Politics? In My Technology?

RubyConf AU 2018

by Merrin Macleod

In her talk titled "Politics? In My Technology?" at RubyConf AU 2018, Merrin Macleod explores the intricate relationship between technology and politics. She opens by acknowledging the traditional custodians of the land and shares her background in technology, highlighting her dual citizenship and current projects related to bushfire forecasting. Merrin emphasizes that technology and politics are inextricably linked, urging technologists to reflect on how political power dynamics shape technological advancements and vice versa.

Key Points Discussed:
- Definition of Technology and Politics: Merrin defines technology broadly as human-made tools and solutions, while politics involves organizing people and power to make group decisions. She notes that politics permeates all levels of organization—from governments to workplaces.
- Political Systems: She discusses how political systems influence technology development, using Australia as an example where political institutions dictate societal operations.
- Power Dynamics: Merrin examines how power dynamics within both society and technology communities determine resource allocation and project priorities, using the Ruby community as a prime illustration.
- Historical Context: She references philosophical insights from theorists like Thomas Hobbes and Karl Marx to show how political ideas stem from societal observations and shape our technological systems.
- Impact of Historical Innovations: Merrin cites examples such as the printing press, telegraph, and Internet, which transformed communication and significantly altered power dynamics across societies. These advancements have led to increased interconnectedness and have facilitated shifts in political landscapes.
- Contemporary Issues in Democracy: Merrin discusses current challenges facing democracy, noting trends of increasing inequality and declining trust in public institutions since the 2006 Freedom House reports. She expresses concern about the implications for liberal democracies as power shifts away from governments.
- Call to Action: The talk concludes with a call for technologists to critically engage with the political ideologies that influence their work. Merrin urges audiences to recognize their role in shaping technology and to be mindful of its societal implications.

Main Takeaways:
- Technology is a reflection of human ideas and societal constructs, with political dynamics shaping its development and distribution.
- Technologists should recognize their power to influence societal change through their work and consider the broader political contexts in which they operate.
- Awareness of the political implications of technology is essential for creating inclusive and reflective solutions for the future.

00:00:07.730 I would like to acknowledge the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation, the traditional custodians of the land we gather on today, and pay my respects to elders past and present. Today, I'm going to be talking to you, and I won't take up too much of your time. I know your heads are all swimming from all this new information about distributed archaeology.

00:00:22.980 As an introduction, I'm Merrin Macleod. I'm basically from New Zealand, and I hold dual citizenship between New Zealand and Australia, which is quite humorous. I have been centered in New Zealand, specifically in the South Waikato, and I'm currently living in Dublin while doing a fellowship with Coder Australia, where I'm working on some interesting projects related to bushfire forecasting. I didn't come out of school with the intent of becoming a technologist. My first attempt at higher education was in political science, but I gave up that endeavor after some time. I tried again and have since developed a love for this field. In high school, I got really into post-modernism, which led to many existential crises.

00:01:07.020 Eventually, I decided to study something that seemed more practical, and I dove into technology. I have been working with Ruby for about five years and have been involved with the community for just as long. Last year, I ran the Ruby on Rails Girls events in Wellington with friends and co-conspirators. I've continued to maintain a passion for politics, as anyone who's worked with me or had a late-night discussion with me can attest to. I've written some mildly popular tweets and an essay called "Mean Girls and the Australian Labor Party" that was published on Medium.

00:01:52.720 In high school, I was also a debater, and one key lesson I learned was to start off by defining terms. First, let's talk about technology. I define technology as the things that people make to do stuff. Lenore gave a much better and more eloquent definition of this yesterday, which is the ancient Greek roots of the word technology: 'techne' means a skill or craft, and 'logia' refers to the study or collection of knowledge. Humans love to create; we make physical things for physical tasks, digital tools for digital tasks, and we sometimes create things that bridge the gap between the physical and digital realms.

00:03:47.360 As technologists, we should be familiar with these concepts because they help us do things faster and easier. However, today I want to explore something most of us don't engage with professionally — politics. Politics is how we organize people and power. There are many intricate definitions, but at its core, politics involves making group decisions and negotiating values. Generally, politics arises when there’s a group of people and power needs to be distributed.

00:04:03.650 Anywhere there are groups of people, there is politics. This operates on all levels of organization, from international politics via governments down to local community dynamics, workplaces, and families. To organize, we have political systems, which are overarching frameworks in society. In Australia, for example, political institutions define the rules and operations of these systems, such as political parties, electoral processes, and so on. These systems evolve over time and can create political drama, characterized by the struggles between various groups and individuals.

00:04:47.900 We also see these dynamics in smaller communities like our workplaces and tech communities, where challenges arise due to power struggles among individuals with differing views on system implementation. I want to focus on these contentious ideas, as they shape the very systems we rely on. Political ideas are abstractions of how we perceive society and how it should function. The world is a big, messy, and complicated place, but as humans, we excel at identifying patterns.

00:05:07.460 For example, if you were Thomas Hobbes (and I appreciate that none of you are), you would observe the chaos of 17th century London, the English Civil War, and conclude that humans have a tendency towards anarchy. Thus, you would advocate for a strong central authority to allow society to flourish. Alternatively, if you were Karl Marx, you'd analyze the upheaval of the 19th century industrial revolution and emphasize the irreconcilable interests of different classes, leading you to theorize that workers should seize the means of production.

