FINAL BLOG POST: TECHNOLOGY

In the digital age, my relationship with technology is a journey that I am still working through.

The Good 

My online presence includes Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn, Facebook, and Snapchat. Each platform shows a different side of my life.

Instagram is where I share photos with a large audience of friends and mutuals during holidays, sports events, and birthdays. TikTok is more of a place where I share my personality through fun dances and bits. LinkedIn describes my journey as a sports media and marketing student, complete with a headshot. It also is how I participate in professional networking.

Facebook, a place I solely connect with close family and friends, is where I share memories and personal accomplishments, while Snapchat is a place I can share parts of my daily life with videos to select groups of people. 

Each of these platforms serves a different purpose, but all help capture memories. I feel that is what is most special about social media, and it is why people are constantly sharing. Everyone is afraid of forgetting the great moments, so we capture and share them to hold onto the memories.

The Bad

The internet creates the negative opportunity to always know what others are doing, which can make you feel excluded and disconnected from the present moment. It creates a strong awareness of events you might have missed. This is a realization my mom often mentions, saying, "30 years ago, you wouldn't even know these things were happening."

Technology has also evolved to the point where it can affect relationships. Instant messaging, a topic I focused on for my first EOTO, brings both convenience and conflict. Read receipts and showing when someone is online gives you more information than you always need to know, and maybe more than the person you are speaking with wants you to know. It can lead to unrealistic assumptions about our relationships. I have luckily learned to manage this by turning off notifications and logging out of my socials for a few hours at a time. This allows me to not feel like I am constantly waiting for a response from people.

My Feelings About Technology

Scrolling is a part of my daily routine, and I see a fine line between its advantages and disadvantages. Instant access to news and self-care information is a huge upside of the internet. It teaches you, can make you feel understood, and can give you information you may urgently need. This is a positive.

The negative is that the internet has unfortunately progressed to a point where unattainable standards in terms of looks, body image and ways of living can dictate followers' emotional state.

I notice with myself and my friends and family that there is a need for validation through likes and followers. This is not where someone’s self-esteem should be based from

In conclusion, my relationship with technology is somewhere between the perks of social media and the discomfort of feeling isolated. It often shapes emotions, and I am working to navigate this. I need to take advantage of all the great things technology has given us, because it has positively transformed the way we live, work, and interact, and I need to stay away from the negative, constant exposure to online content that portrays unrealistic standards.

‘In The Age of AI’

In the second hour of PBS's "In the Age of AI," we see how it is changing privacy, national security, and even job security. We also learn about the ways it is creating convenience and efficiency in our society. There are many good and bad things about AI, and this documentary touches on both sides.

Privacy has become a concern with the way AI has advanced. Using AI for data analysis increases how much personal data is collected and analyzed. Having personalized experiences based on AI capabilities can be useful, but it also makes you wonder how much of your personal data is being taken.

We often see this in Facebook and devices like Amazon’s Alexa. AI helped Facebook create content recommendation, user profiling, and ad targeting. AI helped Alexa by using voice recognition and home automation. Although these are beneficial and seem like a great thing, it can be brought into question how this complex of personal information is being gathered. This is what caused a lawsuit against Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg. 

National security is another topic in AI. AI has changed the way countries use technology in terms of security. AI data collection and analyzation can potentially predict threats. This increases the level of security, but also can go against privacy of citizens in these countries. Identity theft numbers also are increasing with the use of AI. People can use AI tools to get into systems that take personal data.

On the very negative side of things, and what I see as the biggest issue, jobs that were highly populated by females are now turning to automation. Cashiers are being replaced by AI checkout stations, and many HR, payroll, and finance jobs can also be done by AI. This is beneficial for companies because it means more is being done with less employees, but it puts workers in these fields in a bad spot. That is where inequality becomes a concern. For the first time in years, inequality numbers are on a consistent rise.

This goes against the dot-com system explained in ‘The Age of AI.’ At the time, AI technology was expected to create more opportunities, but it is actually doing the opposite.

"In the Age of AI" really opened my eyes to the effects AI is having on our privacy globally. While AI does seem to create a more efficient society, it also creates challenges to involving job security, and personal privacy. 

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Net Neutrality

The Impact of Neutrality

Net neutrality really peaked my interest while seeing the classes EOTO’s on policy. I was curious about it and its deeper effects that the presentation didn’t touch on.

