nannon-Reading-01

2. The Critical Engineer raises awareness that with each technological advance our techno-political literacy is challenged.

This document struck me immediately as extremely idealistic, though also extremely desirable and hopeful. Though the tone acknowledges the power of computing, it also implies that the original authors know how far technology can take us.

What stood out to me is that about half the tenets could explicitly applied to many other fields, but particularly design. These tenets, including 2,3,6 and 8 especially, are very close to the philosophy over in the School of Design. It's an emphasis on how our built (designed) world is converging more and more with the engineered (digital) world. A huge majority of college graduates in this decade will work in some kind of technological field, and this manifesto applies to anyone who will influence a new product or object.

I believe that engineers who are on the front line literally writing the code that powers almost all our products today should hold these tents close at hand, but others who will be involved with building products should be self-aware of their actions + consequences as well.

The second tenet rings so true in 2018, especially in light of GDPR and the Facebook testimonies. The tech-literacy gap is going to be a shattering crisis soon (if not already), and it's very clear in how government is interacting with private tech companies.