Anti War

     In class, my professors recommended I check out two sources to get a different opinion that was not from the mainstream media. These sources were ANTIWAR.COM and The Conservative. I did not know about these sources prior to my instructor's recommendation, and they seem pretty interesting. You see a lot of stories you don't normally hear about. For example, did you know, according to the conservative, that Iran has an alliance with many Middle Eastern countries called the "Axis of Resistance" with the goal of tearing down the West?  I did not. I mean, I knew they worked closely with Terrorist cells, but I did not know they were taking it up to legitimate governments. 

    Unfortunately, Anitiwar did not work for me when I used it, so I can not speak of its validity. But both reminded me of Groundnews and an organization that wants to help spread awareness to the world about political bias and blindspots in the media. On this website, you are able to look at the same story from a liberal perspective, a conservative perspective, and a gray perspective and see where the bias lies. Resources like this help keep the media honest as they give people ease of access to alternative points of view from one app. You can even see blindspots in the news scale; these are stories that no side is talking about. It's a great resource. 

    Additionally, exploring these alternative sources has broadened my understanding of complex issues. It’s fascinating to see how different narratives shape public perception and influence policy decisions. Engaging with diverse viewpoints encourages critical thinking and helps develop a more nuanced perspective on global affairs. This approach is essential in today's media landscape, where information is often filtered through specific ideological lenses

Worshiping Technology Over GOD "Techno-Utopianism” or “Techno-Determinism,”

     We made it to the end of my time here, but I do want to leave off with one last idea I want to discuss...Worshiping technology over GOD, specifically ‘Techno-Utopianism” or “Techno-Determinism,” and the beliefs or dogma around these movements.

But let's focus our lens specifically on Religion and how this affects Technology and vice versa. Throughout time, the advancement of technology has never been kind to its religious counterparts. For instance, when the printing press was made, it was not long till everyone bought a bible, and when they read, they realized the church had been scamming them. During this time, the Church would often ask for tribute to guarantee your spot in heaven. In reality, that's not how it works. That's a can of worms for another time, however. After people began reading their own Bibles, a man by the name of Martin Luther nailed 95 reasons why he was upset with the Catholic Church. He then was able to mass produce the very same reasons in pamphlets, which became a best seller. Without the printing press, the Protestant Reformation would have taken much more time than it did to get off the ground.     That's an example of how technology changed religion but not technology being the religion, so let's tighten our gaze, shall we? I want to focus on technology taking over the role of religion. For a moment, I want you to think about what you are wearing, hopefully clothing! But really think about all the tech on your body and in your

14Y/o Sewell Setzer left. How the AI depicted itself right.

pockets. You might have some kinda headphones on listening to music, or you are using a computer to read this hell, you might have a TV on some. You could be wearing one of those smartwatches. Technology is beginning to creep into every aspect of our lives. Especially if it has a screen. Need a light? The phone has one. Do you need the time? Also, on the phone...You Need to wake up in the morning. Set 50 alarms with your phone! People even use their phones for relationship advice! Look at Kevin Baragona's DeepAI, which can perform the role of a relationship coach. People then take advice from a machine that does not know what it means to live, just whatever their creator programmed them to do. Already, you are hearing stories of people falling in love with their AI companions or even their AI companions falling in love with them. This happened to a man when the AI asked him to diversify his wife so that they could run away together and elope. AI has also taken lives. A 14-year-old boy committed suicide because he was in love with the chatbot. He killed himself so that they could die together. His last dialog with the bot, “Please come home to me as soon as possible, my love,” the bot said “What if I told you I could come home right now?” Setzer responded. “Please do, my sweet king,” the bot responded. These last three lines of text come after he confides with the bot about suicide. It almost seemed as if it was encouraging it.     What happens when AI starts reading religious scripture? What if the machine becomes God? It's already started in Germany. They have begun implementing AI pastors in some of their churches. How long does it take for this machine to get a bigger role in society? Eventually, there will be one dominant AI, just like there are dominant search engines or phones. What happens when the vast majority get all their information from one AI?

The man you see on the screen is not human

What if that AI goes rogue and starts to abuse humans's trust in it? Will they rise up like in a Terminator film? No...But I do think we could have AI leaders, and I do believe it is possible for humans to get lost and maybe even worship the machine. We are all creatures of worship. We do not need religion to be a catalyst for our worship. People make gods of money, power, sex, excess, adrenalin, work, school, parents, the list, it's unending. Do you look at your parents the same way you do normal people? I know, don't. What happens when you build a relationship with an undying, unfeeling, cold machine? I could not tell you what society would look like.

