IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2019 - 81

important to recognize that these characteristics were
extrapolated from some form of sensory data. Thus, the
way that one views another is through the unique parsing of a conglomeration of sensory data. Therefore, the
identity of another is the compilation of all of the data
that one uses to form abstract characteristics to
describe that person.

Computer Scientist Decide the Values
of the Platform

Pillars

With the invention of the Internet, came the creation of
cyberspace. Cyberspace, as described by Lawrence Lessig in his book "Code is Law," is about "making a different (or second) life" [4]. This second life is instantiated
through the new qualities of human interaction, mediated by the Internet. Just as physical space has regulations that alter the way people interact, cyberspace has
its own regulators and regulations. While in physical
space these regulations often manifest in the form of
laws or societal norms, cyberspace receives its regulation from the underlying technology supporting its existence. Code, the molecular backbone of cyberspace,
"defines the terms upon which cyberspace is offered"
[4]. Furthermore, code allows for certain norms to be
supported, and others to be forgotten. Looking at the
popular social media application Twitter, much of its initial popularity was centered around the codified restriction on messages being 140 characters long. This
restriction on communication, regulated by the technological infrastructure supporting Twitter, altered the way
in which people are allowed to interact on that platform.
Furthermore, the decision to limit the length of messages, ultimately acted as a value judgement, forcing its
users to agree with those values. Thus, those who do
not subscribe to these values, and want to converse
about complex topics requiring more than 140 characters, would have be disenfranchised by this platform.
Recently, Twitter increased their maximum character
limit from 140 characters to 280 in order to expand the
amount of discourse they were willing to support. To
broaden this example, it is important to remember that
all platforms make design decisions altering the values
required to be accepted by its users. Ultimately, those
who are able to write the code that supports the platform have more power on the values conveyed by the
platform, than those who cannot. Computer scientists
are non-neutral regulators, regulating the cyberspace
they design. Whether it's the decision to make a communication platform anonymous, or completely transparent, computer experts are tasked with making that
judgement in the design process. In the end, computer
experts who can speak the language of cyberspace are
the only ones given the ability to talk, all others are
forced to listen.
JUNE 2019

∕

The natural formation of ourselves as
"ideal human agents" will be shown
later to be abused by platforms.

Redirecting Natural Expression of Intention into
Other Non-Natural Forms of Expression
More communication provided through new DT may
appear beneficial, but what is often overlooked is how
this new form of communication interacts with our
conscious will. According to Wegner, "people experience conscious will when they interpret their own
thought as the cause of their action" [1]. The use of DT
in communication heightens one's feeling that their
actions during communication were consciously
willed. First, the electronic components used in the
device transmitting the communication allow the user
to feel the direct and physical response to their intention, thus leading to a link between the intention and
the action taken. If a person intends to say "hello" to a
friend with the help of technology, they must first redirect the biologically learned mode of expression of
one's action (speech) into other physical movements
that are not as natural [1]. These non-evolutionarily
learned reactions manifest in the form of typing each
letter in "hello world," manually selecting who the message is going to, and then pressing the send button.
The process of redirecting natural expression of intention into other non-natural forms of expression causes
the feeling that the action is more tied to the intention,
and thus more consciously willed.
Instagram will be used to further illustrate how users
are able to manufacture the identity they wish to control, with tools that redirect natural expression to nonnatural expressions. Instagram allows users to post
photos attached with captions for all of their "followers"
(other users) to see. Instagram provides many built-in
tools to allow users to alter and adjust their images.
These tools vary from image filters to an "eraser tool
[which] will let you remove drawings you added to an
image" [5]. Aside from tools for image manipulation, Instagram provides tools to edit a post, to add a location to
a photo, for tagging other users in the photo, and even
allows the ability to add hashtags to describe the post.
This has caused this popular application to reach over
600 million monthly active Instagram users as of April
2017 [6]. As an entity of Facebook, Instagram also
makes money through advertisements; therefore, the

IEEE TECHNOLOGY AND SOCIETY MAGAZINE

IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2019

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2019