Scott Macon’s Post

Computer science is taking over academia, Ian Bogost writes, and its newfound power may corrupt: https://lnkd.in/gwyyqZbj Across the U.S., the number of CS majors has been growing creating both enormous administrative strain and a competition for prestige on many campuses. At Stanford, almost one in five undergrads now ends up majoring in computer science. At MIT, it’s 42 percent. Traditionally, computer science developed either in engineering schools, as an outgrowth of electrical engineering, or in liberal-arts colleges, as an extension of mathematics, Bogost writes. One approach that has gained popularity is consolidating the formal study of CS into a college of computing. MIT opened one in 2019, Cornell in 2020; UC Berkeley announced one last year. “The importance of this trend—its significance for the practice of education, and also of technology—must not be overlooked,” Bogost writes. “When they elevate computing to the status of a college, with departments and a budget, they are declaring it a higher-order domain of knowledge and practice, akin to law or engineering. That decision will inform a fundamental question: whether computing ought to be seen as a superfield that lords over all others, or just a servant of other domains, subordinated to their interests and control. This is, by no happenstance, also the basic question about computing in our society writ large.” MIT’s computing dean, Daniel Huttenlocher, says that the speed at which computing evolves justifies the new structure. “But the computing industry isn’t just fast-moving. It’s also reckless,” Bogost continues. “Instead of operating with a deep understanding or respect for law, policy, justice, health, or cohesion, tech firms tend to do whatever they want. Facebook sought growth at all costs, even if its take on connecting people tore society apart. If colleges of computing serve to isolate young, future tech professionals from any classrooms where they might imbibe another school’s culture and values—engineering’s studied prudence, for example, or the humanities’ focus on deliberation—this tendency might only worsen.” Read more: https://lnkd.in/gwyyqZbj

Is a computer science degree enough for thriving in technical jobs these days? As complexity grows, the need for interdisciplinarity, especially some anchoring in the humanities, becomes more important. 💡 🌐 A Surge in Demand The allure of the technology sector's wealth, power, and influence has led to a significant uptick in CS majors, with Stanford and MIT witnessing more than a doubling in the proportion of graduates over the last decade. This burgeoning interest has not only placed administrative pressures on universities but also fueled a competition for prestige, manifesting in diverse CS degree offerings across various academic departments. 🎓 The Rise of Colleges of Computing In response to the escalating demand and to accommodate the multifaceted nature of computing, institutions like MIT, Cornell, and UC Berkeley have established dedicated colleges of computing. This strategic move underscores the elevation of computing to a higher-order domain of knowledge, signifying its pervasive influence across various disciplines. As Charles Isbell, former dean of Georgia Tech’s college of computing, notes, "Computing was going to be a big deal." This, more broadly, is consistent with the rise of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) workers. 🔍 Centralization vs. Integration The centralization of computer science education raises fundamental questions about its impact on academia and society. While dedicated computing colleges offer the promise of fostering interdisciplinary collaboration, there is also concern about further isolating computing from other disciplines. In the article, Mark Guzdial, a former faculty member in Georgia Tech’s computing college, shares his experience, revealing tensions between CS and other fields, emphasizing the need for computing education that is both truly interdisciplinary and outward-looking. 💡 The challenge lies in not just producing proficient software engineers but in cultivating a generation of computer professionals who are as invested in societal welfare as they are in technological advancement. The goal is to ensure that computing serves as a tool for addressing broader issues, but this will require a renewed commitment to ethics and engagement with morality. #ComputerScience #EducationInnovation #InterdisciplinaryLearning #FutureOfWork https://lnkd.in/e7xtvdtR

Last year, 18 percent of Stanford University seniors graduated with a degree in computer science, more than double the proportion of just a decade earlier. Over the same period at MIT, that rate went up from 23 percent to 42 percent. These increases are common everywhere: The average number of undergraduate CS majors at universities in the U.S. and Canada tripled in the decade after 2005, and it keeps growing. Students’ interest in CS is intellectual—culture moves through computation these days—but it is also professional. Young people hope to access the wealth, power, and influence of the technology sector. https://lnkd.in/d2Cxzf-m

Ian Bogost wrote a thought-provoking article in The Atlantic about Computer Science education and the dilemma universities face with the incredible demand for #CS that has “created both enormous administrative strain and a competition for prestige”. As universities create colleges/schools of computing, the question arises “whether computing ought to be seen as a superfield that lords over all others, or just a servant of other domains, subordinated to their interests and control. This is, by no happenstance, also the basic question about computing in our society writ large.” The underlying problem with the demand lies with the #tech industry which shuns deep introspection and “isn’t just fast-moving. It’s also reckless. Technology tycoons say they need space for growth and warn that too much oversight will stifle innovation. Yet we might all be better off, in certain ways, if their ambitions were held back even just a little. Instead of operating with a deep understanding or respect for law, policy, justice, health, or cohesion, tech firms tend to do whatever they want.” This risk is of colleges of computing “populated entirely by computer scientists” when the world needs more cross-disciplinary examination of computing as a sub-domain of the arts & sciences not just a “technical school for producing a certain variety of very well-paid professionals.” Bogost ends with the fundamental question if the world needs more software engineers. “Now I worry that they have a bigger problem to address: how to make computer people care about everything else as much as they care about computers.”

