Can't Compute: Moving Towards an Equitable Digital World
AUTHORS>
EDITORS> Suzie Dunn; Florian Martin-Bariteau; Nasma Ahmed
2023 · uO Research (University of Ottawa)
AUTHORS>
EDITORS> Suzie Dunn; Florian Martin-Bariteau; Nasma Ahmed
2023 · uO Research (University of Ottawa)
Repository Abstract
In today’s society, we all live in a digitally immersive world. While technology brings benefits and conveniences to our daily lives, many forms of technology reinforce individual and systemic biases, and injustices. Digital technologies have been shown to both replicate and amplify existing discriminatory social patterns. Algorithms and artificial intelligence have been shown to reinforce racial and gender stereotypes, social media has been used as a platform to promote hateful and violent speech, and privacy invasive tools, such as internet connected cameras, have been used as surveillance devices against populations already over policed and monitored, notably Black, Indigenous, People of Colour, and members of the LGBTQ2S+ community. Despite these problems, technology has also provided unique opportunities for members of equity seeking groups. Smartphones have been used to capture and expose racist police brutality, social media has been used to build solidarity and social movements, and digital tools have been developed that advance the lifestyles of people living with disabilities. As digitalization increases, we can’t compute an equitable digital context without an understanding of those issues. We need those voices in tech, academic and social spaces. While there is an increase of thought leadership on these issues globally, there is a need to engage more fulsomely in a Canadian-specific context, in order to address the unique history of discrimination, equality, and colonialism from Canadian authors. The Can’t Compute collection of essays aims at bridging this gap in Canadian studies to highlight technology issues that are relevant to members of equality-seeking groups, not simply by exploring those issues but by amplifying voices from those groups unrepresented in mainstream conversation about the digital context.
AUTHOR KEYWORDS> Digital World; Digital Technology; Digitalization; Equity-seeking Communities; Digital Spaces
Publication record checked · 2026-10-07