Net neutrality is an issue that consists of the idea that internet service providers should treat all internet traffic equal. When net neutrality is used, it makes sure that your ISP doesn’t only speed up certain traffics, and allows everyone access to open internet. Net Neutrality stuck out to me because of its ties with freedom and privacy, two very important subjects we’ve spoke about throughout this course. 

Like described in the presentation, the political side of net neutrality can be concerning. Throughout different presidencies, different orders have been made trying to make changes to net neutrality. I try to stay open minded when it comes to political issues, but I feel access to internet is something very important in society today. 

In terms of net neutrality and its connection with privacy, I see it connect in terms of ensuring that there aren’t unreasonable blocks and restrictions imposed on internet users without explanation. 

Privacy in the Digital Age

Issues related to privacy and encryption are some that have rarely crossed my mind. After watching the TED Talks provided, I realize now it is something I should probably think about often. Not only does technology have an impact on our society as a whole, but when you involve the breach of privacy involved with the digital media today, it has a personal impact as well. When listening to the TED Talks, it opened my eyes to the fact that we need to advocate for our own privacy.

The lack of privacy in things like instant messaging and emails silently affect us all. We put a lot of trust into the online platforms we engage on, and what I at least did not realize was that when you privately send someone something, it is almost never only seen by you and that person. This impacts those involved because it feels like a breach of privacy.

The government plays a crucial role in protecting our privacy. They should implement safer ways to communicate without the risk of the information being seen by internet providers, email providers, the government itself, and more. The TED Talks discuss the importance of individual privacy and security, and how there are ways we can work to improve this. There are already multiple companies- Bitcoin, Protonet, Owncloud, etc.- who are providing support and giving new ways to communicate with encryption. Encryption is currently the only way to message/email without it being traced to other outlets before the recipient.

Like I previously mentioned, it is important we protect our own privacy. The TED Talks talk about the importance of being aware that this is going on, and encourage us to use and rely on encryption. Encryption secures our communication and data, and makes sure that our private messages remain private. To stand up for ourselves, we should use encryption tools for messaging and help promote a future change. 

The Twitter Files

On October 27, 2022, Elon Musk, an entrepreneur, acquired Twitter for $44 billion. Musk had a goal for the platform, and felt that he needed to be the sole owner of Twitter to get to this goal. His objectives were to change Twitter's content moderation policies, reduce spam content, and create a more transparent platform.

Transparency was the most important point for Elon Musk. In my opinion, I believe this is what led him to make the move of releasing a number of files, known as ‘The Twitter Files,’ to reporters and authors. This includes reporters and authors Matt Taibbi, Bari Weiss, Lee Fang, Michael Shellenberger, David Zweig, and Alex Berenson. This group then scatteringly published the Twitter files from December 2022 to March 2023.

The 19 files released brought up many controversial topics about the management of twitter, and how many government groups and officials impacted decisions made by the company in the past.

The Files:

• File 1 explained details about how Twitter moderated content related to the Hunter Biden laptop controversy.

• File 2 revealed that Twitter had been promoting tweets they found important or interesting while decreasing exposure to the ones they didn’t. 

• Files 3-5 discussed how Twitter responded to the January 6, 2021, attack on the Capital, and Donald Trump's suspension from Twitter that followed.

• Files 6-7 detailed how the FBI was in communication with Twitter.

• Files 8-9 explained that Twitter was ‘whitelisting,’ which meant they were preventing select accounts from being flagged. These files also looked into the U.S. Government's deep relationship with Twitter.

• Files 10-14 revealed that the U.S. Government's relationship with Twitter involved content moderation on things related to COVID-19, Russia relations, the FDA, and more.

• File 15 released information about tracking Russia's disinformation. It also revealed that one of Twitter’s past executives voiced concerns about the "Hamilton 68" tracking system.

• File 16 exposed multiple times that the White House requested for tweets to be removed. For one example, tweets  criticizing Donald Trump were asked to be removed.

• Files 17-18 explained Twitter's concerns that the Global Engagement Center was encouraging censorship.

• File 19 speculated about Stanford University's working with nonprofit organizations to advocate for censoring social media posts about COVID vaccines, science, and policies that contradicted public health officials' stances.

