Introduction

Welcome to L&I SCI 120 - Information Technology Ethics for UWM Fall 2011 semester. 

Students must submit reading response blog entries three times over the course of the semester.  

Each submission must be 350-700 words, properly cited, and use correct grammar and spelling.  These entries are meant to keep your reactions, questions, perspectives, surprises, disappointments, etc., to the readings and to class discussions. I encourage you to comment on each other’s posts.  The following are some guide questions to approach in yourl entries:

What in the readings engaged you the most? The least?

• What happened in class this week surprised you the most? Why?
• What did you learn this week from the readings and/or class discussion?
• How will you take what you learned this week into your everyday life?
• Will anything you learned this week cause you to change your technology behaviors?
• Have you discussed anything from this week with your peers, family, friends, etc? If so, describe your conversation.

In order to receive credit for your posts, they must be complete, thoughtful, and on time. Your writing should demonstrate that you have a thorough understanding of the week’s topic and readings.

Due dates:

September 26 (must discuss material between weeks 1 and 4)

October 24 (must discuss material between weeks 5 and 8)

November 21 (must discuss material between weeks 9 and 13)

Below I've provided an introductory prezi-tation to get us oriented.  I will also do video lectures throughout the semester. 

Intro L&I SCI on Prezi

Prezi's

Please embed your presentations when you post them to the blog.

-Brad

Final Prezi - Matt Pavelchik

Blog 3 - Matt Pavelchik

There were many different topics covered throughout the last portion of the class, which brought about many different thoughts and ideas. Some of the topics that were covered were: sixth sense technology, purpose of the web, cosmopolitanism, as well as view on “others”.

The concept of sixth sense technology is quite amazing; however, I think it will be many years until this technology is actually useable by people. I do not think the average person would be able to understand what exactly they would be doing with this technology, but as the technology is developed, I believe more and more people will be able to grasp the overall concept. It seems to be pretty amazing that all the small pieces of technology will be able to be synced together and used essentially as one.

We also read about the overall purpose of using the Internet and its’ overall purpose. Surfing the Internet is typically done when people are bored. I believe most people do not really have a real agenda when going on the Internet, other than to look up information / products that they either do not really have an interest in, or fantasize about one day owning it. Smartphones have made it even easier for people to surf the web, by allowing a person to essentially connect to the Internet no matter where they are, or what they are doing. Often, this convenience can become a distraction, whether it is a student not paying attention in class, or an adult at work being distracted in a meeting by their phone.

The overall concept of accepting others cultures and beliefs has often been a struggle for many people. We tend to be focused only on the path we choose to take, often neglecting to think about what someone else may think or say. The cosmopolitan view is that we should “expand or horizons” and accept the beliefs and cultures of all people around us. We all grow up with different circumstances in life, causing our lives to go in different directions than someone else. That being said, it is important to remember that just because we were not brought up to believe in something, that is does not make it right or wrong. We do not necessarily have to accept these people if we feel that the beliefs are too different than ours; however, we must acknowledge the fact that they are entitled to their opinions and beliefs, and embrace their perspective with an open-mind.

Prezi on Anti Piracy

Anti Piracy on Prezi

cosmopolitanism

The lesson on cosmopolitanism and ethics surrounding globalization resonated deeply with me. I appreciated Kwame Anthony Appiah’s thoughts on the meaning and importance of cosmopolitanism: that “we’re responsible collectively for each other” and its main tenet is to “care about everyone, but not required them to be like each other.” And that his manner of presentation was not didactic or condensing but more straight forward in that he was providing his own view point, and made it clear that he felt strongly it is ideal to be cosmopolitan, but still an individual choice—which is certainly in the entire spirit of being cosmopolitan.

