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HPSC0011 – 2023-24

Assignment instructions & FAQs

ESSAY PLAN (assignment 1)

Key info:

Word limit: 1000 words (as per the STS handbook, you have a 10% margin, which here means 900-1100 words)

Deadline: 29 November 2023, 5 pm.

Submission instructions and link: on Moodle, under the tab “assessment”

The purpose of assignment 1 is to produce some “building blocks” which will be useful to you in writing the final essay (assignment 2). It is therefore essential to first understand what you will be asked to do for the final essay.

In a nutshell:

· Your final assignment (#2) will be to write a set of guidelines for the responsible development, use and/or representation of chatbots, and to justify these guidelines using case study analysis, STS concepts, and readings.

· This assignment (#1) consists in writing a case study, identifying an STS concept, and responding to a reading that you consider relevant for assignment #2.

Keep reading for more details! Find below: 1) full instructions for the final essay/assignment #2; 2) full instructions for the essay plan/assignment #1; 3) an FAQ about case studies.

ESSAY (assignment 2):

2500 words, due 10 January 2024

Your task in this essay is to propose and justify a set of chatbot guidelines.

Guidelines for what, exactly?

The broad aim of your guidelines will be to foster the responsible development, use and/or representation (or communication) of a chatbot (or chatbot-like**) technology. The guidelines themselves should take up no more than 300 words.

(** if the technology you are proposing guidelines for is not usually called "chatbot," explain in what ways it is "chatbot-like")

Ok, how do I justify these guidelines?

In the main part of your essay (about 2200 words), you should address the following questions:

What risks and problems are the guidelines intended to mitigate or prevent?

What are the guidelines intended to achieve?

What principles, cases or concepts are the guidelines based on?

In answering these questions, you should:

-Develop two case studies of chatbot (or chatbot-like technology) development, use and/or communication/representation. Your analysis of these cases should identify the types of problems that your guidelines seek to address, as well as potential solutions or avenues for addressing these.

-Use at least two STS concepts or ideas. Explain what they mean and how they help us understand risks and responsibility around technology development, use and/or communication (in or beyond your case studies), and how this informs your guidelines.

-Use at least two module essential readings, and at least one additional recommended reading, and reference these appropriately. You may also draw on lecture content and on media items such as newspaper articles, documentaries, commentaries, etc.

!!!Always specify where you got your information and ideas!!!

UCL guide to references and citations:

https://library-guides.ucl.ac.uk/referencing-plagiarism

Now you know what assignment #2 is about. Let’s get back to assignment #1, the essay plan.

This is an opportunity to practice and get feedback on some of the skills and “pieces” you will need for your final essay.

You essay plan should be divided into two, roughly equal parts.

Part I (about 500 words): Describe and reflect on a case study (1), using at least one STS concept

Choose an example of a chatbot or chatbot-like technology, as it is/was developed, used and/or communicated about in a specific situation or context. Describe this example, providing details such as: Who is (or was) driving the development, use and representation of this technology? What were/are their aims? Are other people or groups affected? What are the implications of this technology for these different groups and for society-at-large? Identify the social, political, and ethical issues, problems or risks that arise. Use at least one STS concept or idea from lectures/readings that helps us understand the nature of these issues and/or how they might be addressed.

Part II (about 500 words): Summarise and respond to an assigned reading.

Choose one of the readings from the module reading list, including recommended readings, except: Weinberg (too short) and Ishiguro (fiction). Summarize the text, describing its aim, main question(s), argument and supporting evidence (the examples or case on which it is based). Explain how this text might inform the development and justification of guidelines for the responsible development, use and/or representation of chatbots (or chatbot-like technologies). What types of risks or issues does it identify? What concepts and principles of responsible or ethical development, use and/or communication does it propose?

Can I use the same case study, concept and reading in my final essay? Am I required to?

You are allowed to develop your case study and the use of your chosen concept and reading in your final essay. You should carefully read and consider the feedback you receive on assignment #1 to add clarity, depth, detail to (that is, improve and/or expand) these “building blocks.” In the final essay, you will also integrate these with another case study and concept, as well as readings. You should reflect on how these compare with or complement each other. Improving and integrating will mean rewriting the text you submitted as assignment #1.  You should avoid cutting-and-pasting the content of assignment #1 into assignment #2. However, it is fine to reuse a few sentences (no more than 100 words).

You are not obligated to use the same case studies, concepts, and readings in assignment #1 and assignment #2. You might change your mind about their relevance to your guidelines, or about the type of issue or situation you want to develop guidelines for. You are welcome to develop two new case studies for your final essay, and to use a different set of readings (but you still need to meet the minimum criteria: 2 case studies, 2 STS concepts, 2 essential and 1 additional readings). Assignment 1 will have provided you with good practice in writing a case study and a reading response and push you to reflect about the questions.

Case study FAQs

What is a case study?

A case study is a qualitative research methodology. The case is something (a “unit of analysis”) – an event, a person or group, a thing, a project, an activity, a decision – that is situated in a defined place and time. The case should be limited or “small” enough that you can study it in detail within its context (what is happening around it). For a module essay, the case should be quite narrow and focused. Examples might be “the use ChatGPT to write STS essays,” or “media representations of future impact of ChatGPT on education.” You should describe the case briefly: provide only key “facts” (empirical details) about the case that are relevant to your analysis of it. Analysing it means asking questions (such as those I listed above) and reflecting about its broader implications.

Where do I find relevant case studies and information about them?

You can use examples that are presented in the module, in essential readings, lectures or media items – but you may need to do a bit more research to find out more details. You can also identify your own cases by searching through media items (newspaper articles, Youtube videos, social media posts) or by reading recommended readings, or even searching for and reading further STS analyses of chatbots, robots, AI, automation, etc.

Can I use one of my case study for assignment #1 as one of my case studies for assignment #2?

Yes, you can, but you don’t have to. You should improve and/or expand the case study in the final essay, as well as integrate it with the other elements of the essay. For example, you might compare it with the second case study, or add to its analysis as you introduce additional concepts and readings. This should require rewriting, so that you will not copy the case study word-for-word from the first to the second assignment.

Should the guidelines apply to one or both cases in the case studies? Should I have two sets of guidelines, one for each of the cases?

The situations/technologies you examine as case studies do not need to be the exact situations/technologies that the guidelines apply to. The case studies should inform the guidelines by identifying types of problems and or solutions that are relevant to the situations/technologies to which the guidelines apply. For example, a historical case study of the introduction of conventional motor vehicles might generate useful “lessons” for identifying the problems that autonomous vehicles might encounter and good or poor solutions. Or: a case study of representations of customer-assistant chatbots might help identify the characteristics and consequences of dominant narratives about AI in general. You need to explain how the findings of your case studies are relevant to the situations to which your guidelines apply.