Final Blog Post

If I were to compare my relationship to technology as a real life relationship I would compare it to a toxic relationship. It is actually very interesting timing for this assignment to be given to me based on what is currently happening to me in real life. Just this week I have realized that I need to stop my addiction with my phone. Now what do I mean by addiction? Most people would hear that and think I was crazy to be addicted to my phone but I believe it is true. The amount of time that I had spent on my phone every week was well above 8 hours and this is spread out throughout the week. If you take away the time you are sleeping then you really start to see how much eight hours a week is. I found myself on my phone avoiding tasks, using it to distract myself from thinking about things that stressed me out, and overall using it and not being in the moment during my life. When I look back at my life I realize how much of it is filled with me having my face in a screen and how much of that time could have been used doing things that would better myself as a person. 

There have been many studies done by the National News and AARP that show that with the introduction of mobile phones into our everyday lives, humans attention span has gone from 12 seconds in the year 2000, to 8.25 seconds in the year 2015. This number continues to decrease due to the instant gratification we can get b just picking up our phone, and using it to conveniently fill whatever desire we have. There are studies that also have shown how children who grow up with phones aren't developing their social skills as well, along with a growing percentage of children who need glasses in elementary school due to the increased exposure to blue light. 

https://www.aarp.org/health/brain-health/info-2017/mental-focus-smartphone-use.html

https://www.thenationalnews.com/opinion/comment/mobile-phones-are-killing-our-attention-spans-and-ruining-public-discourse-1.872749

 

In the future I want to be able to leave my house without my phone and for it to not be the end of the world. If I were to go to class without it today I know for a fact I would return to my room to get it, even if it meant I was late to class, this is how I know I seriously have an issue. To begin my detox I am going to be starting slowly by deleting certain social medias. I have deleted an app called SnapChat, which is an application that you use to send pictures to and from your friends. I used to constantly be checking my phone to see if I had any new "snaps", which were pictures from my friends, even though they were meaningless. I tried once to fix the problem by turning off notifications for SnapChat but I found I would just check the app more often so it wasn't a good fix. I am going to start consciously trying to use my phone less and less so one day I can leave my house without my phone, and be able to enjoy my day without stressing over not having it on me. Not only will this be a good practice for me, but if I have children in the future I will be very mindful of how I let them be exposed to technology, now that I know the harmful effects technology truly can have. 

Age of A.I. Post

The video "In the Age of AI" by FRONTLINE, we learn about Artificial Intelligence and what it's advancements mean for our future. The video taught me many things such as how dangerous the advancements of Artificial Intelligence is for the future of human beings. The video taught me that automated systems are the way the future is going to run which means if you can afford to use the artificial intelligence you are going to be rich and if you can't you aren't going to be able to support your own family. This is a very scary thing and the reason this is true is because of how the Artificial Intelligence is an ultimate wealth growth tool. If you think about how much data FaceBook has on every single person that uses it, and how FaceBook is able to use user preferences to target advertisements to people who are more willing to buy the products, you can see how much of a wealth building tool Artificial Intelligence really is. 

Artificial Intelligence can be viewed as both a good thing as well as a bad thing. If you are wealthy and can afford to use A.I., then you are going to view it as a very good thing. You will be able to use it to advertise yourself, your business, your product, or whatever it is you need it to do. This will result in the rich getting richer in a way that we didn't know was even possible. If you are on the other end of society and you can't use A.I. then it is going to be extremely difficult to break out of the cycle and leave the lower class. You are going to end up having to work paycheck to paycheck and if you try to start your own business, you won't be able to afford to use the complicated A.I. algorithms to promote your business, which is crucial for your businesses success. 

The most concerning part of A.I. and its applications is how it's effecting our privacy. We used to think we were using social media and google to learn about outside information, when in reality these applications were using us to learn more about each of us. Our viewing habits, our screen time, what we search, what we save is all being saved and a super computer is taking this data and learning more and more about us with each click. This is great because it's learning about us to serve us in a more convenient way, but it's also extremely concerning from a security point of view because we do not know the companies objectives with all this information, and since it's being stored anyone with the resources and will can view it all at anytime. This is also concerning from a national security point of view. If our data is being stored and sold by these big tech companies, then that means so is the data of our nation. If the American government can be tracked the same way we can through these tech companies, then who's to say that they can't be bought or stolen by a different nation, such as Russia or China who would use this information, against us. 

source for all information: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5dZ_lvDgevk

EOTO Reax

My classmates all gave very informative and interesting presentations on many different things through their EOTO presentations. Some specific areas that I would very interesting was the presentation on was the Five Eyes. before this presentation I had no idea what the Five Eyes were, or even heard of them for that matter but this presentation taught me well. 

