Blog #12: Final Blog Post: Society and Technology: Our Relationship

 Introduction:

When it comes to any new technology, we enter a tug-of-war fight between pros and cons, as we bask and enjoy the pros, and retaliate and fight against the cons. Think of any invention, and one can name a pro and con of it, and how it has effected society. But lets also consider how as time went on, we adapted, attempted to correct, and reign in the technology as best we could, just how we are programmed to.

Within this blog, I will tackle this relationship through three stages. Past, discussing our adaption to a previous technology, Present, a current invention we are currently learning how to adapt with, and Personal, an example of how I have adapted to technology myself!

 Analysis:

During our existence as humans, we have invented, tackled, and conquered several technological achievements, such as steam engines, telephones, and electricity! However, I think the greatest example of society adapting to a new technology, would be the printing press.

Invented in the 1400's by Johannes Gutenberg, the printing press revolutionized the world due to creating the dissemination of ideas on paper quickly and at a much faster pace than handwriting (Source). This led to more people learning to read, educating people on current events, cultural practices could spread, and businesses could easily advertise. It changed the way we see the world, but came with its consequences too.

Anyone with a printing press could print whatever they wanted, which increased the role of disinformation, misinformation, and misinformation in everyday life. Malicious people could use this to incite immoral viewpoints and harmful information to others, like hate speech. The printing press was also still clunky, expensive, and relatively slow compared to today. 

Humanity still struggles with all types of misinformation and hate speech today, but we have strove to improve upon it with consequences against doing such things. We also have improved upon the technology, with printing press leading to typewriters, and typewriters leading to the computers we have today!

This brings us to the present, with the current technology I'd like to discuss, artificial intelligence. While having been conceptualized in the 1950's, AI has made a major leap to the forefront of society in recent years, especially today. AI has the chance to revolutionize several aspects of our lives, with easing of workflows due to its generative specialty in analyzing our trends, to the immense leaps it has made in the healthcare field through analyzing large datasets.

However, like all technology, it has come with its magnitude of cons, many of which we have not begun to solve, like intense energy consumption, misinformation, and its damage to the art world. But our past trends show that, with time, we will conquer these issues, one way or another, and I am hopeful for that.

Personal Connection & Conclusion:

Moving to the personal aspect, my life is deeply connected to technology! Every large marker in my life has had technology assisting me along the way, greatly influencing me in both ways, but more good than bad.

The mentioned piece that broke:

One of my greatest learning moments and achievements in my life, was building my personal computer by myself. During the COVID-19 Pandemic, I became deeply interested in building my own computer from scratch, and began studying all there was about computer engineering. My dad offered to pay for the PC, if I did it by myself with no help, so I felt motivated to complete it!

When all the parts arrived, I began putting the pieces together, but accidentally ruined one of the pieces while putting it together without knowing. Once I finally finished it, I couldn't get it to work, and got upset and frustrated, which led me to quit for two to three months, giving up on my goal.

My father talked me back into it, and I reproached it with a clear mind, wanting to never give up, as I told myself it was okay to make mistakes, we are only human after all. I eventually got a new part, and got my computer to work, but I didn't want to forget that important lesson I learned. So I framed the broken piece, and it now sits by my bed, reminding me not to give up when things go wrong, but it also reminds me of my close relationship with technology itself.

The completed computer:

I plan to go into the field of video game design as a job, as I am currently studying computer science and game design in college, so technology will always be deeply intertwined with me in my every day life. That means I must always be ready to adapt, overcome the cons of technology, and push forward to using that technology for benefit!

Blog #11: What I Learned About During the Second EOTO Presentations

Introduction:

During the second round of Each One Teach One, or EOTO, presentations, I learned about several different topics on several social topics, such as alternative media, echo chambers, whistleblowers, and the Overton Window. I was really impressed at the wealth of information I learned from these presentations, and enjoyed the topics thoroughly!

What I learned:

The first topic I found interesting was alternative media, which are "media sources that differ from established or dominant types of media (such as mainstream media or mass media)" (Source).

The pros of alternative media are found through its opinions it can offer on niche topics, the unfiltered information due to not having to keep a sponsor, and readers can feel more connected to the media source, due to its smaller size. However, alternative media can struggle due to its lesser funding, and difficulty in accessing stories in hard to get places. The effect of alternative media is the creation of a space for political analysis that isn't narrated by large companies because they don't have to chase or worry about making a profit.

