Blog Post #11: Final Post

Last week, the holy tradition of Lent began. Lent is the "Christian season of spiritual preparation before Easter." Mardi Gras and the day after Ash Wednesday are easily recognizable precursors to this holy season. On Ash Wednesday, Lent officially begins, and a key part of this is fasting and almsgiving. All Catholic adults must give something up that they find joy in for the next forty days. For example, my dad always gives up soda. 

 

Well, this year, I decided to go without the app TikTok. I deleted it from my phone and immediately felt the withdrawal from it. I found myself spending more time on apps like Instagram and X, and I felt the lack of quick and easy dopamine rush that fast-paced social media apps like TikTok give us.

 

Now that I have spent a week without the app on my phone, I do not feel the effects as much, but I have noticed that I spend less time procrastinating, and my screen time has been significantly lowered. This has triggered some self-reflection where I now realize just how much the app TikTok has changed my generation since it became popular in the past five years. 

 Where did TikTok Come From?

 

It felt like TikTok suddenly appeared on my phone and never left its place there until now. 

This concept of "short-form" videos became a globalized phenomenon around 2013 through the social media app Vine and then transitioned into Musical.ly, and finally, we had TikTok. It was initially skit videos or lip-syncing to popular songs. Still, in the past five years, the social media app has grown to have up to ten-minute videos uploaded to it, along with churning out popular content creators whose careers are essentially TikTok. 

 

The app also has had its fair share of controversy. The app has been criticized and condemned many times and has been threatened with removal from the app store in the U.S., but it is still available for download and as successful as ever.

TikTok Addiction

The term "TikTok Addiction" may be a term to scoff at, but it is genuinely a psychological concern to many parents and medical professionals. I once had a friend who had a fourteen-hour screen time on TikTok. 

 

Brown University's School of Public Health explains that "the appeal and entertainment value of content posted on TikTok is a major factor in its popularity." A particular sound or video trend will go viral; everyone wants to recreate that concept. Other users enjoy the endless scroll of seemingly never-ending videos until three hours have passed, and suddenly, it's dark outside. 

 

Brown University states that "the infinite scroll and variable reward pattern of TikTok likely increase the addictive quality of the app as they may induce a flow-like state for users that is characterized by a high degree of focus and productivity at the task at hand."Artificial Intelligence is also factored in because this usage of AI helps create a "For You" page based on what they think users will enjoy. It is unlike what other social media apps like FaceBook and Instagram use, which is just based on "likes." For TikTok, the AI notices what you like, what you bookmark and share with friends, and how long you spend on each video. 

 

All these factors have created a "TikTok addiction" for most people my age. I felt the withdrawals just like a drug addict, and I noticed how much time I spent on the app when I was no longer using it. My screen time lowered, and I became more productive during the day. 

 

 The concept of the short-form video has revolutionized how we as a society consume media. For example, my parents have criticized TikTok and never fail to remind me of their distaste for it. They have refused to download it. But then, they turn around and spent at least one hour a day on Instagram Reels, a new aspect of Instagram released last year to combat their loss of users due to TikTok's popularity. 

What my parents have failed to realize is that they too have fallen susceptible to the quick surge of dopamine rush provided by short-form videos. Even YouTube has a section now for "Shorts".

I genuinely don't think society could ever let go of the technology that has gotten us to this form of social media. I know that once Lent has ended, I will probably redownload TikTok, and until then, I will spend time on Instagram and Twitter for the quick installations of entertainment.

But I have learned from this experience. Social media is not an inherent bad. There are so many good aspects that we gloss over. It makes us laugh and we can stay in contact with family and friends. It can inspire the occasional burst of creativity and contributes to our economy in large ways.

If we are mindful with our social media intake, as well as what we are consuming and how much we are consuming, we can peacefully co-exist with our technology and not let it become a medical study on a new form of "addiction."

Works Cited

Bujph. “What Makes TikTok so Addictive?: An Analysis of the Mechanisms Underlying the     World’s Latest Social Media Craze.” Brown Undergraduate Journal of Public Health, 13 Dec. 2021, sites.brown.edu/publichealthjournal/2021/12/13/tiktok.

