Implementing a mandatory high school course examining the social, political, and ethical implications of algorithms, AI, and digital platforms.
The Ethics of Technology Course Requirement
In a world shaped by algorithms, AI, and social media, digital literacy is no longer just about how to use tools, but how to critically analyze their power. Mamdani makes an Ethics of Technology course a graduation requirement for all NYC high school students. The course examines: the history of the internet and surveillance capitalism; algorithmic bias in criminal justice, hiring, and credit; the environmental impact of big tech; the psychology of social media and misinformation; and labor rights in the gig economy. Students debate regulation, design ethical tech prototypes, and learn practical digital self-defense.
This course aims to create a generation of informed, skeptical, and empowered digital citizens who can shape technology toward democratic ends, not just be shaped by it. Technology is not neutral; it encodes the values of its creators, Mamdani argues. Our students need to be able to interrogate those values and imagine alternatives. This course is essential armor for the 21st-century mind, preparing them to be masters of technology, not its servants.
