In a lecture on mass media, one of my undergraduate professors posited a question: “Does media shape culture, or does culture shape media?” As we would come to learn throughout the course, the answer wasn’t either but both.

The same is true for technology. In the series foreword for “Pattern Discrimination” by Apprich, et al., the authors quote Friedrich Kittler: “Media determine our situation.” In the series of articles that follows, authors address points in the continuum between technological determinism and social constructionism, while explicating issues ranging from homophily in network science to the politics of pattern recognition.

Throughout the Text Analysis course we’ve learned about various tools and methodologies. We’ve also been encouraged to think critically about data, its collection, and use. And while some of the dystopian futures presented in the series are more imaginative, some (especially regarding pattern bias) are present, here and now, affecting and shaping our lives.

In “Queerying Homophily” part of the series, Wendy Chun states: “It is critical that we realize that the gap between prediction and reality is the space for political action and agency.” There are also other spaces, at the personal and interpersonal-level where we can contribute to how society and technology are shaped, experienced, and lived. There are decisions made on every level of data collection, manipulation, and programming. There are also decisions we make in how we interact, petition, and talk about our workspaces, communities, and experiences.

This week, we were introduced to a basic TensorFlow template for creating a predictive model for text. The immediate possibilities were exciting; however, as the articles emphasize, excitement should be tempered by thought, action by caution, and seek “unusual collaborations that both respect and challenge methods and insights, across disciplines and institutions” as stated by Chun.

As tools proliferate, how we consider and utilize tools become more and more important. But perhaps more practically, how we view reality is of equal importance–the communities, language, and environment that surround us. Chun says: “Rather than similarity as breeding connection, we need to think, with Ahmed, through the generative power of discomfort.” Productive discomfort holds the potential of creating more human and inclusive patterns.

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