Antiwar

    Today, we seem to be living at a time where war is something that we are always facing, or at least are watching happen somewhere else in the world. Unfortunately, war headlines with crisis and death make better headlines and get more clicks than healthy, peace times. This could contribute to why one would have to go to a website like antiwar.com or the American conservative to find information against wars. 

   

 These websites allow for the user to learn about wars that the United States are involved in, as well as additional conflict that is happening in the world. However, there is a big problem: these websites are hidden, and are more difficult to find online. It would be much easier for an internet user to find information about the wars on another news site. This is because those big companies get paid for every click and time spent on their website, so they will make the headlines as engaging and concerning as possible, leaving antiwar websites in the dust.

    In another form of media, this dilemma is explored through a video game called 'we become what we behold'. In this game, the job of the player is to take photos of things happening in a small town. The game starts off simply, pushing the user to take photos of people with cool hats, however, later on in the story the game takes a more sinister turn. It pushes the user to take photos of violence, and if the player tries to escape by taking photos of good things, the photo does not count and says: "who tunes in to watch people get along". This continues until the game ends in horrific fashion, and it goes to show that people will react to what they see in the media. In this case, tying it back to the anti-war topic, the antiwar websites are not getting that much traction, and people like to look at larger media sites with more bold headlines. Unfortunately, this would mean that the fictitious world the little video game is presenting is no fiction at all, but is rather the reality we face in the world today.

FINAL BLOG POST

 There are many reasons why technology has become one of the largest topics of conversation over the past few decades. Now, cell phones, social media, and the internet have all provided people on earth with easy communication, learning, and exploration opportunities that could only have existed in the imaginations of people 50 years ago. However, when speaking about the advancements of technology, it is important to note it's shortcomings as well. On the other side of the coin, cell phones and social media have raised a more depressed generation than ever, and one that is more suceptible to suicide and other forms of harm. The ease of communication online has also made basic human interaction a skill that some do not hold, and it makes those individuals less able to function within society.

    When taking a look at the benefits of the advancements of technology, there is a lot to talk about. Computers have allowed people to become more efficient at work, and they can use the internet to explore and learn about any topic they can imagine. As a student myself, it makes research and learning new things a lot more fun, because I can learn about my topic of choice easily, and can use multiple sources across the web to analyze what different people think of the same thing. Tech has also advanced when it comes to making humanity safer. When it comes to car crashes, natural disasters, and even some freak accidents, phones and GPS systems have allowed many people to escape from terrible situations, where if put in that same situation 50 years ago, they would be toast. For example, some phones and cars have the ability to reach out to emergency services in the event of a crash, and this can save a life if someone crashed in a remote location with no other witnesses. For weather, broadcasts about hurricanes and tornadoes have helped people in finding safety and shelter. For my final point in favor of technology, it has helped tie people from all around the world together. I have a lot of friends and family who live in different places, like Tennessee, New York, Florida, California, and even across the border in Mexico City. I can now communicate with all of those people by phone or text, so our relationships can still be kept strong even though we are so many miles apart. It's also helped when I forget the grocery list at the house, and I call my dad to see what we need from the store. All in all, it provides a greater amount of convenience for everybody, across almost all fronts.

    However, technology cannot just be looked at through rose-tinted glasses. Although there are so many benefits, there are an equal amount of shortcomings that technology has introduces, some even posing grave danger. When it comes to older folks, they are more likely to get scammed online for their life's savings, and they are less able to identify the dangers because they did not grow up with technology. For high school and college students, we spend a majority of our time staring at a screen, so much so that we may ignore parts of real life that are right in front of us, like a pretty sunset or a meal with friends and good conversation. For myself, I have to now be careful about my digital footprint. As of now, the most incriminating thing about me online are some poor golf scores from high school. However, some other people I know are not so lucky. Some have been arrested, and their charges are listed online, and some have posted pictures of them drinking and smoking, which is not good for their futures.

    At the end of the day, technology has paved the way forwards, both to a fantastic and detrimental future. So far in history, technology has provided people with extraordinary opportunity to do incredible things and save lives. Technology has a wonderful upside, but if not regulated properly, this technology carefully, then it could pose a threat to humanity moving forwards.

