Technology and Me

 Final Blog Post

Ever since my late youth I have noticed that the increase in popularity of technology, especially that of the handheld variety, has skyrocketed.  While this can't be taken as a positive or a negative, there are many different pros and cons to the availability and mass production of technology, especially in my life and the lives of those around me.  

Credit: Nintendo

When I was about 11, my step-father got me my first game console, the Nintendo Wii.  This was a wonderful device that opened my eyes to a world of creativity and inspiration that I hadn't known till that point, and even though I didn't know it yet, that device would spark a curiosity in me that has lasted to this day and serves as the driving force for my interest in the professional world.  My relationship with technology is one of fascination and intrigue.  Much of my day revolves around technology, especially since I am working on graduating as a game design major.  

Technology in my life plays an essential role in most of my productivity.  As with everyone else in the modern age I do all of my writing on a computer, check my phone for updates on the news and weather, and take some time each day to listen to Spotify.  This reliance on technology, which has only been made possible in the last few decades, is fairly widespread in today's modern world.  According to Comparitech, the average adult spends around 7 hours a day looking at a screen, with about half of that coming from mobile devices.  While this statistic may seem a little extreme, it is easy for one to lose track of time while on a device or watching something on a screen.

Credit: Getty Images

The innovations in technology, especially in the last few years, has allowed for exceptional breakthroughs in the worlds of entertainment, health, marketing, etc.  These innovations in the work force come with their own pros and cons.  The availability of mechanized work means a decrease in jobs going to blue collar workers.  According to Fortunly, every 1 robot replaces about 1.6 human employees, and with each year that the technology improves this number goes up.  

Credit: Bored Ape Yacht Club

Another change that modern technology has brought about is the availability of social media and messaging.  This too is rather controversial, as before the age of technology terms like "cyberbullying" and "revenge porn" would have never been thought up.  The availability of media and messaging apps has allowed for media and information to spread like never before, but for every factually correct article, there's hundreds of spam pages dedicated to getting their readers to click on more links.  Phishing and scamming sites are also very prevalent in today's world, and with the creation of NFTs, scammers have even more avenues to take advantage of people.

While this all might be somewhat scary, technology has thus far proven to be an important stepping stone in human development.  With each new piece of technology there will inevitably be some problems, but each problem presents multiple solutions, often furthering the previous advances and innovations that came before.

Important Values

 Blog Post #3

The idea of the Eight Values of Free Expression holds many very impactful and influential ideas, but some hold truer than others.  As good as things like Stable Change are, ideas such as Protecting Dissent and Promoting Innovation hold far more weight in the infrastructural strength of a modern society.

(Getty Images)

As the needs of society increase, it becomes increasingly important for the innovation of modern and past technologies into our coming future.  With each passing day, every one of the world's nations improve their technological knowledge tenfold.  As stated by MasterClass, although intended for a different contextual purpose, innovation allows a nation to stay ahead of the technological curve, and as other countries blossom into their technological revolutions, it only stands to reason that our nation should continue to lead that push.  Since the industrial revolution America has stood as the leader of technological innovation in the modern age, and this constant increase in knowledge allows America to pave the way for other developing nations as they too innovate and improve their own technologies.  As stated by Julia Kylliainen of Viima, "since the Industrial Revolution, energy-driven consumption of fossil fuels has led to a rapid increase in CO2 emissions, disruption the global carbon cycle and leading to a planetary warming impact."

Similarly to innovation, dissent has been nothing if not the backbone of America's history.  At its birth, America was a group of dissenting colonists who were sick of a government that treated them poorly.  Dissent and the idea that a negative government should be overthrown is something almost entirely exclusive to the Western ideology, and it has been incredibly influential on global politics.  America's drive to push against over-stepping governments assisted the world in both World Wars and has allowed for America to remain one of the most well put together nations in the world.  If only to perfectly summarize the importance of this value, Justice Deepak Gupta stated, "Dissent is essential in a democracy. If a country has to grow in a holistic manner where not only the economic rights but also the civil rights of the citizen are to be protected, dissent and disagreement have to be permitted, and in fact, should be encouraged. It is only if there is discussion, disagreement and dialogue that we can arrive at better ways to run the country."

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Internet Security and Exploitation Prevention

 

Blog Post #7

In an era of technology such as ours' today, it should come as no surprise that security and privacy are of the absolute utmost importance.  Internet security is one of the most talked about and advertised services available, with VPN networks and private Wi-Fi networks offering some semblance of security.  With all of this considered, one might wonder how exactly it could change anyone's life, and how it affects the world as a whole.

