These past months have made digital spaces our uneasy dwellings. As screens and algorithms increasingly mediate our lives, power and technology converge in new politics.
Technology has facilitated the movement of Black activists protesting racial injustice worldwide, yet it has also been employed to censor information and confuse citizens during the pandemic. And with the upcoming American presidential election, the praxis of democracy itself has migrated online.
Our inaugural issue, Governance, explores the potential for technology to govern our lived experiences and those of our communities. It challenges us to consider how we govern technology and how technology, in turn, governs us.
The ability to govern is not limited to governments themselves. Corporations govern vast swaths of our lives though predictive algorithms, online communities moderate our social interactions, and science fiction steers our imagination towards possible futures.
In this and future issues, Rewired hopes to bring together humanists and technologists; to traverse disciplinary boundaries; to — in essence — rewire the talk on technology and plug into conversations on art, culture, and politics. As a team that formed entirely virtually, we have experienced technology as a connective link and collaborative space. We strive to build the same groundwork through this publication: one which inspires more conscious conversations, expands our understanding of technology, and engages with opposing opinions.
At its core, Governance is not only an invitation to reflect but also an exhortation to act. We invite you to engage with the myriad perspectives offered in Governance and discover your own responses to the role of technology in society. Technology, despite its seeming neutrality, is not passive. We should not be either.
— the Editors, Fall 2020
Credits
Editors: Jason Zhao, Irene Han, Ben Esposito
Design: Emily Zhong (Lead), Crystal Nattoo, Kaylie Mings
Tech: Rayan Krishnan (Lead), Matthew Katz, Chris Tan
Business: Enya Lu
Staff Writers: Enya Lu, Alessandro Vecchiato
Contributing Writers: Naz Gocek, Helen He, Xinlan Emily Hu, Jennifer John, Laura Lin, Alexandra “Mac” Taylor, Lucy Bernholz, Mutale Nkonde, Toussaint Nothias, and Tawana Petty
Advisor: Mark Gardiner