Blog Post #12: Technology: Up Close & Personal

 Technology: Up Close & Personal

Technology: Up Close & Personal

My Relationship with Technology: 

My relationship with technology is essential, yet could always be healthier. Technology is crucial for how I communicate, learn, and accommodate. Technology has been a huge part of my life as it allows me to access information whenever necessary, solve and help solve problems, and engage in communicating with family and friends I can’t see everyday. I feel that even though my use of technology benefits me and I use it efficiently, I could always learn to use it more healthily and mindfully. With technology being so prevalent in my life since I was just a little girl, I have learned to use it as a tool but not fully how to balance it when I need to. I feel that sometimes I can definitely over rely on my technology and excessively use it as a distraction. Using technology to be a tool rather than a distraction is something I am actively working on learning; As technology is constantly advancing, this is crucial for me to learn moving forward. With such excessive use, I have noticed a decrease in my attention span and an increase of reliance on it. It is important to strategically evaluate when I must use technology for benefits, and when it is becoming excessive. 

Friends and Family Relationships with Technology: 

As for my friends and family, similarly to my personal use of technology, it can be both beneficial but also distracting. My family lives all over the world, from Philadelphia and New Jersey to Melbourne, Australia, so technology has been a blessing to be able to allow us to communicate whenever we please. It gives us an opportunity to communicate with ease with one another that we would never be able to do without technology. It also allows access to education: three of my aunts and my mother all recently went back to school and have all explained how beneficial it is for them to use their computers and iPads to aid them with their lessons. Additionally, my mother started teaching a class at the University of Penn in Pennsylvania and noted how useful it is for her to teach her students using technology, specifically being able to help her students whenever she needs with their studies. But, on the negative side, it can be extremely distracting, reduce the family time we have the opportunity to have with each other, and can lead to many misunderstandings. Learning to balance our screen time with our in person time has been very difficult, yet it is critical to maintain our strong relationship as a family. Technology can definitely strengthen connections when it is used effectively, if not it can have the polar opposite effect. 

My Online Presence: 

When I was younger, I was not fully aware as to what a digital footprint was and how important it is to be cautious of it. Admittedly, I have posted some things that I regret that would definitely influence a company’s point of view on me. An online footprint can range from social media posts and platforms, to professional websites, to even comments or likes. When I Google myself, a list of things come up: my LinkedIn profile, my Swimcloud (my statistics from when I used to swim), pictures of my X profile, my Facebook page, and a meme I made when I was super young that I attached below. This is surprising to me because I am on a large amount of social media platforms, so I was expecting to see more. That said, I decided to do some more digging and I searched up my nickname that a lot of people know me as, Yarti. I only found my TikTok come up, though. Moving forward, I will have to delete and edit out some images and comments posted on my digital footprint to maintain a reputable presence that will be more appealing to potential future employers. 

Ultimately, technology’s role in my life - and life in general - can be beneficial but also can hurt us. I must learn to use my technology responsibly in ways that can aid my learning, connect with my friends and family, and enhance my productivity. But, I also must be cautious of the overuse and misuse of technology that can lead to negative consequences with my relationship with technology. 

Blog Post #10: Living in the Age of AI

 Living in the Age of AI

After watching In the Age of AI by FRONTLINE PBS, I was surprised by the duality of artificial intelligence. I had previously known how profound the system(s) are and how many different places it can be applied to, but I was not aware of the extent of it. The documentary of AI showcases a deeper explanation of how AI is currently rapidly reshaping our world and society, from major industries, to our personal connections in society and everyday life. 

There are many positive aspects of the advancements of artificial intelligence and machine learning such as medical advancements, self driving transportation, efficiency in statistics and data, and more. Artificial intelligence’s ability to analyze large amounts of data has led to massive uncoverings in health care. One of artificial intelligence’s most popular features is the algorithms. AI can now predict diseases such as cancer, with much greater accuracy than a human can, allowing doctors to act earlier for surgeries and treatments. Also, the development of artificial intelligence and autonomous vehicles is rapidly growing. Self driving vehicle companies are advertising their autonomous vehicles by proving they reduce traffic accidents caused by human error, improve traffic flow, and provide solutions for those who are unable to drive. 

