Date: Fri, 9 Oct 1992 13:40:01 EDT From: Jeff Johnson Subject: File 4-- CPSR Social Action Report TOWARDS A GUIDE TO SOCIAL ACTION FOR COMPUTER PROFESSIONALS By Jeff Johnson, Chair, and Evelyn Pine, Managing Director, Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility (CPSR) Introduction "Being a typical nerd programmer, it's always been comforting to believe that somehow whatever I was working on in the darkness of my cubicle would eventually benefit the world. ... I focused on what was interesting to me, assuming that it would also be important to the world. But the events in L.A. have forced me to think that maybe it doesn't work that way; and to confront the question: what can I, as a professional in the HCI field, do to help change what's going on in the world?" -- a CHI'92 attendee. The Rodney King video, trial, verdict, and subsequent riots jolted Americans in many ways besides showing us acts of violence committed by police and citizens. It also made the inequities of American society painfully clear, and provided a clear response to Langston Hughes' question: "What happens to a dream deferred?" Answer: it explodes. This caused many people to rethink how they are conducting their lives, and how we are conducting our neighborhoods, our cities, our states, and our nation. Computer professionals have a relatively comfortable position in this society. For the most part, we are well-paid, and our jobs are more secure than most. As a result, we live in nicer neighborhoods, send our kids to better schools, eat healthier food, use better tools, and have access to better health care. Because of this, some of us feel a responsibility to help those in our society who aren't so well-off, and some of us don't. However, computer professionals are not just another well-paid segment of society. We, more than people in most other lines of work, create world-changing technology, technology that profoundly affects how people live, work, and die. We can create technology that, e.g., can be used to improve neighborhoods, education, food production and distribution, tools, and health care. We can also create technology that can be used to keep the poor out of our neighborhoods and schools, produce and sell junk food and worthless tools, and limit access to health care, as well as keep the lid on discontent and even kill people more efficiently. Computer technology can help reduce inequity and it can also help exacerbate it. The public learned of the King beating because of technology in the hands of citizens. Today anyone with a PC, an ink-jet printer, and a copier can produce documents that political activists of just thirty years ago, cranking out smelly typewritten ditto copies, never imagined. Citizens of China and Thailand used fax, video, and electronic mail to document government repression of democratic movements. Computer technology is a crucial ingredient of all of the above, in their design and manufacture as well as in the tools themselves. Unfortunately, the effect of introducing computer technology has more often been to increase the stratification of society. Let's face it: computer systems often lead to loss of jobs. Furthermore, as the infrastructure upon which society is based becomes more dependent upon computer technology, those without technical skills are left behind. The end of the Cold War and the recession, combined with the introduction of computer technology, have served to exacerbate joblessness and hopelessness for those who have been rendered superfluous and don't have the education to become "knowledge workers." "How many of the projects that are funded will have a net result of reducing jobs -- particularly jobs for less-educated people? ... I find many in the computer industry have defensive rationalizations for the fact that their own labor will result in the loss of jobs to society. ... The up and coming area of software that I myself work in -- workflow -- will automate people out of work. ... How do we deal with this?" -- A CHI'92 attendee. This special relationship between computer technology and society gives those who develop it -- us -- responsibilities beyond any that arise merely from our comfortable economic status. To quote from the statement of purpose of Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility (CPSR): "Decisions regarding the development and use of computers ... have far-reaching consequences and reflect basic values and priorities. We believe that computer technology should make life more enjoyable, productive, and secure." The King riots jolted us, causing many of us to reflect on whether we are living up to our responsibilities as citizens and as computer professionals. The contrast between the world we inhabit, of which the CHI'92 conference is a part, and the one that exploded into violence and flames the week before the conference, caused some of us to feel a certain alienation from our work, as the opening quotation of this article illustrates. Are we part of the solution, or part of the problem? Also, as the effects of the riots rapidly spread to surrounding neighborhoods, other cities, and even the presidential campaign, it became obvious that the two "worlds" aren't really separate. That burning society we saw on TV wasn't someone else's, it was ours. What Can I Do? -- The CPSR/CHI'92 "Social Issues" Session In the midst of the worst period of rioting, as many of us were preparing to head to Monterey, the site of CHI'92, Prof. Chris