IN THE AGE OF AI

 IN THE AGE OF AI is a profound film getting into the nitty gritty of artificial intelligence. I have known that it is more complex than I am currently able to comprehend, but I had no clue about the important ins and outs people should be taking away from this film. I found the form of artificial intelligence deep learning a fascinating concept. It is crazy that it can mimic the human brain, and then use its “own brain” to do the rest, it almost doesn't even seem possible that it can possibly know something we hadn’t known before. Or as they say it, “play a game we haven’t played.” While this was a great success, there are consequences that come along with it. 
 The AI future is a part of the new generation, and a lot of time is being spent critically thinking about how it will affect the future. China is the fastest moving country in the world of AI, from using other forms of identification in grocery stores, self driving cars, drone delivery, shared bicycle rides, and much more. The U.S. is ahead in technology, but China has ten times more data and AI is run and fueled by data. The more data the better the AI works. Maybe this is the part that is scary? I can't even comprehend how fast the film was explaining some of the technology works. The identity identification is what probably freaks me out the most. 
The young 24 year old that built a self driving golf cart, led to a company making self driving trucks, which I found fascinating and did not know was a huge breakthrough currently happening more than I thought it was. I like the motive behind creating the safest way for people to get around.
A quote I liked in the film is “there are many aspects of the world which we can’t explain with words.” That part of our knowledge is very interesting and I can actually understand what he means by that. Machines have the potential of creating new solutions to so many things due to their creativity. An example is breast cancer. It is a positive thing that we are overcoming the limitation of our own minds as a human race. A negative thing is the amount of jobs that are potentially going to be threatened by AI. However, a very good point made is that about twenty, thiry, forty years ago, about fifty percent of the jobs people had back then are gone today. This would be history repeating itself again as new technologies occur, which is why it may not be as concerning as it seems. However, the AI invention covers bigger industries, which may be a new concern that has not happened before, since obviously, AI has not happened before. With AI it is said that the middle class may go away. But with the negatives that come with the initial process of many people losing their jobs, there is a cost, and where is the line drawn? I never thought that AI would have a lot to do with inequality. This film talks about how AIs impact could make it worse. Rich people could become more rich and the poor more poor with no middle. It is a worry that there may be a crash that could be very difficult to come back from. 
Finally, the part that creeps me out the most, is the discussion the film has on algorithms. The fact that you “release data” and companies do what they want with it leaves many people an uneasy feeling. I have learned through this film and also THE SOCIAL DILEMMA, which I have watched on my own, that this is crucial to become aware of in order to be in control of it. In the film it says “we may not be the users of social media, social media may be using us.” Surveillance Capitalism was brought to my attention, and how businesses want to learn as much about you as they can. To go with that I really enjoyed hearing the story about the right to go to a company and ask about the data collected on you and the right to not allow your information to be sold. The beginning of that is a huge part in preventing the spread of information about an individual. I have realized that it is going to take a lot of work to make sure AI is done right in order to have a positive outcome on society, and there are numerous factors to consider in order for it to do so.  

EOTO Terms and Concepts

    The Illusory Truth Effect, a theory also known as the illusion of truth, describes how when the same false information is repeated over and over, it is believed to be true. It even happens when people should know better and when people initially know the information is false. When the truth is being evaluated, people take the information given to them and rely on whether or not the information is familiar or in line with their understanding. It is logical to compare new information to what is already known to be true, but repetition makes statements easier to process/believe compared to new unrepeated statements, which can lead to believing the repeated statement whether it is true or not. 
    

    The Illusory Truth Effect does not happen by accident.  Marketers, Propagandists and politicians understand that repetition gets people to accept your message. When companies or politicians repeat things again and again, we should recognize that this is a deliberate strategy to get people to accept what they are saying as the truth. The commercial below may be marketing a product that may or may not work, but if you see this ad often enough, will you be tempted to give it a try?  
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f_SwD7RveNE
  

     The implications affect both individuals and society as a whole. An individual may actually be well educated and informed, but they may still end up making decisions that have serious consequences. Or at the very least, they walk around oblivious to what is actually truthful. This could be something as harmless as a nutrition fad an individual read about that is doing them no good. Of course, society as a whole can also be affected by the decisions of individuals prone to the Illusory Truth Effect. Society can be affected once a statement moves past just an individual. In the age of social media, it is incredibly easy for misinformation to spread quickly across huge numbers of people. Victims can even include people who don’t believe what is being said. An example of that was the toilet paper shortage at the beginning of COVID 19. Even though there was plenty of toilet paper in the country, and even though grocery stores were not going to close, some news organizations and parts of social media created the illusion that all businesses would shut down and shortages would be everywhere. The fact that so many people thought there was going to be a shortage, actually created one. Another example with more serious consequences was the anti vaccine movement in parts of the U.S. A false rumor regarding vaccines causing autism in children started widespread fear. This led many parents, some highly educated, to not vaccinate their children against measles. Even though measles was declared eliminated from the United States in 2000, cases have been going up steadily in recent years, as can be seen in the chart below.  

