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Hello, my name is Daniel Azuma, and this session is titled 'Humanity on Rails.'
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A friend of mine recently showed me a commercial—actually, this was about two years ago. It was a really interesting commercial that I want to share with you. Let's make sure we have the sound on.
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I read an article, or rather the majority of an article online, about how older people are becoming increasingly anti-social. So I was quite aggressive with my parents about joining Facebook. My parents now have 19 friends, while I have 687 friends. This is what living looks like, but that is not a real puppy—that's too small to be a real puppy. The commercial features a Toyota Venza and the tagline 'keep on rolling.'
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I enjoy commercials because in order to truly connect with their audience, they need to have their finger on the pulse of what we are thinking and feeling as a society. This particular commercial reflects a deep unease that some of us have regarding social media and social networking. The character says, 'This is living,' yet the images of people mountain biking and having a great time tell a different story. What exactly is living? To what extent can we derive it from Facebook? What are we to make of such portrayals?
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This photo is from RailsBridge, which I believe took place in Boston last summer. For those of you who don't know, RailsBridge is an organization dedicated to improving diversity in our community. They conduct workshops and various events, focusing on attracting women and other minority groups into our tech community. Diversity has emerged as a significant issue within our community for valid reasons. I think most of us would genuinely like to see greater diversity in our industry—more people of color, more women, and broader representation of different orientations and personality types. It’s an essential aspect, and we are asking tough questions about how to attract more minority groups into our community and why there is such an imbalance.
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How many of you work remotely? Please raise your hands if you do. Many of us in the Rails community are freelancers or work with companies that have strong remote programs. Recently, Yahoo has notably canceled their remote work policy, which has sparked much discussion about whether it is a good idea. What do we make of such decisions? Is there a principled way for us to think about them, or do we just accept that we each have our opinions without further inquiry?
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These are some of the difficult questions that I had about ten years ago when I had just been laid off from several startups during the aftermath of the dot-com bubble around 2002-2003. Fed up, I decided to take a break, pause my career, and return to school. I entered a theological program at Regent College, a well-known Christian seminary located about six hours north of here in Vancouver, British Columbia. While studying theology and biblical studies, I also researched technology and explored philosophical and theological approaches to it.
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I read what scholars have said about technology's impact on culture and society, as well as its intersection with spirituality. During my time there, I rubbed shoulders with not only pastors and theologians, but also engineers and business leaders also studying there. It was a fantastic experience, and when I returned to the industry, I co-founded a company with some friends focusing on Rails development and location technologies. Some of you may know me as the author of RGeo, which includes GIS tools for Rails. However, my true passion lies in the philosophy of technology.
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What exactly is technology? Is it merely the creation of machines and writing programs, or is there something more profound and fundamental happening? How does technology influence our culture? How does it affect our communities and relationships? As Rails developers, how should we engage with technology and engineering? Can we do so in a healthier or more socially conscious way? Many are asking such questions. There is a rich history of thought in the philosophy of technology, and in this hour, I want to provide a taste of what people have pondered and articulated over the past few centuries.
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Historically, in the western world, technology was closely linked to the arts and the concept of craftsmanship and was associated with religious notions about humanity’s role in society and creation. Over time, especially with the secularization of Europe and the industrial revolution of the 19th century, technology and the arts began to diverge. The arts increasingly focused on aesthetic beauty, while technology shifted toward issues of control and power—how to gain influence. This trend reached a climax in the 20th century with philosophers like Jacques Ellul, who critically analyzed technology’s impact on society.
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In his classic work, 'The Technological Society,' published in 1964, Ellul argued that technology is fundamentally about efficiency, with various systems competing for dominance based on their efficiency. His view implies that over time, more efficient systems displace less efficient ones through a process akin to evolution and natural selection. He contended that technology operates almost as an autonomous force, suggesting that humans may become subservient to it rather than the other way around.
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Another key philosopher who addressed technology was Martin Heidegger, a significant figure in 20th-century philosophy. He posited that technology fundamentally alters how we perceive reality—not merely in our personal lives but also in the broader scope of existence. Heidegger's ideas can be abstract and challenging, so let’s simplify them with an example.
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As someone from Seattle, a region known for its outdoor activities, I've noticed how we engage with our environment. When we gaze upon nature, do we see untamed beauty, or do we perceive it merely as a resource to exploit? Heidegger emphasized that technology influences our perception to focus on the utility of reality rather than its intrinsic complexity. To him, technology reduces reality to its potential usefulness, challenging it to fulfill a particular role.
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Now, let’s focus on a philosopher named Albert Borgmann. He is a professor of philosophy at the University of Montana who has built upon Heidegger's ideas. In his seminal work, 'Technology and the Character of Contemporary Life' written in 1984, Borgmann introduced the concept of the 'device paradigm.' To Borgmann, a device is not merely a machine; it's a way of perceiving reality—a cultural and psychological phenomenon.