Fairchild, Mary. “Learn What Lent Means to Christians.” Learn Religions, 3 Feb. 2020, www.learnreligions.com/what-is-lent-700774.

The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. “TikTok | App History, Videos, China, and Controversies.” Encyclopedia Britannica, 19 Feb. 2024, www.britannica.com/topic/TikTok.

 

 

 

 Blog Post #10: What I Learned During EOTO Presentations #2

Total Information Awareness

I really enjoyed all of the presentations, but the one that stood out to me the most was the topic of "Total Information Awareness." I had known that the concept of the TSA was birthed out of 9/11, but I never knew that there were prior attempts to increase national security. In all honesty, the design of technology of using data to determine if people were a security threat in the early 2000s is admirable, but obviously had to have had its hiccups. 

The Guardian writes that, post 9/11, the U.S. came eerily close to becoming a surveillance state. Edward Snowden explained that the American public should have expected this, but they chose not to. He states that, "the false claim that expanding state power was necessary to avoid certain death from further terrorist atrocities has led to decades of public indifference." 

It could be debated that the 9/11, and the use of Total Information Awareness led to the lack of public outcry regarding privacy breaches, as we have previously studied. The production of Total Information Awareness provided the government a massive loophole regarding warrantless searches. The combination of this and the Patriot Act allowed the government to burst through any door or window they wanted, regardless of "constitutional protection", and search anything if they deemed you a national security risk. This eventually led to the programs, DARPA and CAPPS 2.

According to Wired, this mass collection of data was eventually abandoned by the government and funneled into agencies like the TSA and expanding national security budgets. But now, massive tech companies like FaceBook and Google do the same exact thing as what Total Information Awareness strived to do, and the public does not even bat an eye. As Wired explains, "as Total Information Awareness was being disassembled in Washington, DC, a similar system emerged, and began to gather momentum, in Silicon Valley." This is now a popular business model that allows social media companies to determine what advertisements you will respond to, what products you will buy, and even predict your keystrokes before they happen. 

Because of the long-term benefits of having personalized ads and auto-filled searches, we don't see that we are still living under Total Information Awareness. It is the same, it is just shaped a little differently twenty years later. These technology geniuses, like Zuckerberg, have taken this data and are making a large profit off of it.  

In closing, I enjoyed all of the EOTO presentations, but I was thoroughly interested in Total Information Awareness. I had no clue that there was a precursor to the TSA, and it was interesting, albeit frightening, that technology companies kept the technology and created something just as invasive.

Works Cited

“Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency.” DARPA RSS, www.darpa.mil/. Accessed 21 Feb. 2024.

DiResta, Renee. “How the Tech Giants Created What DARPA Couldn’t.” Wired, Conde Nast, 29 May 2018, www.wired.com/story/darpa-total-informatio-awareness/.

“‘Panic Made Us Vulnerable’: How 9/11 Made the US Surveillance State – and the Americans Who Fought Back.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 4 Sept. 2021, www.theguardian.com/world/2021/sep/04/surveillance-state-september-11-panic-made-us-vulnerable.

 Blog Post #9: The Age of A.I. 

After watching Frontline's documentary, "In the Age of AI," I learned many new things. The first thing that stood out to me was the dotcom crash of 2000. Before watching this documentary, I had never heard of that or had even thought that a dotcom could crash financially. Time Magazine said the dotcom market grew slowly until it suddenly crashed. This was surprising to discover. Something else that surprised me was the origin story of Google and how its founders were against ad revenue. I cannot imagine Google today or any other internet browser without ads. There would be no other way for them to make an income. The most frightening thing I learned during this documentary was the surveillance state that the nation of China is described as. I had known of their overbearing political leader as well as their treatment of Uyghur Muslims. Still, I had no idea the country was slowly inserting its technology into other countries.

The Positive's and Negative's of AI

There are some positives to the increased use of AI in our world. It can help keep us safe by scanning faces to ensure that very dangerous people are not walking around with us, but at the same time, those scanners scan every person and store data they do not need to have. This plays into China's usage of a surveillance state and how they separate Uyghur Muslims from the rest of the country's population and watch everyone in the country. As the documentary states, it has created a situation where everyone trails data. 