With such positive aspects of the rise of artificial intelligence comes potential concerns such as privacy caution. With such a widespread duality of artificial intelligence, AI-driven privacy systems can help detect and prevent criminal activities, which will ensure public safety on the internet. But, there are still concerns surrounding mass surveillance and data exploitation that humans nor AI can prevent or help once its caused. The documentary highlights how some governments use AI for extensive detection and prevention against online dangers, which potentially can be unethical in regards to individual freedom and privacy rights. Companies are also collecting mass amounts of personal data that AI can use to manipulate consumer behavior which - obviously - raises more ethical concerns about consent and personal freedom. 

Artificial intelligence implications in national security can be risky. The race for AI power and supremacy between countries has significant national security ramifications. AI technologies are being used in the military, from autonomous vehicles to cyber warfare tools, which can potentially unbalance the global power and increase risk of unnecessary and unwanted problems. While AI enhances cybersecurity by detecting potential threats, it also can provide advanced tools to criminals and hackers, making it harder for individuals to protect their own identities and their personal information on the internet. 

Blog Post #7: Antiwar & The American Conservative

AntiWar & The American Conservative

    Websites such as ANTIWAR.COM and The American Conservative showcase very strong antiwar voices that are often missing from the mainstream media stories. A lot of people, including myself, have not heard of these outlets, despite the depth, consistency, and accuracy of their criticism of the United States' policies, including the foreign policies, militarism, and interventionism. There are a few reasons that could explain why these outlets are so hidden and hard to find, including conflict of interest, target audience and demographics, and more. 

In modern times, mainstream media outlets are often tied to political parties or organizations. For example, CNN is right leaning, and FOX News is more left leaning. Modern day mainstream media outlets are often significantly funded by contractors through advertising or influenced by government access. There is very little incentive to platform voices that challenge the basic assumptions or opinions of the United States' policies, especially those that question the political organizations. Also, with mainstream outlets being heavily influenced and driven by political organizations, it creates a conflict for the target audiences. Of course, stories revolving around threats, war, and more tend to spike ratings more, when compared to criticism of militarism or calls for diplomacy, are often viewed as boring or unnecessary to watch or learn. So media companies tend to favour dramatic stories over thoughtful stories, to maintain a more widespread audience and views. 

Also, antiwar voices - such as Antiwar.com and The American Conservative - often get dismissed or misidentified. Sometimes the stories will be categorized as extreme for stories such as refusing to play by partisan rules. With mainstream outlets being so biased nowadays, a red and blue alliance against war does not work anymore; it makes it harder for these voices of criticism to be seen and valued. It is never a coincidence that strong and consistent journalism is hard to find because the modern day media algorithms are not designed to show it.

Blog Post #6: EOTO Presentation Reflections

 For this project, I was assigned a piece of technology to discuss and teach the class about. I chose to discuss autonomous vehicles, how they are becoming significantly more prominent in our society and the positives and negatives of the rise of self-driving vehicles. I have always had an interest in new and growing technology, such as artificial intelligence, as there is so much to learn and unpack from it, so learning about each of my fellow classmates' presentations was very interesting for me. 

    Gray Storti’s presentation about the theory of gatekeeping was extremely intriguing to me. I first heard the term “gatekeeping” referring to a song; Someone was refusing to tell me the name and artist of a song and called themselves a gatekeeper. As Gray noted in her presentation, it has turned into common slang or lingo we use in our everyday lives to describe exclusive behavior, yet I never applied it to the real world. She discusses that gatekeeping is huge in industries like Hollywood, science, finance, education, music, and even in history, all of which I am extremely surprised to hear. She defined gatekeeping as the “process of filtering information for dissemination,” which can be for publication, broadcasting, the internet, or other forms of communication. Now, gatekeeping expanded to include academics, economics, and entertainment, describing any system where power dynamic control accessibility. 

Throughout her presentation, I was focused entirely due to how interesting this topic actually is. The part of her presentation that surprised me most was the story of the Library of Alexandria. It was built in the 3rd century BCE, and was known to hold all the knowledge of the lost/fantasy world. Everything that we, as people, know, teach, built, and more from our world’s history was placed in this library. It had an estimate of 400-700 thousand scrolls that explained science, philosophy, medicine, math, and astronomy. But, unfortunately, one day the entire library was burned down completely. All of this knowledge was lost forever, so quickly. There could have been answers to many of the problems that we have today in that library, yet no one will ever know. The destruction of the library is still unknown, but there have been circulating theories since. Most popularly, Julius Caesar’s forces accidentally burned down the library during a battle. 

