Technology and humanity topic of Jan. 23 Common Reading lecture by Deborah Compeau

PULLMAN, Wash.—The Washington State University Common Reading Program hosts “Do we manage technology, or does technology manage us?,” a lecture by management information systems professor Deborah Compeau, at 4:30 p.m. Tues., Jan. 23, in CUE 203. This free event is open to the public.

There are many ways in which we both manage and are managed by technologies, said Compeau. From social technologies that draw us in, to artificial intelligence technologies that replace human decision-making, we are confronted by a world where technologies increasingly challenge our agency.

Yet at the same time, Compeau said, these technologies are the products of human design and so human agency remains central to their construction and application. The implications of this duality of influence for individuals and for leaders in organizations.

Compeau’s presentation is part of the spring semester lineup of faculty and guest experts who will discuss topics related to those in students’ common reading book for this year, Ready Player One. The WSU-wide program focuses this year on the theme of frontiers of technology, health, and society.

The Common Reading began in 2006-07 in Pullman. It helps students, their teachers, and the community better engage in academically centered critical thinking, communication, research, and learning around a body of shared information, as presented in a single, specially selected book.


Contact

Karen Weathermon, Common Reading Program co-director, WSU Undergraduate Education, 509-335-5488, kweathermon@wsu.edu