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Most majorly, almost every social media platform could be subject to a major hacking or victim to some cyber crime.  One example that I've personally noticed lately is the surprising large upswing in Instagram account hacks.  This was reported on by Metro in 2021, when a dangerous Instagram message could allow a hacker to gain access to your account if you accessed it.

The leaking of information and images is an incredibly dangerous issue, as stated by Darieth Chisolm in her TED Talk.  The nature in which she was exploited out of revenge is something that can affect anyone, and with social messaging apps as easily hackable as they are today, images can be found and leaked more easily than ever.  One major issue brought up during this TED Talk was the fact that the government has very few policies in place to illegalize these kinds of actions online.

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In many cases the government cannot discipline perpetrators for their exact crime due to the lacking specificity in modern laws.  Much of today's law makers' still don't quite understand internet crimes as clearly as they should, and due to this fact the lack of laws allows for many perps to get off with dramatically shorter sentences than they almost always deserve.  A fairly uncomplicated way to go about making new laws to prevent these kinds of crimes would be to analyze cases like Chisolm's so that governments might be able to further understand how these crimes typically happen and how the perpetrators go about taking advantage of the victims.  Putting strict laws in place specifically declaring things like blackmail, revenge porn, and other forms of online extortion or harassment illegal would greatly reduce the likelihood of these kinds of crimes.

To further this, as stated by Christopher Soghoian in his TED Talk, people should use safer services for their online communication.  Many of the popular services and social media apps that we use daily are far more dangerous than one might think.  Almost every social media app is prone to being hacked, this has been seen in Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat.  The one most important thing proposed by Soghoian was to use safer apps like Apple's messaging and FaceTime apps or WhatsApp.  Tips like these can help you stay safer, and employing laws to keep people safer from hacks and online exploitation would be greatly beneficial for the future of our modern country.

What I Learned About Modern Technology

 

Blog Post #6

While it's no secret to anyone living in the modern world that technology is almost entirely dominating our current world, there are quite a few facts about the developments of said technology that I learned from the first EOTO assignment.  These new tidbits of knowledge came from all over the technological timeline, spanning hundreds of years and thousands of miles, many of which actually had some carryover with one another.

One of the first few bits of knowledge I gained was a bit of an update on the timeline that I didn't quite know, that being the fact that the Pony Express was immediately succeeded by the telegram as the leading form of communication in the West.  This also bled over to the fact that the telephone existed in tandem with the telegraph in common use due to the low cost of the telegraph.  

(Photo from Smithsonian American Art Museum)

Another set of facts I didn't know focus around the USB.  One might not believe it, but the USB was originally a set of innovations combined into one singular invention, not the direct result of a definite idea.  USB sticks were also originally only 8 MBs in size.  Computers were also vastly different originally.  Not only did the regular sized computers originally take up entire rooms in buildings and what we would consider a personal computer was originally called a microcomputer.  

Quite a bit of our visual technology has also come a long way as of late.  Out of the plethora of facts I learned, my favorite might be the fact that Disney and Universal attempted to sue Sony over the idea of VHS tapes.  This is because VHS tapes allowed for more piracy and could possibly lead to the companies losing money, of course Disney and Universal lost the case.

Why No Antiwar Sources

 Blog Post #5

Since the inception of America, we have been a very pro-war nation.  Having engaged in at least twelve major wars in less than 300 years, the idea of disagreeing with the national war effort is often seen as treasonous.  This couldn't be any clearer than in the availability of antiwar websites or the absolute lack of antiwar news sources in popular media.  

There are many different factors contributing to this lack of antiwar coverage in mass media.  One of the most apparent from the outset is the lack of funding these sources have.  Since antiwar media is much less profitable than sources that feed into the patriotic act of war, they often get less financial backing from sponsors.  This lack of financial support can lead to lack of employees, resulting in what can be seen on antiwar.com, which is visually rather difficult to navigate.  Antiwar.com is also currently looking for funding, a sign of the lack of financial support.

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Another factor that faces these antiwar groups is the fact that war is largely considered to spark the economy, a fairly debatable statement. For many this proposed economic boom definitely isn't undesirable, even if the required factor to start it is a war. As stated by Peter Pham of Forbes, "South Korea and Taiwan both received similar benefits like Japan from war, profiting from wartime economies and later, demilitarization."

One of the only majorly successful antiwar movements in American history was the movement against the Vietnam War. While this movement was successful, it was also largely due to the fact that the Vietnam War was one of attrition that America couldn't hold out long enough to win. These movements have always been mildly successful, but never gained as much traction as the anti-Vietnam War movement did.