To prepare for the societal impacts of technology, computer science students need to take humanities coursework now more than ever. At the very least, add "Frankenstein" to the required reading list. #liberalarts #highereducation  #computerscience

Computer science is taking over academia, Ian Bogost writes, and its newfound power may corrupt: https://lnkd.in/eMKhHjnf Across the U.S., the number of CS majors has been growing creating both enormous administrative strain and a competition for prestige on many campuses. At Stanford, almost one in five undergrads now ends up majoring in computer science. At MIT, it’s 42 percent. Traditionally, computer science developed either in engineering schools, as an outgrowth of electrical engineering, or in liberal-arts colleges, as an extension of mathematics, Bogost writes. One approach that has gained popularity is consolidating the formal study of CS into a college of computing. MIT opened one in 2019, Cornell in 2020; UC Berkeley announced one last year. “The importance of this trend—its significance for the practice of education, and also of technology—must not be overlooked,” Bogost writes. “When they elevate computing to the status of a college, with departments and a budget, they are declaring it a higher-order domain of knowledge and practice, akin to law or engineering. That decision will inform a fundamental question: whether computing ought to be seen as a superfield that lords over all others, or just a servant of other domains, subordinated to their interests and control. This is, by no happenstance, also the basic question about computing in our society writ large.” MIT’s computing dean, Daniel Huttenlocher, says that the speed at which computing evolves justifies the new structure. “But the computing industry isn’t just fast-moving. It’s also reckless,” Bogost continues. “Instead of operating with a deep understanding or respect for law, policy, justice, health, or cohesion, tech firms tend to do whatever they want. Facebook sought growth at all costs, even if its take on connecting people tore society apart. If colleges of computing serve to isolate young, future tech professionals from any classrooms where they might imbibe another school’s culture and values—engineering’s studied prudence, for example, or the humanities’ focus on deliberation—this tendency might only worsen.” Read more: https://lnkd.in/eMKhHjnf 📸: Max Whittaker / The New York Times / Redux

I stumbled across this thought-provoking article, "Universities Have A Computer-Science Problem" late last week and the subject matter and the author's point of view has been playing the in my mind for the last few days so I thought I ought to share this: <https://lnkd.in/gtJCseE7> The article resides behind a paywall so please allow me to summarise this 2000-plus-word article: The author discussed the significant rise in computer science degrees in universities over the past decade, driven by both intellectual curiosity and career aspirations in the tech sector. Some of these universities are consolidating CS into dedicated colleges, elevating it to a higher status akin to law or engineering. However, this raises questions about whether CS should dominate other disciplines or serve these disciplines. Historically, CS departments have been part of either engineering or arts and sciences schools, influencing their culture and values. The emergence of standalone CS colleges offers autonomy and scalability but may isolate students from diverse perspectives. Critics argue that this separation could exacerbate tech's recklessness and disconnect from societal priorities/concerns. The author also highlighted diverse approaches among universities, such as Georgia Tech's outward-looking culture versus Michigan's efforts to integrate CS with liberal arts. It reflects on the need for CS education to transcend mere technical training and foster a broader understanding of societal impact. The author concluded this article by questioning the future direction of computing education, urging for a balance between technical proficiency and broader interdisciplinary perspectives, emphasising the importance of making computer scientists care about societal issues beyond computing itself. I thought business leaders could learn something from the CS conundrum. Business leaders could stand to learn that in driving digital transformation, it's crucial not to overlook the human element. Emphasising technical proficiency without considering broader stakeholder/societal impacts can lead to reckless innovation and disconnection from wider ecosystem needs, potentially harming both businesses and society it operates in. Driven by ruthless KPIs and drive to achieve remarkable ROI/effectiveness/productivity - we ought not to forget that business and technology are built by people in order to serve people. Food for thought.

This article finally addresses the elephant in the room; that “left entirely to themselves, computer scientists can forget that computers are supposed to be tools that help people”.  The time may be here to rethink how we prepare computer science engineering students for the "real world". As a social scientist and college educator (with a background in technology), I continue to ask a question about our STEM education curriculum: Where are the real-world problems that include real people who are impacted by technology? This article, and the oral history of a computer science engineer’s journey through academia, along with an analysis of university program structuring, maybe a “nudge” to remind us that it may be time to move from a curriculum that focuses on discreet skills to a socio-scientific curriculum that centers “people and their problems”. After all, when was the last time you saw a value proposition that didn’t focus on people?

(Gifted Article: Universities Have A Computer Science Problem) "I used to think computing education might be stuck in a nesting-doll version of the engineer’s fallacy, in which CS departments have been asked to train more software engineers without considering whether more software engineers are really what the world needs. Now I worry that they have a bigger problem to address: how to make computer people care about everything else as much as they care about computers." This is a very real problem at a number of universities. Everyone wants to major in CS, and yet, there's not enough in the curricula that ensures students understand that computing doesn't exist in a vacuum. Additionally, if we want to eradicate the harms present in the technologies, we have to also ensure students (and grads) understand how the harms happen in the environments in which they live, learn, and work. You can't address one without addressing the other. It's exactly why I created my course at Duke and why I do the work I do. This felt like the professional confirmation I needed to "just keep swimming." h/t Alex Hanna, Ph.D. #computing #tech #ComputerScience #colleges #universities #CSMajor #undergraduates #identity #IdentityInclusiveComputing #AiiCE https://lnkd.in/eZvnCg7c