Fall 2023

VR253: Culture, Technology, Silicon Valley

DZY 4-104
12:10-13:50: Mon/Wed

Irene Wei, Ph.D. TA: Nuocheng Ji 季诺澄

MW 14:00 after class coffeageno@sjtu.edu.cn
Or by appointment on Feishu OH to be announced
irene.wei@sjtu.edu.cn
Or private message on Feishu

Course Description. This course covers 3 parts:

1. Silicon Valley: We ask how Silicon Valley became the creative technological hub of the 21st century,
taking into account its history as well as the surrounding social and cultural environment of the San
Francisco Bay Area. We also look at how COVID-19 has impacted this place since 2020.

2. Digital cultures: We consider how information technology (IT) has changed the way we think about
progress, commerce, relationships, work, self, and freedom. Advance in artificial intelligence (AI),
which focuses on creating intelligent machines that think and behave like humans, has further
complicated these notions. We consider, along with the authors we read: 1) what is a “person”? 2)
What constitutes a “good” life? These questions about “meaning” and “value” are by no means easy.

3. Benefits, perils, challenges: We discuss selected works by high tech industry insiders, scientists,
journalists, and techno-economists who analyze dramatic developments in digital technology --good
and bad—and offer insights into their potentialities and pitfalls. What lies ahead in the future?

Required readings are available on Canvas, including selected writings by:

 Eric Schmidt & Jared Cohen
 E. Brynjolfsson & A. McAfee
 Nicholas Carr
 Sherry Turkle
 Jaron Lanier
 Thomas Friedman
 Tristan Harris
 Kai-fu Lee

Course content and activities aim to help students:

 understand key terms of public debates about technology development worldwide
 reflect on the validity of these terms and their cultural and social implications in the US
 consider raising similar questions in the context of China
 improve self-reflective and critical thinking skills

Students will learn to:

 appreciate discussion about technology from multiple perspectives
 engage with such discussions from an informed point of view
 follow and analyze arguments based on theory as well as empirical research
 develop one’s own opinions on technology’s relations to culture and society at large

1
 Monday Wednesday
1 Silicon Valley: “A Place and a State of Mind”
Sept 11 Course introduction Sept 13 Early Silicon Valley:
Anti-traditionalism and idealism
2 Techno-optimism
Sept 18 Silicon Valley Sept 20 The New Digital Age

3 “Exponential growth”
Sept 25 The Second Machine Age Sep 27 The Second Machine Age
Assig. 1 released
4 National Holidays
5 “Cognitive Ailments”
Oct 9 The Glass Cage Oct 11 The Glass Cage Assignment 1 due

6 “Emotional Well-being”
Oct 16 Reclaiming Conversation Oct 18 Reclaiming Conversation

7 Revisiting Moore’s Law

Oct 23 Who Owns the Future? Oct 25 Who Owns the Future
Assig. 2 released
Presentation begins
8 The “Privacy Paradox”
Oct 30 Nov 1

9 “Humane Technology”
Nov 6 Tristan Harris Nov 8 Assignment 2 due

10 A divided Silicon Valley

Nov 13 The Social Dilemma Nov 15

11 “Splinternet”
Nov 20 AI Superpowers Nov 22

12 “China, Silicon Valley, and the New World Order”

Nov 27 AI Superpowers Nov 29
Assig. 3 released
13 Course review and Final Discussion
Dec 4 Dec 6
Assignment 3 due

Course assignment and value

Final course grade scale:
12% Quizzes & participation
20% Assignment #1 A+ 100-98 C+ 79-77
20% Assignment #2 A 97-93 C 76-73
12% Group Presentation A- 92-90 C- 72-70
Outline/slides B+ 89-87 D+ 69-67
16% Presentation (individual score) B 86-83 D 66-63
20% Assignment #3 B- 82-80

2
Course Policies and Expectations:

Office hours: You are welcome to see me about the course in person, by email, or on Feishu.

Regular attendance in the physical classroom is required. Weekly lecture notes will be
available on Canvas on Friday. If you expect a schedule conflict during the semester, you
should choose another elective course.

All assignments are due in e-files on Canvas as specified.

Late assignments will lose points. No assignment will count two days after the due date.
Extensions will be given only in case of emergency, with proper documentation.

No make-up for in-class work unless there’s a documented emergency.

Honor Code & Plagiarism

If you are found to have plagiarized someone else’s work or ideas, thereby violating the Honor
Code, your work will receive an automatic “0,” and I will turn your work to the Honor Council.
Depending on the severity of the case, you may receive an “F” in the course and/or be expelled
from the school.