The kind of rhetoric on diversity that bothers me the most is a narrative with a fairy tale ending that summarizes an encounter with an Other as “and we realized we were really the same (despite being different races/living in different countries/have two moms) and lived happily ever after. Appiah’s video illuminated the reason—that kind of narrative doesn’t incorporate a cosmopolitan approach and is more similar to cultural relativism. Cultural relativism, as described by Appiah (and Ess) is kind of a moral cop-out—if everyone’s different, then who are we to judge what they do? Cultivating an exchange of ethical ideas, even if (or especially if) one particular view is not automatically championed, can never be bad. Appiah also highlighted the dangers of hypocritical and homogenizing “I’ll support your differences but only if you change to be like me” mentality commonly found in religious or political applications.

In a previous class that was a pseudo-survey of Western Lit, (entitled the Poetic and Ethical I) we discuss Otherness as a negative thing. Seeing someone as Other denied them Subjectivity; the struggle was for one already a Subject to act the Other as another Subject. Perhaps this is the same idea as respecting the Otherness of the Other as we have discussed, but since then, I’ve been more aware of the Others in my life. As someone who is strongly opinionated and intelligent, I do tend to have less patience when other people do things slower or just differently than I do. I guess what I mean is that when someone is very distinctly Other, like the French friends of my boyfriend we recently hosted vs someone less so, like my coworkers who grew up in New York city vs Wisconsin and are mostly different races than I, it can be paradoxically more difficult to respect their Otherness.

Returning once more to Kwame Anthony Appiah, he describes his multicultural background and the importance of the Ghanaian tradition being a “wafa” (sp??) to his nieces and nephews. In Ghana the wafa is the most important male role model to a child instead of their father, because he is blood-related to their mother. I agree that this is a valuable tradition, and I would not want to see it destroyed, but what about honoring both? Then the children will have two male role models in their lives. I know many people are worried about “diluting” cultures (especially indigenous ones) but I also think that it is natural for human cultures to be in a constant state of flux. In Jason Russ’s prezi, he has a video of visiting a Maasai tribe in Tanzania and asserts that their lifestyle might be negatively affected by Western technology. I would never go so far as to say that the Maasai culture is inferior because it lacks such technology, or that it would be improved or enriched by the addition of Western culture. But I don’t think it would be contaminated by exposure to another culture if it were in a non-assimilating/colonization manner. No one is worried Western culture will be damaged by the Maasai, shouldn’t we pay them respect by assuming the reverse? I’m not sure that I have the perspective necessary to make such a judgment—actually I’m certain I do not—but I’d like to hear other opinions.

On a last note, I think at times it is valuable to think about human culture as whole, especially in relation to its affect on other Others, like the other species on our planet.

Here’s a sort of meandering, philosophical look on the impact of humans on the globe:
http://all-geo.org/highlyallochthonous/2011/01/ten-million-feet-upon-the-stair/

Aadhaar Prezi

Aadhaar on Prezi

Reflection Blog 3

I’m partial to Week 11’s content so I’ll talk mostly about it in this reflection blog.
The sixth sense concept is really interesting. I feel like this particular manifestation of the idea (thing hanging around your neck, etc.) is a bit premature and clunky, but someday I can picture us living this way and using this technology in 10 years or so.
In the mid-1990’s I got a device for free (from a magazine, I think) called a CueCat. CueCat was a glorified barcode scanner that plugged into the PS/2 (keyboard) port of your computer. A few publications started putting CueCat barcodes into their magazines, newspapers, etc. You scan the barcode with your device and it brings up a web page or whatever. Sound familiar? We’re seeing those 2D QR barcodes everywhere nowadays, and they do basically the same thing. CueCat went under. The masses were not ready at that time – which is part of it. I think that there’s a little more to it, though – the technology wasn’t there like it is today for instant availability. More people have smartphones than don’t, so seeing the barcodes and scanning them in is a very easy process. CueCat was a bit more clunky because you needed to be AT your computer to do it.
Anyhow – I think Sixth Sense is probably in the same boat. We’re not ready for it. The technology isn’t quite there for it. It will crash and burn. In 10 years, though, we’ll see it in another reincarnation and we’ll be ready for it at that point.
With regard to the other part of week 11 – the war-fighting robots. I think it’s a scary concept, for sure. I spent 4 years in the Marine Corps Infantry with 3 combat tours to Iraq. I’ve spent countless hours training and preparing for battle. How to move properly as a team/squad/convoy – how to cover all the bases and ensure we’re safe. It’s a totally new dimension to have to consider the flying robot that you can’t see that can drop bombs on you. All I can say is that I’m glad the enemy didn’t have it when I was in, and I feel sorry for the guys that have to deal with it when it happens. Maintaining 360 degree security is hard enough – adding the above-ground 180 is a whole different task.