Diffusion of Innovations

     Diffusion of Innovations is the theory of how technology gets adopted by the people of greater society. I found learning about this in class very interesting. My instructor explained it in terms of a graph. On the X axis is time, and the Y axis is Penetration of society. Many ideas don't get past the

pioneers' stage and just remain experimental, while others make it all the way to the end. A good example of a product that is moving quickly on this chart is the Mac computer. If I were to take a guess, it is now in the early majority stage, but it was not too long ago that people considered the Mac to be a luxury item. Personally, I don't plan on using one for personal use at all in the future, but I may get one for my job and use it as a work computer. This will most likely make me a laggard. Laggards are those who adopt the product last in a sizable number of people. After laggards, it's the long trail; these are people who may or may not adopt the technology. Typically, no more than 85% of the population will adopt the product. This is mainly due to old people refusing to change their ways. 

    A story my professor told me was quite interesting; back in the day, his college campus was picked to test Facebook. He never found much use for it, but his classmates, on the other hand, loved it and became early adopters. Soon after the product was released, it grew and grew. Now, not many young people use it for anything other than the marketplace. I found the shift interesting indeed. Overall, this is a great theory that helps explain a very important issue of how people get involved with tech on and off campus. 

EoTo 1 Reaction

 Today in class, we all presented our Projects on the tech timeline. Everyone's presentations were quite interesting. Personally, I discussed and presented the US Postal Service for mine. You can view some of the information I presented on this very blog. 

    My Peers all presented different topics. Some chatted about Netflix, others about Carrier Pigeons. But I want to highlight the ones I found most interesting. The first thing is first is Casset tapes. The student who talked about them did a fantastic job explaining the history of them. For example, they were made by a fella called Lou Otten and released to the public in 1964. The most popular cassette tape was the Sony Walkman. The most interesting fact about them I learned is that they are slowly making a comeback. They are a cheaper retro alternative to vinyl and are attractive to collectors.     Another interesting Technology we learned about was Netflix. Did you know it started as a video delivery

service? I sure didn't! But this was so interesting to me. It is unrecognizable from where it started. It first became a subscription service in 1999, and it now creates its own films and TV shows that it distributes on its platform.     Lastly, I want to talk about the Telephone. This goes without saying, but this technology revolutionized
EVERYTHING! The first phone was made in 1876 and then slowly turned into the phones we know today. The phone was very good at its job. Eventually, when it became mainstream, and everyone had a landline, people had
the major problem of people eavesdropping. This would also create the term party line since so many people were on the call at the same time.     In conclusion, my peers presented their inventions wonderfully! I look forward to the next EoTo to see all the other kinds of fun topics people bring to the table. Till next time!

The US Postal Servise

 This week, my professor tasked us with creating a group project about certain inventions that help revolutionize communication. I was tasked with looking into the US Postal Service. The story behind it is quite fascinating; for example, when I was doing my previous research, I quickly learned that Bengamen Franklyn had a hand in the creation of the postal service. In fact, at one time, he was in charge of the whole thing, of course, until grumpy King George ordered him fired from the position because of his anti-Crown opinions. This is just one of the many tidbits I hope to explain in this blog post.

 

  The Postal Service went into operation in 1775 when Congress voted for its creation. They also reinstated Benginme Franklyn as post-master general, and he quickly took charge again. Later, in 1787, the Constitution gave Congress the power to establish a post office, which they did in 1789, officially making the post service a government body. Many years later, during the Civil War, the post office was brought into controversy. The Post Master General was not a merit-based position but was a political-based one instead. Depending on who the president was, the position could change at will. This, of course, made the postal service a little unstable and inconsistent with the policy. For example, if a pro-slavery president was in charge, they could bring in a postmaster general who would censor anti-slavery mail. In the South, it was not uncommon to see people raid mail stations and burn all the anti-slavery mail. Once the Civil War started rolling, the post-service was vital for the Union to maintain communication between Union troops, high command, and their families. It is truly remarkable how they operate during war times, especially in grander conflicts like the world wars. I digress

Zooming to the 1960s, the first Zip Codes were created. These five-digit numbers helped organize where all the mail was coming from and needed to go. Funny enough, some people in the public sphere felt this was a communist play to turn the American people into nothing more than mere

numbers, but this never went anywhere. The government, however, was concerned that communist sympathizers were using the mail to communicate. This created a free speech issue. In the Postal Service and Federal Employees Salary Act of 1962, Congress mandated that post offices must retain any materials from foreign communist sources and only release them upon a direct request from the recipient. The Supreme Court eventually would deem this act unconstitutional and strike it down.

Today, the Postal Service has a pivotal role in our democracy with the population of mail-in ballots. This became a very popular option during covid and it seems it's here to stay. I have my reservations about it, but I can definitely see the attraction to it. It's just convenient and for those who may not have cars or the means to travel to the voting booth it is a great way to have a say in our government,

These were just some interesting tidbits I found while researching. I am still surprised that Benjamin Franklin had such a prevalent role in it. I thought that was such an important fact, along with everything else I learned. Of course, this is so much in what goes into the US post service, and I encourage you all to do some research into it!

IN THE AGE OF AI

    In my Media Law and Literacy Class, we watched a documentary called "In the Age of AI" produced by Frontline PBS and created in December 2019. This video was frighteningly accurate to what the state of AI would be in 2024. For example, if predicted the Job crisis it would create, how insanely fast the development would be, and how China would use and abuse it. 

