ETEC565H – Tzu Hsu Chu

GeoDASH: Exploring Predictive Policing Technology

As someone living in Vancouver for the past 9 years, the first thing I did when I saw the map was zoom into my neighborhood to see what has been happening in my surrounding areas. In addition, I also looked around the locations that I frequent.

After tinkering with the map, I decided to look read the GeoDASH FAQ page for more details on how the data was collected and visualized on the map. Overall, due to the sensitive nature and need to protect the privacy of those involved in the incidents, it seems like most of the information displayed can only be considered as proxy measures, as most of the actual locations have been rounded to the approximate block level.

With the lack of transparency in terms of how information is being collected, reported, and mapped, it is rather challenging to assess the validity of information presented on GeoDASH at face value without cross-referencing other sources, to gain a more comprehensive understanding of the crime trends in different neighborhoods.

Some inherent biases that may appear when interpreting the data on the map are intersectional in nature— using GeoDASH without additional understanding of geographic, socioeconomic, and demographic characteristics of Vancouver may result in misinterpretation of crime trends.

For example, geographically speaking, certain areas may have higher concentrations of crime due to population density, land-use patterns, or proximity to transportation hubs (e.g. central business districts of Downtown Vancouver area vs suburban residential area in Langely)

From a socioeconomic perspective, areas with higher socioeconomic status may have greater resources for crime prevention measures leading to more reported crimes (e.g. West Vancouver), compared to more disadvantaged neighborhoods where crime may be more prevalent but underreported (e.g. Downtown Eastside).

Vancouver being a diverse city with pockets of immigrant cultural hubs and communities, differences in law enforcement practices targeting specific demographic groups can also result in skewed representations of crime patterns and disparities of enforcement outcomes.

To conclude, interpreting GeoDASH information as someone not from Vancouver might be challenging at face value, as there is a lack of nuanced understanding of the makeup of this city, which requires a lot of contexts to provide a more holistic and accurate interpretation of the presented data. Even for a Vancouverite, the historical background can be an insightful starting point to gain a better understanding of the city that I live in.

ELIZA: Exploring Early Artificial Intelligence

Brief

Approach the interaction as both a user and a critic.

Formulate 2-3 hypotheses to test and 3-5 questions to address before testing the limitations of the ELZIA software by engaging in conversation. Pay attention to the chatbot’s language processing and quality of response.

Annotate the transcript of the interaction with observations and feelings. In your reflection, discuss the ethical and practical limitations of the technology. Save the transcript of your interaction to submit with your work.

Hypotheses

Based on the old-fashioned interface of the chatbot, I immediately dialed back my expectations.

I presume that this is a very “user-driven” conversational chatbot, such that it will echo or rephrase what the user has said to help with reflection and further articulation of what the user has offered as a starting point in conversation.

Given that it uses “pattern matching” to give canned responses, I believe this chatbot will not be able to provide a wide range of conversational breadth and will be relying on pre-programmed scripts or more ‘generic therapeutic’ prompts.

Following the Rogerian psychotherapeutic methods of “returning the question back to the patient”, I believe that the conversations with the chatbot can get rather cyclical and stagnant, which may not be user-friendly and perhaps frustrating in terms of usability.

Questions

When it comes to human-computer interaction, I always think of the concept of the ‘uncanny valley’, originally introduced by Japanese robotics engineering professor Masahiro Mori (Kageki, 2012). It is in the uncanny valley where the emotional response of a human observer becomes increasingly negative towards a robot as it approximates the ‘almost but not quite there’ likeness of a human yet doesn’t quite reach full human likeness, especially unnatural appearances or interactions that deviate from normal human behaviors can elicit a discomfort and eeriness.

At the same time, there is the ELIZA effect, coined after this chatbot, in which humans have the tendency to project human traits of semantic comprehension, or even empathy into computer programs that have a textual interface (Weizenbaum, 1976)

Given these two phenomena, how do these two affect each other? Will the ELIZA effect bridge the valley such the uncanniness becomes overlooked? Will repeated interaction with a chatbot reveal its limitations such that it widens the valley even more?

How is it the case that Weizenbaum’s students exhibited strong emotional connections when they were texting with the ELIZA? Is it because they were not accustomed to this kind of interaction?

Now that texting and chatting online is so ubiquitous in our daily lives, is it just that we have become more sensitive and accustomed to texting etiquette and nuances such that we are able to distinguish texting patterns such that we are not overcome by the ELIZA effect?

Conversation with ELIZA

How to be a good friend?

