Skip to Main Content

LIBS 110G: Information Literacy in the Digital Age

Big Data

Example Broad Topics:

Big data and informed consent
Data and privacy
Big data and biased algorithms
Facial recognition software and ethical use
Bias in facial recognition software
Use of predictive analytics in Education or Health Care
How are predictive recommendation systems use commercial services such as Amazon or Netflix
Predictive analytics and ethics
Predictive analytics and criminal justice

Biased Algorithms Learn from Biased Data: 3 Kinds of Biases Found in AI Datasets
Article from Forbes magazine.
Data Brokers are a Threat to Democracy
Article from Wired.
The Black Box Society: The Secret Algorithms that Control Money and Information
Book available for check out at Perry Library or Interlibrary Loan request.
7 Ethical Concerns with Learning Analytics
Automating Inequality: How High Tech Tools Profile, Police, and Punish the Poor
Book available for check out at Perry Library or via Interlibrary Loan request.

Digital Redlining

Example Broad Topics:

Digital redlining and housing
Internet filters
Digital redlining and poverty

Digital Redlining, Access, and Privacy
Article from Commonsense.org
AT&T's Digital Redlining of Cleveland
News article from digitalinclusion.org.
Old, Slow Laptops are Sabotaging College Student Success
Article from EdSurge

Social Media Search Results (the filter bubble)

Example Broad Topics:

Who is responsible for bursting the filter bubble?
What is the filter bubble?
Information cocoons and the spread of information
Filter bubble and civic engagement
Filter bubble and news

The Filter Bubble: How the New Personalized Web is Changing What We Read & How We Think
Electronic access. 1 user at a time. If it doesn't work, try again later!
How to See Past Your Own Perspective and Find Truth
TED Talk by Michael Patrick-Lynch
Split Screen: How Different are American's Facebook Feeds?
Article from The Markup

Google Search Results

Example Broad Topics:

How Google retrieves search results
Bias in Google search results
Types of search results (SERPS)

Algorithms of Oppression: How Search Engines Reinforce Racism
Book (electronic access)
Google has a Striking History of Bias Against Black Girls
Article from TIME magazine.

Artificial Intelligence (AI)

Examples of Broad Topics:

Use of AI to help those living with illness or disability
Ways in which AI is used in education
Ethical issues related to AI

AI Is Tearing Wikipedia Apart (Article from VICE)
Teasing out Artificial Intelligence in Medicine: An Ethical Critique of AI an Machine Learning in Medicine
Journal article
AI Can Be Sexist and Racist: It's Time to Make it Fair
Journal Article
Role of Chat GPT and Public Health
Journal article
Chat GPT and Collaborative Learning: The Propagation of Misinformation?
Journal article
Is ChatGPT a Friend or Foe in the War on Misinformation?
Journal article