Some things that I learned was that the Five Eyes are an intelligence alliance that are made up by Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Together they make a combined intelligence group that not only monitors the electronic communications of citizens in their countries but they also monitor electric communications from foreign governments. There was an entire book just teaching about how the Five Eyes was caught spying and how New Zealand played a large role in the world's biggest intelligence network. I have listed the source below.

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/new-book-on-five-eyes-spying-club-explains-nzs-role-in-worlds-largest-intelligence-network/ZNKREVGKDGBCLDFADILA2DRZKU/

This organization's whole purpose is to secretly allow secretive intelligence agencies to spy on the local people all around the world. I thought our privacy was in danger because of audio tracking in phones, and surveillance tracking our everyday lives, but now that I know that there is an alliance of multiple different countries who's main objective is to spy on the world, I am more concerned than ever. The Five Eyes is not only for spying but for so much more. Some of their jobs include, conducting interceptions, collection, acquisition, analysis, and also decryption activities and not only this but they share all the data among each other so that many more people around the world are aware of the people's private information. I have listed some sources down below to back up what I have learned through the EOTO presentation. 

https://privacyinternational.org/learn/five-eyes

https://ukdefencejournal.org.uk/the-five-eyes-the-intelligence-alliance-of-the-anglosphere/

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-56970640

https://www.publicsafety.gc.ca/cnt/ntnl-scrt/fv-cntry-mnstrl-en.aspx

Blog Post #8

The problems that are brought up in the Ted talks (that I will leave the links to below), are all large issues that our society faces at a whole. Our rights to privacy are slowly being taking away and we aren't aware of it. One of the main threats is surveillance systems. Surveillance systems are constantly tracking you 24/7.  Storage spaces are constantly growing which is making it easier and easier to store large amounts of data. Companies like Google and Amazon own large factories with rows and rows of data storage units, where the main goal is storing and keeping data from surveillance on you and your family. 

The police along with the government have access to these types of servers and they choose to keep major amounts of data of your everyday life that you don't even know they have. Surveillance cameras from the street, local stores, and even in phone cameras and computers are able to track you along with where you go. There was research done that found that drivers plate scanning machines were keeping track of your daily routines and could see where you were going and what you were doing. This didn't apply only to criminals that were being suspected for crimes, this was doing to innocent everyday people. The police are collecting this data on people who are innocent and have families, and choose to keep it on file, just in case they need to look at it in the future. These type of private tracing are so advanced that they can see if you are going to a food store, to the therapist, to the hospital, or even can track where you drop your kids off at school. This information has no reason to be kept by anyone, even the government because it violates the privacy of the people. I have added some sources down below. 

https://www.aclu.org/news/national-security/license-plate-readers-just-dont-keep-data-innocent

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2020/09/flock-license-plate-reader-homeowners-association-safe-problems

These issues are very intrusive to my everyday life and I personally feel as if I am being stalked by the government when I haven't done everything wrong. The thought that every time I walk by a surveillance camera means my personal whereabouts are being tracked and stored by a data storage source leaves me feeling very disturbed and as if my right to privacy is being taken away. My family and friends are all living honest lives and the fact that they are being watched like criminals doesn't seem right and just to me. The government shouldn't be allowed to just store data of myself and the people around us, they should be giving us the respect and trust we deserve by not storing every step we take. They should be respecting our privacy and need to stop watching and storing everything we do in front of a surveillance camera, if what we are doing is legal. The only precautions we can take to ensure our own privacy is to cover the cameras on our computers, and petition for the ban of surveillance cameras where they are not necessary. 

