(CS 340) Computer Ethics — Getting to know you

Hi, my name’s Morgan Stonelake. I grew up in Orange County, California and have been studying the Performing Arts: (Theatre, Voice, and Dance) at Western Oregon University since 2017. I’m an aspiring actress and entertainer and work with a talent agency called IMD. My preferred pronouns are she/her, and I’m an advocate for lgbtqia+ causes. I’m also gen z which I think has a unique influence on my perspective of technology. I’m the complete native of social media; my entire life has been online and so is my entire social life. I help run a meme page, gen z posting, with over 4.7 k members. During Covid-19, a time when people are unable to see family and friends, this community became even more like family to me. Meanwhile, I am also painfully aware of the harms of e-waste poisoning rivers, Wi-Fi related cancer, and the monetization of algorithms designed to make us miserable just to sell one more advertisement. Being gen z is a perpetual state of awareness paired with socially ingrained numbness. You use the technology because it is necessary, despite seeing every truth.

Yet deep inside us I think there is a shared existential dread for the fate of our planet and the urgency to make the necessary sacrifices to evade irreversible climate change. There also exists a growing romanticization among gen z, for a return to more agrarian roots, a concept casually referred to as, “cottagecore”. In other words, permaculture and a lifestyle dedicated to sustainability and making environmentally conscious choices.

As I look to the future of technology: nanorobotics, smart homes, cloning, quantum computing, machine learning and artificial intelligence, and interplanetary exploration, I am filled with wonder, that kind you feel while watching science fiction films that feel larger than life. Still, I can’t escape the dread of every new shining thing since, being human, we’ve always been our own worst enemy, and everybody wants to rule the world.