 

Another negative of AI is that it perpetuates inequalities. It takes away jobs that used to be run by people, such as cashiers and causes more prominent technology companies to buy up smaller ones, thus creating a monopoly. AI is slowly changing how our economy works, not for the better. It makes the rich more prosperous and the poor poorer, and this will inevitably cause a devastating crash in our economic system. 

 

The documentary also discusses that our nation's democracy is threatened by AI unless social norms are changed. AI is widely accepted nowadays, but people need to realize that, as with most technological innovations, there are upsides but also downsides. 

 

One example of this is how AI is changing the system of education. So many people use ChatGPT to complete assignments nowadays, and it is altering how teachers deliver lessons and how assignments are evaluated for plagiarism. ChatGPT can greatly help educators if appropriately used, but most students view this as an easy way to finish homework. It is discussed that long-term usage of ChatGPT puts students at a disadvantage as they may be making good grades, but they are no longer thinking for themselves and are putting themselves at risk for academic punishment. 

 

AI can be a handy tool, but like most new technological advancements, it can also be perilous. We can see this in countries like China and our own through forced economic disparity and threats to how our government operates democratically. AI may keep us safe at times, but at the same time, it could be contributing to our downfall. 

 

Works Cited

Geier, Ben. “Tech Stocks and the 2000 Dotcom Bust: 15 Years of Wall Street Lessons.” Time, Time, 12 Mar. 2015, time.com/3741681/2000-dotcom-stock-bust/.

“In the Age of AI.” YouTube, Frontline, 2 Dec. 2019, www.youtube.com/watch?v=5dZ_lvDgevk.

Kirk, Tom. “CHATGPT, We Need to Talk.” University of Cambridge, 5 Apr. 2023, www.cam.ac.uk/stories/ChatGPT-and-education.

 

 

 

 Blog Post #8: The Sherman Anti-Trust Act & Media Consolidation

 What is the Sherman Anti-Trust Act & Media Consolidation?

Have you ever noticed that there are so many different competing news organizations telling us all the same things? You may think, "Why don't we just have one?" In my personal experience, four local news channels are telling me the same thing regarding local happenings. Well, the reason why we have so many is because of the Sherman Anti-Trust Act. 

 

The Sherman Anti-Trust Act is a "landmark U.S. law that bans businesses from colluding or merging to form a monopoly." This law is why when certain companies wish to merge, they must jump through many hoops and even end up on Capitol Hill, testifying in front of Congress. This Act was passed in 1890 to prevent certain powerful groups from "dictating, controlling, and manipulating prices in a particular market." This Act was proposed with the aim of promoting economic fairness and keeping the market competitive while keeping an eye on intrastate commerce. This was the first time the United States Congress attempted to halt specific individuals from putting a corner on the market and subtly controlling the economy. 

 

The Act was named after Ohio Senator John Sherman, who proposed it. The Act remained untouched until 1914, when it was amended by the Clayton Anti-Trust Act, which addressed certain economic aspects that Sherman's Act did not mention. During the early twentieth century, the American public felt particularly hostile towards companies like Standard Oil and the American Railway Union because they monopolized industries such as oil and the railroads. 

 

One of the most critical features of the Sherman Anti-Trust Act is that it keeps the American job market extremely competitive while remaining open to ever-changing business practices. This Act is also a criminal law when violated. Those found violating the Sherman Anti-Trust Act can face up to ten years in prison or pay a fine of up to one million dollars if it is just one person or up to one hundred million dollars if an entire corporation is found in violation. Some modern-day violations of the Sherman Anti-Trust Act have been Google, Microsoft, and Apple because of accusations "of seeking to create a monopoly in Internet browser software" and " exploiting the market power of its app store." 

 

Media Consolidation is" the concentration of ownership of our news sources into the hands of fewer and fewer corporations." This definition ties into the Anti-Trust Act because it ensures that not just one news organization handles how we discover our information and has access to many different perspectives and types of information. John Light writes, "Americans recognize that the media does not represent their views, and media consolidation is largely to blame." In the early 1980s, most U.S. media could be tracked through fifty separate organizations, but now, nearly thirty years later, that number has dropped drastically. 

 

The U.S. government wanted to preserve media diversity by preventing media consolidation. This was done by regulating corporations from owning too many newspapers or television stations. 