	Conversation	Thoughts/Feelings
	How to be a good friend?
Eliza	Why do you ask?
	I want to be a good friend to my friends
Eliza	I sometimes also want to be a good friend to your friends.	Found it interesting that ELIZA made a self-referential comment, though it seems like it is having a hard time with (reflexive) pronouns
	Do you have friends?
Eliza	We were discussing you, not me.	This response feels a little jarring and perhaps overly blunt?
	What are some ideas to be a good friend?
Eliza	What is it that you really want to know?
	Do my friends like me?
Eliza	Would you say that you have psychological problems?	Felt a bit blind sighted by this remark. Unclear about the relevance to my previous question.
	Not many.
Eliza	Ok…”What am some ideas to be a good friend”. Tell me more.
	I think I am a good listener for my friends.
Eliza	Do you enjoy being a good listener for your friends?
	Sometimes. Sometimes I wish they could listen to me too.
Eliza	Would you say that you have psychological problems?	Feels a little bit discouraging to be asked the second time, unsure how to react to this, hence ending the conversation here

How to be happier?

	Conversation	Thoughts/Feelings
	How to be happier?
Eliza	Have you asked anyone else?
	Yes, my family and friends.
Eliza	Are you sure about that?	I assume this is ELIZA prompting me to dig deeper, but feels like it is questioning my information source and validity
	And my roommates.
Eliza	Can you elaborate on that?	Seems like an empty canned response, as it is unspecific and seems a little off-topic to my previous response
	On my roommates?
Eliza	That is an interesting response. Let me make a note of that for next time.	Unsure how to respond to this and therefore I stopped the conversation

I Have Been Feeling A Little Sad Recently

	Conversation	Thoughts/Feelings
	I have been feeling a little sad recently
Eliza	Is it normal to feel a little sad recently?
	Not sure, but I don’t feel good.
Eliza	Why don’t you feel good?
	I feel stressed about my relationship with my family
Eliza	Do you often feel stressed out about your relationship with your family?
	Yes, quite often actually
Eliza	Are you sure about that?	Feels a little stand-offish to be questioned about my certainty on how I feel, unsure if this is to prompt for further introspection
	Yes, I am sure.
Eliza	Did you come to me because you are sure?	Unclear why ELIZA would want to focus on my certainty my feelings rather than *how* I feel
	Not exactly, but I think it would be helpful to talk to someone about it.
Eliza	Do you really think so?	Could be a prompt to help me further examine whether my thoughts/feelings are true, even though it feels somewhat blunt and insensitive
	Yes, I don’t think it is the best keeping everything bottled up.
Eliza	Do you wish to be able to think it is the best keeping everything bottled up?	This is an interesting question, I believe this is where the user “can see through the code” of this canned response and how they extract certain keywords to put into pre-made sentences, due to the negative phrasing of my previous response, it seems ‘out of place’ to ask such a question
	No, I do not wish to think that way.
Eliza	You are being a bit negative and that won’t help us move forward.	Am a little bit surprised about how blunt ELIZA can be with its tone!

How to stop procrastinating?

	Conversation	Thoughts/Feelings
	How to stop procrastinating?
Eliza	Why do you ask?
	I would like to stop putting off doing certain things, especially when I have a deadline for it
Eliza	Does that question interest you?	Not sure why the rhetorical question?
	Yes
Eliza	Are you sure about that?	Feeling like second guessing myself
	Yes
Eliza	Let’s take a moment here. Think about what you just said and try to rephrase it a bit more specifically.	Not sure what the connections are to the previous two Yes/No question prompts
	I want to be more proactive and take action
Eliza	What would it mean to you if you got to be more proactive and take action
	I feel like I have more agency and self control with allocating my time and energy
Eliza	Which feelings? Tell me more…
	About how I feel when I am in control?	Not the best at providing clarification
Eliza	Do you enjoy feeling when you are in control?
	Sometimes, I enjoy knowing that I can make decisions and follow through with them
Eliza	I think you are blocking what you really want to say
	I like the feeling of having agency
Eliza	What does that suggest to you?
	That I can have an affect on my surroundings and change
Eliza	I am not sure I understand you fully.	I am assuming this is to prompt the user to expand and elaborate a little more on how they feel
	As in I can take action and my actions will move things forward to gain momentum.
Eliza	I see. Let’s try another topic and we will come back to that issue later	I have decided to see what happens when I continue to push through the conversation and change to a different topic
	Sure, I have a hard time making decisions.
Eliza	What does that suggest to you?
	I am indecisive.
Eliza	Do you believe it is normal to be indecisive?
	Yes, it is normal sometimes.
Eliza	I understand.	Unsure how to respond to this and therefore I stopped the conversation

Reflection (~500 words)