Borgman of U.C.L.A. sent an e-mail message to several of her acquaintances across the country, describing what was going on in L.A. and how she and her friends there felt about it (see Shneiderman, 1992). Prof. Ben Shneiderman was especially touched by the message. He contacted the CHI'92 Co-Chairs, Jim Miller and Scooter Morris, and expressed his desire that the conference should not run its course without acknowledging the riots and the events that led up to them. Even though the riots were not directly CHI- or computer-related, he felt that ignoring them constituted burying our heads in the sand, and would be morally wrong. Jim and Scooter agreed that something should be done, but of course by that point the conference schedule was set. They suggested a special session, during the lunch break just after the official opening plenary session on Tuesday. Jim also suggested that CPSR Chair Jeff Johnson be invited to help plan the session. On Monday evening, Ben and Jeff met to plan the session. What quickly emerged was a desire not only to acknowledge the distressing external events and give people a chance to vent their spleens, but also to help give people the wherewithal to act. To Ben and Jeff, it seemed that many of their colleagues were angry, upset, worried, or frightened about what was going on, but didn't know what to do about it, or even how to find out. They decided that the session should be an opportunity for people to share ideas on how computer professionals, their employers, and their professional societies can help address social problems of the sort that led to the riots. Jeff proposed that to facilitate the capture and sharing of ideas, session attendees be asked to submit ideas on paper as well as presenting them verbally. CPSR volunteered to collect and compile the responses and issue a report back to the attendees. Later that night, he created a form for action-ideas, labeled "Constructive Responses to Events in L.A. and Elsewhere," and made about 60 copies to cover the expected audience. The next morning, at the opening plenary session, Jim Miller announced the special session. This was the first that the approximately 2500 attendees at CHI had heard of it. At the announced time, despite the late notice and the conflict with lunch, approximately 300 people showed up. Student volunteers quickly went to make more copies of the "Constructive Responses..." form. Ben Shneiderman expressed his delight at the number of people who had come and opened the session, describing his feelings about the riots, reading Chris Borgman's e-mail message, and giving the intent of the session. Prof. Borgman then spoke, elaborating on her message and giving her ideas about what people might do. She was followed by Jeff Johnson, who talked about growing up in South Central L.A., what it is like for his relatives who live there now, and about CPSR and some of its programs. Members of the audience were then invited to the microphone to share their ideas about what can be done to resolve social inequities. At first, people were hesitant to speak, but within fifteen minutes or so there were more people waiting to speak than there was time for. Some people described volunteer work they do, some named organizations they support, some talked about what companies do or should do, and some talked about what various government bodies should be, but aren't, doing. Beyond CHI'92 One hundred and ten members of the audience wrote suggestions on the forms and turned them in. After the conference, CPSR began the process of compiling the responses and producing the promised report. We found volunteers to put the responses on-line. We created an e-mail distribution list consisting of respondents who had provided e-mail addresses. We took a quick pass through the data, to see if it contained ideas worth publishing and sharing. It did. On the basis of our initial look at the responses, the report began to take shape in our minds. We didn't think it would suffice to simply list all of the ideas that the session attendees had written. A quick query sent to the e-mail list confirmed this: session participants didn't want the raw data or even lightly-digested data; they wanted a well-digested, well-organized guide to social action, a resource booklet that goes beyond what people put on their response forms. Not everyone has been a volunteer or activist, and even those of us who have can benefit from a complete guidebook on how to make a positive contribution to society. Producing such a comprehensive report presented CPSR with a challenge, for it would require a significant amount of work. For instance, many respondents mentioned organizations, but it was up to us to provide contact addresses. We also found some suggestions to be out-of-date, e.g., organizations that have changed policies. The research necessary to produce such a report in the months following CHI'92 exceeds what CPSR's small staff and volunteer-base can deliver. To produce the full report would require funding to allow us to pay for some of the labor. We made some initial efforts to get funding, so far without success. Nonetheless, we were committed to producing a timely report for the CHI'92 session attendees. With encouragement from Ben Shneiderman, the two of us decided to write a brief version of the report for SIGCHI Bulletin. Hopefully, this brief initial report will help attract funding for a full report. This report is therefore intended to be the first