final post

 Relationships with technology

When it comes to technology, I would say that I have a good number of devices in my life. I probably have more than the average person would own by themselves but that is personal preference. Now I would say that from my experience with technology and from the videos that we had to watch such as “Are You Lost In The World Like Me”, that people can easily get too addicted to technology around them. The main thing that I think we should take away from these videos is how people need to learn how to use technology and inventions in moderation and not in excess. When it comes to my life, I spend a good portion on my time online or in front of a device however I think that this is mainly due to outside factors like my major (game design) and classes mainly revolving around the use of technology. However, while I do use technology a lot I still go out and do other activities. Sometimes I simply have the devices running in the background while I work on something. This leads me to spend a good portion of my time working both with and without technology. My opinion on if technology is making people dumber, smarter, and or misleading them is that it like most other forms of information can easily help people learn but also lie to them about the full truth of the matters. Technology allows people to have access to so much information that they can use and learn form. The problem is that people have not learned to sort through that information and review it and simply go with the first or easiest answer that can often be misleading. I often think about how technology is affecting my generation with all the stupid stuff I see on apps like Instagram or Tik Tok, making me look at them and go “what made you this dumb”. I believe that people use technology to silence people that are trying to help teach others how to behave or act. Unfortunately,  kids see all the loud and annoying kids online and they think they can act like that. I hope that society can see past this and learn that there are ways that you should not act online and in real life.

Friends and family

When it comes to my family, I would say that they use technology a good amount in their lives. Each person needing at least a computer to do work. My family and friends both use technology for a lot of reason, the main reason is keeping in touch with each other. My family is all over the place with a large portion being in Massachusetts and Ireland, so we use lots of technology like phones to keep in touch with those that aren’t nearby. Meanwhile, many of my friends are here at school with me but some are already graduated or back home. To keep in touch with them I use technology that helps me talk to and keep up with their lives.

 WikiLeaks 

Julian Assange

When it comes to information sources; Wikileaks was one of the most well known non-major news networks that the people used to get information from. It was important because it was one of the major sources of information for government leaks. Everything from past documents that people find and share online, to live videos that the government tried to hide was shared. One good example of this is with the leak made by Julian Assange on the pentagon papers. This was so important of an example because it helps show how the government is restricting peoples first amendment rights. They are trying to bring information that the government is trying to hide to the eyes of the people. In class we talked about how Julian Assange leaked the pentagon papers that opened the American people’s eyes to some of the lies about the Vietnam war. We learned about how he hid in the embassy of Ecuador until their government was overthrown and then British government then raided the embassy to capture him. Here is a man that risked everything to inform people about some shady and illegal activities by the government. Because of this he was forced into hiding for years then thrown in jail and never actually charged with anything but continued to rot away in jail. He is the perfect example as to how a government will violate your rights if you act out against them by revealing information they were trying to hide from everyone. 

EOTO Presentation Whistleblowers

 Whistleblower

Definition

Whistleblowers are often displayed in the media as some sort of person that spends their life trying to expose something and being called crazy for it. However, the definition of a whistleblower is a person that exposes information activity within either a private, public, or government organization that is deemed illegal, illicit, unsafe, fraud, or abuse of power or funds. Whistleblowers are often small people in government or organization that simply have found out that their bosses or higher up have been abusing their power. They then go out of their way to spread or report this information to the people often with repercussions or downsides to themselves.

 

Examples

There have been many different famous whistleblowers over the years but let’s focus on Edward Snowden. He was a former worker for the NSA or National Security Agency. He was then employed as a contractor for the CIA when he learned about the government using multiple different software and surveillance programs to spy on both the American people and important people abroad. This leaking of information lead to him being wanted by America and fleeing to Russia in order to escape punishment for revealing this information. His leak allowed for the people to know that their government was truly spying on its own people and keeping all their information in servers illegally. It is thanks to people like him and their sacrifice of normal life that people learn about the hidden information that their government is hiding from them.

The Age of AI

 

Privacy

Pros

There are a lot of advantages that can come from advancements in AI and machine learning related to privacy. One good advantage is that these advancements will allow computers to be able to identify new threats to themselves like hackers and viruses. This will allow antivirus software to be able to protect people’s computer and data better and stop people from gaining access to your private info.

Cons

Just like with every other advancement with technology there are downsides to these upgrades. One of the main ones that is related to privacy has to do with AI and machine learning. The idea that with these advancements is that AI can be used to hack into people’s devices and monitor them for information. Its basically a race between hackers and antivirus AI to see which can outdo the other first.

National security

AI can be used in national security in many ways. However, while it can be helpful it can also be harmful to people’s privacy. An example of it being helpful is with AI’s that are being developed to identify terrorist and people that intend to harm others. While this will help protect some people it all depends on how much is implemented. A good example of too much being China and their overuse of surveillance and use of AI to constantly monitor its people.