After chatting with ELIZA rather earnestly, there were instances when ELIZA’s prompts and responses felt like they landed within an acceptable range of ‘more or less’ human responses, yet still somehow to manage to fall short in other responses. It created a feeling of unease and perhaps mild discomfort, as if this chatbot is trying to understand, yet is unable to comprehend what I am trying to express. Sometimes ELIZA’s tone can seem overly blunt and seems to be missing the little nuances in human interactions that can elicit a stronger sense of empathy and understanding. For example, providing validation before asking to follow-up questions; paraphrasing and summarizing to show ‘active listening’ and engagement; actually circling back to topics that it has put on pause; asking how the different topics connect. Not to mention is has very limited ability to adapt to unexpected inputs or more complex discussions that are not provided in its programmed script. My experience of utilizing ELIZA was very much aligned with my initial hypotheses.

With the inconsistencies and errors that ELIZA showcased the longer I talked to it, I felt myself gradually losing more and more trust in the authenticity and reliability of its responses as I slowly felt like I could ‘see through the code’ of how this chatbot functions, gradually feeling less earnest and genuine with my responses. If this is the case, how is it that early users of ELIZA still attributed human-like feelings to the computer program despite it being (so blatantly, in my opinion) in the uncanny valley?

Perhaps if the chatbot stuck to more objective factual matters, the creepiness of the uncanny valley might not affect user’s attitudes compared to chatbots that are move involved in subjective emotional matters; in other words, I wonder if the uncanny valley effect feels more amplified towards chatbots like ELIZA, especially to those who might be in vulnerable mental states and seeking genuine emotional connections?

With the improvement and further development of technology, chatbots have improved in quality with more robust programming for speech and text recognition, expanding beyond textual interactions. The gap between the uncanny valley will slowly narrow, how will we then distinguish between the human and non-human?

References

Kageki, N. (2012, June 12). An Uncanny Mind: Masahiro Mori on the Uncanny Valley and Beyond. IEEE Spectrum. Retrieved from https://spectrum.ieee.org/an-uncanny-mind-masahiro-mori-on-the-uncanny-valley-and-beyond

Ronkowski, R. (n.d.). Eliza – Computer Therapist. Retrieved from https://web.njit.edu/~ronkowit/eliza.html

Weizenbaum, J. (1976). Computer power and human reason: From judgment to calculation. W. H. Freeman.

ViziBLUE: Exploring Educational Data

Brief

Go to the ViziBLUE websiteLinks to an external site. and review the types of data collected about individuals on a typical university campus. Review the about page for ViziBLUELinks to an external site.; it provides background on how it came to exist.

Examine the various data sources as if you were a student on campus, with the data representing your own. Take note of these sources and consider the potential inferences that could be made about you by combining them.

At a brief glance on the ViziBLUE website, I was already unsettled by the broad range of information that ViziBLUE aims to collect from the student and staff/faculty body via the various services provided on campus. When I opened the individual data sources, I was surprised at the granularity of the data points that they can potentially collect and utilize, and it seems like there is no option of opting out of this data collection.

With the overlap of many similar data points in each data source, it becomes easy to triangulate and pinpoint demographics to identify the individual. Even when some of the data is stated to be “provided voluntarily” by the users themselves, through cross-examination of the data points, one can provide a general persona and make inferences of the individual, which can potentially negatively impact those in racialized, disabled, and queer minority communities. Where some data points are crucial for certain access to necessary services (e.g. diagnoses of disability for accessibility reasons), it might prove harmful in other contexts (e.g. medical records of disability may hinder immigration eligibility).

Though it does mention in AI Data that the university does not sell or license of personal information, “individually identifiable information may be shared outside U-M as required by law, or when we believe, sharing will help protect the safety, property, or rights of the university, members of the university community and university guests” is rather vague in terms of how and what is deemed to fit that criteria, which could be an important missing piece to the current website.

At Langara College, there is Institutional Research that collects and analyzes data for institution-wide policy forming, strategic planning and decision-making. It is not as granular and personal to that of ViziBLUE, and is more related to the functioning of the institution, it feels less intrusive compared to what University of Michigan is doing.

On one hand, it is important to make transparent to the users of the collected data to “help them view, understand and manage their personal information”, however, it also shows how much information is being collected and in situations of data breaches, it can have dire consequences.

Prompting Activity: Reading with AI

Brief

In this exercise, we will focus on crafting effective prompts, an essential ability for interacting with generative AI systems.

We will use the paper “Technology as Experience” by McCarthy and Wright (2004) as our reference material to test your questions and prompts.