EOTO 2 Reactions

 

Today in class, we heard 4 Groups speak about the topics awareness, mediasphere, theories, and policy. Similar to the previous round of presentations, many of my classmates remained engaging speakers with visual aids and solid information, while others could have done better in terms of their delivery. Here, I'll talk about a few presentations that stuck with me, including Maggie's presentation on citizen journalism, Jonathan's speech on echo chambers, Santino's presentation on deepfakes, and Barrett's talk on the illusory truth effect. Each had something different to bring to the table, so I'll dive into each one and why I believe what I do about each.

    Firstly, I'll talk about one of the mediasphere topics, which in this case is citizen journalism. Maggie spoke about the importance of citizen journalism, and how relevant it is when it comes to places reporters cannot reach. One thing I really enjoyed about her presentation was that she included examples and videos of citizen journalism. It was crazy for me to think how just a regular person could document history, when it comes to things like hurricane Helene or other natural disasters. I also think it's a really good thing for the safety of reporters and weather people.

    Moving on to another presentation that stuck with me, I liked Jonathan's speech about echo chambers. Similar to the first presentation, Jonathan kept his engaging voice and presentation style, which helped him convey his information a lot more clearly, and it made the tough topic of echo chambers easier to understand. This was important for me as a visual learner, because slides on a screen do not help me learn, but they just hinder my understanding and make it confusing.

    Speaking of a presentation that I thought was a bit difficult for me to understand was Barrett's speech on the illusory truth effect. while by the end of it I had a basic concept of the terms, in that if you keep hearing an opinion you may make it your own, I wasn't the biggest fan of the presentation style because of it's length and lack of engagement. I understand that some people may learn and function better with just the facts, but that's not me, and I would have preferred some more visual aids. 

All in all, It was great learning about all of the topics presented, and I think it is fruitful that we are learning about it to help us better understand the world as it is going to be in the future.

Comm. Timeline Inventions Reactions

 In class, we learned from many groups about some important technology that has moved society forwards in a significant way. Of the many presentations given in class, I learned the most about Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, Cell Phones, and the Television. Not only did I learn a lot from each of these presentations, they were each engaging in their own ways. I enjoyed the different styles some of my classmates used to relay information, but for myself, I enjoyed the more laid back, casual conversational tone, but still packed with a ton of information. I tried to use this method when I spoke about cassette tapes, and I believe the person who I matched tones the most with was Jonathan.

    I'll start off with the presentation I learned the most from, which was Sasha's presentation on Instagram and Facebook, both created by Mark Zuckerberg. I learned that they were the best  in their earliest days, because they were fresh, and allowed users to connect with friends and family across the globe. However nowadays, even though this feat is still possible, these social media apps can be used in a very negative context. This includes comparison to others, too much screen time, and an altered brain development in children. It can also create a world that idolizes some people and ignores others, which is not a healthy combination.

    Another presentation I had a good time watching was Jonathan's Netflix speech. This was a very engaging presentation, and with Jonathan giving a reporter, play-by-play style speech, it was very easy to listen to and pay attention. This is an example where even with such a simple topic as Netflix, it can be very engaging as long as the delivery suits the audience. 

    Finally, I'll talk a bit about a presentation that I learned a lot from, but didn't enjoy watching very much, and this was Jonathan's WhatsApp presentation. While there was great information about the topic and all that is has to offer, even with the pros and cons, the mode that was used to convey this information was not engaging. It was just a lot of words on the screen and with no voice inflection. As a creative person myself and as an actor, it's hard for me to stay locked in on a topic where I cannot pick up on any visual or aural cues.

    Overall though, I learned a lot about the communication timelines and I think everyone did well in their presentations.

Smith-Mundt Act Speech

 The Smith-Mundt Act is a document that was first and foremost created in order to prevent the United States government from spreading propaganda among it's own citizens. It was put set into law during the Cold War, and aimed to both counter propaganda from other governments, and promote a better understanding of the United States' policies abroad.

For some historical context, the document was formed in a reaction towards foreign governments, like the Soviet Union and Germany, who were using their power to promote propaganda among it's own people. The United States, on the other hand, being the great shining beacon on the hill, realized we needed a more structured approach to communicate policies and values with both foreign receivers and the home team. So, Senator H. William Smith, alongside Representative Karl Mundt sponsored the document, (hence the name), and the groundwork was laid for a new system in which communication with foreign entities became more clear, and spreading American values and policies was now simpler and easier.