deliverable of a possible new CPSR project that would, if funded, provide computer professionals with information and guidance on how to become "part of the solution" to pressing social problems. Depending upon funding, subsequent deliverables may include: - a moderated e-mail discussion list on social involvement, - an e-mail archive/server for information on social involvement, - the aforementioned booklet: "A Guide to Social Action" for computer professionals, suitable for companies to distribute to employees, containing an overview of the ways to get involved, a categorized list of ideas, a directory of organizations, some success examples, with a sprinkling of interesting quotes from attendees of the CHI'92 special session. - a clearinghouse service to help computer professionals and companies down the road toward social involvement. In this initial report, we chose to focus on a few of the most-commonly-suggested ideas, rather than present a shallow overview of all of them. A more complete list will have to wait until the booklet. We begin with some comments on what we have learned from this exercise, then summarize a few of the suggestions, and conclude. What have we learned from this? "Tell me how I can help." -- a CHI'92 attendee. Despite the stereotype of the apolitical, work-obsessed nerd, computer professionals do care about what goes on in the world. Many are already involved in volunteer projects, political action, and critically examining the impact of their work. More importantly, many more are looking for ways to get involved. The King riots really shook up a lot of people. The respondents see potential in themselves, their companies, and their professional associations, but are concerned that social issues often get lost in the shuffle of busy people and companies. CHI conference attendees may not be representative of computer professionals in general. Their professional focus on the interaction between people and machines may make them more likely to be concerned about social issues. However, CPSR members nationwide -- who are not predominantly CHI members -- have been proving for over a decade that a computer career and interest in social issues are not mutually exclusive. There is no shortage of good ideas about how to get involved. The hundred and ten respondents in the CPSR-CHI special session have provided a first glimpse, but our feeling is that many more good ideas remain to be suggested. Many individuals, organizations, and companies are already doing things that we can learn from. We needn't design from scratch. Summary of Responses "Education is the single most effective and powerful way to change the situation in a permanent way." -- a CHI'92 attendee. Our respondents overwhelmingly saw education as fundamental. They believe that individuals, companies, professional societies, and various levels of government could be doing much more to support education than they now are. For example: - Individuals can tutor disadvantaged kids, teach computer courses or run computer labs in schools, and speak in schools about their company and their work. - Companies can adopt a school, donate equipment and software, and establish programs in which students visit the workplace to learn what computer professionals do and what skills they need. - Professional societies can provide scholarships for high school kids, encourage individuals and companies to develop education applications of computer technology, and advocate greater public funding of education. Many respondents suggested that individuals and companies donate new and used computer equipment to schools, community centers, and non-profit organizations. However, some pointed out that giving antiquated, unreliable, or inappropriate equipment is almost worse than unhelpful, in that it can drain valuable time and energy from the important work that these organizations do. Accordingly, many non-profits will not accept equipment for which they can no longer find software, documentation, and maintenance support. To help insure that donated equipment is effectively used, computer professionals can donate time and expertise. Otherwise, donated equipment may just sit in a corner. Not surprisingly, volunteerism is strongly advocated by our respondents. Some of their suggestions are: - Individuals can volunteer in computer labs, get involved with a organizations that link volunteers with non-profit groups (e.g., CompuMentor), or even teach reading in an urban library. A frequent comment was that literacy is more important than computer literacy. - Companies can encourage volunteerism by helping match willing employees with worthy organizations, by allowing employees to share their skills on company time, and by honoring employees' volunteer efforts. - Professional societies can encourage volunteerism among professionals by developing mentor programs in which members work with urban youth, and by developing computer curricula that professionals can take into volunteer teaching situations. "I read to primary students one-half hour per week. I get more out of that time than the kids, but their focus on me tells me they are getting a lot out of my time also." -- a CHI'92 attendee. Several respondents who are involved in volunteer work noted that volunteering has value far beyond that of the actual work that volunteers do. It helps build much-needed understanding and trust between ethnic and socioeconomic groups. It also is beneficial to the volunteers