Age of AI

AI has impacted everyone in many different capacities, whether it be work school, or other everyday activities AI has impacted you. 

The documentary left me wondering if this is a good or bad thing due to the complexity of AI. One of the things that shocked me the most was the effect that this is having on jobs, especially in female dominated careers such as check out clerks, or cashiers. 

AI has also been used for major surveillance, and even has been considered "spying". With AI being so unregulated it makes me wonder how this is affecting certain demographics of people. 

When doing additional research I found out how AI is spying on you more than you think. Researchers say that your phone knows a lot more than people think. 

"Have you ever had a digital conversation with a friend about a particular topic or product, and then, just hours later, every advertisement seems to be about that very topic? Or perhaps you feel like your phone knows what you are thinking before you can even type it into a search engine? Nope, this isn’t just a coincidence; it’s actually AI doing its magic, judging your every move."

This is the most scary thought, because oftentimes people have no idea that any of this is going on. While our phones are not necessarily recording and listening to our conversations, they do have the ability to see what we search for and track the websites that we are looking at. This is also know as a digital footprint.

Facial Recondition is a part of AI and something that is also becoming more complex. Facial recognition is one of those applications that have undergone advancements as time has gone on and are also using AI to make it more advanced. The unsettling thing that is associated with this, is when you open your photos and it displays examples of all the people who you have taken pictures with. That is a part of AI.

AI is everywhere and the thing is that this is the least advanced that it will ever be, everyday every second and every minute it becomes more and more advanced.

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 Learning about the carrier pigeons allowed me to gain insights on how they are used and what they exactly are. There is evidence of pigeons carrying messages in Mesopotamia as early as 2000 BC. The carrier pigeon idea comes from, Cyrus the Great (5th century BC, Assyria and Persia).

Carrier pigeons were used in a variety of ways including, war, commerce, and navigation in as early as the 1800s's.

This idea came about when people and companies were trying to find an efficient long-distance communication solution, and their solution to it was carrier pigeons. 

"Carrier pigeons offered a fast and reliable method for delivering messages across distant locations. Their innate homing ability allowed them to return to their home base, making them crucial during emergencies and wars. This method was superior to slower foot messengers and early postal systems."

When doing research on this topic myself, I found that carrier pigeons were also used by Reuters News Source, the first global news organization. 

Reuter started his company "Reuters" back in 1850 using telegraph cables and a fleet of carrier pigeons. He would soon gain a reputation for "speed, accuracy, integrity, and impartiality" all due to these carrier piegons. These attributes would be the foundation from which Reuter would distinguish himself from his competitors. 

This system would work because the birds were sent by rail each day to Brussels and would return each day with key information. The bird's return took two hours, which was much quicker than by rail. This expedited transfer of information proved to be very effective. 

There was both positives and negatives with these carrier pigeons, positives being the reliability, versatility and the overall ability to be a life saver's in war. There were also limitations which included range and health risks. 

Carrier Pigeons changed the world for the better and without them the landscape would be completely different than what we are experiencing now. 

Diffusion

 The Diffusions of Innovations Theory is the theory that "explains the passage of a new idea through the stages of a new adoption by different people who participate in or begin using the new idea."  This idea was developed by EM Rodgers, who was a communications theorist at the University of New Mexico. 

What is the Apple Watch? 

The Apple Watch was and still is one of the greatest inventions, First created in 2015, the apple watch incorporates fitness tracking, health communications, and wireless telecommunication. I remember getting my first Apple Watch I was so excited, but to see the advancements from then to now is remarkable. I loved the idea behind being able to track everything all in one on one device. 

Early adapters had the most opportunities when choosing an Apple Watch and were the first to try out the product. 

People were able to catch on because of all of the different features, health and fitness, convince, but the overall look of the device which often times offered a fashionable look. 

People adapted to this because of the smart branding and approach of apple, which positioned it as a "smart" device, with technologies that were different from anything els that had been out on the market at that time. 

When it was first released the price of these watches were extremely high, mainly targeted for the upper middle class or elites. It was also a struggle for those who were not tech savvy to catch on to the newest trends, the watch was difficult for these people to adopt too. 

As time has gone on the complexity of Apple Watches has expand and is becoming better and better. 

Personally, having an Apple Watch has been a great benefit, its easy use, convenience and accessibility within other devices is unparalleled. The overall population feels the same way as well, as apple has sold nearly 27 million Apple Watches just this year. 

For those who choose to not have an apple watch there are still opportunity to have other devices out on the market but the positives of Apple Watches are far more than the negatives and there are tons of advantages. 

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When listening to the other presentations, I discovered so much key information that promotes me to learn more about the different aspects of the government. 

One of the key concepts that stood out to me was Government Censorship. This is when the government holds back information from the citizens.

The First Amendment protects the freedom of speech and the freedom of press for all citizens, which are essential elements of democracy. Additionally, the government does not usually restrict and censor materials. However, if they do, depending on the situation, it can be considered a violation of the Bill of Rights. 