The next topic I enjoyed was echo chambers, which is when the stream of information and the environment around it creates a bubble, which enforces preexisting thought patterns.

Although echo chambers are a negative concept, the pros are the people inside can find others who share their opinion easily, and it can create a tight knit community and connection. However, the cons are prevalent, as echo chambers can cause disinformation, it restricts the world view of those inside, causing tunnel vision, and generates distrust on opposing sides.

That brings us to whistleblowers, which is someone who is apart of an organization who reveals information about the organizations wrong doings to the public.

The societal impact of whistleblowers is wide, as it brings along culture shifts, distrust in the organizations, disillusionment to the people, and policy reform. Some notable names of popular whistleblowers are Edward Snowden, who raised his concerns on the global surveillance programs in the NSA, and Chelsea Manning, who released a large set of classified documents of the U.S. Army torturing and abusing prisoners'.

Finally, the Overton Window is the range of political possibilities and range of ideas that the public is willing to consider and accept. Politicians tend to focus on this to maximize election chances, as it brings in the most votes. 

Prime examples of the Overton Window in use is same sex marriage, prohibition, women's suffrage, slavery, and IVF, as all of these topics became more popular as time went on, so politicians used them to get voted into their respective offices. The pros of the Overton Window include the allowing of meaningful legislation to forward these changes, but has the con of the changes taking a long time to fix.

Conclusion:

I enjoyed learning about all of these topics by my fellow classmates, as they brought well presented information in clean and professional presentations! My favorite was learning about the Overton Window, as it is a prevalent topic that we can even see today in our current governmental elections.

Blog #10: In The Age of AI: Review on AI

 

Introduction:

AI, or artificial intelligence, is one of the most double-edged inventions of our time as it is littered with pros and cons. Ranging from privacy issues, danger to the arts, and intense energy consumption, AI comes with plenty of cons, but its effects in healthcare and increase in productivity counteract the cons due to its efficiency in data analytics. 

It is up to us to weigh the pros against the cons and decide how we choose to interact with this new technology, and how it will effect our lives. This blog will focus on what I deem the pros and cons of AI, and my opinions on the technology.

Analysis:

First, lets cover the negatives, as they are serious consequences to artificial intelligence that we must discuss, and that I wish was common knowledge to most.

One of the most unknown effects of AI, which is one of the most prevalent in my opinion, is AI's outrageous power consumption when prompted. While doing a Google search, you average about 0.3 watt-

Source: Science Direct Journal

hours of electricity, while a AI search takes about 10 times that, at 3 watt-hours (Source). But with most search engines now including built in AI summaries when you search, that only increases the watt-hours required, shown on the graph on the left. 

This is a major concern for those who may be more environmentally conscious, and most don't even know the intense amount of energy a simple search consumes now. With an increased amount of electricity to consume, that requires more electricity to be made, which consumes more fossil fuels, produces more carbon emissions, and is a serious danger to our lives.

The next con to artificial intelligence is privacy. Artificial intelligence is run by being fed a large database, which helps it learn and be able to answer questions and prompts. However, AI is fed this information by data collecting companies, whether the person consents to having their information shared or not. This leads to major concerns, which connects perfectly with my next con, the danger it presents to the arts.

Included within the information that is shared to AI, specifically generative AI that can create images, like DALL-E, is multiple pieces of artwork done by millions of artists, without their consent. Meaning any piece of AI-art can be considered plagiarism, due to the lack of consent or credit to the original artists (Source). 

This worries me, as I have plenty of friends who are artists, who worry about their jobs being taken by AI, as people are less likely to commission their art. However, one thing that AI will NEVER be able to replicate, is the human soul and creativity. AI can not replicate the intense emotion and meaning that goes into every piece of art ever made, which makes it unique.

Which brings me to the much needed pros in the sea of cons! With most technology, we will adapt to its usage, and will find ways to integrate it into our way of life, and use it as a tool.

The impact of AI has been tremendous in the healthcare field due to its incredible ability to sort through millions of datasets quickly and find patterns within the data. This is revolutionary for diagnosing patients with diseases, as it can rule out human error in detecting certain illnesses, which can increase both the productivity, quality, and swiftness of healthcare! This is one of my personal favorite pros to AI, as it can help ease human suffering due to illnesses, and may be a driving force in the battle against notorious diseases such as cancer.

Conclusion:

Although there are many cons within artificial intelligence, I am confident that collectively, we will find a way to combat these negatives through research and time, and that the pros of artificial intelligence will shine brightly. 

