AGE OF AI

AGE OF AI

Artificial intelligence is constantly growing and adapting to modern changes. The scary reality is, it has been with us or amongst us for long enough to know everything about us. AI is used in almost everything nowadays whether it is search engines, social media platforms, or even just regular websites. It is said that AI is primarily used for data analytics, predictions and forecasting, recommendations, and intelligent data retrieval. These things happen naturally and quickly, all without us noticing.

I want to discuss some major concepts that were discussed in the documentary. To begin, the possibility of AI taking over jobs is a concern that was feared by many, and still is. Since this technology is rapidly advancing, it is possible it becomes smart enough to do jobs for people. This could leave people very vulnerable and jobless, which in this society... simply won't cut it. It is possible that we need to "reskill" employees in order to keep up with these advancement in technology. It could be crucial for workers to provide skills the AI will never be able to catch up with, and as stated in the documentary human intuition will always be ahead. So while there is concern for jobs, I believe there is some hope in the sense where AI will likely never reach the same level of intuition and adaptability. It's important to look at how we can work with the AI but not have the AI work for us, at least if we don't want to risk it taking over completely.

Surveillance capitalism was also a large topic that was discussed in this documentary. This was discussed as the process of collecting and using personal data to make predictions and even modify one's behavior. The truly terrifying issue here, why are we allowing for technology to not only use our data but try to "modify" our behavior. We see this a lot with advertising, simply because AI can see what we are googling and interacting with on social media. It uses that information to funnel out ads it thinks we will like. When this was being discussed, I immediately thought about how every time I am talking about something... or even thinking about something, it seems that I will see a video or an advertisement about it. I really get freaked out about it when it's just in my thoughts and then five minutes later on my screen. Apparently there is a name for the trail we leave when we click on ads or searches being made, "digital exhaust." This just goes to show we need to be finding a better way to have more privacy when it comes to what we are using our phones or computers to do. AI shouldn't be able to access out personal data for its personal growth. The video discussed progress in the regulation of privacy, but as AI goes in strength, the efforts need to grow as well. 

Artificial Intelligence has a lot of pros because at the end of the day, it can be very beneficial in retrieving information quickly and efficiently. I do think it has a lot of work to do in terms of progress. We shouldn't fear technology and what it can do to society, instead we should be excited about what it can do for us. However, I don't think that will be fully achieved until we feel safer regarding our privacy and digital footprint. 

EOTO #2 - REACTION

CITIZEN JOURNALISM

I enjoyed this presentation because of the nature of social media's current day presence. As a society, we are lucky to be so technologically advanced because of the good that can be done from it. The First Amendment allows us to be able to create content and share information, no matter our opinion or view. Citizen Journalism has been very beneficial in making everyone more aware on what's going on

One of the examples that was given during this presentation was the devastation of Hurricane Helene's damage to Western North Carolina. Since this storm was very dangerous and brought on more damage than what could've possibly been imagined, residents are very grateful for the ability to post to social media platforms. With major flooding and lack of electricity, there were thousands of people struggling and wiped out of their homes and didn't know when help/aide was going to reach them. Thankfully, some people were able to use their phones and platforms to post pictures and videos to not only make the public aware of what was going on but also to let their friends and family know they were okay. During this time, the media and news sources lacked the ability to speak on what was actually happening in that part of the state. Without the ability of the residents to produce content, the storm could've left thousands of more people dead. People were using Facebook to create a page for Asheville to allow for check-ins and updates. This allowed residents to be kept more "in the know" and have hope that help was on the way. 

The JFK assassination was also brought up as an example and how society benefited from the ability for citizens to post videos. Abraham Zapruder was able to get a clip of the assassination which was then given to the Secret Service to help with their investigation. From this example we can see that justice was able to be given because of Zapruder's video and that is remarkable. 

These are two great examples that she had given during her presentation. They both go to show the benefits from this type of journalism. A simple act allows justice to be served and help to be given. There are some issues with Citizen Journalism though, mainly because citizens have free rains. It may not always be done with the intent to do good. With the freedom to post and say anything, false information or narratives can be given. This is why while we can benefit from this form of journalism, it is important to ensure you remain informed and checking with your sources before taking any action. 

EOTO #2

FALSE FLAG

False Flag is described as an action that is done with the intent of placing blame on another party. This type of action is typically found in politics and warfare used to trick other nations. It first began back in the 16th century and was used by pirates. The pirates would use their ships to "deceive" other ships into coming closer so they could attack and have the upper-hand in battle. It brought an interesting tactic to warfare that would end up becoming very popular. It seems like an unfair technique considering using one's trust to attack others. It did overtime become "appropriate" and had some organization to it. Countries would decide to organize attacks on themselves in order to place blame and appear as the victim to the outside world. 

It's important to know that while not necessarily ethical, False Flag is not illegal. The Humanitarian Law doesn't count this technique as a warcrime. One important term to discuss is pretexting, which is the use of a fabricated story to manipulate others into sharing information. Pretexting is often used in cybersecurity, however, it is commonly used in False Flag operations. An example of this could be one country sending someone in to impersonate a member of the company in order to get records, plans, and/or information. This type of scamming is considered illegal in the United States, and there are laws that are aimed to prevent this from happening. 

