“It’s not the picture you post that these people are interested in—it’s the metadata attached,” Alvarado says. “Your metadata is far more valuable for inferring things about you, and the creation of metadata is largely involuntary. So, what is the basis for us to claim ownership of our metadata?”
BOOKMARKS Latest titles of interest from alumni and faculty authors. Visit oregonquarterly.com/bookmarks for more, or to submit a book for consideration.
CROSS-CONNECTIONS In addition to teaching, Alvarado lectures on computational ethics to undergraduates studying mathematics, statistics, and machine learning. “It’s wrong to say people are resistant to collaborating across STEM and humanities fields,” Alvarado says. “More accurately, people are still learning how. But I’ve always found once the lines of communication are established, it’s very enriching for all.”
SPECULATIVE FICTION—OR PHILOSOPHICAL TRUTH? Alvarado has long been an avid reader of science fiction. In our collective unease about the digital world, he hears the echo of a law proposed by Arthur C. Clarke in his 1962 book, Profiles of the Future. “A magician is not afraid of magic, because they know the trick,” Alvarado says. “But 99.9 percent of us have no role in building these vastly powerful computational systems—so we fear the machine in the same way our ancestors feared magic or natural disasters. There’s an element of wonder in our anxiety.”
The Presidential Initiative in Data Science empowers researchers, students, and communities to improve society through a greater understanding of data. Its uniquely Oregon, ethical mindset asks both what can we do, and what should we do? It is one of the UO’s academic initiatives, working across disciplines, developing the next generation of leaders and problem solvers.
X The Politics of Rights of Nature: Strategies for Building a More Sustainable Future by Craig Kauffman, associate professor of political science, and Pamela Martin, professor of politics, Coastal Carolina University X The Right Thing by Margie Keck Smith, MS ’92 (communication disorders and sciences) X Pandora’s Last Gift by Kim McCrea, BA ’84 (English)
X Small Business Foresight: The Future of Your Business by Verne Wheelwright, BS ’58 (business administration) X Last Confession by Frank Rossini, MA ’74 (curriculum and instruction), MFA ’77 (creative writing) X Bad Mommy Bad Writer: Writing From Home While Keeping the Kids Alive by Kim Cooper Findling, BA ’93 (psychology)
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