How Does the Sherman Anti-Trust Act & Media Consolidation Affect Us?

The ability to discern what type of news media we wish to take in is hugely pivotal for our country. John Light writes, "when corporations control media coverage, they can keep the public in the dark about legislation that hurts the public interest but helps their bottom line." A recent PEW research study found that "57 percent of Americans get their news from television, 25 percent from radio, and 20 percent from newspapers." We can see here that some media forms are dying out, which is inevitable in our ever-changing society. Still, if news organizations become monopolized, we lose a considerable part of our ability to find accurate information that will allow us to make crucial decisions, such as who to vote for or if public outcry is necessary.
 
Local news journalists have said that "corporations dictate their  priorities with little knowledge of the communities they cover." Local news channels are important because they help us stay informed about our community.
 
Without the news, we would live in the dark as to what is happening in our own country and worldwide. For me, that type of naivete is a terrifying thought. All segments of society would be affected by this because everyone needs news. In this situation, ignorance is not bliss.

 

Works Cited

 

Kenton, Will. “Sherman Antitrust Act: Definition, History, and What It Does.” Investopedia, Investopedia, www.investopedia.com/terms/s/sherman-antiturst-act.asp. Accessed 12 Feb. 2024.

 

Light, John. “What Is Media Consolidation and Why Should Anyone Care?” BillMoyers.Com, 17 May 2017, billmoyers.com/story/media-consolidation-should-anyone-care/.

 

  

 

Blog Post #7: How "Privacy" Affects Us

 "Privacy."

(Guest).

I had always heard that the internet was never truly secure, but there must be some semblance of privacy. However, after watching the TED Talk videos, I quickly realized I needed to be corrected. As I continued to watch the videos, I slowly learned that nothing online has a complete aura of privacy. I think some of the most horrifying things I saw in the videos were the doll that connected to Bluetooth and other voices could speak through it, as well as the police technology that can easily track where we come and go from even when you do not have a prior criminal record. 

How "Privacy" Affects Us

Firstly, the concept of privacy presented to us in these videos does not make us safe. Take, for example, the usage of license plate scanners. As someone who drives a car pretty regularly and knows many other people who drive cars as their primary usage of transportation, it is pretty creepy to know that even though I have not done anything wrong, the government are keeping large quantities of data on innocent citizens. At first, I could have understood scanning license plates to keep everyone on the roads safe and ensure that the police were not letting someone drive by with a warrant out for their arrest. Still, when Catharine Crump began discussing how the police also had photographs, I found that over the top. 

 

Something else that alarmed me was the children's toy, Cayla. Growing up, I remember playing the app "Talking Angela." This game was released in 2012, and my parents were very weary of it. Users could "speak" to Angela when using the app, and she would respond. It was one of the beginning uses of AI technology. I only had the app a few days before my parents had me delete it because they feared something more sinister could be done with it, such as someone else hacking in and listening or speaking through it. As I watched the video on Cayla, I realized my parent's concerns were not that far off ten years ago.

 

Government Intervention

There should be more legislation and policing regarding our privacies as American citizens. But this is easier to say than do.

Darieth Chrisholm explains that it took so much hard work to bring charges to the man who uploaded her nudes on the web. The extent of the charges in forty states is merely a five-hundred fine and minimal jail time, if any. She had to jump through so many hoops, and eventually, the man was arrested, but not without strife. Changes need to be made regarding this issue. 

 

Another place where the government needs to step in is talking toys like Cayla, where it is effortless for internet hackers to get in via Bluetooth and speak through Cayla. Toys like these that can put a child in harm's way, unknowingly, need to be policed.

 

How Can We Protect Ourselves?

The best way to protect ourselves is to be mindful. In some situations, such as the police monitoring our comings and goings, we can't do much. Still, in aspects such as talking dolls like Cayla or sending sensitive information over emails, we can think twice before making purchases or writing sensitive information in an email. Another way that we can protect ourselves is to be mindful of our digital footprint because once something is online, it is very likely online forever. Finally, we should trust our technology less than we do. It is easy to get wrapped up in the new online fads and how easy it is to do so many things because of our technological advancements, but there is always an underlying problem, and we should keep an eye out for privacy discrepancies. It is impossible to shun technology nowadays, but it is also essential to factor in caution. 

