Blog #10: Age of AI

    AI is a tool that has become increasingly popular extremely quickly. AI stands for artificial intelligence. Artificial intelligence is a new technology that has had a rapid growth within our world. This age of AI that we live in comes with many new innovations. These innovations bring positives and negatives to our world.

    In this video, these advantages and disadvantages of AI are brought up. AI has grown and advanced which has threatened the workforce of many Americans. These robots are taking the jobs of people therefore affecting their income and their way of life. While to product numbers are increasing, the amount of workers and available jobs are decreasing.

    Many of these positives and negatives of AI also deal with the nature of our privacy. AI can be used to find out private and personal information about an individual. As stated in the documentary by someone with knowledge of AI, "you would be horrified if you knew how much we knew about you."  These companies know private information about billions of people. 

    Companies have been caught in situations in which they were collecting personal information from people using their site. An example of this shown in the documentary is with Mark Zuckerberg. Mark Zuckerberg is the creator of facebook. His company was caught collecting data of information from its users. He was fined $5 billion for this situation by the Federal Trade Commission. After this, Facebook now prioritizes data protection for its users. 

    After watching this documentary, my view on AI and technology has shifted. It has shifted to a more negative view on this technology. AI is a scary technology that has access to too much information. This technology can be used to quickly access information people believe to be private. This access to information can be used for identity theft or fraud. People need to be more aware of this easy access of their private, personal information by using artificial technologies.

  

Blog #9: EOTO: Propaganda

    Propaganda has been a tool used for centuries in order to

influence certain ideas onto the public. It is used to communicate and push an idea onto people. Propaganda is still used in the current day to promote concepts people such as the government want the public to support. 

    Shown to the right is an example of current propaganda. The Covid-19 pandemic has many examples of propaganda used today. The government was using propaganda to encourage the public to stay at home and wear a mask if they need to be in public. Using this propaganda during the pandemic, the government held a lot of power. They had the ability to get millions of people to quarantine, wear masks, and get a vaccine all using propaganda.

    Propaganda can be used to manipulate minds. What could be promoted as a good thing, could actually be harming people. The government can use propaganda in order to benefit themselves by wording it correctly and convincingly. The government uses propaganda strategically to influence the thoughts and opinions of the public. 

    There are also ways that propaganda is used that is not necessarily posters and slogans. This could be through restriction. This is seen in the Smith- Mundt Act. It restricted news in the US from foreign sources. 

    In the Smith- Mundt Modernization it now "allows citizens to receive information regarding foreign broadcasts via Freedom of Information Act requests, which were previously prohibited on the basis of the Smith-Mundt Act." Before this moderation to the act, US domestic audiences could not access US sponsored foreign information.

    While this is considered censorship, it can also fall under the idea of propaganda since it is controlling the way the audience thinks by promoting certain ideas and restricting others. The Smith- Mundt act was used to limit foreign information broadcasting in the United States.

    Propaganda affects every person no matter that person's race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, etc. It is used to alter the way every person thinks. Not only does propaganda influence your thoughts and opinions, it also effects your interactions with other people. Since propaganda affects all people and influences how they think, each person could have differing opinions. These opinions that are influenced from the propaganda could affect how people interact with one another in regards to that topic.  

    Propaganda can influence people to start protests on a topic, which will only result in even more propaganda on that subject. In furthering and expanding this propaganda, that specific idea that is trying to be conveyed will spread and influence more people. Protests can be a form of propaganda because they are meant to convey and push a certain idea or message onto people. 

    Propaganda has had an effect on me in my life as well. I have seen propaganda in a variety of ways. I have seen protests, movements, speeches, posters, and so much more. These are all forms of propaganda.

    One of the biggest examples of propaganda I have seen in my lifetime that has effected me is Covid-19. The use of propaganda to keep people inside. From the government spreading these ideas to keep people inside I was in my house for months, unable to leave. Propaganda was used in order to influence the public that going outside and near other people would harm their health. This forced people to stay indoors for months which overall affected our entire society as a whole.  