This mystery is extremely interesting, so interesting that I have done my own research on the matter since this presentation.

Explore Library of Alexandria: Greatness, Knowledge, & Loss

Blog Post #8: The Diffusion of Innovations Theory

The Diffusion of Innovations Theory 

The Diffusion Theory, also known as the Diffusion of Innovations Theory, explains how new technologies, ideas, or practices are spread through a society or social system over time. This theory was developed by Everett Rogers in 1962 as contains four key components including: The Innovation, the new idea, product, or practice being introduced; Communication Channels, how people learn about the new innovation (ex. Traditional media, word of mouth, etc.); Time, the time it takes for the new innovation to spread; and the Social System, the group or community where the diffusion is taking place. For example, the diffusion theory applied to the rise of social media, specifically Facebook, is a great example.

Facebook was invented by a group of Harvard students, most famously Mark Zuckerberg, who wanted to try a newer and more exclusive social media platform. This platform spread rapidly through news media outlets, word of mouth, celebrities and early influencers, schools, workplaces, and families, and ended up spreading over a decade. But, the speed of the spread is different for different demographics - mostly age, but also factors such as income, education, sex, etc. 

Because Facebook was such a new and exciting platform, the majority of its users started spreading rapidly to those over 13 years old because it was trendy. Late adopters would have ended up joining to stay connected with their family, friends, or coworkers. Those who did not join, or joined super late, were due to the skepticism of newer technology, those who just did not enjoy social media overall, and/or maybe even for privacy reasons as well. Those who were not in favour of this new social media platform had concerns about the negative consequences of emerging technology, such as privacy concerns or the negative effects on individuals in the long run, such as mental or physical health concerns. 

With the rise of technology, there are many positives, while also many negatives. It could benefit users, but it could also harm users. But, there is no way that the good could outweigh the bad, or the bad outweigh the good. Social media users should be cautious of the positives and negatives, and not be biased and rely on just one. It is important to understand both the positives and negatives so that social media platforms can be used effectively. It should not be completely terminated, but rather self-monitored to only be used to benefit an individual in healthy ways.

blog post #9: autonomous vehicles

 Autonomous Vehicles

Autonomous vehicles (AVs), which is just a fancy name for types of self-driving transportations, is a vehicle that can operate and drive with little to no human manual input. The vehicles use technology to perceive their surrounding environment, to navigate, and to respond to ongoing traffic. The first ever self driving car was developed by Carnegie Mellon University in 1986. It was a van, specifically a Navlab 1. The overall idea of its purpose was aimed to allow traffic on public roads and highways more comfortable and safer to drive. 

Since the development of the first self driving car, there have been major developments in the manufacturing of the AVs, and now companies such as Rivian, Zoox, GM, Waymo, and most popularly, Tesla, have begun to market them. With AI rapidly growing, as a result, self driving cars are becoming more of a consideration in industries, and individuals or families. 

* Quick Fun Fact: In 2020, Waymo started to offer autonomous vehicle transportation - similar to Uber, just no human driver! Waymo operates in Arizona, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Texas!* 

Autonomous Vehicles: Does The Good Outweigh The Bad?

There are many advantages to the development and uprising of autonomous vehicles, such as accessibility. Those who may have to currently rely on others for mobility, they will now have the opportunity to participate in driving in a self determined manner, as they please. For those who already own self driving cars and are unable to drive due to a disability, old age, or another factor, self driving cars would make it possible for them to participate in personal or employment activities. Another advantage of self driving cars: some people believe that they can improve the overall safety of the road. This would help reduce and prevent impaired driving, drowsy driving, etc. 

As there are many advantages to the popularity and manufacturing of self driving cars, there are more disadvantages. Just like any piece of technology, especially rapid advancing technology, there is always a high chance of malfunction and technical development issues. A single error in a self driving car’s software can significantly and negatively affect traffic accidents, and owners. With an autonomous vehicle, the system must be highly sophisticated, otherwise it would not be reliable. Also, human drivers are able to provide and interpret nonverbal cues such as hand signals from other cars or pedestrians that a self driving car may not be fully able to pick up on. 

