Blog #12 : Final Blog

 

What is something that is integrated into every single one of our lives? In fact, it is so intrinsic in our society that it is nearly impossible to remove it from our daily routine. This powerful artifact is nothing other than technology. Technology has completely altered and shaped the 21st century. It has allowed us to build new connections and accomplish tasks never before possible. Yet, it has also brought about a whole new era of angst and unanswered questions. So, let's dive a little into the newfound world of technology and all the positives and negatives that have developed alongside it. 

As for everyone else living in today's world, I am sure they could share their own personal experiences of how technology shaped their lives. Personally, the form of technology that has significantly infiltrated my life would be social media. A few months prior to the Covid pandemic in the spring of 2020, I was going through a rather challenging time in my life. I was struggling with my mental health and was in the middle of transferring to a new high school in the midst of my junior year. During this same time, there was a social media platform that was growing rapidly, known as TikTok. I decided to create a profile and partake in this app, as most 16-year-olds my age were also doing. Little did I know that posting videos with my friends would lead to me gaining over 100,000 followers. My decision in downloading an app helped me gain confidence and an entirely new mindset. Despite my life transitions during that time, there were also people out there who actually cared about me and were fascinated by my life. I also built connections and gained opportunities in modeling for clothing brands I would have never imagined possible. From my perspective,  I view technology as a blessing, in that we have this powerful tool right at the tip of our fingers. Although I am not ignorant of the curses that also come alongside it, I would like to focus on the positives first.  

Humans have been communicating since we were placed on this planet. As humans evolved, so did communication, from letters to landlines to emails to text messages. Today, there is a world of communication accessible to us. A simple device small enough to slip into our pockets allows us to connect with others anywhere in the world.  Today, 5 billion people in the world own
a mobile device. Texting has allowed us to get in touch with friends or family in a matter of seconds. We are able to send short direct messages, whether it's delivering news, making business deals, or just checking in on a friend. In 2020, texting became the most widely used method of communication, with nearly 23 billion texts being sent each day.  Other communication features, such as Facetime, have been able to bring people even closer together. During the pandemic, nearly everyone was isolated from friends, close family, classmates, and co-workers. Facetime allowed us to speak to one another face-to-face, even if it was not in person. 

Not only has technology changed communication within our world today, but it has also changed education immensely. Everyone has experienced education through technology when the world was put on pause during the pandemic. Yet, technology has shaped education more than just Zoom meetings and online assignments. Technology has opened horizons for extensive amounts of information. A simple Google search can lead to thousands of documents, information, and answers. Technology even helps educators venture further with teaching techniques. They can enhance their students' learning experience simply with the incorporation of technology. 

Technology has clearly enhanced our lives, and mostly in beneficial ways. Yet, despite all the improvements, there are also equally as many concerns. One of the most detrimental effects of technology, that many may not even question, is its impact on our physical health. Different aspects of technology can actually harm our health. We have become very reliant on technology, which has led us to use forms of it for extended periods of time. Viewing a screen can lead to serious eyestrain. It is predicted that 2 out of 3 Americans will experience eyestrain from excessive phone use.  There are various factors of phones that cause this eyestrain, from the brightness to glare to time used. Just as we have adapted to the integration of technology within our lives, doctors have already come up with remedies for these technology-related problems. They have created the 20-20-20 rule, which states that for every 20 minutes spent looking at a screen, a person should look at something 20 feet away for 20 seconds.  Overuse of phones has also led to an increase in back pain and poor posture. While looking down at your phone, you are likely to hunch your shoulders, which over time, may result in poor posture. This motion of constantly looking down at a phone is not only bad for posture, but can also lead to arthritis, nerve pain, headaches, and various other negative impacts on our health. It is clear there is plenty of research that proves technology affects our physical health, but it is not the only thing it impacts. 

Within recent years, it has become more evident that technology has begun to take a toll on mental health. Technology has become something so prevalent in all of our lives.  In fact, a survey from Pew Research Center showed roughly 4 out of 10 teenagers feel anxious when they do not have their cell phones with them. Thus,  cell phone use can cause even more feelings of anxiety. It actually seems to be a vicious cycle, where phone use keeps us in a constant state of anxiety, and yet the only relief is to go on your phone. Technology has become a second lifeline within our lives which never stops, unlike humans. Knowing this creates a significant level of anxiety in everyone's lives, trying to keep up with this vast new era. Cell phone use also heightens symptoms of depression. An NPR article included research that showed that teens who spend five or more hours per day on their devices are 71% more likely to have one risk factor for suicide. Whether it is social media use or communicating through a phone, any extended amount of technology use has risks of causing feelings of depression. Now, the question asked is why? The answer is quite simple, being that technology is an alternative version of reality. Essentially, we are able to do almost everything in real life, yet through a screen. 