themselves: they gain teaching experience, social skills, and a broader perspective on the society in which they live, and often have fun while doing it. Computer professionals have learned that access to on-line communication and information services is a powerful tool for their own education, communication, and activism. We found that many of them believe that on-line access would be just as empowering for the public at large. Middle-class Americans are already beginning to get on-line, but individuals, companies, and professional societies can make an extra effort to assure that the poor are not cut out of the loop. Individuals, companies, and professional societies can help put communities on-line, as has been done in Berkeley (Community Memory Project) and Santa Monica (Public Education Network). Such networks can facilitate communication and discussion not only with other citizens of a local community, but, depending on how they are connected to larger networks, with information service providers and even elected representatives. "Companies can actively recruit blacks and other minorities. I have been at CHI for 2 1/2 days and have seen only two blacks with CHI name tags." -- a CHI'92 attendee. More of a commitment to affirmative action in hiring and promotion is seen as a major way in which companies can help overcome social inequities. This means making an extra effort to find qualified minorities and women to fill jobs, and, when candidates are equally qualified (i.e., the difference in their estimated ability to perform the job is less than the margin of error of the assessment process), giving the benefit of the doubt to minorities and women. Some respondents suggested, for example, that companies hold outreach activities in poor communities to find potential employees. The respondents recommended awards as a way to encourage computer companies, academic research projects, and individuals to get involved. Each year, CPSR recognizes a computer scientist who, in addition to making important contributions to the field, has demonstrated an ongoing commitment to working for social change. (ACM activist and IBM researcher Barbara Simons is CPSR's 1992 Norbert Wiener Award winner.) Many respondents suggested that SIGCHI or ACM offer an award for companies that demonstrate a similar commitment through community projects, encouraging employee volunteerism, or other good works. The CHI conference itself emerged as an important potential focus of social action work. Respondents recommended that CHI organizers seek ways to have a positive impact upon the host community. Local students -- high-school and college -- could be given tours of exhibits or scholarships to attend the conference. Equipment used at the conference could be donated to local schools and organizations. Respondents also suggested paper and poster sessions devoted to applying technology to social problems or to understanding social issues related to computer technology. "What's underneath are not wounds, but faults -- lines of fracture, of discontinuity, in society, which periodically relieve their stress in these violent ways. What can we do about that?" -- a CHI'92 attendee. Although our respondents provided a wealth of ideas for how we, as computer professionals and concerned citizens, can offer our time and skills for the betterment of society, a number of them acknowledged that charity, volunteering, and technology alone cannot solve political and social problems. Closing the gap between rich and poor, educated and illiterate, empowered and disenfranchised will require changes in basic priorities at the local, state, national, and international levels. Accordingly, many respondents recommended attempting to influence the political process, either individually, through professional associations, or through organizations like CPSR. Conclusions "Thanks for the noontime meeting on Tuesday! It was motivating to see such a strong response." -- a CHI'92 attendee. "Thank you, thank you, thank you for organizing this forum and bringing some heart and spirit into this cold, albeit exciting, environment. Onwards and upwards, I'm with you all the way!" -- a CHI'92 attendee. "What a wonderful experience to find a humanistic island at a professional conference!" -- a CHI'92 attendee. The unexpectedly large response to the noontime session at CHI'92 was extremely gratifying. Also gratifying is the degree of concern that members of the CHI community have about social inequities and the seriousness with which they addressed themselves to overcoming them. Hopefully, with this report as inspiration, many computer professionals will begin to take action. "I'll go back and start asking questions in my company." -- a CHI'92 attendee. The foregoing has only scratched the surface of the ideas that emerged from the CHI'92 social issues session. As described above, CPSR hopes to expand this report into a widely-circulated Social Action Guide, and eventually provide on-line services to help computer professionals take action. To learn more about Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility, or to get involved in the preparation of the full Social Action Guide, contact cpsr@csli.stanford.edu. References Shneiderman, B. "Socially Responsible Computing I: A Call to Action Following the L.A. Riots" SIGCHI Bulletin, July, 1992, 24(3), pages 14-15. ------------------------------ Downloaded From P-80 International Information Systems 304-744-2253