    Propaganda is a tool that has been used for thousands of years in order to control and influence opinions. This tool is still extremely common and influential in today's day and age. I believe it will continue to be used by people especially the government in order to influence people's thoughts and opinions. 

Blog #8: Privacy

    In watching these videos, many concerns for my own privacy were raised. These videos discussed many privacy issues that directly affect me and the people around me. 

    One of the concepts one of the speakers talks about is our "electronic tattoos." The speaker is saying that our online presence has the equivalence of getting a tattoo on your body. It is permanent. I found this topic extremely relevant and interesting. Our social media and online presence is permanent and everlasting. We create electronic tattoos with our lack of privacy. 

    One feature that has been introduced in recent years in facial recognition. We use facial recognition to log into our phone, online accounts, and much more. As technology gains access to our facial recognition it can be used in so many different ways. 

    An example shown in the video is if you take a picture of someone out in public, by using facial recognition features you have access to personal information. With just someone's face alone you can gain access to social media accounts, bank information, criminal records, etc. This is an extremely scary thought for people, such as myself, since I have my face posted in very public ways. It is posted all over various social media sites and the internet. The thought of someone being able to use my picture to find out personal information about me does not seem right to me. 

     

      The government should be controlling how accessible personal information is. There should be more laws in place protecting our privacy. In one of the videos, the speaker discusses how her privacy was violated in the use of revenge porn. Nonconsensual images of her body were used and posted online without her permission. These public images affected her work, social, and personal life, yet there was nothing the government could do about it. Darieth continued her fight and became the first winning international case against revenge porn.   

    We can personally protect our own privacy by limiting what we post. We need to be cautious of how we use the internet and social media. People should not give out personal information so freely to people or the internet. This information can be used against you to find out everything about your identity.

    Privacy is a big issue in our world today and be more addressed and taken more seriously. People need to do what they can to protect their own privacy in order protect themselves and their own identity.  

Blog #7: Innovations through the Diffusion Theory

    The Diffusion Theory of Innovation is a theory of how new ideas or innovations spread through the population. This model shown to the left shows the theory on a graph. It starts with the innovators, or pioneers, in the launch phase of the concept. This is the very beginning of the new idea. It then moves to the early adopters which is the uptake phase as the idea gains more traction. The next phase is the tipping point which includes the early majority of people using the new idea. The idea continues on to the late majority beginning to adapt to this new concept which happens in the maturation phase. Finally, this new idea goes to the laggards in the saturation phase. These are the people to last come to use this new idea.

    A newer innovation that has gone through this diffusion theory is instant messaging. Instant messaging was not always as popular as it is today. It went through the phases of the diffusion theory as well. In the first few years after its invention, instant messaging was not very popular. The early adopters consisted of people using it after the Iraq invasions of Kuwait in order to get news in real time. The spike in instant messaging usage occurred when they made the innovation to be able to message people under all different mobile networks. 

    While instant messaging was a huge innovation, there were still many late adopters as well as people who never adopted at all. Many did not adopt this innovation due to a generational gap. People in older generations had other ways to communicate that work for them and they did not find a need for this new innovation for communication. 

    Instant messaging also comes with many downsides and negative impacts. When sending messages, people send them quickly without thinking. This could cause them to send things they don't mean or send messages that do not even make sense. There are also many privacy issues that could lead to identity theft or viruses on your server.

    Instant messaging was a major innovation that impacted how we communicate with others. This innovation went through the diffusion theory and shows the example of users using a new innovation to change their lives.     

    

Blog #6: Antiwar

    In looking at the websites  Antiwar.com and The American Conservative I learned more about an anti war perspective and speaking out against wars. It is rare to read articles against war and I personally do not see it often. These sites are trying to show the real history and agenda of these wars. I have never come across these sites specifically or any sites similar to them, especially when wars are a high topic in mainstream news. 

    On one of the sites I read an article discussing the real history behind the war in Ukraine. In this article, it is explained that Biden is the one pushing the war and is lying to the people as well as the mainstream media. The mainstream media is feeding these lies by sharing the stories without all of the true details according to this article. 

