Episode 36

Electric Cars, the Problems with Tech Biographies, and Against Technoableism ft. Ashley Shew

October 18, 2023

TRANSCRIPT

In this episode, Shobita and Jack discuss the United Auto Worker strike, facial recognition technology in schools, and the recent biographies of Elon Musk and Sam Bankman-Fried. And, they interview Ashley Shew, author of Against Technoableism and Associate Professor of Science, Technology, and Society at Virginia Tech.

Study Questions:

1. What is the relationship between the recent labor unrest and emerging technology?

2. How do biographers approach tech leaders, and what is wrong with it?

3. How do the medical and social models of disability approach disability differently?

4. How can technology shape our perception of what is “normal” when it comes to disability?

5. How might dependency on various technologies affect the life of a disabled person in unexpected ways?

6. How might disability change one’s experience of the built environment?

7. How might we reconsider disability expertise to create a more accessible society?

Related links:

• Ashley Shew (2023). Against Technoableism: Rethinking Who Needs Improvement. W.W. Norton.

• Virdi, J. (2022). Hearing happiness: Deafness cures in history. The University of Chicago Press.

• Nario-Redmond, M. R. (2020). Ableism: The causes and consequences of disability prejudice. Wiley Blackwell.

• Ashley Shew (2020). Let COVID-19 expand awareness of disability tech. Nature. May 5.

• Weise, J. (n.d.). The Cyborg Jillian Weise. 
  Wheelchair Sports Camp. (2015). Wheelchair Sports Camp. 

• New York State Education Department (2023). "State Education Department Statement on Release of the Use of Biometric Identifying Technology in Schools Report." August 7.