In our day-to-day interactions with apps and websites, we are often only privy to the up-front, monetary costs and user interfaces. When we order a mug from Amazon, or like a picture of puppies on Facebook, we enjoy the ease and entertainment of these services, but the inner workings that make these transactions so seamless and satisfying are hidden from us. We are promised and have come to expect technology to ensure our package arrives in two days or that our latest post is seen by our followers, but we are rarely compelled to question the “how” of these operations. What might we uncover if we dared to look into the mechanisms that make our lives so convenient and efficient? During this session, we will collectively explore our questions about costs, labor and automation, and critically consider the true price of the technological infrastructure that supports our ways of living.

>> Register

Grappling with AI, Education, and Our Speculative Futures is a project facilitated by the University of Pittsburgh School of Education. We invite Pitt faculty, students, and staff to engage in critical discourse about the purpose of education and technology's role within it. Click here for more information.

Photo Credit: Jessica Kaminsky