Reflection Blog 3

Reflection Blog 3-Submitted by Michelle Lampkins

The last few weeks engaged us in very interesting topics.  I particularly enjoyed some of the material we covered that helped us analyze whether we realize the effects of our interactions with technology.  We asked ourselves questions about how we present ourselves on the internet when we communicate with others.  Are we being our authentic self on line or do we have an alias personality when dealing with others online.  Do we conduct ourselves differently in a business setting compared to a casual setting?  For example if we seek interactions on a dating website do we present our true self or do we create  a vision that is different from our reality.  Do we post old photos of ourselves when we thought we looked better, do we share truth about us sooner or much later.

We also discussed our purpose and identity when we surf the web and the question of whether we surf the web out of  the pure escape of  boredom and mindless surfing with no real purpose.  The web has so much to offer and the information you can obtain is beyond our ever discovering everything on the internet, so when there is a bottomless pit, we can easily be drawn in to continue digging and digging as long as we desire, because there is no end in sight for the information available on the world wide web.

The information on sixth sense technology was indeed interesting.  I did send a link of the discussion on technology being developed for the sixth sense technology to a co-worker who is a techie and loves technical articles.  His response was in the initial stages of the development of this technology, he felt it was too cumbersome to have all the gadgets tied to individuals and it would take a long time for the general population to adopt such technology, and we laughed about that fact and said while the ideas and amazing features this technology has, it is something to marvel at, but not going to be embraced for some time to come.

I also found it interesting to consider the ethical issues that arise when considering the use of robotics in warfare.  We discussed how the robots could help in warfare by possibly reducing human casualties since they would replace soldiers on the ground in some instances, however there is still a measure of precautions necessary to take because these robots have to still be controlled and making moral decisions about when to act and if robotics can perceive a true threat compared to being engaged to kill first ask questions later, this could result in unnecessary casualties.  Also just as our cultural may develop robotic warriors so can other governments and we could face the same issues as those we may attack using these machines.  Although this is new technology it does come with reasons to be wary and fearful.

I definitely enjoyed learning about Kwame Anthony Appiah and his views on cosmopolitanism.  I could relate to his views on being accepting of other cultures without abandoning our our culture.  The world we live in has technology that allows us to communicate daily on a global scale.  I know some had a problem with his views about taking responsiblity for each other on a world wide scale, but I did think perhaps he meant in our communications and interactions with other cultures.  I felt the need to try to learn more about other cultures going forward in life.  I thought it was interesting when he highlighted the different family responsibilities between different cultures.  For example with his Father of Ghana descent, the brother  to the mother in the household was responsible for the care and upbringing of any children she had, yet in the English household of his Mother, his Father and likewise Fathers bear the responsibility for children in the home.  I didn't know that and thought wow, that is a different take altogether from the way we do things in the US.  Yet Kwame asked the question which action is right or wrong and his approach was he shouldn't say either is right or wrong.

The other point Kwame made is sometimes we require people to become more like us to accept people, whereas a cosmopolitan view is excepting of other views.  Kwame didn't think we should retreat to our own group and live a moral life, and he also didn't think you have to abandon your own to embrace other viewpoints, so the bottom line is in this global culture we must find a way to strike a balance and that is taking the cosmopolitan approach.

We did learn a lot about global communications and I found myself really enjoying the video clips and ideas of the thinking people out there that constantly study the effects of technology in our day to day dealings and future events.