  
  

The release of the files had mixed reactions. Donald Trump, who was criticized in the files multiple times, obviously spoke out against them. He stated that any files, especially ones that mentioned the U.S. Government, should be terminated. The former Twitter CEO, spoke out and said that he still stood behind the information revealed in the files. He emphasized that Twitter had always acted in the way they thought was best at the moment. The FBI also released a statement that touched on the fact that communications between the government and companies like Twitter were very normal. 

The public response was mixed, with some being happy with the transparency, and some being upset by feeling like opposing opinions were not accepted.

Personally, I feel like files left an impact on me. I had never heard of them, nor was I aware of the information that may have happened that is spoken of in them. It shocked me how much the government is involved in platforms that I think my generation and I see as fun platforms and communication apps. It was interesting to read how the government potentially influenced censorship on Twitter and also tried to change public opinion by deciding what they did and didn’t want on Twitter. 

I think on the positive side of things, that the files being released started conversation about the U.S. Constitution, free speech, and how important and influential social media is to our society. The files shined a light on the how technology and the government may be more connected then we really think. 

The Diffusion Theory: New Innovation

     The diffusion theory is a theory that seeks to explain how, why, and at what rate new ideas and technologies spread. The diffusion theory was elaborated by Everett Rogers, a writer. In his book, ‘Diffusion of Innovation (1962),’  helped the diffusion theory develop, as he explored the true definition of innovation, how to spread it efficiently, and outlined the five main elements of the diffusion theory. These five elements consist of innovation itself, adopters, communication channels, time, and a social system. His point of view was that diffusion is a process that leads to innovation being communicated over time among the participants of a social system. 

    An innovation has to be widely adopted in order for it to self-sustain, which means we must understand the depths of an adopter. 

    There are both early adopters and late adopters. 

• Early Adopter:
• Among the first to adopt a new innovation
• Opinionated/leaders
• Understand the importance of change 
• Social, innovative, and motivated
• Late Adopter:
• Last to be willing to adopt
• Question change/skeptical 
• Wait to see ideas succeed before trusting 

A recent example of a new innovation that can be viewed through the lens of the diffusion theory is the creation of the iPhone. The iPhone, quickly after its release, became the most popular phone model in the world. The fast and widespread adoption of the early releases of the iPhone connect to the diffusion of innovation. This is because the iPhone was the first smartphone to release innovations like the touchscreen and an App Store. The iPhone was first believed in by a small group who grew and evolved the invention and started to spread it. 

Anti-war Voices

     For reasons that I am still trying to pinpoint, anti-war voices and arguments are rarely spoke about in the media. I believe that nowadays it is for much different reasons, but I think it stems from a string of history. 

The Past:

During class lectures, we saw how there were multiple figures in the progressive era that impacted how dissent and the first amendment were interpreted. First was Charles Schenck and Debs, both socialists. Schenck tried to obstruct the military draft, and Debs simply just encouraged voicing resentment towards the draft. Then there was Frohwerk, a newspaper editor. Frohwerk approved and published articles that shined a negative light on war. Lastly was Abrams, an immigrant who settled in the United States and began to speak in opposition of war. All four figures were convicted of The Espionage Act. Although none of them were able to win their cases, they all made an impact. Each of their convictions began to raise more and more concern over the limitations on dissent. This led to a larger advocacy against The Espionage Act, and caused a deeper look into the first amendment. Overall, the progressive era (1914-1925) increased support for freedom of speech, and set the precedent for legal change in the future. 

The Present:

Nowadays, it is very apparent that anti-war opinions and voices are rarely shared in mainstream news. I think there are three main reasons for this. The first is that news outlets are known to align with certain sides of our government. Because of this, it is likely they will only choose to share things that the government would be in agreeance with. The second reason would be that there are no major, and let me emphasize major, wars events going on that involve the United States, so there is nothing in absolute need of being talked about in the news. The news chooses what they do and don't talk about, but when there is vital information needing to be shared to our nation, they have no choice but to share it. There is no circumstance right now that would make this necessary. The third reason is that a majority of our population supports war, and the media is unlikely to go against their audiences opinions. 

I want to wrap this up with touching on why ANTIWAR.COM and The American Conservative are the first anti-war news sources that I have ever seen, and why I have not seen them until now. I believe the biggest reason is because most of my law, war, and historical knowledge comes from academic lessons and experiences. This is the first class that has ever touched on anti-war. I think the lack of teaching involving anti-war stems from curriculum limitations, lack of resources (e.g. text books), and the fact that classes are often encourages to be politically neutral.