10 Things – Dispatches from the Future – December 16, 2022

Starting a new tradition (just in time for the new year)! This year, I plan to share at least one post a month just dedicated to cool things I find that I think will spark interest for social workers interested in the intersection of the future of the profession and the future of our shared world. (Thanks to those that have reached out and encouraged me to do this!) I’ve done this a few times in the past (links here, here, and here) but never regularly. In 2023, I’ll try to be a little more consistent and frequent! Hope you enjoy this month’s finds.

1. (Discovered via Dr.Bryan Alexander) – It’s not cool to overreact: How normalcy bias will define our future. Powerful piece that expands the way we think about our shared reactions to “the state” of the world. Where is the best place to direct collective outrage?
2. Not my AI: Towards Critical Feminist Frameworks to Resist Oppressive AI Systems – new from Carr Center for Human Rights Policy at Harvard’s Kennedy School. Here’s the abstract: In the hype of A.I., we are observing a world where States are increasingly adopting algorithmic decision-making systems altogether with narratives that portray them as a magic wand to “solve” social, economic, environmental, and political problems. But in practice, instead of addressing such promise, the so-called Digital Welfare States are likely to be deploying oppressive algorithms that expand practices of surveillance of the poor and vulnerable; automate inequalities; are racist and patriarchal by design; further practices of digital colonialism, where data and mineral extractivism feed Big Tech businesses from the Global North; and reinforce neoliberal practices to progressively drain out social security perspectives. While much has been discussed about “ethical”, “fair,” or “human-Centered” A.I., particularly focused on transparency, accountability, and data protection, these approaches fail to address the overall picture. To deepen critical thinking and question such trends, led by case-based analysis focused on A.I. projects from Latin America that are likely to pose harm to gender equality and its intersectionalities of race, class, sexuality, territoriality, etc, this article summarizes some findings of the not my.ai project, seeking to contribute to the development of feminist frameworks to question algorithmic decision-making systems that are being deployed by the public sector. The universalistic approach of human rights frameworks provide important goals for humanity to seek, but when we look into the present, we cannot ignore existing power relations that maintain historical relations of oppression and domination. Rights are not universally accessed. Feminist theories and practices are important tools to acknowledge the existence of the political structures behind the deployment of technologies and, therefore, are an important framework to question them. For this reason, they can serve as a powerful instrument to imagine other tech and other worlds based on collective and more democratic responses to core societal challenges, focused on equity and social-environmental justice.
3. UK-based organization the Institute for Economics & Peace report called the “Ecological Threat Register 2021.” They describe this report’s goal as providing analysis “on a broad range of indicators associated with ecological risk including food and water availability, population growth and societal resilience, to better understand the countries most at risk of experiencing significant deteriorations in peace.” It is a look at powerful intersections of climate change with numerous other considerations.
4. MSNBC dropped a documentary this past week on the history and evolution of student loan debt in the United States called “Loan Wolves,” and the complicity of all of higher education to participate in the way that it happened. Including it here because many are working on a future where this is changed. These burdensome loans remains one of the biggest drains on the future of the U.S. economy.
5. “Can the Internet Survive Climate Change?” This is a great (though sobering) piece which really illustrates the importance of foresight practice and thinking about “the future of…” things across not just within categories. In other words…the future is complicated. Foresight can help us train our minds on how to manage it better – and help each other along the way if we want to.
6. What’s a “digital rights agenda?” Numerous groups are working on this (for example, the UCLA Center for Critical Internet Inquiry), but I really like this agenda from the group Access Now. Here’s a little more about Access Now.
7. Love this little “explainer” video about what foresight is from Ontario College of Art & Design’s Strategic Foresight Program.
8. Beautiful piece by Maurice Mitchell called “Building Resilient Organizations: Toward Joy and Durable Power in a Time of Crisis” on the Convergence website. Has there ever been a time when it’s been more important to find joy and durable power in social work?
9. In the UK, there has been an active and dynamic “Future of social care” movement going on from sometime. Here’s their web page where you can also find a report. It has so much relevance and resonance for our work in the United States.
10. Adore this organization “MakerHealth.” Their mission is “democratizing the tools of health making around the world. Using tools, a mindset, and an engaged community, we build the health making capabilities of clinicians and institutions so that everyone can create healthcare technology. MakerHealth is a company dedicated to amplifying the creativity of these health makers.” On this site, you can find all kinds of examples of how clinicians have “invented” their way through real world problems together on the ground and in the world – and then shared what they learned/discovered. Intriguing to think about what such a system/structure might look like for social work. What are we “making” on the ground in the real world that solve problems and how can we share that more effectively with each other?