Blog Post #9

Why should I be afraid of Machine Learning? This is a question that I am going to dive into throughout this blog post. To begin we need to understand what exactly is Machine Learning? Machine Learning is a computer software that uses algorithms and statistical models with nothing else in order to expand its intellectual understanding of data. In order for it to be considered a true example of Machine Learning there needs to be no human interference during the learning process. To try and simplify what this means I like to give the example of the popular movie Avengers Age of Ultron. This movie starts with the armored hero, Iron Man and his artificial intelligence, (which is very important to understand and I will be getting more into detail about this later in this article), but this artificial intelligence that Iron Man uses serves as a mechanical butler in a sense, giving Iron Man data and suggestions for what to do to help humanity during an emergency. Jarvis is nothing but a machine that Iron Man built and this machine uses machine learning to sort through data to give itself a better understanding of what is going on and in real-time what to do to solve any issues Iron Man faces. This sounds like a great use of technology that would improve society as a whole, but as we get further into the movie we see Iron Man try to upload Jarvis into a new form of Artificial Intelligence which is when we see the movie go sideways. This new form of artificial intelligence had a mind of its own and after machine learning, by learning through going through and learning data in the internet, had the ill intent to kill everyone on earth and create an army of robots to rule over the world.

Here you can find some sources for my thoughts: 

https://hbr.org/2021/01/when-machine-learning-goes-off-the-rails

https://insights.sei.cmu.edu/blog/three-risks-in-building-machine-learning-systems/

Now obviously this is just a movie and I am not trying to imply that this is destined to happen if Machine Learning keeps advancing I am just bringing up one of infinite possibilities that this advancement in technology could lead to. There are many benefits of Machine Learning in both everyday practice and in advancements. Machines hold certain capabilities that humans don't. Machines don't need to eat, sleep, or have time off. A machine can be programmed to work around the clock and if Machine Learning acts like the human brain, with learning capabilities then an around the clock think tank would improve society with new technology, weapons, and medical discoveries. There is no down time when it comes to code and metal and therefore Machine Learning may be a very good thing, as long as humans don't use it for the wrong reasons. 

Now what exactly is A.I.? How is it different from Machine Learning? A.I. stands for Artificial Intelligence and it is when a software is used to think like a human and perform tasks without needing any help from a human, whatsoever after it is engineered and programmed. Machine Learning on the other hand is how a computer system is actually capable of developing its intelligence. 

Another area where Machine Learning may come in handy is with jobs that are far too dangerous for a human to do. Things where a human's life is at risk has the potential to be done by a robot if machine learning gets the point where it is advanced enough to think like a person. Some places where this would hold true would be working on an oil rig, serving in the military, even some dangerous construction jobs could be done by a machine if it had the ability to think. The around the clock with no breaks needed would apply to be useful here too because of how time efficient a machine would be at constructing new buildings or working somewhere hazardous, the possibilities are endless. 

Here are some sources for my thoughts: 

https://www.automate.org/blogs/how-robots-are-taking-on-the-dirty-dangerous-and-dull-jobs

https://robotsdoneright.com/Articles/robots-are-taking-over-dangerous-jobs.html

Blog Post #7

My piece of technology that I will be analyzing is Amazon. Amazon is a website where you can go to order anything and everything directly to your house, with cheap and speedy shipping. It is a huge company and I think it will be interesting to dive into it in comparison to the Diffusion of Innovations theory. Personally, I don'y know a single person who doesn't use Amazon and I personally don't think it will be going anywhere for a very long time. While this is my personal opinion I still believe, like all sources of technology, eventually it will crumble down the diffusion of innovations chart and I will now discover why by using this chart. Here you can find some sources for what I am talking about. 

https://crm.org/articles/diffusion-of-innovations

https://sphweb.bumc.bu.edu/otlt/mph-modules/sb/behavioralchangetheories/behavioralchangetheories4.html

 

Before we dive into where Amazon lands on this model I will fist talk about why and how this chart works. To begin we need to understand that all pieces of technology takes a ride on this chart, if it's a successful and beneficial piece of tech that has a large following. For example the creation of the computer. The computer started as a piece of tech that was only used by the innovators who had the access to the early models of the device. Then we have the early adopters who could afford it and thought that it was worth the price tag of the tech. Currently I would say we are in the Late Majority because everyone I know has a computer, most people actually have more than one computer. It's vital for academics along with working in business and there isn't a rivaling piece of tech that is competing against it, therefore I feel as if it's safely still placed in it's prime. Even people who are older and started out being against the idea have adopted the necessary piece of tech to stay up to date with everything, especially after the recent pandemic lockdowns where you needed to stay in the home. Here are some sources to back up my findings. 