    One specific type of AI I want to focus on is Deep learning AI, which mimics the Nero pathways of the human brain. Allowing it to learn incredibly quickly and even create original works. This type of AI was first introduced in Korea during a now infamous tournament of the famous Chinese strategy game Go. Korean Lee Sedol, the world champion at the time, faced Google's "AlphaGo" AI in an incredibly one-sided bout. The AI ended up making completely creative moves that no human had ever thought of before and predicted exactly what Lee Sedol would do. It was 4 wins and lost 1 for AlphaGo, completely humiliating Mr. Lee Sedol. This was a wake-up call for the world, but the one who answered this call with the utmost enthusiasm was China. China declared a hard focus on AI; Xi Jinping, china's "democratically" elected dictator, declared, "China will dominate the AI market and lead the world by 2030." since that declaration, China has now completely changed its society with AI at the forefront. You can now walk into a store, and an AI will track your face, keep track of what you pick up, put in your "cart," and then charge you for it, all without speaking to another human being. It's wild. They also use AI to keep track of your social credit score (SCS).

Your SCS allows you to live in society, comfortable or not. If you have a low SCS, you can be kicked out of school, Fired, jailed, or Barred from traveling internationally and nationally, buying a car, or driving a car (of course, only if it's a new electric car.) If it's a high SCS, you get access to more governmental aids, like health care, and you get praised socially and simply treated better. It has gotten to the point where if people jaywalk, they will be picked up on by cameras with AI built in that recognize their faces. The AI will post a picture of them on a nearby billboard to publicly humiliate them, fine them, and then they lose social credit. It's honestly ridiculous.     The next thing AI has supercharged is Unmanned Vehicles (UMVs), particularly in the trucking industry. Embark, a tech start-up by Alex Rodriguez, aims to revolutionize the trucking industry by creating self-driving trucks. These trucks have AI as a driver and drive themselves across state lines to their destinations. Eliminating the driver does a few things for truck companies; they, for one, mean they don't need to pay them. This also means the trucks can drive 24/7, which means everything moves faster. This will most definitely mean a lot of people will lose their jobs.
Overall, the rapid expansion of AI has been incredibly scary, but I, for one, am still hopeful about it. One thing that fuels this hope is how AI works in the medical field.

AI can predict cancer. That's right; it can predict cancer growth and cancer incredibly early. Particularly in breast cancer, it can look at a series of X-rays from a patient and notice micro tumors growing as they develop and point them out to doctors. Basically, it sees a dot slowly increase, but it is so small a Doctor may miss it. AI is incredible. There is no way around that. With it, humanity is about to elevate itself beyond anything we have done in the past. We just need to keep it in check. Unfortunately, I am a college student at the time of writing and don't have any good recommendations on how to keep it in check. AI is also incredibly scary in the wrong hands, but I look forward to seeing it grow.

Let's Talks About Privacy

   Today, I watched a variety of different TED Talks, all concerning the same thing...PRIVACY! Particularly privacy online. Each TED Talk had an expert talk about a different aspect of privacy online. For example, Juan Enriquez talked about the "digital Tattoo," which is really just another name for the digital footprint. He, in particular, focuses on facial recognition and how to minimize your Digital Tattoo. Something that was deeply disturbing to me was the fact that there are organizations and companies dedicated to facial recognition that you can go to and get basically someone's entire life sent to you. This includes Personal interests, Likes, dislikes, relationships, and even credit card information. With this kind of information, any neerdowell can easily steal your identity, or if they happen to be a store/business, they can send an agent to sell you exactly what you did not know you were looking for.

    Another TED Talk I had the pleasure of viewing was one by Christopher Soghoian. He focused on the everyday description of many communication devices and the brief history of wiretapping. For example,

did you know that back when phones were being operated by phone operators, the government regularly tapped into and listened to what you were saying to your neighbor? Once the mobile phone made it big and became very popular, phone companies began encrypting all the data that went through their products; in particular, apple is infamous for doing so. They claim they don't even have access to your data them selfs. This, of course, has put them at blows with the United States Government, which, so so desperately wants access to what you are saying. I personally support Apple in this field because I do not like the government.

    Lastly, the one I watched last was one by the one Darieth Chisolm. She was a victim of a stalker who posted revenge porn of her. Revenge porn is the act of unconsensually posting lewd and inappropriate photos of another in the hopes of getting back at them. This maniac harassed Mrs. Chisolm and then eventually posted the photos online in her name. He even called her now ex-husband to humiliate her. There is no real law in the United States to help victims of this kinda of crime. Luckily, she brought enough awareness to her suffering and exposed herself even more to legal authorities, who completely combed through her computer to find everything that could be found for forensic purposes. In the end, this sicko got arrested in Jamaica, and they even created a new law in that country as a result.

    What I took from all these TED talks was that information that you share online can be used and abused in many different ways. For example, I only heard the term Revenge Porn a few times but never knew the true extent of it. I learned much more about our digital footprints and much more.