To discuss some pros of this technique it's important to keep in mind that this is a warfare type of technique, not an ethical one. To start, False Flag operations tend to gain sympathy from people. If another country is staging an attack and blaming another country for it, there will be global attention. This type of attention may be successful in the sense where support may be given from all over. With social media being so prominent in our modern society, it is very easy to see what is going on around the world. With that being said, all it takes is one video or message for other nations to get involved. Allow me to provide an example, in 2022 Russia plotted a fake attack by Ukraine. They did this by creating a video to send out for everyone to see, which would definitely draw in some sympathy from somewhere. Another pro could be pushing responsibility. If they are able to get away with their False Flag operations, the responsibility and "blame" will be pushed onto another nation. This allows them to look way better in the public eye, which may allow for even more sympathy. 

There are some major cons with False Flag as well, as it is a very deceptive technique. To start off, it is unethical to lie and place blame on others... obviously, but it simply can destroy the nation's reputation. If not pulled off successfully or kept under tight wraps, it will become known to the public immediately. Once again, social media is very prominent, it takes one post for widespread opinions to form. Just like that, the nation is discredited because of the use of this technique. There is also a lot of fear and anxiety that can be provoked from this type of warfare. Since it is a large manipulation, people believe what is said and are often terrified by it. 

I want to give a couple of examples to wrap up this discussion of False Flag to better understand what this technique is all about. Back in April this year, 2024, Russia claimed Ukraine responsible when disruption occurred at the nuclear power plant in... Kyiv, Ukraine. They are claiming it was done to place blame on Moscow in order to make the West feel bad and continue to give aide. The question behind this is why would Ukraine purposefully damage their own infrastructure just to receive more aide? 

Another is example is back in 2014 when Russia sent in special forces into Ukraine pretending to be local self-defense. This allowed them to destroy and obtain government buildings and take control of Crimea. This is considered False Flag because they are pretending to be Ukraine special forces and taking advantage of Crimea's occupants. 

False Flag has the opportunity to be very dangerous and manipulative to society. It can be the beginning of war and place a lot of stress, fear, and anxiety on citizens. The addition of the media's presence in war now has made it very easy to get tangled up in what is real versus what isn't. A lot of conspiracy theories can arise or even just different opinions. Since this is true, all it takes is one post to spread like wild fire and just add on to the mess that is False Flag. 

PRIVACY, ONLINE & OFF

LACK OF PRIVACY

First I want to touch on the problem behind mass surveillance. Catherine Crump brought up a frightening issue that I don’t think many people are aware of. From her talk, I found out that the location information of many people here in America is stored in a huge database… just in case it may be useful someday. That’s hard to wrap our brains around because this means there isn’t a true justified reason why we are being tracked constantly. If the government is able to obtain this data, it means they know where we are going and what we are doing, allowing them to build profiles and assumptions as to who we are as individuals. Now this could be anybody, she mentions that these profiles are built for potential cases… even if you’re doing nothing wrong. This is a huge violation of privacy, especially for individuals just trying to go about their day. We deserve to feel safe and not watched when we’re out running errands. The problem with having this large database is that it leaves room for hacking to occur and our information to be accessed. Now, since these things could be tracking where we live and/or work, that becomes public information to unsafe people. It puts a threat on our friends and family, and the government shouldn’t be willing to place this onto us.

Next, I want to discuss electronic tattoos, which unfortunately can be a slippery slope. We see this being a huge issue in the younger generations because we aren’t always educated on these issues surrounding privacy. Younger people tend not to think about our digital footprint when posting, tweeting, or sharing information/pictures online or through messages. Since media and technology has gotten so advanced, there are large issues that surround it. What some people don’t realize is that once you put something out there, it is available for anyone and everyone to see… and that includes those who can be dangerous. Enriquez’s main point was that what gets put out there is permanent, hence the tattoo reference. To protect ourselves from this issue, we should be thinking twice about what we put on the internet. Especially what we are posting to social media because all it takes is one screenshot to be saved and transferred elsewhere. 

Lastly, I want to talk on Soghoian’s TED talk because he made a lot of interesting points about telephone surveillance that I didn’t know about. He discussed how telephones were wired for surveillance first, and that is terrifying. Everyone communicates through their telephones on a daily basis whether it be texting, snapchatting, through facebook, or calling. The scary side of this is that there are some providers that have access to calls, which means anybody could be listening. A lot of private conversations are had which is why it is so concerning that the government, hackers, or foreign services could be listening to the call. If you mention addresses, names, or any small piece of information that can be linked to a profile online, that’s all it takes to be found and a lot can come from that. The government should not be allowed to listen to your calls (period). What I found interesting is that Apple has done a good job making it difficult to wiretap into calls and messages. This makes it safer for individuals to call, text, or facetime. 