This lack of funding and lack of general popularity has led to these sites being largely ignored by the mainstream media. Antiwar statements also generally don't make very good news, as they oppose many of the statements of those higher up in society that could serve to gain off of the war.

Overton Window

 

Blog Post #8

In the 1990's, a free-market advocate by the name of Joseph P. Overton tossed around an idea he had come up with entitled the "Overton Window."  This window, while only metaphorical, would be a major influence on political documentation and commentary for decades to come.  

This idea states that there is a window of policy and speech that is deemed acceptable, and that going outside of that window can have serious repercussions to social acceptability and maintaining things like cabinet positions.  As this theory has developed political ideals have changed quite dramatically, drawing this theory back into the public eye in a fairly major way.

This graph illustrates the Overton Window, and shows how the balance of policy and popular can quickly become unpopular and fall into the category of radical.  This balance must be maintained by sticking to the status quo, or what is expected and accepted by the general public.  

As of late, this theory has been used in comparison to previous President Donald Trump, as he greatly broke the status quo. According to Vox writer Carlos Maza, "Trump’s presidency has forced news networks to grapple with conspiracy theories, right-wing trolls, and dishonest government spokespeople -- making them a regular fixture of our national political debates." This statement proclaims that since Trump has made it common-place to go outside the norm and be controversial, that it's now an inevitability that trolls and radical speakers will be prevalent in today's political world.

One prominent idea that has arisen as of this recent change in politics is the idea that the Overton Window can actually move, where what was once absolutely unacceptable can become what everyone assumes is normal.  This has happened in the past, where political leaders have been able to completely shift the outlook of a peoples, making them do things that they might have once considered unthinkable.  This outlook is another one of the speculative ideas that has been weighed against Trump's presidency.

The power that was shown during the four year stint in office was palpable, and it was almost entirely because of how controversial he was.  His ability to shift the public eye so entirely allowed his cabinet to put in place laws that almost definitely would not have passed otherwise.  Laws restricting firearms and marijuana alone have changed quite dramatically in the last four years in ways that likely would have been unthinkable to someone from just a few decades ago.

Justin Sullivan - Getty Images

One of the reasons why this radical way of going about politics works so well is the fact that it feeds into what a specific audience wants to hear.  The further these specific groups can get into their ideals, the more likely they are to continue converting others to their way of thinking.  As stated by tech analyst Ben Thompson, "The most successful politicians in an aggregated world are not the ones who serve the party but rather those who tell voters what they most want to hear."  This all comes together to explain what the Overton Window is and how it can influence a voting populace.

Development of the Camera Phone

 Blog Post #4

Since its conception, the camera phone has been an incredibly fast developing and surprisingly controversial piece of modern technology.  The camera phone's first known development and ideation came about in 1993, when inventor Daniel A. Henderson invented a prototype for a device called the "Intellect."  This device would have been able to capture, transfer, and view images, while also providing the user with communication abilities.  This device was awarded 6 U.S. patents for innovation and was promptly donated to the Smithsonian after its development.

After this, the boom in camera phone technology was palpable, with multiple attempts to capitalize on the idea.  The two most popular and talked about of these were the Samsung SCH-V200 Camera Phone and the Sharp Electronics J-SH04 J-Phone, which both released commercially within a 5 month window of each other in 2000. 

The former could take and store up to 20 photos, but required an outside computer to transfer images to.  This development in camera phone technology was not unique in its own right, but the sales of the Samsung SCH-V200 Camera Phone were unparalleled.  This shift in technology was not only following an upward trend, but it led to the mass popularity of the idea of the camera phone. (Featured right)

The next major camera phone, the Sharp Electronics J-SH04 J-Phone, amusingly had less features than its competitor.  Having less than a third of the storage of the former, the J-Phone's main draw was the ability to transfer pictures to others without the need of an external computer.

The first phone to be truly acknowledged in the U.S. as a camera phone was released in 2002.  The Sanyo SCP-5300 was released in the

late month of November to mass acclaim, even being put on Time magazine's list of most influential gadgets.  This phone cost about $400 and was capable of both taking and sending more pictures than both of the previous phones. (Featured right)

All of these phones led up to what we now know as smart phones, which have not only streamlined the internalized camera, but companies are constantly finding new ways to innovate and improve on the existing ideas in place.  With new phones coming out every year, it's no surprise that camera technology is also improving equally fast, and with every new phone comes an even more impressive camera.