2 on Computer Piracy; RPE6 on Net Neutrality
Week 8 (Mar 5, 6, 7) - Ethics; Assignment 3 Due Wednesday March 6th at 10:00am; Large Language Models (Chat GPT)
Week 9 (Mar 12, 14) - Video Games; Nature of Work and Productivity
Week 10 (Mar 19, 20, 21) - Work: E-Commerce and the Changing Workplace; Assignment 4 Due Wednesday March 20th at 10:00am; Gender Balance and Marginalization
Week 11 (Mar 26, 28) - RPE3 on Computers and Universal Identifiers; RPE7 on Displacement of Workers
Week 12 (Apr 2, 3, 4) - Crypto Ransomware; Assignment 5 Due Wednesday April 3rd at 10:00am; Environment

Detailed Time Table:

Week 1
- January 9: Overview of course, discussion of social implications of computers
- January 11: Continued discussion of overview of social implications of computers
- January 12: RPEs preferences submitted
- January 13: RPEs finalized
- Readings:

Week 2
- January 16: The Internet
- January 18: Video on the Internet (Highway to Cyberia) Youtube Link
- Readings - The Internet:
  - Paper on trust on the Internet: Trust, Authenticity, and Discursive Power In Cyberspace.
  - Paper: Viacom sues Google over YouTube clips
  - Paper: Wikipedia in the Newsroom
  - Paper: The Web Runs on Love, Not Greed
  - Paper: Is Google Making Us Stupid? Internal link Alternate link
  - Paper: Google and the Right to be Forgotten
  - Paper: Fake news
  - Paper: Kitchener Startup's App Takes on Fake News
  - Paper: Don't Scoff at Influencers --- On trusted sources of information Factiva internal link
  - Paper: The state of fakery
  - Paper: PizzaGate Conspiracy Theory Thrives Anew in the TikTok Era Factiva internal link
  - Paper: Trust in the internet `now missing'
  - Paper: Almost Everyone Doesn't Trust the Internet
  - Paper: Capital One data breach Factiva internal link
  - Paper: Data breaches
  - Paper: Facebook Not Notifying Users of Leak
  - Paper: Internet Addiction
  - Paper: What you Don't Know About Amazon - Looking under the hood of the market place Factiva internal link
  - Paper: Criminal artificial inteligence and your money
  - Paper: Facebook and Gun Advertising
  - Paper: YouTube will stop removing false presidential election fraud claims
  - Paper: Taiwan Fights Onslaught of Chinese Disinformation Ahead of Key Election
  - Paper: Cryptography may offer a solution to the massive AI-labeling problem

Week 3
- January 23: Privacy and Social Control
- January 24: Assignment 1 due at 10:00am
- January 25: Security
- Readings:

Week 4
- RPE week. Make sure you read the Position Papers Pinned on Piazza and be prepared to ask questions of the groups.
- January 30: RPE1 on censorship
- February 1: RPE4 on misinformation

Week 5
- February 6: Computer-Mediated Communication
- February 7: Assignment 2 due at 10:00am
- February 8: Fears from Computerization
- Readings:

Week 6
- RPE week. Make sure you read the Position Papers Pinned on Piazza and be prepared to ask questions of the groups.
- February 13: RPE5 on AI
- February 15: RPE8 on Computers and Children

Reading Week (February 17-25)

Week 7
- RPE week. Make sure you read the Position Papers Pinned on Piazza and be prepared to ask questions of the groups.
- February 27: RPE2 on Computer Piracy
- February 29: RPE6 on Net Neutrality

Week 8
- March 5: Ethics
- March 6: Assignment 3 due at 10:00am
- March 7: Large Language Models (Chat GPT)
- Readings:

Week 9
- March 12: Video Games
- March 14: The Nature of Work and Productivity with Computers
- Readings:
Week 10
- March 19 Work: E-Commerce and the Changing Workplace (E-Voting, 3D Printing, Big Data)
- March 20: Assignment 4 due at 10:00am
- March 21: Gender Balance and Marginalization

Week 11
- RPE week. Make sure you read the Position Papers Pinned on Piazza and be prepared to ask questions of the groups.
- March 26: RPE3 on computers and universal identifiers
- March 28: RPE7 on displacement of workers

Week: 12
- April 2: Cryptocurrencies, Ransomware and Hacking
- April 3: Assignment 5 due at 10:00am
- April 4: Environment
- Readings:
- Paper: New material found by AI could reduce lithium use in batteries
- Paper: Tech Still Isn’t Doing Enough to Care for the Environment
- Paper: Data centre power use 'to surge six-fold in 10 years'