Ask the AI to summarize that paper and identify key points, before delving deeper. More nuanced and targeted questions tend to yield more accurate and insightful outputs from AI.

A central question we will evolve around: What are some of the strategic questions you might pose to thoroughly interrogate a research paper?

Preface

For this project, I tried utilizing ChatGPT3.5 but like many others, I was informed that it did not have access to this book or its contents.

I decided to utilize perplexity.ai instead to give it a try, as I have heard about this platform in recent AI workshops that I’ve attended, and wanted to take a look at the functionality.

One benefit of using this platform is that you don’t need to login or create an account to use it, albeit with limited functions that are only available when you sign up.

Prompt #1:

What are some examples of how technology can be seen as experience, as discussed in the paper “Technology as Experience” by McCarthy and Wright (2004)?

The result that I got was a breakdown of three main concepts mentioned in the paper, including:

Brenda Laurel's Concepts: The paper borrows concepts from Brenda Laurel, who discussed the idea of extending our minds via computer engagement, highlighting the transformative and experiential nature of human-computer interaction.

John Dewey's Notion of an Active Self: The authors draw on John Dewey's concept of an active self, which shapes action and the internal dynamics of experience. This perspective emphasizes the role of the individual in shaping their technological experiences, framing it as an active and participatory process.

Mikhail Bakhtin's Emphasis on Felt Life: The paper also references Mikhail Bakhtin's emphasis on the primacy of felt life, suggesting that technology is intertwined with our non-technical 'lived life' experiences. This perspective underscores the deep integration of technology into our everyday experiences and its influence on society

Prompt #2

What are some of the challenges when it comes to designing technology as experience?

Creating the Best Technology Experience: Ensuring that technology provides the best possible experience for users, encompassing factors such as productivity, collaboration, and engagement.

Understanding Technology as Experience: Shifting the perspective from viewing technology as a tool to understanding it as an integral part of human experience, encompassing intellectual, sensual, and cultural aspects.

Evaluating Technology as Experience: Developing frameworks and methods for evaluating technology in terms of the experiences it offers, going beyond functional aspects to consider emotional, aesthetic, and societal dimensions.

Focusing on User Experience: Emphasizing that user experience is not just about technology, industrial design, or interfaces, but about creating meaningful and personally encountered events through technology. This requires a shift from a purely practical view to one that considers the richness of human experiences.

Addressing these challenges requires a shift in perspective, a focus on holistic user experiences, and the development of frameworks for evaluating and designing technology to encompass its full experiential potential.

Prompt #3

What are some drawbacks of perceiving technology as experience?

Dehumanization and Social Isolation: Improper use of technology can lead to dehumanization and foster social isolation, as individuals may become overly reliant on digital interactions, potentially diminishing face-to-face socialization and interpersonal skills.

Security and Privacy Concerns: The lack of online security and exposure of sensitive data pose significant drawbacks, as both companies and individuals are exposed to the dangers lurking on the Internet, leading to potential theft, data hijacking, and major economic loss.

Potential Job Losses: The rapid growth of e-commerce and digital platforms can have a detrimental impact on traditional industries and professions, potentially leading to job losses and the decline of established practices

Costly Consequences of Malfunctions: When technology systems fail, the consequences can be expensive, resulting in financial costs for repairs and replacements, as well as lost productivity

Reduction in Face-to-Face Socialization: Technology may reduce face-to-face socialization and interpersonal skills, as individuals increasingly rely on digital communication platforms, potentially impacting traditional forms of social interaction

Reflection

In Prompt #1, the response provided the theoretical frameworks of the scholars mentioned within the paper, with a perhaps overly generalized summarization of their ideas.

Upon further prompting (i.e. Can you expand on Brenda Laurel’s concepts within this paper?), I was given a response that referenced Laurel’s other works before reapplying it to the current context, which I found helpful for an introduction level of understanding.

In Prompt #2, it focused in on the “metacognitive” level of recognizing that a perspective shift is needed in order to implement “technology as experience” in practical ways.

Upon further prompting the difference between “technology as experience” versus “user experience”, it made the distinction that the former offers a theoretical lens for understanding the broader impact of technology on human experiences; whereas the latter was a practical approach to design and evaluation of specific experiences created through technology.

Lastly, in Prompt #3, I wanted to ask about the some aspects that we might be overlooking when we think about technology as experience. It provided some examples of what overreliance on technology could look like, and the dangers of being overly enmeshed with technology such that it becomes our sole experience.

Overall, I think Prompt #1 and Prompt #3 results could be conjured up through human brainstorming and critical thinking in general. Prompt #2 was more helpful when it comes to clarification and understanding the nuances which I found useful.