    I believe we don't see articles like these in the mainstream news and media simply because they do  not want us to see them. They sensor which news we are hearing in order to make it sound better. They tell us what they want to. The government promotes these other news sources and covers up sources such as these articles I am discussing. For example, during World War II, the promoted news had to go through a source to approve what was being said about the war. The media had to run their news through The Office of War Information in order to be allowed to share this news. 

    Our media can be very censored. It is controlled by what is promoted in the news and what is the top story. We talk about and focus on exactly what they want us to do. I think I have personally never seen these sites because the government and the media did not want me to. These sources are more hidden and harder to find than the media that is mainstream and focused on. 
  
 

Blog #5: EOTO Reaction

    In watching and listening to all of the presentations I found them all fascinating to learn about. I learned so many new things about technologies I use everyday. One presentation that stood out to me was learning about the history of the google search engine. This intrigued me because google is something that I use in my everyday life that I could not imagine life without it.

    Google has had a major impact on the way we use the internet today. It was invented in 1995 by two Stanford students named Larry Page and Sergey Bryn. They originally called it "BackRub" relating to the back-links used in the web page. Google began to grow in popularity and created the mission statement: "To organize the world's information and make it universally accessible and useful." The company quickly grew in popularity and they soon had offers from companies like Yahoo for $3 million to buy the company. They realized the potential of their new invention and ran with it. From the years 2005-2012 google began to create new google ideas. They create google maps, google calendar, and so much more. They used google in every aspect to help make people's lives and internet searching easier.   

    This easier way of browsing on the internet made google extremely popular. The use of these things known as spiders made it possible for these quickly accessible searches. These spiders essentially "crawl" using an algorithm to find the information you are looking for using keywords in your searches. This allows for the information you are trying to find to appear in seconds, or even less, on your screen.

    The quick searches and other google platforms allowed for rapid growth in users of google. These google platforms are used every single day to help makes people's lives easier. The use of google has become so common to be used daily by professionals, students, and even just the average person.   

Blog #2: The Supreme Court

    Before reading this article on the supreme court, I did not know much about it. I learned a lot about the supreme court from this article. One major concept that I learned was how much power the supreme court holds. The supreme court holds the power to create amendments to alter the constitution and bill of rights. An example the article discussed was the case of Brown v the Board of Education. In this case the supreme court made the decision to end segregation in schools. The supreme court makes many major decisions, such as this, that alters how Americans live their daily lives. 

 I was most surprised to learn that these supreme court justices are chosen then serve on the court until they pass away or retire. This was interesting and surprising to me because I did not know how the supreme court was chosen and how little they make changes to who serves on the court. The supreme court was originally made up of six justices but in 1869 a change was made and it is now made up of nine supreme court justices.

    A take-away that I got from this article was learning about the powers and authority of the supreme court. The supreme court justices are appointed by the president and are approves or denied by the senate. The the justice that holds the most power is known as the chief justice. The chief justice presides over the supreme court and also over trials of impeachment of the president of the United States.  

    I was surprised by everything I learned from this about the supreme court. I have a better understanding of how the supreme court works and what they are actually in charge of doing. This has changed how I view the supreme court because I now know the operations of it. I know how laws are made and changed by the supreme court the powers and jurisdiction they hold. I understand the importance of the supreme court and how their role in the judicial system impacts the nation and our lives.   

Blog #1: Top Five News Sources

 In my life I hear about current events through many different new outlets. Some are more traditional outlets, but most could be considered an untraditional way to keep up to date with the news. My top five new sources would include: 1) Tik Tok 2) Instagram 3) Google News 4) Class 5) NBC news. Though they might not all be the most traditional new outlets, I think they are growing and all fairly common today.