    

    
    While the Illusory Truth Effect has mostly negative consequences for individuals and society, the fact that it exists leads many people and organizations to fact check and think critically when they hear something. There are now news organizations and websites dedicated to checking facts, statements and rumors. www.snopes.com is an example of this. If the negative consequences of the Illusory Truth Effect cause more people to think critically, more news organizations to fact check, and make more people aware of attempts to deceive them, some good will result.

https://thedecisionlab.com/biases/illusory-truth-effect/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Illusory_truth_effect

Through The Lens Of The Diffusion Theory

 When looking at the cassette tape through the lens of the Diffusion Theory, I am able to apply the theory to its history, growth, and popularity. One reason the popularity of the cassette grew was because it had characteristics for both individuals and organizations. Individuals adopted it because they were more compact than the previous technology, eight track tapes. People could customize them, bring them on the go, and easily share them. Organizations, especially news organizations, adopted them because they were easily able to record interviews or speeches. The cassette grew fast because there were a high number of early adopters. This was because the technology was so far superior to what it replaced. Also, music lovers were drawn to the quality and flexibility. As with any idea or technology, there were late adopters. Late adopters could have been people who did not want to spend money on new equipment to accommodate cassette tapes. One would have needed to buy a cassette player for their home stereo, and replace their car stereo, if they wanted to start using cassettes. They may have also had a large music collection in other forms, such as vinyl records. There were some downsides to the cassette technology. The two main downsides were quality deterioration with many repeat plays, and the tape could come unwound out of its case. Other than quality issues, I do no see any negative consequences from the technology, in fact, music sales continued to increase and journalists had a superior technology for interviews allowing them to do their job anywhere. The positives far outweighed the negatives, which is why the technology continued to grow over time... until a new innovation replaced it, and the Diffusion of Innovation process started for something new. 

ANTIWAR

 In reviewing the two websites I found that The American Conservative website seems to be a true Republican leaning group, that happens to differ with the Republican party when it comes to overseas conflicts. They are interested it taking an "America first" position, and in their view a lot of overseas conflicts have nothing to do with what is best for America. Antiwar.com also disagrees with oversees conflicts, but seems geared towards both Republicans, Democrats, and Independents, who view these conflicts as a form of Imperialism. These two websites show that two different parties can advocate for the same thing. The media rarely presents different parties agreeing on something, which is why these websites are never mentioned on mainstream news. Mainstream news needs to attracts viewers in order to make money, so unfortunately, they often stereotype a certain party in order to attract viewers. In the case of military intervention, Republicans are usually portrayed as pro war. However, it is interesting that the Anitwar.com website was founded because of conflicts led by Bill Clinton, who was a Democrat president. 

EOTO: Cassette Tapes

 Cassette tapes are flat rectangular containers made of plastic or lightweight metal that hold magnetic tape for audio or video recording and replay. It was designed to be inserted into a recorder and used immediately, rather than needing to thread a portion of the tape manually before starting to record. There were audiocassettes which recorded audio, and videocassettes which recorded video. Audiocassettes were introduced were introduced for home use in the 1960s. Videocassettes were introduced in the 1970s. Both could contain prerecorded material, or come just blank to create your own content. The cassette was one of the first technologies that allowed people to share music and recordings to a broader audience. Cassette tapes were the beginning of the progression of even better technologies that were introduced later.  Before it, music was not easy to bring on the go. No more waiting for the stereo. For the first time people were also able to record tracks of audio themselves. It was a more improved technology compared to reel to reel which was mostly just used for radio and not personal use anyway. The Cassette gave people the ability to not only listen to their favorite music/audio, but create their own stuff. For example people could create playlist like what we do with Spotify or Apple Music today. 
As mentioned before the Cassette was the pioneer for even more improved technology to come. In the 90s, the compact disc, or as I use to call it when I was a kid, CD, became the next best thing. In the early 2000s, which is when I was born, Cassettes weren’t being used anymore for practical reasons. However, old technology does often have a comeback for the nostalgic factor, and old fashion vibe. The Cassette has its small moments of being used even today. Whether the Cassette is back in trend or not, it will always be a revolutionary technology that presented people with the opportunity to record in their homes, and have video/audio on the go for the first time ever. 
Here is a timeline on the history of the audio cassette: 
1935- reel to reel recordings were invented, which were primarily used for radio stations and for professional recording studios. They were not handy for anyone to use at home. 
1958- the first reversible cassette tape was invented, but never really became popular. It was more like a trial. 
1962- Philips invented the first compact cassettes for audio storage. 
1964- cassette technology allowing people to record at home was released in the United States. 
1966- the first music albums were released on the cassette format. 
Mid 1970s- cassette decks were introduced to cars, replacing 8 track players which were used previously. 
1979- Sony released Walkman - a portable music player. 
2001- CDs were invented which made cassettes become history. 
2009- Jadakiss “The Last Kiss” was the last major label release on a cassette. 
A Commercial: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-uv1PxInJnY


