User:Will (Wiki Ed)/PIT-UN

Hi everyone - EXCITING UPDATE - the Public interest technology article is now LIVE!!

Below are all the sections and elements that still needed work. Feel free to continue to edit them and then move them into the live article.

Draft area

Additional Lead ideas

Other definitions/documents that could be helpful with the framing (Tayo):

• Ford Foundation definition
• Cornell's Questions to consider in defining PIT
• PIT definition from New America
• Blog Post from University of Michigan PIT-KN Project

Importance of the "human-in-the-loop"

Public interest technology aims to extend the meaning of "human-in-the-loop" as it relates to all aspects of tech design, implementation and impact.

"5 Reasons You Might Be a Public Interest Technologist," an October 2018 publication by the Ford Foundation offers an overview of the advantages of careers in the field of public interest technology.

https://www.fordfoundation.org/news-and-stories/stories/posts/5-reasons-you-might-be-a-public-interest-technologist/

Article sections

• Add section ideas here - add your username if you're interested in a particular section
• Influences: Urban Future, Public Interest Technology, and links to other related areas of PIT (link(@egungun)

DEI and Public Interest Technology

As efforts around PIT promote a implementation of technology in a socially responsible manner it is imperative that broad perspective are incorporated and has been an ongoing component.  

"Which brings us to the equity dimensions, on which many PIT definitions are silent.  The PIT space is inequitable, a consequence of an asymmetric power structure and lack of representation of historically marginalized voices. Many of the disputes with data and algorithm bias stem from these issues and from the simple reality that individuals tasked with developing these solutions may have viewpoints or value systems that are not representative of the populations of interest. The result can be that inequities, both current and historic, are exacerbated rather than reduced. A PIT definition that is explicit about equity confronts this challenge head on." https://midas.umich.edu/pit-kn/what-is-public-interest-technology/

An area of increasing use of technology includes surveillance and is an area often documented that significantly affects communities of color in disproportion ways.  The Brooking Institutes highlights the need for guardrails in the Police surveillance and facial recognition: Why data privacy is imperative for communities of color Georgetown University addressed the long standing history of surveillance overreach and the implications of the lack of a social framework in the Color of Surveillance Conference

The Role of MSIs, HSIs, and HBCUs in field-building

Recognizing the importance of several minority serving institutions have been at the forefront of the PIT initiatives establishing projects and cases in various disciplines.

The early commitment and focus of the various HBCU, HSI, and TCU can be found at https://pitcases.org/members#directory

HBCUs

Prairie View A&M University

Meharry Medical College

Lane College

Stillman College

LeMoyne-Owen College

Howard University

HSIs

Temple University

San Jose State University (Also an AANAPISI)

University of California Santa Cruz

The University of Texas at Austin

University of Illinois at Chicago (Also an AANAPISI)

Miami Dade College

Florida International University

The City University of New York

Arizona State University

TCUs

Georgina State University (Also an AANAPISI)

• Notable PIT practitioners

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• Academic programs, degree pathways and certifications in Public Interest Technology (@Goop0303 - Jiyoo Jeong). Perhaps we can subdivide this idea using a framework like this one to offer examples of different types of programs and pathways. My list is just a start and a draft suggestion for how to organize the information (drafted by Bob Maloy and Sharon Edwards).

Academic programs, degree pathways and certifications in Public Interest Technology

<<Should this go here or in the PIT-UN page?>>

There is a wide variety of academic programs, degree pathways and certifications in the field of public interest technology. Examples include:

• CERTIFICATE:
  • The University of Massachusetts Amherst College of Information & Computer Science offers CICS 127, Introduction to Public Interest Technology as a course for undergraduates. It is the mandatory introductory course for the University's All-Campus Public Interest Technology certificate. The PIT certificate's structure includes required coursework in three main areas: Social Literacy; Public Interest Literacy; and Tech Literacy.
  • Carnegie Mellon University's Public Interest Technology Certificate is a 6 month, interdisciplinary program in data management, digital innovation, and AI leadership.
  • University of Michigan's Graduate certificate in Science & Technology for the Public Good states "Communities are increasingly concerned they do not benefit from research and development, and that the risks of emerging technologies may outweigh their benefits. We bring a rigorous interdisciplinary lens to understanding these concerns, and translating them to policymakers, engineers, scientists, and civil society to produce more equitable and just science, technology, and related policies."
• ACADEMIC MINOR: The John Glenn College of Public Affairs at The Ohio State University offers a 12-13 credit academic minor in Science and Engineering in the Public Interest.
• CONTINUING PROFESSIONAL EDUCATION: Heinz College at Carnegie-Mellon University through its executive education program offers a Public Interest Technology Certificate (PITC) for civic and government leaders focusing on data management, digital innovation, and AI leadership.
• MASTERS DEGREE: Arizona State University offers an online Masters degree in Public Interest Technology.
• PROGRAMS: The Mass Aggie Seed Library at the University of Massachusetts Amherst collects and provides free access to hundreds of varieties of organic, open-pollinated and heirloom vegetable and flower seeds.