Technology has allowed communication to become accessible and efficient, essentially being able to communicate with anyone nearly anywhere or anytime. Yet this accessibility has opened the door to isolation. Having constant access to technology has created a strain on our ability to make personal connections. Communicating virtually in such a casual manner has left many generations with improper social etiquette, which is a leading cause of why relationships are so much harder to build.  A 2017 study showed that young adults aged 19–32 years found that people with higher social media use were more than three times as likely to feel socially isolated than those who did not use social media as often. The feeling of isolation from social media may have been a result of viewing others’ lives. Seeing what others may be doing can lead to feelings of missing out and loneliness, which can be linked to further self-isolation and poor self-esteem. It is important to take a step back and check our own reality, to make sure technology is not controlling our lives. 

 

 

Blog #10 : In the Age of AI

 

Artificial Intelligence, or AI - many people may not know what this is, but they should for it is something frightening developing in today's world. I did not know much about Artificial Intelligence until I took a course in science fiction during my first year at High Point University. This course completely immersed me into the world of artificial intelligence by studying it for almost a straight month. I learned a lot about the type of Artificial Intelligence that is a computer or robot. AI in this form was created to interact with humans through computed responses to simulate an interaction with another human being.  These types of AI are developing so quickly, and it is not unlikely that they could think for themselves or become conscious in the future. Not only would this become a major scientific development, but it could also create all types of problems within society. This would increase the margin of jobs and opportunities that machines are already able to do, rather than human beings. Further, this would create extensive debate concerning whether or not this technology could be considered human, if they are conscious. As a result, people may analyze whether these machines should be granted the same human rights that we maintain. My professor explained how much of a large societal issue this could present if AI reaches a certain level of intelligence. 

I was reintroduced to the topic of Artificial Intelligence within my Media Law and Literacy course. Yet this time, instead of learning how AI is venturing towards human intelligence, I learned how AI is able to invade human privacy. Through the Frontlines documentary In the Age of AI, it was proven that artificial intelligence is already invading our privacy, in more ways than one. The most evident ways happen almost constantly online, for there really seems to be no such thing as privacy on the internet, for we gave technology a place in our lives that it it did not earn. 

One of the most notable internet giants that abuses its powers is Google. It has been said that Google's entire business is crafted to learn about you, your dreams, your inspirations, and even your thoughts. Within the Frontline documentary, a Google employee who was asked about the privacy concern responded, “you would be horrified if you knew what we knew about you”. 

Yet, Google is not the only culprit in invading privacy in order to better their company. Facebook is right alongside them in connection to privacy scandals. In 2010, Facebook experimented with AI to send users a direct message urging them to vote in the presidential election. They also offered an “I voted” sticker, leaving Facebook credited with potentially influencing approximately 34,000 Americans to vote. This is one of the few positive examples there are of online software using their abilities for good, by trying to get Americans involved and vote. Yet, at the same time, Facebook was also using their ability to invade the privacy of millions of users. In 2018, it was revealed by The New York Times and The Guardian that over 50 million Facebook profiles and accompanying information were being harvested to hand data to Cambridge Analytic, and thus led to over 9 billion in fines for Facebook and a public apology from CEO Mark Zuckerburg. Data breaches happen all the time, just not typically as widespread in the public eye or reaching such an immense amount of people. In the Facebook case, it was mostly information such as email, name, gender, and location which were leaked, and which are all key parts of our identification. Yet, some data breaches are much more serious, where social security or other information can be breached and lead to identity theft. 

A few years following Facebook's data scandal, there was a push for a law in California in 2017 called the right to know, meaning you can go to any company and ask what they know about you and what they have collected on you within a certain span of time. It is also the right to say no, meaning you can opt to guarantee that no company is tracking or gaining personal information, and you can also opt to make sure that no third parties are obtaining any information.  It was passed in 2018 as The California Consumer Privacy Act, which granted all these rights to citizens of California. It also gave consumers in California the opportunity to sue companies if they perceive any guidelines to be violated. California clearly took a step in the right direction to protect citizens from the dangers of advancing technologies, and is something I hope we will see at a federal level in the future. 

Now if you think all of these cases of Artificial Intelligence in the United States are alarming, look beyond our borders for even more extreme instances. China utilizes AI within almost every aspect of life, for it is on its way to becoming a complete surveillance state. China’s national security is based on routinely invading their citizens' privacy.  Frontline’s documentary on AI showcased how there is surveillance on every street, every corner, every village, and essentially any and every place in China. These cameras are connected to screens that read, track, and identify a person by scanning their face.  The New York Times summed up this surveillance state perfectly, “The Chinese government’s goal is clear: designing a system to maximize what the state can find out about a person’s identity, activities and social connections, which could ultimately help the government maintain its authoritarian rule.” It has been said that there are an estimated 1 billion cameras being actively used as part of this system. They are strategically placed where citizens fulfill their needs such as eating, traveling, shopping, and entertainment. The government has even placed cameras inside residential buildings and bars. It is terrifying that this is happening within our world today, and even more frightening that there are rumors of this surveillance state happening in the United States. 

It is clear that as technology and Artificial Intelligence develop, there is a significant threat to our society, whether it be more invasion of our privacy or more access to our private information. Or, it may be that technology may surpass our abilities. We live in a world where technology is a large influence within our lives, and which has helped shape the modern world we live in today. Yet, we must hope that this technology does not completely take over our lives in the future.