https://www.britannica.com/technology/cassette
https://legacybox.com/blogs/analog/history-of-the-cassette-tape
https://legacybox.com/blogs/analog/the-history-of-the-audio-cassette-a-timeline

Challenging the First Amendment

The COVID-19 Pandemic was an unprecedented, once in a hundred year event. A lot of freedoms were taken away in the name of public health, most of which were tolerated by people around the world. However, early in the pandemic, one of the six freedoms of the first amendment, the freedom of religion, was challenged when the government ordered churches to shut down. Like other “nonessential” large gatherings and events, the government placed bans on such events because of the public health emergency. In the past, the Supreme Court upheld laws limiting the free exercise of religion as long as the laws were neutral and applied generally to all such gatherings and activities. 

Religious gatherings are very important to many people. When thinking about the eight values of free expression, religion fulfills the value of individual self fulfillment. Free speech through religion allows people to express themselves, find like minded people, and be part of a comforting community during a difficult time. 

One challenge to the first amendment was by Calvary Chapel Dayton Valley church in Nevada. The government ordered them, and other churches, to limit services to fifty people or less, while casinos in Nevada could operate at fifty percent capacity, which is much more than fifty people. The churches argued that the rule limiting their first amendment right was not being applied in a neutral and general manner. Church gatherings were being restricted more than other types of gatherings. The court upheld the restrictions because they felt the government had more leeway to take measures to combat the emergency pandemic. Additionally, the court felt that as long as restrictions were applied to some non religious activities, such as theaters, the court had more leeway to restrict first amendment rights in a way that wasn’t neutral and generally applicable, because of the nature of the emergency.  

https://www.sidley.com/-/media/publications/2020-covid19-versus-the-first-amendment.pdf?la=en

Eight Values of Free Expression

The freedoms of expression convey and instill the core values of the democratic process. This allows us to discuss any ideas we want, be our own individual selves, and self expression without fear or punishment. These concepts are what make America special because we can speak freely. 

Marketplace of Ideas- This value of free expression states that eventually truth will prevail, so as aggravating as it is to see people spread falsehoods, it is sometimes necessary to occur, because it forces people to look deeper for the truth, and to counter the falsehoods. I think this relates to numerous things. For example, the most obvious one, social media. There is no question that false news is spread on a daily basis because people can say anything, but there are people who respond from all angles, this allows people too often find what is true or not true. Another example is health fads. People spread all kinds of theories on what is healthy or not healthy, but then doing that allows experts to step in and look into whether or not it is true. If people were not allowed to bring up falsehoods people would not be so adamant to finding the truth. 

Participation in Self Government- This value of free expression states that people need to be exposed to all candidates and ideas in order to make an informed decision when voting. A candidate expressing an opinion or idea that you might not agree with forces you to educate yourself about their opinion or idea. If there are restrictions on what candidates can say, or what ideas can be talked about, you will not have an educated population making decisions. Just like you have to be exposed to falsehoods to learn the truth, you have to be exposed to bad ideas to make good decisions. 

Individual Self-Fulfillment (Self Actualization)- This value of free expression states that, by allowing free expression, people can be true to themselves and find others with common interests, beliefs, lifestyles, etc. In the process, it allows people to be a part of society and feel validated. One of the many different examples of this is being allowed to protest to stand up for things you believe in with people who stand by you, creating a community of people fighting for the same thing unapologetically. Without self expression, people would not be able to relate to each other. 

