A diverse group of teenage friends learn how computing can be
personally and politically empowering and why all students need access
to computer science education.
This lively graphic novel follows a diverse group of teenage friends as
they discover that computing can be fun, creative, and empowering.
Taylor, Christine, Antonio, and Jon seem like typical young teens--they
communicate via endless texting, they share jokes, they worry about
starting high school, and they have each other's backs. But when a
racially-biased artificial intelligence system causes harm in their
neighborhood, they suddenly realize that tech isn't as neutral as they
thought it was. But can an algorithm be racist? And what is an
algorithm, anyway?
In school, they decide to explore computing classes, with mixed results.
One class is only about typing. The class that Christine wants to join
is full, and the school counselor suggests that she take a class in
"Tourism and Hospitality" instead. (Really ) But Antonio's class seems
legit, Christine finds an after-school program, and they decide to teach
the others what they learn. By summer vacation, all four have discovered
that computing is both personally and politically empowering.
Interspersed through the narrative are text boxes with computer science
explainers and inspirational profiles of people of color and women in
the field (including Katherine Johnson of Hidden Figures fame). Power
On! is an essential read for young adults, general readers, educators,
and anyone interested in the power of computing, how computing can do
good or cause harm, and why addressing underrepresentation in computing
needs to be a top priority.