Blog #9: EOTO 2: The Smith-Mundt Act

 Introduction:

The Smith-Mundt act, or the U.S. Information and Education Exchange Act of 1948, is a both a historic bill, and a recent bill due to the Smith-Mundt Modernization amendment which was done in 2012, reigniting the spark with controversy.

Overview:

Introduced by Karl E. Mundt, a Republican representative in South Dakota, in 1945, the act aimed to have the State Department regulate the broadcasting of certain programs to foreign audiences outside the United States, and prohibits the broadcasting within the United States. (Smith-Mundt Act) It was signed into law by Harry Truman, the 33rd president of the United States, on January 24, 1948.

Congress stated that for this legislation to be successful, they would need the broadcasts to talk about American life, culture, ideals, and the explanation of motives, while also being truthful to those they broadcast to. Their main goal was to spread Pro-American sentiment to foreign audiences, to try and show the United States in a good and true light, which can be seen as a measure of the foreign policy.

However, this 1948 act was thrust back into the public eye in 2012, when the Obama Administration amended the act, known as the Smith-Mundt Modernization Act of 2012. The bill was introduced by the Republican 

representative of Texas, Mac Thornberry, on May 12, 2012, with its intention "to authorize the domestic dissemination of information and material about the United States intended primarily for foreign audiences." (H.R.5736) To put into simple terms, it allows the State Department to regulate broadcasts to the American public. 

This had a major effect on society after its signing in by the 44th president Barack Obama on December 28th 2012, with several news outlets covering the story with several different takes. Some quoted that 

it was overturning of a 64 year ban on the domestic dissemination of propaganda, with BuzzFeed News saying that the bill allowed "U.S. propaganda intended to influence foreign audiences to be used on the domestic population." However, with this news came a stream of false information, with some saying the act was revoked, as shown above. This was not true, as it was a amending, not revoking.

  

Now you may ask the question, is the Smith-Mudnt Act an issue for us today? And that is still up to debate to this day, with each side arguing for and against having great points. One side argues that the bill is an issue, with worries that the government controlled agencies can begin "propagandizing" the American public, and could have the ability to silence unpopular opinions. However, the other side argues that the government controlled media can promote greater government transparency, and could help counter anti-American sentiment. 

I myself am divided on the issue, as I am all for government transparency with its peoples, but I worry for the silencing of opinions, even those that are unpopular. Especially for propaganda, as citizens, the government should not be able to be dictate what its people think. It leads to a very interesting middle ground, where if we have trust in our government, we expect them to to be honest and transparent, but at the same time, they need to trust us, and not infringe upon our rights.

Blog #8: Diffusion of Innovations Theory: Video Games

 Introduction:

When it comes to the Diffusion of Innovations Theory, I believe video games fit perfectly into that curve, and are extremely well represented. This blog will cover this topic, and answer some questions about video games in relation to said theory, in which I will discuss my thoughts.

   

Overview:

First, we must define what the Diffusion of Innovations Theory is, before we start discussing it. The Diffusion Research Institute defines it as the

process in which "a new idea is adopted very slowly during the early stages of its diffusion process. Then, if the innovation is perceived as relatively advantageous by its initial users, its rate of adoption takes off as early adopters share their favorable experience with their peers." The theory is also commonly represented by a bell curve, which is shown above. The innovators slowly start the adaptation, the early adopters create the popularity, the early majority catches on as the popularity reaches its peak, the late majority pick it up, and finally, the laggards adapt.

So how does this apply to video games? Well video games were invented around the 1960's, which has given them the past 60+ years to make it through the diffusion curve, which it has done well. The innovators of video games, which can be seen through the games "Tennis for Two" and "Spacewar!", and companies like Atari, were responsible for lifting up and pushing the industry towards the early adopters, by building up on the ideas.

The commercial success of the early video game innovations helped spread the new technology to both adults and children alike. Early adopters came in the 70's and resurged in the 90's after the video game crash, where Nintendo came in to save the videogame industry, and thus lifted it into the early majority.

I believe we are now in the late majority phase, as people are beginning to mistrust triple A game development companies due to a few years of disappointing releases, upsetting business practices, and major scandals. However, we may see a rise in Indie developers, which may keep us in this age of late majority.

Finally, the laggards are those who either distrust the entire video game industry, those who never got in to the business, such as people who are of older age, those who prefer more outdoor activities, and those who cant access the technology due to other restrains.