The Smith-Mundt Act provided the framework for the dissemination of information, which led to the creation of USIA, otherwise known as the U.S. Information Agency. The USIA was responsible for sharing information about the United States' political systems, polcies, and culture.

Now you may be wondering, why is Lee droning on and on about some document that was made back in the 1940s? Well, I'll tell you. The Smith-Mundt Act was a hot topic about ten years ago, and even reached as far as the desk of former president Barack Obama. Obama would go on to sign the Smith-Mundt Modernization Act in 2012, which allowed for the American people to have access to the US. Agency for Global Media's programming upon request. This means, that if you wanted to check out what is going on in the Agency of Global Media, and as long as you are a certified American, you may request as much information as your heart desires on the topic.

But what does this mean? There are essentially two sides to the argument. One will tell you that the new act will promote freedom of the press, and will break barriers between the government and the people. Another side will tell you that this is a terrible provision which allows for propaganda for the American government to push against it's own people. Though there is some truth in both sides, I'd like to challenge you to use your own critical thinking skills to analyze the Smith-Mundt Act. Do you think it should have been repealed? Should we have changed it in a different way? Do you agree with the way President Obama reformed the Act? I believe that considering these questions closely will allow you to dive into propaganda and politics much more, and I hope you learned something today about the Smith-Mundt case. If nothing else, just remember that although there will be people on both sides of this argument trying to tell you what to believe, please use caution and your own individual discretion to formulate where you stand. 

TED Talk Privacy

In class, we watched a few videos on the topic of Data Privacy and Data collection. Each video has something a little different to talk about, so I'm just going to start at the top

In the first video, I heard from Juan Enriquez, who spoke about the similarities between an online record and a physical tattoo, while the two topics may sound completely unrelated, in reality, they are very much alike. In the same way an ink tattoo will stay on one's body for the rest of their lives, a digital footprint of someone will also live on and loom over the individual, even after that person's death. This makes me think about myself and my friends, and each of our online behaviors. My parents have taught me from a young age to never have a picture taken of me with a drink in my hand, or a cigarette, or anything of the like. Now I understand the lesson, because if I were to do something like that, it'd haunt me forever.

The next video talked about something slightly shocking. I didn't know the police took so many photos of civilians and their cars, doing daily mundane tasks. I think that there should be a revision within the law to discourage police spying on the people, but only using the equipment to identify potential dangers within the world.

The video after that talked about surveillance. This is also a scary topic for many people, because they do not really realize they are being watched with every time they open the computer to passing a toll road on the freeway. Americans are constantly being watched, and this could create a bad morale amongst citizens, which could be really bad going forth, and the government needs to tread carefully when it comes to privacy related issues in the future.

All in all, privacy is a big deal and needs to be looked at by both the government and by the people through a very serious lens.

AI

 In class, we watched a video about how AI could change our future, across many different topics and covering many other dillemas with the new machines. The main ones I'd like to focus on are the benefits of the modern invention like highly advanced modern medicine, as well as the cons, which could include a loss of jobs, as well as data mining and theft.

There are so many positive aspects of life that can be gained through AI, and my favorite example is through medicine. AI and powerful computers may aid doctors to find cancer cells before they are a bigger problem. This technology could help so many people, and that makes me think optimistically about hospitals, doctors, and health care work in the future.

However, all of these benefits artificial intelligence may bring into the lives of people may be easily overshadowed by the cons thereof. These drawbacks include the mass amounts of people getting laid off by their employers, as well as a worldwide sense of personal privacy being lost amongst all of the data mining machines that exhist. At the time of writing this, there are still quite a few jobs around that will definitely not be there in ten years, and some even by the time I graduate college. If I had wanted to be a truck driver though, my luck would be even tougher. In the video, I learned about a new type of truck that could drive itself from point A to point B. Although there would still be a driver in the cab, the truck would handle most of the freeway driving itself, making truck driving a soon to be extinct job. I'm also worried about the future in terms of data collection, because I am not as careful as I should be when I am online, and I need to watch myself when I opt in to services or allow malware (cookies) to operate on my devices. 

All in all, AI is a double edged sword, and if not wielded properly, could prove deadly.