Final Blog Entry

Out of the last few weeks of readings there were two specific things that I continue to think about.

One thing was the sixth sense technology that was presented by Pranav Mistry. I still can't get over the fact as to how unimpressed I was with his new technology. Maybe it's because the presentation makes it look so easy to use the technology and everyone in the video ooh'd and ahh'd, but in all reality, whenever a new technology comes out no one knows how to use it and it's full potential is never truly realized. Maybe it's the old man talking in me, but I'm pretty comfortable with the technology that I have right now. I think people still have a lot of catching up to do as far as learning about technology and what it can offer. It's really hard/frustrating as a human being to finally feel like you've mastered something, only to find out that what you've mastered is now obsolete and you must now start from square one.

The second thing that I found my mind dwelling upon is the ideology of cosmopolitanism. In my life I've always had this sort of ideology without even knowing it. I don't know if it's been religion that has shaped my attitude, maybe it was just the way I was raised, or maybe it's even in my genes. However, in watching the video of Kwame Anthony Appiah, I've noticed that I might only hold this ideology to a point. There are numerous global issues, cultures, societies that I remain ignorant about. I also choose to remain complacent in learning about these other cultures. By choosing to remain complacent in learning about other cultures am I not fully adopting the ideology of cosmopolitanism? Or, does it only count when I actually encounter a different situation and not actually seek one out? Also, how do we handle a situation where we have to choose between our close knit group, or the well being of the entire world? If, according to Appiah, we have to learn to live with both, how do we put a priority on one or the other when it's called for?

Network Neutrality and Internet Tyranny

The Network Neutrality Debate on Prezi

Reflection Blog 2

Reflection Blog 2nd Entry- Submitted by Michelle Lampkins

I am going to reflect on the readings and discussions from week 7 and the information we learned about freedom of information, and speech and the impact of whistle blowing and the actions of Wikileaks activities on the internet. The discussions around this topic highlighted how much everyone values freedom of expression and not having restrictions imposed on us in using this cyber technology.
I was engaged in the readings about Wikileaks and gaining more insight to why Julian Assande is motivated to do what he does through this organization. I felt that when you look at what he wants to do, he wants to expose people to reality and what is really going on in the world and what world governments are involved in and I think he just reminds us that when we watch the news we don't always get a true reading of events that happen in the world. The media, many times, presents stories, ideas and images in one light and it is common that presenting a news story one way can result in a lack of knowledge of what is really happening in the world. I wonder sometimes if we believe in freedom of expression and speech, what is really wrong with us having the freedom to know the real truth about events and make our own conclusions instead of the media or government involvement trying to shape our perceptions of the events that occur in our times and events that have occurred in past history. The least engaging Portion of the reading had to do with whistle blowing, because I felt that again in our society whenever someone wants to reveal the truth about wrongdoing, the corrupt ones want to punish the individual who takes a stand and hide the truth. There are so many stories of people being afraid to speak up due to the consequences of their actions, namely probably losing their job.
I learned this week that many people feel that regarding censorship that children should be protected from bad content and exposure to explicit, violent or other ill content, but adults not so much. I thought it was interesting that you don't want a child's mentality to be shaped by others ill content but when you become an adult it is ok if you choose, to expose yourself to these ill thoughts and activities, because we believe in freedom of choice and expression.
The things I learned this week will cause me to do more research on things I read about on the internet. There are indeed many different perspectives presented on the internet via blogs, news websites and even in social media. I usually read content on the internet and I think like most of us we can accept some content on the internet due to what resonates with our outlook and views about life and how we may approach life, but I learned that critical thinking and analyzing a matter and being open to looking at an idea in more than a couple of ways will help broaden my understanding of the various viewpoints on any given topics I choose to read about on the internet.

