Fourteen authors, five days, and one insightful publication: Technoskepticism: Between Possibility and Refusal.
In the summer of 2023, 14 DISCO Network Scholars* came together for a DISCO Network “Book Jam.” For five days, the scholars collaborated in real time to write one master document, with every mind typing at once—drafting anecdotes, adding stats, and editing each other’s prose.** The result of the writing retreat was the publication, Technoskepticism: Between Possibility and Refusal.
The DISCO Network is a collective of scholars who work together to challenge digital racial and social inequalities. Technoskepticism applies this social justice lens to explore artificial intelligence (AI), nostalgia, digital wellness, and more. To celebrate the publication, on Feb. 14, the DISCO Network and Digital Studies Institute hosted a Technoskepticism Launch Party, which provided a free copy of the book to all attendees and consisted of both an author panel and workshop. In a time when everyone is an internet user and the uncertainty of the future seems greater than ever, this discussion could not be more relevant.
Even in the short period from when the book was written to the publication date, AI has changed drastically. Speaking on this timeline, panelist Lida Zeitlin-Wu expressed, “When we wrote this in the summer of 2023, it was not a super hopeful political moment, but by contrast, it does feel that way. Reading the book with new eyes, I already feel more pessimistic than I did when I wrote it. I think this book will be a time capsule in a moment of skepticism of not knowing what’s next.” In the past few years, the authors have found their viewpoints on technology constantly shifting within the spectrum of possibility and refusal. Zeitlin-Wu further explained that thinking critically is not synonymous with thinking negatively; instead, it merely encourages us to view our online activity with a more analytical lens, taking the time to understand outside factors that may be influencing what we read, watch, or participate in.
Technoskepticism should be a tool. Taking everything ChatGPT spits out at face value is probably not a good strategy. And despite the many downsides of emerging language learning models, there’s also joy in playing around with them. When it comes to the internet’s future and capabilities, panelist Rayvon Fouché said that he is “mildly optimistic,” noting that “if you don’t laugh, it will eat you alive.”
Although much of the book looks forward, there is also space to look back. The nostalgia chapters explore our emotional attachments to technologies and a longing to hold on to something that no longer exists. Everyone, at some point, has experienced the pull of “home.” For some, this idea of “home” exists or existed on an online platform with virtual communities. The section “Bedrooms as Time Machines” explains that teenagers on TikTok have transformed their rooms from private to public spaces. There’s also a strange nostalgia for decorating rooms in a fashion reminiscent of eras that these teenagers have never lived through, as early as the 1930s. While rushing toward a bright and innovative future, we are still plagued by a desire to return to what once was, and this feeling has manifested itself in the digital world in fascinating ways.
The authors also expanded on apps that gamify a user’s life, offering digital rewards for taking care of themselves. Panelist Rianna Walcott wrote her own anecdote about her reliance on wellness apps and the accountability they provide. One app that Walcott uses, titled Flora, plants trees as you work without touching your phone for a set amount of time; however, if you do touch your phone, the screen goes red, and the user receives the message: “Oops! You Killed the Tree!” While this can be distressing, it helps eliminate distraction in a world full of it, as floods of emails, texts, and other online obligations pull us away from the tasks at hand. Walcott wrote, “No matter what it may look like to my digital audience, I genuinely think this kept me not only productive but feeling well.”
After a brief Q&A with the panelists, Jeff Nagy and Lisa Nakamura hosted a workshop, facilitating conversations that explored different facets of AI, including individual introductions with AI, embracing or refusing the “weird,” and asking, can AI be ethical?
As a student who has been both inspired and discouraged to use AI, I was curious to hear professors’ opinions on its simultaneously beneficial and harmful uses. Of course, it must be frustrating to be handed an essay that was clearly written by AI, demonstrating a complete lack of effort from the student. It shows a loss of ability and critical thinking skills, which is counterproductive when students pay for a college education to increase their abilities. However, Nagy expressed that the most upsetting aspect of students falling back on AI to do their homework is that it creates a disconnect between the student and the instructor. No matter the topic, reading papers allows instructors to understand their students’ individual voices, perspectives, and insights. By using AI to insert a robot voice instead, students throw away that mode of communication with their professors.
At my workshop table, we discussed the concept of “passing” and the three required roles—the observer, the dupe, and the impostor. In a world with rampant AI, it feels like we’re all participating as dupes, attempting to discern what’s real and what’s computer-generated. Like watching the game show Is It Cake? I’m constantly questioning, “Is it AI?”
The best we can do is to continue looking at everything with a critical lens. As always, the future holds many possibilities, and we still hold a level of control over what we want that future to look like.
*The authors of Technoskepticism: Between Possibility and Refusal are David Adelman, André Brock, A. Joseph Dial, Stephanie Dinkins, Rayvon Fouché, Huan He, Jeff Nagy, Lisa Nakamura, Catherine Knight Steele, Rianna Walcott, Josie Williams, Kevin C. Winstead, M. Remi Yergeau, and Lida Zeitlin-Wu.
**The Book Jam was facilitated by Barbara Ruhling of Book Sprints.
More information on the book Technoskepticism: Between Possibility and Refusal can be found here.