At the end of the day, we need to be more cautious and self-aware of what we post and what is said, which is a sad truth. In today’s society we are under constant surveillance making it unsafe everywhere we go. We also see the unfortunate issue where people become vengeful. Another reason why we need to be more careful about what we share online is because all it takes is a pissed off person to use something against you. This is a huge issue we see now because posting images is such a big thing. The "revenge porn" TED talk was a hard story to hear, but unfortunately not an uncommon one. People online can be fueled to do crazy things when things don't go their way. We once again need to ensure that we are not putting anything out there that can be used against us in order to maximize our safety. The government should be aiming to make a change rather to thrive under gaining all of this data from us in the first place. 

EOTO #1 - REACTION

FACEBOOK & INSTAGRAM

I thought the presentation on the history and impact of both Facebook and Instagram was very informative and interesting. It wasn't to my knowledge that Facebook started to act as a chat for Harvard students to communicate with each other. In that time, there weren't several different platforms that could’ve been used for communication. I believe that it was a unique and creative way to communicate and share images. 

Nowadays, we see a decrease in use of Facebook because we have other platforms such as Instagram, Snapchat, and even TikTok. To be more specific, it is our generation that doesn't typically jump to Facebook right away. I think that we still see it used as a form of communication because of the ability to connect with old friends or even older relatives. Having a platform to connect with older relatives we don’t typically talk to on a daily basis is good. From my own personal experience, I moved four years ago across the country and don’t remain in the same constant contact with some of those people. Facebook has allowed me to see updates from former coaches, family friends, and aunts and uncles. 

Instagram was also discussed in this presentation, and I think this platform has taken over our generation. I say this because there are many creators and influencers that have made jobs from it, there are ways to communicate through DM’s, and lastly there is an opportunity to share photos with your friends or “followers.” Unfortunately, there have been a lot of issues that have come from Instagram as well. There became a societal pressure to keep up with your profile by posting the right photos with the right captions. With this in mind, the introduction of using filters to “enhance” the pictures, has corrupted a lot of young minds and personalities. It has created a huge pressure on one picture, and ultimately hurt a lot of people’s mental images of one-another. It’s not all bad though, there are still benefits that this platform has provided. Some platforms on this app are able to send out important updates and we are able to gain information from them. Having the opportunity to be kept up to date has helped out a lot of people in various situations. All in all, I thought this presentation was very informative and productive in teaching us the history and impact these platforms have had on us as a society. 

  

EOTO #1 - COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES

 THE BALLPOINT PEN

The ballpoint pen was created in 1888 by a man with the name John Loud. Back in the late 1800s there were a couple forms of writing utensils that had ben used such as the dip pen or the fountain pen. However, Loud found an issue with the fountain pen because it didn't write as efficiently on all surfaces. The fountain pen had a lot of issues alongside the inability to write on surfaces such as leather. Things such as the ink and the design, it just became apparent that it was lacking efficiency. Journalists or students needed something that was easy to use and a lot more accessible. With the fountain pen, there was this refill feature that was messy and time consuming. 

John Loud made a ground breaking product that ultimately changed the name of the game. Loud was a Harvard Law alum that worked in leather. When working with leather he often had to mark things up, and he found his writing utensils just weren't doing the trick. The pencil wasn't dark enough, and the fountain pen was simply a mess. When October of 1888 rolled around he was able to get a patent for his new invention, an improvement of the fountain pen. He claimed that this pen would be able to write on surfaces such as coarse-wood, leather, and wood. While this was a huge step forward in terms of messiness and efficiency, it didn't last long until more improvements were to be made. 

When researching the ballpoint pen, you may also hear the name Laszlo Biro, that would be because he ultimately one-upped Loud's invention. Laszlo was an avid fountain pen user, but he tried to make a few tweaks to improve it. He liked the idea of the newspaper ink being "smudge free," and he thought if he'd use the same ink with his fountain pen, the issues would resolve. However, he would ultimately realize that the ink was way too aggressive for this pen. It wasn't until he saw his children playing with marbles, that he could try to invent a pen that had "ball-shaped metal nib" to write with. In 1938, he would get his patent and introduce a modern ballpoint pen. 

This modern ballpoint pen made a huge impact on society. Many people gained a large benefit from the refined product as it was helpful in schooling and work. Students found ease in being able to write faster and more efficiently. Not worrying about smudging allowed them to focus on better note-taking, which ultimately helped with learning. We've all been taught from a young age that taking notes is essential in succeeding. With this writing tool Biro made it much easier for students, or even any writing-focused workers, to get ideas to paper. 

Not only did the ballpoint pen provide an increase in literacy and efficiency, but it was also much more accessible and easily transportable. It was much more convenient to carry around and use because the ink didn't create a mess and it didn't need to be refilled often. Additionally, they weren't expensive writing tools and they were sold in almost all stores making it much easier to use. The ballpoint pen became used for all writing-needs, everywhere. In fact, they are still widely used on a day-to-day basis in many different designs and colors. Communication from this point on was changed because of the ease and accessibility qualities it possessed.