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.

The Best of The Eight Values of Free Expression

 

   We all have some basic understanding of the First Amendment, but after reading some of the Eight Values of Free Expression recommended by my professor, my understanding has been thoroughly enhanced. In this blog post, the author went into a little detail about each benefit they gave; this is my top two. 

    My absolute top is probably Protecting Dissent. This value represents the right for the minority to disagree; without it, our country would be run by mob rule. All against the one, the few vs the many, suppression, suppression, suppression. By protecting dissent, we create a foundation that helps police our government. It is the dissident where the likes of Martin Luther King Jr. reside, and it is the dissident where the likes of James Bevel cultivate tolerance; It is the dissident where Jane Addams fights for equality. Without the dissident, there would be no fire under the status quo to change; where injustice is, there would only be silence.

    Many people in England right now wish their dissent was protected; however, it is not.  According to The New York Times, England has been cracking down on freedom of speech and giving steep sentences

to those who speak out online. A man was arrested for saying, "I think illegal immigration. is a problem, and we should do something about it." The Englishman was sentenced to 20 months in prison. Americans have criticized the English; however, those criticisms have been dismissed by the likes of Matthew Goodwin, a British political commentator, saying “Americans have struggled to watch people being sent to prison because of things they’ve put on social media; for Americans, this touches upon their almost religious-like commitment to free speech.” This, to me, sounds like a criticism of our country. That we are too free with our free speech, I write this knowing that if an Englishman read this blog, I could potentially go to jail. But it is because I am American that I get to write this Blog; I get to be the dissident. I think the right to criticize the government should always be protected, and the right to disagree with the majority should be encouraged. 

 

   My second favorite is the Marketplace of Ideas America has created for itself. We encourage free and creative thought here in America. It's how we are constantly improving and outpacing most other nations. Thanks to this culture of "there is no such thing as a bad idea," we invented the airplane, the computer, the mobile phone, and so many more things we use daily as a planet. The culture of a marketplace of ideas is invaluable to our development as a modern country. We have the freedom to get it wrong, and we have the freedom to get it right. Only some things need to be tested or stuck in deadlock bureaucracy before we do it. If you have the means, you can make it a reality. 

    These two are my personal favorites because they show off what makes freedom of speech the most valuable freedom a society can have. Without it, we would live in a darker world with fewer liberties to be free. Like what Matthew Goodwin said about how Americans see freedom of speech, he thinks we worship it with religious ferocity to a fault, but I think we actually just value our people more than some government and don't want that very same government to suppress what we think. Please leave a comment letting me know what you think is the best value of free expression.

The Supreme Court

Today, I was tasked by my professor to watch two videos concerning the Supreme Court. Both videos were fascinating; they were split into two parts, Part 1 and Part 2. They were two halves taken from a documentary made many moons ago. I learned a lot about the inner workings of the court. For example, I did not know there were whole staff dedicated to each Justice. I thought that was a very interesting tidbit. I think one of the most important facts the video illuminated was how much deliberation each case gets given before the Court makes a final decision. It can take months and many essays that are up to 80 pages

each before they decide. I think it's a beautiful thing, and with dedication like that, I see why the American people have faith in them to hold so much power. They are very transparent. This video never really changed my thoughts on the Supreme Court, but it certainly emboldened the thoughts I had already. I always had respect and the utmost faith in this particular cog in the machine that is our government. I encourage all who read this to watch the videos for yourself; please tell me your thoughts and how you think about the Supreme Court. Is it doing a good job? If so, please tell me how! Or if it's not, tell me how as well. I look forward to reading the comments. 

My Top Five ways of Gaining Infomation!

In the Information age, we all gain knowledge and information in different ways. Some stick to traditional media like radio or the newspapers, some watch television, while others use the internet. There really is no bad way to get information per se. Is that information always accurate? No, but it's a good way to learn about the world and start asking questions. As long as you don't take it at face value, of course... These are my top five ways that I gain information:

Youtube: My number one score for information is on YouTube. I use it daily for entertainment and world news. For entertainment, I generally just stick gaming videos on movie videos for fun, but as for news... I watch many things. Sometimes, it's a podcast about people's opinions of a current event; sometimes, it is a mostly neutral, independent journalist telling me about conflicts all over the world; and other times, it's just political commentary. Regardless, I use these sources and a lunch pad in my own research about the very same topic they                                                                                           discuss. 

My Father: My Father is probably the second way I get information about the world in which we live. He keeps his ears to the ground and tells me all sorts of things. I really appreciate this because it is a great time to bond. I get to learn about all of his conspiracy theories and who's going to try to overthrow the government this time. It creates really deep convos.

Instagram: I am not really the most confident in Instagram's ability to tell me truthful, accurate information. I am afraid if I did watch anything news-related on the app, I would be susceptible to getting stuck in an echo chamber, hearing the same viewpoint over and over until my brain turns to mush and I lose the ability to think for myself. For this reason I mainly just watch music reals or just see what my friends post. Sometimes, my father does send me political videos, but I don't really engage too much with them since I want to avoid giving the algorithm any information on my politics.


Local News Stations: I go to these mainly to verify what I learned from other sources (like YouTube) and confirm if what I saw was based on fact. I like to flip-flop from source to source, sometimes Fox News and other times CNN, just so I can get a full scope of the issue.

Word of Mouth: Lastly, I use the people around me. I love to talk, and sometimes I want to learn what other people's thoughts on current events are; sometimes, they even teach me a thing or two. I am, however, afraid to have those conversations with just anyone... Nowadays, people seem to be very defensive in their beliefs, thinking that anyone who has "wrong think" is the enemy. Personally, I can't stand people like that. I think the free exchange of information is one of the best parts of our country, and it's a shame that some people refuse to be open to it. 

 Overall, I feel I get my information from a load of different sources. I am always looking for new ways to gain knowledge; if you have any ideas, please feel free to leave a comment on this blog! Maybe even tell me where you get your information. Thank you for taking the time to read this.