Security and identity theft

Identity theft is a major issue for many people currently. The way that AI can be used to help stop this is with tracking software. These AI software’s can be used to help track people’s online profile and see if someone is trying to use their information that is not the original person.

EOTO Echo Chamebr

 Echo Chamber

Definition

There are multiple ways that you could define an echo chamber. The simplest one is that it is a situation in which one seeks out information that will reinforce one’s own ideas or beliefs without ever encountering any opposing views or information. Echo chambers are often related to the idea of confirmation bias with echo chambers often leading to confirmation bias in people. The reason for why echo chambers are related to confirmation bias is due to the idea that people will go online looking for information to reinforce their ideas or beliefs. If they are directed and stuck in an echo chamber they will only find information that says they are correct. This leads them to believe that they are correct without fact checking or looking for new information. The reason that this concept is called an echo chamber is due to the relationship that this idea has with confined spaces or areas. In these spaces people will look for information and the idea that your beliefs are echoed back to you.

Examples

There are a lot of examples of echo chambers both online and not but the most well-known and often the biggest tend to be online communities. Many of these communities are on social media platforms such as Face book and twitter. Most people will join these groups based around a single idea and kick out anyone that disagrees with the common concept or try to prove them wrong. Another great example must be reddit and its communities that will often gang up on opposing view and threaten people or other groups that disagree with them. Now let us look at the most well-known of these communities: the flat earth society. They have multiple different groups and chat rooms on all different platforms including their own website that are focused on just repeating the ideas and beliefs that they have. They also use their own twisted information to denounce other people’s facts and beliefs. If you don’t believe me, try going on one of their communities like Facebook and post something like a meme about how they are wrong it will at least give you a funny reaction out of them. Also, if you believe that echo chambers are only online then you would be wrong. There are many in person groups that meet and basically cause an echo chamber effect to occur. One example of these groups is with the Westbrook Baptist Church. These people where convinced by their pastor Fred Phelps that his ideas and belief that God was punishing the US for its tolerance of homosexuality. This echo chamber at the church lead to multiple protest with signs saying everything from "God Hates the USA/Thank God for 9/11," "Thank God for Dead Soldiers," and "Don't Pray for the USA.". While this is one of the more extreme examples of an echo chamber and its effects on the world in real life it is still one of the more well-known echo chambers that occurred.

https://www.uscourts.gov/educational-resources/educational-activities/facts-and-case-summary-snyder-v-phelps

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Echo_chamber_(media)

The Progressive Era

 Anti-War

Let us start with why I think anti-war voices and journalist are important to have and be able to listen to. The people that are most outspoken against war are the ones that pay the most attention to exactly what is happening during that war. They are usually the people that investigate if people are committing war crimes. These anti-war people tend to be the main way that the public learns about the horrors that governments commit during war and what they try and sweep under the rug during said wars. Its due to this that most of the times anti-war voices are usually the best people to have during war to keep the government in check and the people informed about what is truly happening during these wars.

Now we can look at why there are not many anti-war voices in the modern media. Lately in the mainstream media there has been little to no anti-war voices that are being broadcasted. One of the reasons for this is most likely bribes. There have been multiple people that have broken away from main media outlets saying that they had multiple papers and journals shot down by their bosses for no reason. The main reason for these situations happening is simply because the government is trying to control the main stream media that most people listen to. If they can take out these people that are talking about all the ideas or facts that they don’t want the people to focus on it makes the governments life and war a whole lot easier to continue without the people becoming angry and refusing to support it like what happened with Vietnam.

EOTO Presentation

Telephone

 History

    The first time that people learned about and talked about the telephone was when Alexander Gram Bell patented his idea in 1876. Bell started the idea of the telephone due to his interest in transmitting information over wires. Bells idea led to the first ever telephone line and switchboard being constructed between 1877 and 78. In just 3 years the number of telephones being used was almost 49,000. Later in 1890 Bell started to combine his company with others. This led to the creation of the American Telegraph and telephone company or AT&T.

Impact

    The telephone had major impacts on communication and society no matter how you look at it both good and bad. Some of the good impacts it had on communication was it made it much easier to contact someone a large distance away almost instantly from home or someplace close by. Before the telephone many people had to ether use the mail system and letter to contact a distance relative or friend or pay large amounts of money to get a telegraph sent out to them. Another good impact that the telephone had was make tons of jobs with the need for more construction of phone lines and people to work the switchboards. Then there are the down sides with the phone lines taking up a huge amount of space in the cities and scaring many people with the idea of harm from these lines. Another downside that has happened more recently with line taps and surveillance is that it has become extremely hard to talk to people on the phone privately as someone from your phone company or government is most likely listening or recording the call.