Blog #7: an Overview of Anti-War News Sites

 Introduction:

For this blog post, I took a look at two prominent news sources that have a large focus on antiwar voices, overviewed each one, and answered a few questions on them. 

The two sources I will be looking at are Antiwar.com, which solely focuses on posting stories on events going on in wars all over the world, and The American Conservative, a more general news source, but when covering war topics, veers towards an antiwar statement.

Antiwar.com:

In 1995, Antiwar.com was created as the United States began their intervention in the Bosnian civil war, as a place to bring together antiwar voices and document the current events within the said civil war. From there, they took off, currently reporting on the events in Israel and Palestine, Ukraine and Russia, and the United States and Yemen. 

While I found their website user interface to be a bit archaic, the amount of coverage they provide is impressive, and shows their dedication to the cause. I also appreciated their lack of a filter, as each voice feels as if it they are independent, and not driven by a bias or political party.

The American Conservative:

In 2002, three men came together to form The American Conservative to, "reignite the conversation that conservative ought to have engaged in since the end of the Cold War, but didn't." (TAC About Us Page) It was formed due to the founders believe that the United States wasn't conserving anything, and were upset at foreign policy, such as the war in Iraq.

They cover a wider variety of topics than Antiwar.com, like the state of the union, current events such as the tariff conflict, and foreign news, but still push for antiwar efforts all the same. 

In contrast to Antiwar.com, their user interface is much more friendly, but they are on level with the amount of information they cover. I did

Political Cartoon at the Bottom of
the TAC Menu Page

enjoy this little political cartoon they display at the bottom of their website, showing their proudness in their status as an alternative media. However, I would argue their coverage still leans to the right side of the political spectrum, due to the proudness of the right in their conservative views. They also value "mans taste for the familiar, for family, for faith in God." (TAC About

Us Page) As a more left leaning person politically, this pushed me away from The American Conservative, but I did find myself agreeing with some of their takes.

Overview:

When it comes to the question of why we never seem to see these antiwar voices in mainstream news, I believe its due to the need to stay funded and popular to most viewers, which alternative media can do more independently than sponsored media's. Antiwar voices are also bad for business unfortunately, as many profit off of the spoils of war, which also pushes them further out of the spotlight. I myself have found out that not only these websites, but the widening of my news sources has contributed to my own antiwar voice.

As an aside, I have always enjoyed the "Ashes of the Wake" album by the heavy metal band Lamb of God, which has some songs that cover the exact topic of antiwar, specifically the Iraq war that was going on as the time of release. It shows that there are many ways people can use their voice to speak out against wars that are going on, which is a powerful tool we should all remember.

 

Blog #6: What I Learned About During EOTO Presentation

 Introduction:

During the EOTO Presentations, I learned a lot of facts about several different presentations! I was surprised at the large amount of information that people dug up about their communication topics, and thoroughly enjoyed learning about each and every one.

Through these presentations, I learned about facts on a wide variety of subjects, such as the film industry, social media, the postal service, the telephones, Bluetooth, and email!

What I Learned:

The first thing I was interested in finding out was that the first film ever created was only two seconds long. I don't know why I never considered this, but I always imagined it was a little bit longer, or something more substantial then just two people walking. But if you take that piece of information into context, it is still very impressive.

Next, I heard about carrier pigeons, and their use in wartime. The most surprising thing I learned about them, was that they are still used today, and criminals will try to smuggle drugs using them.

I also learned a lot about the current social medias and their past, like how Facebook was originally called "The Facebook", Instagram was called "Burbn" after the creators love for bourbon, and Snapchat was known as "Picaboo" which explains their mascot being a ghost! The most surprising thing I learned during that presentation, was that YouTube used to be a dating site, which completely caught me off guard.

Some more one off things I learned during some presentations was that Benjamin Franklin was the first appointed Postmaster, the term DJ stands for disc jockey, the first spoken words on a telephone was Alexander Graham Bell asking for his assistant, saying "Mr. Watson, come here, I want to see you", and the funniest one I heard, that the first spam email was sent in 1978!

Finally, I found out about the history of Bluetooth, and its different configurations. Bluetooth, is actually named after King Harald Gormsson, who was given the nickname "Bluetooth" do to his dead tooth that was blue in color. Following this, I learned there are two types of Bluetooth, Bluetooth Classic and Bluetooth Low Energy.

Conclusion:

Overall, I learned lots of interesting factoids about all the communication types, and I am very excited to add them in to my "fun fact" knowledgebase! I can not wait to do another one of these, and I'm excited about all of the facts I may learn next.