https://vtechworks.lib.vt.edu/bitstream/handle/10919/29913/Diffusion_Innovation.pdf

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/diffusion-innovation-strategy-adoption-computer-vision-khandekar

That's just a basic rundown of how the Diffusion of Innovations theory works so now I will talk about how it fits in with Amazon. Amazon hit one of its highest peaks during the corona virus, it was one of the only companies that actually was able to still make a profit because everyone was stuck at home, and since many small businesses were closed, Amazon was people main way to get the home items they needed, such as food, toiletries, etc. So does this mean Amazon has shot by the innovators, early adopters, and early majority? The answer to this is yes. Amazon is currently sitting in the chart at the late majority. I know this because of a study done by big commerce which said that in 2018 Amazon's. share of the US e-commerce market hit 49%. This means that Amazon alone was responsible for 5% of all retail spent across all of America. Some are nervous because it doesn't seem like it's possible for Amazon to keep being able to grow since it now has most of the majority involved, putting it into the late majority. I personally feel that it's biggest competition is eBay but an article by fool.com has said that within doing research they found that in 2021 amazon's revenue was 469 billion dollars which was 67% higher than two years prior in 2019, so the company will continuously continue to grow. Below are some sources to credit my information. 

https://www.bigcommerce.com/blog/amazon-statistics/

https://www.fool.com/investing/2022/04/06/3-charts-that-show-why-amazon-is-an-unstoppable-gr/

Amazon was able to catch on and spread because of how convenient it made it to acquire things without even leaving the house. There are so many options for everyday options on amazon, and with its reliability and low prices it wasn't hard for Amazon to build traction. The people that are late adopters were the people who liked the old way of doing things, like going to the store and being able to actually hold and see what they were buying. The negatives in Amazon is that it has seriously hurt small businesses because of its easily accessible 2 day shipping with the unbeatable prices they are able to offer because they buy their supplies in bulk. The positives do outweigh the negatives though because of the easy and affordable options they can offer for all the items that you need. 

Blog Post #6

One large piece of technology that I have learned about from someone else was a drone. To be more specific, one of the expensive drones with the built in camera that was attached to it. I was aware of the toy of a drone that would fly up a little bit until it turned a little and spiked down into the ground, but the difference from that and the one I now know about was the quality, and the features the ones with cameras had installed into it.

Now if this is your first time discovering that there is a difference between toy drones and professional drones you might be wondering what is the difference? Well theres more than you would think. I first discovered this piece of technology a couple months ago, and it was on set for a movie that had a fairly large budget. I was confused when one of the people on th tech crew brought out a large hard shell box with a drone in it, so I asked him what we were going to do with it. He told me there was a 4k state of the art video camera in it and we were going to use it to shoot an "over the head shot" using this drone. I was surprised to learn of this and asked what would happen if the drone tilted a little in the air and came crashing down. This is when he told me he actually had to get a drone certification to use this drone, and he explained to me how these high end drones were less prone to actually crash, unlike the cheap ones I was used to using when I was growing up. 

This leads into the question, "Is a drone the best way to film things in the film industry?" and "Did this piece of technology really benefit society as a whole?" To answer the first question, it depends on the scene you are shooting. Obviously if you are shooting a car chase and need a birds eye view shot to follow the cars, then yes the drone shot is the best way to get this shot. below is more information if you are curious about some of the more specifics on how to use a drone when filming. 

https://www.nfi.edu/drone-filming/

To answer the second question, you need to look at the question in a couple of different ways. In one case you can see how this could be a concern of privacy. How is a flying piece of technology with a camera, going to benefit the general public and not put its privacy at risk. Well for one thing it's illegal to use the drone to spy on people, but this also doesn't stop some people. To be honest there is no concrete way to ensure this piece of technology doesn't hurt peoples privacy. It is a major concern and there have been many major cases where drones have been confiscated and people have gotten in trouble for not using their drones ethically. I've included an article to back up my findings. 

https://www.forbes.com/sites/stephenrice1/2019/02/04/eyes-in-the-sky-the-public-has-privacy-concerns-about-drones/?sh=4cbab8c06984

To sum up this piece of technology has its benefits for getting cool film shots and going places to get a piece of cinematography that no one ever could, but this comes at the cost at hurting people's privacy. There are more bad things than good when we look at this invention, but I personally feel that this isn't a problem with the technology but more of a moral problem with the people using it.