00:06:02.410 Political ideas allow us to interpret chaos and propose rules based on what we observe, often contrasting drastically. In international relations literature at the University of Queensland, we learned about different ideological frameworks, each presenting compelling views of the world that are often thorough critiques of one another. We can hold many political ideas, some of which may be contradictory, while simultaneously being expert at selectively ignoring elements that don't fit our established beliefs. Our actions reflect our understanding of how things ought to be, including our technological creations.

00:07:07.300 Technology itself is inherently political because it is a human construct. You cannot separate politics from technology since it is embedded in the very way we operate. The presentations over the last two days highlight that technology is fundamentally human. The first way technology intertwines with politics is through the need for political power to enable technological advancements. Technology emerges within human societies, necessitating resources for its creation and societal influence for its distribution. This distribution is governed by power dynamics, which in turn, are determined by political systems.

00:08:30.780 Major technological breakthroughs often arise from political will to reallocate resources. An example being World War II, which arguably propelled technologies in unprecedented ways — computers were developed to enhance bomb production, while advancements in cryptography were made to enable secure communications with allies. On a smaller scale, power dynamics within software projects dictate what gets developed and prioritized. For instance, in the Ruby community, the decision-making power regarding the language's development often rests with a small group of individuals. The way power is arranged shapes what resources are available and what gets created.

00:09:56.070 Essentially, technology is a culmination of ideas on how the world functions and how it should operate. It consists of contributions grounded in human ideas—ideas that are shaped by our interactions with everything we encounter. Therefore, we must also consider the implications of our creations and reflect on whose ideas are being prioritized.

00:10:34.370 For example, blockchain was born from the notion that we shouldn't have to rely on central authorities. This was developed by individuals with particular viewpoints of society, reflecting their understanding of governance structures. Technology and startups are embodiments of dreams and visions about societal needs. Yet, this relationship is reciprocal: politics also shapes technology. The societal systems we implement are influenced by technology and can indeed enable or inhibit political change.

00:11:19.420 As we shift into communities enabled by technological advancements, the means of communication have drastically changed, affecting how we negotiate power dynamics. These changes facilitate social, economic, and political transitions. In the absence of technology, our communication would be limited to those physically present, constrained by geography.

00:11:59.250 Writing, for instance, extended our reach to anyone who could read, bypassing the need for physical locality. Historical figures such as Sequoyah, a Cherokee man who developed a writing system for his language, demonstrated how technological advancements can transform society and improve literacy among the Cherokee Nation. Similarly, the printing press revolutionized mass communication, enabling widespread distribution of ideas, facilitating movements like the Reformation that changed the religious and political landscape of Europe.

00:13:09.060 In more modern instances, innovations such as the telegraph and telephone paved the way for synchronous communication across vast distances. The Internet further revolutionized communication into many-to-many interactions, allowing anyone with access to participate in real-time discussions. This shift has prompted remarkable societal changes, redistributing power dynamics not only within societies but also between them. However, the ramifications of these transformations are still unfolding, and we have yet to fully understand their impacts.

00:14:44.470 Francis Fukuyama's 2012 article discusses threats to liberal democracy, particularly post-Arab Spring, highlighting troubling economic and social trends. He articulates how advancements in technology often accompany shifts that increase economic inequality and degrade political representation for the masses. Increasingly, democracy and trust in public institutions have been on the decline across various regions. This declining trend raises concerns about the stability of contemporary liberal democracies.

00:15:56.510 Since the 1970s, Freedom House has reported annual assessments about democracy worldwide, revealing a distinct regression in freedom for many nations since 2006. The Economist Intelligence Unit has also observed similar trends, indicating a shrinkage in the ranks of full democracies. More power is shifting away from governmental entities toward unelected and unaccountable institutions. Each year, we witness governments attempting to reclaim power through censorship and repression while voters increasingly disengage from democratic processes they feel do not represent them.

00:17:24.390 From my perspective, this is concerning, as I believe in the value of democracy over authoritarianism; however, perspectives may differ. What does this dialogue on the relationship between technology and politics mean for you? Why are we discussing this at a technology conference? First and foremost, we are not just technologists but part of larger technological communities. The individuals and structures within these communities are organized in specific ways.

00:18:10.100 We have workplaces, mailing lists, community Slack channels, and maintain resources that affect how we interact. The communities supporting various technologies exemplify political dynamics; our collective decisions shape what gets created and distributed in technology. Thus, the knowledge we share greatly influences our projects, and we should be conscious of the impacts of our work. Are we aware of the political ideologies influencing our choices in development?

00:19:15.540 When we fail to critically examine the perspectives that converge within our communities, we can inadvertently build technologies that serve narrow interests. It's imperative to recognize our significant power and to thoughtfully navigate the technology we create, ensuring it aligns with our values and preferred societal futures. We should avoid basing our actions solely on fleeting trends, striving instead to be mindful of our preferences and the ramifications of our work.

00:20:47.780 This message calls for increased awareness regarding our perspectives, prompting us to engage in critical reflections about the foundations of our beliefs, the societal implications of our technologies, and to be receptive to diverse insights. As creators, we are continuously shaping the future. Therefore, we must carefully consider what kind of world we envision and whether we’re approaching that vision with clarity.

00:25:52.960 How do we understand the technology we aim to create? What should the future resemble? Thank you.

RubyConf AU 2018