Promote Innovation- This value of free expression states that when free speech is valued in a community, there is more creativity, knowledge, diversity, and energy. The citizens that make up that community will expose themselves to more fulfilling interests and ideas. An example is the music of the 60s because it was all about protest, government, and anti war. Without the freedom to express themselve, artists would not have been able to make and release the music that has stuck with us today. Likewise, American movies are popular around the world, partly because no subject is off limits, and people's creativity and ways to tell stories is not censored by a government or an intolerant society. 

U.S. Supreme Court

 Based on the videos I learned quite a few things I had not already known about the Supreme Court. Basically, the court uses laws to deal with human dilemmas. To quickly look back on the Supreme Court, I learned that when the U.S. government moved to Washington D.C., the Supreme Court was given temporary quarters until it was finished. In the years following, the Supreme Court grew to be respected and viewed as a separate branch of government. In addition to the history, I as informed about the workings of the U.S. Supreme Court. Once a justice is confirmed, they are responsible to the law and constitution, not to the president who appointed them, and the public does not have the ability to influence the decisions they make. They tell the president, congress, and states what they may or may not do. The court looks to the constitution to solve national problems. I also found it surprising that the Supreme Court receives about one hundred cases every week, most arrive as petitions trying to persuade the Supreme Court that lower court rulings were incorrect. However, the court only excepts about one hundred cases per year for consideration, which I was unaware of. The justices have clerks and staff to help review cases, but the judges are responsible for all decisions. The justices meet once a week to decide which cases to except. Something about the Supreme Court specifically I never knew is the difficulty for judges to be activists judges because they can't decide what problems they want to solve. They have to wait for people to bring problems to them, problems that have boiled up in the country. The Supreme Court hears cases in public, and each lawyer only has a half hour to argue their side of the case. The lawyers arguments are an opportunity for the judges to ask questions regarding what they read in the brief of the case. One thing I found interesting is that a case is less about the judges arguing back and forth with the lawyers, but rather about the judges having a discussion with each other that the lawyers mediate. Within a few days of the trial, the judges meet in the conference room to vote on the case and one of the justices on the majority side is assigned to write the opinion on why the court made its decision. This decision must be followed by other courts as they make future decisions in cases. 

Top Five Sources of News

 My first source is PBS Newshour. I personally like this source of news because it is a good way of getting an overview of daily news. PBS in particular makes an effort to look at subjects from all angles (Republican/Democrat, for/against, etc.) They also do long term interviews, so you get a lot of detail. Lastly, they always have stories about art, culture, human interests, music, etc, to end the show on a positive note. 

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/

My Second source is The News with Shepard Smith. This is a more traditional news broadcast that is an hour long prime time news show that covers more subjects than the news hour. It gives a quick summary of a lot of things. It is less opinionated and biased than Fox or CNN, although sometimes he does give his opinion at times. The shows slogan is THE FACTS. THE TRUTH. I think it does a good job of living up to that, allowing me to make up my own mind. 

https://www.cnbc.com/the-news-with-shepard-smith/

My third source is the Economist. My dad has read the physical copies since college, which is how I have become exposed to it. It is a British publication so it does not have some of the biases that US publications sometimes have. It has been in existence since 1843 and covers the world, business, science, and arts. 

https://www.economist.com/

My fourth source is the Orlando Sentinel. I am from Orlando, so this is my source for local and state news. It is a reputable source that covers hurricanes, anything interesting to happen in the area, fun things to do, important names in the area/state of Florida, and more. 

https://www.orlandosentinel.com/

My last source is twitter. I use twitter only for news that I follow, knowing that the source I am being linked to is a reputable one. It is a good way to see a bunch of stories quickly, especially with big events. Some sources I follow on twitter are the ones I linked above plus New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Rolling Stone Magazine, etc. I like that I can see the title on twitter letting me decide if I want to click the link to that story or keep scrolling. Sometimes there are news sources I am not familiar with, and while I may glance at it, I will be skeptical. Just because it is on twitter doesn't mean it is reputable or accurate. 

About Me

 Hello! My name is Abigail and I'm from Orlando, Florida. I am currently a summer semester sophomore student, deciding on a major in the Communications Department. At HPU I hope to find other interests and discover strengths I have through my education here that can help me in the near future. After I graduate from HPU, I plan on doing a two year conservatory program in New York City to get a BFA degree in acting for film/performing arts. I was a dancer for many years, I sing, play guitar and some piano, and have dabbled in film acting. Needless to say, I love the arts and it has always been a huge part of my life. Some things I love include going out to eat, staying active, watching movies, learning to cook, writing, finding cute cafes, listening to music, animals, traveling, podcasts, and shopping. I could go on and on because a lot of things make me happy.