*Below is a picture of the aftermath of a fatal car accident on October 6, 2023, where the Tesla Model 3 autopilot failed to recognize a semi truck in the middle of the road. The Tesla went under the truck, shedding the roof of the car, and unfortunately killing Jeremy Banner*

According to Statista, a study conducted by Morning Consult in January and March found that people are becoming increasingly more worried and distrusting with autonomous driving. The study was based on two polls with about 2,000 US adults. From January 11-16, 36% of individuals found autonomous driving less safe than manual driving systems, and by March 29-April 1, the percentage increased by 14%. Also, with weather and constant environmental changes and challenges, autonomous driving would struggle more - or if not, the same amount - as manually driving car systems. With only sensors being responsible for decision making about fog, snow, or rain, it is hard to tell. Also, if autonomous vehicles were to take over human driving cars, it would displace hundreds of jobs in industries such as trucking companies, taxi services, and delivery services. With it being so accessible and accommodating, more people would use them therefore creating an increase of energy use, worsen air pollution, and other negative environmental effects. 

The future of autonomous vehicles is rapidly approaching. Artificial Intelligence is also expected to make self-driving cars later, more efficient, and much more widely available in the future. AI powered self driving cars can reduce human caused accidents such as distracted driving, tired driving, or impaired driving and even speeding. AI can help the vehicle detect and respond to potential dangers, faster than humans may be able to. In conclusion, autonomous vehicles are becoming increasingly more popular with the rapid advancements of AI. Its impact can both positively and negatively affect our society and generation. Which leaves me with one question…

Where do you stand? 

References

Autonomous driving: Pros & cons. (n.d.). SWARCO. Retrieved February 18, 2025, from https://www.swarco.com/mobility-future/autonomous-driving/autonomous-driving-pros-cons 

Combs, V. (n.d.). ZDNet: How autonomous vehicles will change car ownership – Pecan Street Inc. Retrieved February 18, 2025, from https://www.pecan street.org/2019/11/zdnet-how-autonomous-vehicles-will-change-car-ownership 

Navigating the future of AI in self-driving cars. (2023, November 9). Udacity. https://www.udacity.com/blog/2023/11/ai-in-self-driving-cars.html 

Richter, F. (2018, April 6). Infographic: Fatal accidents damage trust in autonomous driving. Statista. https://www.statista.com/chart/13450/perceived-safety-of-self-driving-cars/ 

Thadani, T. (2023, October 6). Inside the final seconds of a deadly Tesla Autopilot crash. The Washington Post. https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/interactive/2023/tesla-autopilot-crash-analysis/ 

Blog Post #5

 PRIVACY AND TECHNOLOGY

https://www.ted.com/talks/catherine_crump_the_small_and_surprisingly_dangerous_detail_the_police_track_about_you

https://www.ted.com/talks/christopher_soghoian_your_smartphone_is_a_civil_rights_issue

https://www.ted.com/talks/darieth_chisolm_how_revenge_porn_turns_lives_upside_down

     As learned from Christopher Soghoian in his TED Talk linked above, the use of technology before compared to modern days was much easier to be surveillance and protected. With technology advancing faster than it ever has before, it is becoming stronger and more powerful in many different forms. The TED Talks linked above discuss the danger in the new age of technology in regards to our privacy in deeper detail. Catherine Crump in her TED Talk, The Small and Surprisingly Dangerous Detail the Police Track About You, discusses the use of automatic license plate readers (ALPRs) by law enforcement agencies. These devices capture pictures of license plates on every passing vehicle, to identify stolen cars or those who have warrants. But, she highlights the misuse of the collected data and spreads awareness to the public to protect our privacy rights. In Christopher Soghoian’s TED Talk, Your Smartphone Is a Civil Rights Issue, he highlights the significant inconsistencies in smartphone encryption between different devices. He talks about how modern day technology is hard to be surveillance and protected, leaving users vulnerable to a lack of privacy and protection. He takes this discussion into greater detail, explaining that this issue is much broader than a cybersecurity concern, but boards civil right issues. I believe that these videos accurately and unbiasedly provide us information that the government is keeping from us, for their benefit. Privacy should be accessible to all, not just to those who are privileged. I feel as though because smartphones and technology are continuously and rapidly advancing, it is hard for the public to keep up. I also believe that if this was a different privacy issue, such as lack of privacy in medical fields or political fields, the issue would be taken more seriously, and there would be protests to protect. Because this is a cybersecurity issue, many are uneducated about not only the amount of information that is being exposed, but also what and how the information is being exposed- and to who, of course.