1) Tik Tok

    Tik Tok is an app that I use every single day. While it is an app for everything, I find out a majority of my news from here. Since I am on it so much, I am able to see up to date news on here because people upload so quickly. I can also view other new sources from this one app. New outlets such as Fox, CNN, ABC, and so much more all post their latest news in a quick video on tik tok. An example of how I use this in my life is the recent events of the shooting at UNC. I first saw this tragic event through tik tok as I was on my "For You Page." Your for you page is a section on tik tok with videos specifically for you.  I saws a video regarding what had just occurred at UNC only hours before. I was then able to share this video to my friends and family and use tik tok to spread the news of this horrific event.  Using tik tok as a news outlet has become very common as many people spend a lot of time on this app. It is a quick and easy way to widely spread news. 

2) Instagram  

    Instagram is another profound app in sharing news. In a very similar way to tik tok, instagram is used by various news sources to share the current news. People spend a majority of their time on apps liked instagram therefore it is a very efficient way to share what is happening in the world around them. It is a very modernized way to remain updated on the news. Millennials and Gen Z are beginning to turn to apps such as instagram as a primary news source. These younger generations tend to use this as a way to learn information and news because it is how they were raised. They were raised in the age of social media and as a result they turn to social media for everything. The latest, trends, ideas, and even news all are often learned through scrolling on their instagram feed. Using instagram as a news source is fast and simple and extremely common amongst younger generations.

3) Google News

    Google News is a source that I do not use as often as social media sources. This is one of the sources I use to learn more information about a news event. Google News is a great source I use to do more research on what is currently happening. If i hear about certain news, but I do not know much about it, I research it on google news in order to learn the specifics of the event. An example of how I used google news recently in my life is with Hurricane Idalia. My family had asked me how the hurricane was going to effect me in North Carolina. I did not know much about the upcoming hurricane, so I used google news to learn about the hurricane. I was able to gain information from this and could inform my family that the hurricane would not hit the part of North Carolina that I am in. Google News is very useful to dive deeper on news and get the full story of the events occurring. 

4) Class

    I find that I learn a lot of useful information and news through class. Especially in Media Law and Literacy, I am able to learn news that I have not yet heard. An example of this is I learned about Trump getting arrested in Georgia. I had not heard anything about this and it was enlightening to learn about. I was able to hear others opinion on the news as well as the facts of what occurred. Class is a useful way to learn news and information because you are able to get different perspectives on a situation. You can learn about the event in different ways and gain an insight on a topic that you had not thought of in that way before. Also hearing of news from an adult perspective is interesting as well. I am able to learn the facts of these events as well as how they abide by or break our constitutional first amendment rights. Class opens me up to many new stories and events that I had not heard of as well as new ways to look at these concepts.

5) NBC News

        Nbc news is a more traditional news outlet that I use. I tend to use NBC through other sources. I will watch NBC videos through tik tok or instagram. I watch their news posts most often through social media. I also use their online sources, like the articles posted, when looking up a specific news story. I use NBC to learn more about a story I heard little about. One way I used NBC that was helpful to learn information was about the Idaho murders last year. I learned of this news through an NBC post on tik tok and did further research into it using an article they posted. While I do not watch the news channel on TV, it is also a great way to get live news stories everyday. This news outlet is useful because it can be found everywhere. It is on TV, social media apps, the internet, and is an extremely accessible news source. NBC is a great source to use in order to get facts about current events happening around us.       

Blog #4: Development of Communication Technologies (EOTO)

    Instant messaging was a very important innovation in technology. It is still extremely popular today, and has only gotten bigger in recent years. It is a fairly new development as it was created a few decades ago, but did not gain popularity until about 20 years ago. Instant messaging has had many positive and negative impacts on our society as well as revolutionized the way we communicate with one another.

    The first form of instant messaging was chat rooms online using Internet Relay Chat, or IRC. This was created in 1988 by Jarkko Oikarinen in Finland, then spread globally and gained more popularity in 1989. People used these chat rooms to talk in real time to people which was a huge innovation. The use of IRC drastically increased in 1991 when it was used to communicate up-to-date information on Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait. Radio and television was cut off so IRC was the only way to communicate and find out what was occurring.