The most interesting part of the presentation on Government Censorship was "The Twitter Files" explanation. The Twitter Files were a series of documents that Elon Musk revealed when he took over X, formally know as Twitter. These files showed high interactions between government officials and twitter. 

Some of the information released in the files included, "thousands of internal documents, including many Slack discussions, between Twitter employees about their content moderation decisions."

In an Interview with CBS, Musk also said he wants to show, "what really happened behind the scenes regarding content moderation decisions at the social media company before he bought it in October."

This censorship had major impacts on Free Speech, because it raised questions on what was being moderated and what was being withheld. 

Something that I would like to learn more about is what information was withheld during the January 6th Insurrection. After the invasion of the Capital, Former President Trump was banned from the app for the role he played. Was there discussions prior to his ban, if so what did they look like? 

The other presentation that intrigued me was "Cord Cutting". Cord Cutting is defined as "reducing or eliminating public funding for traditional media in favor of private platforms."

Cord Cutting is something that we are seeing a lot more now with all of the advancements in media. Cord Cutting has both positive and negative effects. Some of the positive effects include more cost effective platforms, allowing for the funds to be redirected to places of need. It also allows for more media diversity, giving more of a broader range and perspective.

As with anything, there are negatives to it as well. One of negatives include the risk of declining and impartial news. These places will now prioritize profit over public interest possibly leading to a downfall as well.

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News deserts are places around the country that have vacancies in news, meaning that they have no working newspapers or credible sources that allow people to receive credible information. 

This is a serious issue, and as time has gone on, the amount of news deserts has only increased. 

Laura S. Washington, re-enforced this concept when she was doing research and she came up with the term based on certain people not receiving information. She often saw that this was prevalent in low income neighborhoods, where vital information did not reach such neighborhoods and their occupants on a timely basis. 

Media corporations play vital roles in insuring that society runs smoothly and information is dispensed out to the general public. With that being said, there has been a steady rise of news deserts throughout the world that lead to many people questioning what local news will look like in the near future. 

Many have called this a "crisis"among the amount of news deserts that are popping up around the world. Consequently, many organizations around the country are now starting to help prevent the loss of any more deserts popping up. As such, the Knight Foundation, recently announced a 7 million dollar investment to support local news organizations in swing states, while also helping curb the spread of misinformation. 

With a major presidential election on the horizon, it is extremely important for the proper information to be vetted to the public for their viewing. 

Just most recently in 2017, the Colombia School for Journalism released a map that displayed the news deserts across the United States. Most notably in Texas, two counties that had a combined population of 1.3 million people, had no credible sources and was among the largest news desert in the country. 

Of the 3,143 counties in the U.S., more than 2,000 counties no longer received any daily newspapers.  Furthermore, 171 of those 3,143 counties with a population of 3.2 million residents combined had no newspaper at all. 

The loss of jobs is hitting this industry hard as well. According to the Suburban News Desert, 

"Due in large part to the digital news revolution, coupled with a societal move toward social media, the past two decades have seen a sharp decline in print circulation at daily and weekly newspapers and thus advertising dollars, forcing the layoffs of more than 40,000 journalists from 2004 to 2022 ". 

This loss in jobs is also affecting the local communities. Local journalism has been a vital part of keeping small and local government officials and agencies accountable but the more and more that these decrease the less accountability that will be held. 

These communities now fall in as the most vulnerable for fake news and misinformation and it is clear that filling these "deserts" is important in order for every day functions to be carried out. 

This is not an issue that is solely happening in low income and low populated areas.  In fact, New York, which is the number one news market in the world, reports losing 205 newspapers since 2005. 

The rise of news deserts, is a growing crisis that threatens more people than less. These effected areas face the risks of misinformation and so much more. 

 

Final Post

Technology has changed the world for the better, but also comes with downfalls. Technology can be defined as “machinery and equipment developed from the application of scientific knowledge". When researching this topic, I was able to discover how it has manipulated the way that everyday life functions are carried out. 

Like anything in life, advancements in technology have both positive and negative effects that are connected with it. 

Some positive advancements that are associated with technology can include better communication, increased access to information and education, healthcare, and energy advancements such as solar energy. While all of these advancements are important, the virtual aspect that technology has created can be seen as one of the most critical aspects.  Technology’s virtual features have helped create jobs, allow us to keep working, communicating, going to school, shopping, going to doctor or therapy appointments, playing games, and staying in touch with current events around the world. 

Just think about it, what would a world without technology have looked like with the COVID pandemic? There would be no virtual classes, no online tests, no online meetings, nothing. There would be no way to keep in touch with teachers, classmates and learning would be put to a halt. 

There are times that I wonder what a world would look like without technology. As with anything in the world, nothing is ever perfect, technology included. There are numerous disadvantages that are associated with technology. 

