Closed proprietary code functions as a form of Freirean prescription over users

Evidence

The closed nature of code also offers surveillance capitalists a powerful mechanism for carrying out what Freire describes as “prescription.” Freire (1997) writes, “Every prescription represents the imposition of one individual’s choice upon another, transforming consciousness of the person prescribed to into one that conforms with the prescriber’s consciousness” (p. 29). Secret and unmodifiable code enacts prescription by enabling and disabling different user behaviors that reflect the worldview and interests of the developer. … Even when code is written to give choice in some aspects of the software’s use, the choices themselves and the order in which they are presented represent a “choice architecture” that encourages certain types of user behavior. — James D. Kirylo (ed.), Reinventing Pedagogy of the Oppressed, 529

Categorization

• XREF: Marries the reader’s established interest in the Freirean prescription concept with software governance; also echoes Vaidhyanathan’s choice-architecture work in Reframe Your Thinking or similar sources. — connects to: Closed source software is a Freirean banking method that forecloses user modification rights — James D. Kirylo (ed.), Reinventing Pedagogy of the Oppressed:…, 525; Closed code blocks user communities from governing algorithms and data collection — James D. Kirylo (ed.), Reinventing Pedagogy of the Oppressed:…, 525; Click-wrap contracts function as a unilateral private seizure of user rights — Shoshana Zuboff, The Age of Surveillance Capitalism, 151 (+4 more)
• DEFINE: Defines how the abstract Freirean term ‘prescription’ maps concretely onto proprietary software mechanics.

Broader Connections

• Closed code blocks user communities from governing algorithms and data collection #expands (0.85) — James D. Kirylo (ed.), Reinventing Pedagogy of the Oppressed, 525
• Click-wrap contracts function as a unilateral private seizure of user rights #corroborates (0.80) — Shoshana Zuboff, The Age of Surveillance Capitalism, 151
• User interfaces hide the material code that structures digital capitalism. #expands (0.75) — Anna Kornbluh, Immediacy, or The Style of Too Late…, 74
• Code access is a collective capability issue benefiting non-coders too #corroborates (0.72) — James D. Kirylo (ed.), Reinventing Pedagogy of the Oppressed, 526
• Neoliberal school reforms operate as Freirean banking education #exemplifies (0.72) — James D. Kirylo (ed.), Reinventing Pedagogy of the Oppressed, 943
• Users have paid for platform transparency with their own data #corroborates (0.70) — Tarleton Gillespie, Custodians of the Internet, 609