     These instant messages remained popular, but did not become the instant text messages that we are more familiar with today  until a few years later. The very first text message read “Merry Christmas” and was sent in December of 1992. This was sent by Neil Papworth who was a young engineer for the network company Vodafone UK. He sent this message to a coworker Richard Jarvis who received this on an Orbitel 901 (pictured to the right). Jarvis could not respond to the text message yet but this was the first instance of using the technology to receive a message.

A year after its invention, a phone was released that included SMS in order to send text messages. However, you could only message people under the same mobile network as you. In 1999, messaging really took off because you were then able to message people under a different network as you. Instant messaging rapidly increased in popularity as these new network advancements took place. People liked this new technology because they were able to get into contact with people at a faster pace. They could simply send them a message no matter where they were. It improved how we communicate with others around us. It caused major advances in communication locally and worldwide both in a cordial and professional way amongst peers.

Today, instant messaging is the most used form of digital communication worldwide. While it originated in the UK, it is used by billions of people worldwide. Instant messaging has had a huge impact on the world especially in regards to our ability to communicate and how we communicate. It has especially affected the younger generations, since they were raised with it. Many of these younger kids show these affects of instant messaging within their academic work. While it includes many positives, such as faster typing and writing ability, it also comes with multiple negative effects. One of the biggest negative impacts it has is a lack of organization and proper mechanics. These kids are used to texting casually that when they begin to write academically, they use those improper writing skills. They fail to organize their writing into proper paragraphs and cannot correctly use grammar and punctuation. Instant messaging also had impacted people's mental health. The use of instant messaging has lowered their attention span and caused them to show symptoms relating to ADHD. These people are increasing their internet addiction through instant messaging as well as hurting their mental health and abilities.

People have become so reliant on this form of communication that they are lessening their ability to properly communicate without instant messaging. While it has brought many major advances through this form of communication, it has begun to hurt the younger generation. They have become reliant and so used to instant messaging that it has caused them to change how they communicate in the real world.    

Blog #3: Eight Values of Free Expression

 One of the eight values of free expression that stood out to me was the fourth one. The fourth value deals with individual self-fulfillment. This stood out to me because having the right to freely express yourself through speech and other aspects allows individuality. Each person can create their own identity under this value. The government does not have the right to control your thoughts, words, actions or identity, as long as it is protected under the first amendment. 

We use this value every single day in our lives. Each and every one of us is different and unique and that stems from this value. We are granted this right to individuality from our government. As quoted in this article, "What makes the United States distinctive is the emphasis on the individual’s rights. And that includes the individual’s right to choose and shape his or her own identity. It’s not set in stone." The United States allows this shaping of each individual's identity through our constitutional rights and amendments. This means that every person can freely speak and think for themselves without the government punishing them for these words and thoughts. Though this is a right we are granted, in recent events I believe this right has been violated. Here is a list of some elected officials who have been banned on various social media platforms including twitter, facebook, and youtube. This is taking away a right to freely express their individual thoughts on these platforms. One of these cases is dealing with former President of the United States, Donald Trump. It states that he was banned from twitter permanently on January 8,2021. The cause for banning him was for potentially inciting violence. The acts that took place at the US Capitol were blamed on Trump's speech, claiming that he incited these actions. In Trump's speech he used the words "peacefully' and "patriotically." He did not incite violence, he simply wanted to protest the election which he believed was inaccurate. These thoughts and a peaceful protest are allowed under the first amendment and this value of identity. He had the right to speak his mind and share his thoughts on the election.

This value of individuality and identity resonates most with me because of instances like this. I believe in the right to have freedom of speech and identity. In order to have an identity you must be able to speak your mind and have the right to freely think your opinions and express them openly.  In this time, identity is extremely valuable and important to people. It allows people to express themselves in appropriate manners. This concept is rare outside of the United States and punishing people for a tweet or a thought goes against this right and value of free expression. 

This fourth value of individual self-fulfillment stood out to me because it directly correlates to individuality of an identity. If our nation knew these amendments and rights and practiced them in the world, issues like these would be avoided. We would all know our own rights and be able to implement them in our lives correctly.