Sourcing ideas

• Add any sourcing ideas/concerns here

Seaborn comment - Human-in-the-loop policy  for PIT Ideas for the history of PIT section:

<<we might want to include this in a "further reading" section

Here are resources and sources from Robert Maloy and Sharon Edwards

ONE UNIVERSITY'S PIT DEFINITION: Public Interest Technology (PIT) focuses on the development and realization of socially responsible solutions to the challenges in a technology-driven world.  It serves as a critical foundation for 21st century education and a driver for research that addresses complex problems and advances solutions with positive community impact.

From UMass Amherst PIT website: https://groups.cs.umass.edu/pit/public-interest-technology-faculty-fellowship-cy2023/

BOOK: A Civic Technologist's Practice Guide. Cyd Harrell. FiveSevenFive Books, 2020.

"civic tech is a loosely integrated movement that brings together the strengths of the private-sector tech world (its people, methods, or actual technology) to public entities with the aim of making government more responsive, efficient, modern, and more just" (Harrell, p. 17). BOOK: Power to the Public: The Promise of Public Interest Technology. T.D. McGuiness & H. Schank. Princeton University Press, 2021.

BOOK: Power to the Public: The Promise of Public Interest Technology. T.D. McGuiness & H. Schank. Princeton University Press, 2021.

Public interest technology offers a "framework to consider how to advance and protect human rights in a digital world. It argues for a systematic way of studying technology in the world -- including unforeseen and adverse consequences" (McGuiness & Schank, p. 142).

Public interest technology is "people-centered problem solving" (McGuiness & Schank, p. 142, p. viii).

Series of articles from Stanford Social Innovation Review on PIT: Sponsored by Ford Foundation, this SSIR special issue discusses how data-driven technologies have not only transformed present day living but also amplified systemic inequities. At the receiving end of these innovations are often underserved communities, that must contend with the adverse consequences of biased algorithms, data that may not be representative of the population and poorly understood problem spaces. The field of PIT seeks to address these challenges by centering the experiences of marginalized communities and making the case for solutions that are designed, deployed, and regulated in a responsible and equitable manner.

SPECIAL ISSUE: Co-Designing the Future with Public Interest Technology IEEE Technology and Society Magazine IEEE Technol. Soc. Mag. Technology and Society Magazine, IEEE. 40(3):10-15 Sep, 2021.

This special issue is dedicated to the theme of public interest technology (PIT) [1]. "PIT acknowledges that technological potential can be harnessed to satisfy the needs of civil society. In other words, technology can be seen as a public good that can benefit all, through an open democratic system of governance, with open data initiatives, open technologies, and open systems/ecosystems designed for the collective good, as defined by respective communities that will be utilizing them."

THE authors identify related initiatives in specific professional fields or disciplines to serve the public interest, including:

• Public history
• Citizen science (has its own Wikipedia page)
• Public interest journalism
• Public interest engineering
• Public interest law

Exploring this idea further, I found the web link What is Public History? from the Department of History, Geography and Philosophy at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette defines public history as "the use of historical skills and methods outside of the traditional academic realm of history. Public historians use their training to meet the needs of the community-the public-whether that community is defined as a city, a neighborhood, a business, or a historical society."

https://technologyandsociety.org/co-designing-the-future-with-public-interest-technology/

Parking for consideration - @TheAboveAverageStudent

Building the Field of Public Interest Technology https://www.insidehighered.com/views/2019/03/12/colleges-must-develop-interdisciplinary-training-future-technology-and-public

CORPORATE CIVIC RESPONSIBILITY: A New Paradigm for Companies to Advance Public Interest Technology https://techtalentproject.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Corporate-Civic-Responsibility_Chan_TechTalentProject_1.6.21.pdf

How Engineers Think and Implications for Public Interest Technology https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/9527339

Developing public interest technology for the future https://news.asu.edu/20201207-developing-public-interest-technology-future

A conceptual framework for approaching social justice in an age of datafication https://datajusticeproject.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2018/11/wp-conceptual-framework-datajustice.pdf

The Moral Character of Cryptographic Work https://eprint.iacr.org/2015/1162.pdf

Mobilizing Tech Talent: Hiring Technologists to Power Better Government https://ourpublicservice.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/Mobilizing_Tech_Talent-2018.09.26.pdf

Technologists vs. Policy Makers https://www.schneier.com/essays/archives/2020/02/technologists_vs_pol.html