Most often, people find themselves addicted to their cell phones, social media apps, and so much more. "Hyperconnectivity" is a major issue when it comes to these topics, and it means that people have a hard time disconnecting from the internet. This can lead to, “feelings of stress or exhaustion and make it harder to truly relax when we need that rest."

Technology can also affect students' social and emotional lives as well as their wellbeing, Specifically, technology can cause mental health problems, such as anxiety, depression, and social isolation. The number of students facing cyber bullying is also rising dramatically. 

Nearly 42% and 1 in 4 students are facing cyber bullying as an effect of technology. Cyberbullying has increased in recent years. In a national survey composed of 10-17 year olds, twice as many children indicated they had been victims and perpetrators of cyberbullying.

The role of media has truly been remarkable in my life, whether it has been through websites and databases that give me important information, or the importance of news that I have received through the advancements of television. Media has also affected the betterment of my education, in particular the advancements have allowed for educational podcasts, youtube videos, and online learning platforms. 

Technology has also allowed for people of all ages to leave a so-called digital footprint. This is the information that people can find out about you when they search you up online. When researching, I found myself mentioned in an article that I had no idea I was published in. 

Having my own accounts on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat and more, I have noticed that I have a large digital footprint. The scary part is that with having access to these platforms, people have the ability to follow one another online and eventually find out anything about them. 

I am very active online and some action that I have changed to better my digital footprint was to stop liking certain twitter posts. It is not necessarily because the posts are bad, but politically suggest that I would affiliate with a party. When choosing a job in the journalism field it is important to remain policy unifilated. 

AI has been a vital part in how technology has advanced as well. It is changing the "face of IT operations, implementing smarter, more efficient systems and solutions." AI can now personalize experiences for shoppers, automate tasks, and help IT representatives figure out what is wrong with electronic devices. 

The most fascinating part about AI is what is able to be done with healthcare, "AI is applicable in the healthcare industry beyond scanning patient records. With AI, it's now possible to interpret mammograms at 99% accuracy without biopsies. Additionally, diagnoses, new treatments, surgical procedures, and patient monitoring have improved thanks to AI."

AI will also assist people struggling with diabetes. For example, nearly " 70% of insulin users currently don’t follow their prescriptions. Detecting such errors can help improve healthcare."

As long as it is not abused, AI is an incredible tool. However, most students find themselves abusing it. I often find myself referring to it for guidance or to spark my thinking. 

We have been able to learn so much from technology and can't wait to see what technological advancements await. 

Privacy

Privacy is something that we lose more and more each day as technological advancements improve. The government basically has a "portrait of how private citizens interact. It is a disturbing trend that we see all too often.

Facial recognition is one of those applications that have undergone advancements as time has gone on, as displayed in the first Ted Talk. The unsettling thing that is associated with this, is when you open your photos and it displays examples of all the people who you have taken pictures with.

The automatic license plate reader is another one of those applications that is intrusive to people's privacy. License plate readers also known as LPR's convert information on your car into real time information and machine readable texts. They will then cross-check this information on dozens of databases to make sure that your car is not stolen or that you have any outstanding warrants for your arrest. 

While this might seem like a harmless thing, LPRs are not just being used for those reasons and instead, they are utilized to track people's everyday moves and actions. People have recently asked for information based on these allegations and the information that the government has access to far exceeds citizen's comfort level.

This issue is not isolated to only the United States, as mentioned in the 2nd Ted Talk, as the UK also uses these systems. To add to this issue, LPRs are not the only mass tracking system around. A technique known as a cell tower dump, gives law enforcement officers the ability to see who was using their cell phones during a given time. Police departments around the world use this high tech surveillance equipment that often invades people's personal property. 

Telephone companies are to be blamed just as much as other big corporations. I found it interesting when the speaker said that "telephone companies built surveillance features into the very core of their network".

This basically means that when you are talking to people on the phone, anyone who has access to the systems inside your phone will have the ability to access or listen to your conversations. This could be an example of the government spying on your conversation leading to data leaks and confidentiality breaches. These intruders can even be disguised as a hacker or a stalker. 

There are several government officials through the world that think that "government should have unlimited access to emails, texts, phone calls"  .

Revenge porn is the next topic that the Ted Talks talked about, and it is defined as when people post nude or disturbing photos of a person as a means of exhibiting revenge for something that they did in the past. This could be as small as a word that they said or a breakup. According to a study that was explained in the Ted Talk, 1 in 25 women are victims of revenge porn. Incredibly, that number goes to 1 in 10 for people under the-age of 30.

 

When it comes to this topic, internet companies are very non compliant. Cases often fall through the cracks because of the lack of international cooperation. This is where it becomes helpful for the government to have access to this personal information as it helps with solving criminal investigations.

Privacy is something that we have the right to keep private, but more and more, the government continues to push the boundaries of our privacy. More has to be done to set limitations and safeguard against what the government has access to.