Works Cited

Chisholm, Darieth. “How Revenge Porn Turns Lives Upside Down.” TED Talks, www.ted.com/talks/darieth_chisolm_how_revenge_porn_turns_lives_upside_down. 

Crump, Catherine. “The Small and Surprisingly Dangerous Detail the Police Track About You.” TED Talks, www.ted.com/talks catherine_crump_the_small_and_surprisingly_dangerous_detail_the_police_track_about_you.

Enriquez, Juan. “Your Online Life, Permanent as a Tattoo.” TED Talks, www.ted.com/talks/juan_enriquez_your_online_life_permanent_as_a_tattoo.

Guest. “Do We Have Privacy Rights Anymore?” Pixel Spot, 14 July 2020, www.pixelspot.net/2020/07/14/do-we-have-privacy-rights-anymore.

Myrstad, Finn Lützow-Holm. “How Tech Companies Deceive You Into Giving up Your Data and Privacy.” TED Talks, www.ted.com/talks/finn_lutzow_holm_myrstad_how_tech_companies_deceive_you_into_giving_up_your_data_and_privacy.

Soghoian, Christopher. “How to Avoid Surveillance ... With the Phone in Your Pocket.” TED Talks, www.ted.com/talks/christopher_soghoian_how_to_avoid_surveillance_with_the_phone_in_your_pocket.

“Talking Angela App Review.” Common Sense Media, 14 Oct. 2015, www.commonsensemedia.org/app-reviews/talking-angela.

Yen, Andy. “Think Your Email&Apos;S Private? Think Again.” TED Talks, www.ted.com/talks/andy_yen_think_your_email_s_private_think_again.

Blog #6: Antiwar Opinions

 Blog Post #6: Antiwar Opinions

(FilippoBacci).

Antiwar Websites

I spent some time perusing both Antiwar.com and The American Conservative. The first thing I noticed when reading through the Antiwar website was that, at first glance, it could appear to be very bare bones, but as I continued to click around, I learned that it was extremely well-organized and was a fountain of information I had never heard of. One thing that piqued my interest was a section on recent antiwar news for almost every nation worldwide, even Vatican City! After some more snooping, I learned that they allow anyone to submit articles about antiwar topics, which clarified how they publish so much information in so many different places. Most mainstream news publications would only let someone from the general public submit a potentially controversial article if they were a government whistleblower or highly educated. 

 

I also looked through The American Conservative. I noticed that this website was more well-designed than Antiwar.com. I found it hard to believe that I had never heard of this publication when they are even published in print. At initial inspection, this website provided important information, and the journalists took their word research very seriously.

 

After looking through both websites, I began formulating ideas about why antiwar publications are so hard to find online and in print these days. 

Why Are We Anti-Antiwar?

(Category:George Washington portraits by Gilbert Stuart).

 

One theory as to why it is so challenging to access antiwar information on the internet is that it benefits the United States. When George Washington left office in 1796, he left a farewell address to the nation, in which he wrote, "prepare for danger frequently prevent much greater disbursements to repel it, avoiding likewise the accumulation of debt, not only by shunning occasions of expense, but by vigorous exertion in time of peace to discharge the debts which unavoidable wars may have occasioned, not ungenerously throwing upon posterity the burden which we ought to bear" (Washington). What he meant by this was to preserve our nation by not getting involved in unnecessary wars. Every battle is not ours to fight, but unfortunately, this is not the case nowadays. 

According to USA Today, the U.S. is the world's largest defense spender, and total arms sales topped $398 million, the highest number for the third consecutive year (Stebbins and Comen). Multiple U.S.-based companies thrive because of our constant involvement in war. For example, Lockheed Martin Corporation makes a profit of $2 billion each year because it is the largest defense contractor in the world. If our country did not continue to fund these wars and position our troops inside enemy lines, companies such as Lockheed Martin or Boeing would be making nowhere as close to as much money as they are right now. 

 

(Michon).

Something else to consider is the concept of a war economy.