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Consider a CD player. You put a plastic disc into the machine and press play; out comes music. This experience is convenient and accessible. Borgmann refers to the benefits provided by the device as 'the commodity.' The commodity is readily available, but alongside this is 'the mechanism,' which represents the underlying operations. While commodities are highly visible and accessible, mechanisms are often hidden from view. Most users don’t know the intricacies of a CD player’s hardware or how it functions, which leads to a lack of awareness about the underlying technology.
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This pattern, known as the device paradigm, is reminiscent of the way software developers work. We have our own terms for interfaces and implementations, which we refer to as encapsulation. Here’s the crux: The device paradigm is not just a technical phenomenon; it’s a cultural one. It trains us to view everything, even people, through this lens of utility. In our technology-driven world, we may begin to see friends, coworkers, and clients through the same filter.
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This lens can distort our perceptions, especially in the context of web businesses. If the focus is solely on traffic—measuring user engagement by counting 'eyeballs'—what happens to the customers? Their individuality and the complexities of their interactions may be overlooked. This tendency to prioritize metrics can diminish the human experience, reducing people to mere statistics in our systems.
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Technology fosters this pattern, ultimately shifting to how we view ourselves. Technology challenges us to become useful, often molding us as users and agents of technology. Reflecting on this notion, I must confess that I have a strong dislike for Twitter. My feelings towards it stem from its promotion of sound-bite communication that often excludes deeper, more meaningful conversations. Though I may find value in more nuanced discussions, I am compelled to participate in Twitter because the community is on it, impacting how I engage with others.
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Despite my disdain, I feel a loss of freedom because the technology dictates the need for my presence on these platforms. Borgmann articulates that technology was once a choice but is now foundational to many of our choices. It increasingly shapes our lives and tells us how we should live, often prioritizing efficiency over meaningful engagement.
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However, not all discourse about technology is negative. Andrew Feinberg looks at the social and political dimensions, noting how technology shapes and is shaped by the human experience. Samuel Florman, a civil engineer, emphasizes the importance of thoughtful engineering and meaningful engagement with technology. Many perspectives provide a rich tapestry of thought navigating these discussions.
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As Rails developers and as a community, we must engage with the question, 'Does technology have character or values?' When we separate technology from its applications, we often perceive it as neutral. However, it is crucial to discuss the ethical implications tied to technology—what happens when we only focus on outcomes while dismissing the implications of the means used to achieve them?
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This leads us to question the inherent values—and biases—related to technology. If technology indeed possesses its character—its own biases toward certain groups—then we must critically examine these aspects to truly enact change and foster inclusivity within our community.
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We often discuss diversity and focus on combating oppression and harassment, addressing harmful behaviors. However, if the technology itself has embedded biases—if it favors power, control, or other characteristics over relationship and community—we need to understand how that shapes the environment we’re navigating.
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This awareness is paramount in our work as software developers. As the technological elite, we hold the responsibility to understand technology in a multifaceted manner—technically, ethically, and relationally—to ensure that we harness it effectively for positive societal impact. We must not overlook the biases we create or aggravate and remain vigilant in questioning how our tools and systems perform in the world.
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Now, let’s talk about some resources we have at our disposal. Rails is an excellent example of a technology that does more than facilitate web development; it teaches us about technology having personality. Rails is characterized by its opinions and values, which not only includes technical principles like convention over configuration but also embraces social values centered around transparency.
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Another resource is open source, which actively combats the device paradigm by making the mechanism visible. The success of open-source projects hinges on the community's engagement with the source code, rather than merely focusing on user statistics. The Ruby community thrives on contributions and collaboration, celebrating the richness of shared knowledge and experience.
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Finally, the Ruby community itself is an invaluable resource. We have a diverse group of talented individuals who are deeply passionate about not just using technology, but cherishing the process of building it. This commitment gives us a powerful incentive to strive for quality and meaningful engagement—both in terms of our products and our personal interactions within the community.
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Ultimately, our shared responsibility as Rails developers is to explore and challenge our understanding of technology, fostering awareness around its nuances. We must recognize that as we shape technology, it also shapes us. This dynamic interaction mandates an ethical framework that we need to uphold as we continue to innovate and develop in the ever-evolving technological landscape.
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We possess the knowledge, skills, and power to drive technology into the future, ensuring that it serves humanity rather than the other way around. While these conversations are broad and complex, I hope to inspire reflection and thoughtfulness on how we can engage with technology to enhance our society positively.
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I will share a collection of resources on getting started, including books, blog posts, links, and discussion groups. This will be available soon regarding further reading, along with my slides and video once the session wraps up. Thank you for your time, and let’s continue this important conversation throughout the conference.
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Thank you very much. Let's engage with each other and keep this dialogue going as we move forward. Your insights are invaluable.