A war economy is "the organization of a country's production capacity and distribution during a time of conflict" (Kenton). The United States has always done substantially well during wartime, such as World Wars I and II. Still, our economy suffers when wartime ends because we no longer put effort into wartime production and the job market shifts. While we have not entered a wartime market as strong as during the 1940s, it still benefits our economy in new ways when we stay invested in wars. Plus, it's even better when we only fund wars that don't harm the physical state of our country, just others. 

Works Cited

Antiwar.Com, www.antiwar.com/. Accessed 9 Feb. 2024.

“Category:George Washington Portraits by Gilbert Stuart.” Wikimedia Commons, commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:George_Washington_portraits_by_Gilbert_Stuart. Accessed 9 Feb. 2024.

FilippoBacci. “People Are Marching on Strike against War in the City. They Are...” iStock, www.istockphoto.com/photo/people-are-marching-on-strike-against-war-gm1378786760-442703744?utm_campaign=srp_photos_limitedresults&utm_content=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.pexels.com%2Fsearch%2Fantiwar%2F&utm_medium=affiliate&utm_source=pexels&utm_term=antiwar. Accessed 9 Feb. 2024.

Kenton, Will. “War Economy: Definition, Priorities, Example.” Investopedia, Investopedia, www.investopedia.com/terms/w/war-economy.asp. Accessed 9 Feb. 2024.

Michon, Heather. “How the War Changed the Economy for Good.” ThoughtCo, ThoughtCo, 19 Aug. 2019, www.thoughtco.com/world-war-i-economy-4157436.

Stebbins, Samuel, and Evan Comen. “Military Spending: 20 Companies Profiting the Most from War.” USA Today, Gannett Satellite Information Network, 21 Feb. 2019, www.usatoday.com/story/money/2019/02/21/military-spending-defense-contractors-profiting-from-war-weapons-sales/39092315/.

Washington, George. “George Washington’s Farewell Address.” George Washington’s Farewell Address (1796), www.georgewashington.org/farewell-address.jsp. Accessed 9 Feb. 2024.

Whitlock, Jeff. “Home.” The American Conservative, 6 Feb. 2024, www.theamericanconservative.com/.

 Blog Post #5: What I Learned During EOTO Presentations

(Leine, 2007).

 

 

When I visualize the concept of technology, I think about iPhones, computers, and TVs, but I never think much past that. As I listened to the presentations on Wednesday, I learned that technology is much more than our everyday electronics, and I learned loads of in-depth details about these technologies. 

One of the most interesting facts I learned was about carrier pigeons. I always considered them a joke from medieval times, but I was amazed that these pigeons were more of a modern-day technology and were even used in wars. I loved learning how they were bred to fly home because I had always needed clarification about how they knew exactly where to go and how messages did not end up lost. Something else I loved learning about was the origins of Bluetooth and its namesake, the Viking, Harald Bluetooth. It's funny to think it was initially just a code name, but I cannot imagine it being named anything else. 

I noticed a pattern in that a few inventors to be thanked for our hugest technological advancements, Google and Instagram, were Stanford graduates. It made me want to do more research on why Stanford is so important in today's world of technology, and I discovered an explanation for why Stanford University is so renowned. 

Stanford University is in the heart of Silicon Valley, home to many of our tech giants. According to the article, "In the realm of computer science and artificial intelligence, Stanford researchers have made significant contributions to the development of algorithms, machine learning, and robotics, shaping the future of technology" (Inspirit AI). Considering this is an Ivy League university, some of our most significant technological advancements have stemmed from here.

In closing, I immensely enjoyed listening to the EOTO presentations, and it has widened my perspective on just what technology can be and its importance. I also realized how most of our technology stems from others that have come before us, such as the inventor of the Cassette Tape admitting that he uses CDs and thinks they are an essential upgrade. 

 

Works Cited

 

Leine, 2007. “Learn Stock Image. Image of Isolated, Wood, Text, White - 5878161.” Dreamstime, 4 Aug. 2008, www.dreamstime.com/stock-image-learn-image5878161. 

 

“What Is Stanford Known for? Unveiling Stanford’s Global Prestige.” Inspirit AI, Inspirit AI, 4 Oct. 2023, www.inspiritai.com/blogs/ai-blog/what-is-stanford-known-for.