Blog 3-Sami Atari

Two of my favorite topics that we have covered in these last couple weeks are Crosscultural / Intercultural Ethics and Globalism, Social Inclusion, and the Digital Divide. I’ve always found anything that has to deal with different cultures, globalism, and different ethnicities fascinating. I feel particularly drawn to these subjects due to the fact that I have family members in different countries, as well as friends with different ethnicities.

I particularly found the case-study in Ess’s Digital Media Ethics about the Muhammad Cartoons very interesting since my family is Muslim. I think that the people in my family would take offense to these stereo types that were published in Europe. Even though I don’t consider myself “Muslim” because I do not strictly follow all traditions, I still take offense to it as well. Perhaps the reason I get angry is because I know it would offend the people I know. Would Christians get angry if this was the same way but with Jesus Christ? For this reason, I feel like that Muslims are always getting short changed.
Another great example the Ess brings up is about women cartoon characters showing skin and that some places there are people that don’t take offense to it, but in some they do. In countries with a huge Muslim population then there probably wouldn’t be a problems because incidents like this probably won’t happen. If you live in a none-Muslim country than they shouldn’t really complain about it, because it is a part of their culture. It’s almost redundant because they complain about people not respecting their cultural, but they should know that what they are offended by is actually someone else’s culture. All this also ties into the chapter on cross cultural.

There are always going to be people that aren’t as open as others. They have been closed off from the rest of the world and either will never break out to discover otherness or will never get the opportunity. I love to ask people where they are from and talk to them about their culture. One main reason I do this is so I can compare them to my culture, and find similarities. My parents always taught me to be open about this, and I feel that I am. I like to talk about another cultures food, traditions, and also try to learn a couple things from their language.

I feel bad for the people that are sheltered and don’t get to experience other cultures. They have been put into a little bubble and don’t know how to get out.

Reflection Blog 1

Reflection Blog 1-Submitted by Michelle Lampkins

The material we have covered the first few weeks in this class is an indication that there are many ways to look at ethical considerations for cybertechnology.  The readings have used examples that we must analyze today with the advent of modern technology.  The laws in place that were originally intended for physical copies of information now have to be reconsidered due to the different forms of content and the easier access to such content due to the internet and the avenues that the internet provide for access to such information.  The fact that information is now accessible in different formats raises ethical issues with regard to the rights of creators of such content and whether or not we are violating the rights of the creators of such content by the way we access and use such content.  There is also the consideration of privacy issues, because so much information is so easily accessible, an individuals right to privacy can and has been violated and such issues really give us an opportunity to reflect on these issues.  The reading material also gave us an opportunity to reflect on various ethical viewpoints with regard to different scenarios in the world of cybertechnology.  It is very interesting that there are many different ways to look at a problem and to be willing to consider more than one theory before reaching a conclusion that can be the most practical application of a theory to an issue raised.  I found myself having a mixture of viewpoints with regard to certain scenarios, based a little on my personal feelings and then having my viewpoint challenged by other viewpoints that I thought was fair to consider in addition to my own personal feelings.

I did learn that we really need ethical theories, as Tavani points out in his book on page 53, and we do in fact need to approach ethical theories in a similar manner as the approach to investigate scientific theories and how one needs to gather facts and information to form the basis for the best conclusion, and we can provide a framework to analyze moral issues in a "coherent, consistent, comprehensive and systematic" way.  We must recognize that there is not always going to be a clear answer for issues raised because cybertechnology is a global force.  The fact that cybertechnology is global, when considering ethics, we have to be open minded and recognize that the morals in our Western culture will differ from other cultures around the globe.  The difficulty of trying to find a theory that can cover all beliefs is near to impossible.  I learned that we may have to consider moral theories that allow for more than one viewpoint.  

The example in Tavani's book that I had an immediate opinion about was the cyberstalking incident that was discussed.  I took a Deontology/Ethical Absolutism viewpoint.  I thought it was morally wrong for this woman to be a victim of this person who used the internet to track down, stalk and murder this young woman.  I felt the woman's privacy was violated and it was absolutely wrong for this person to use the internet to help him get access to this woman's personal information and use this information to track down and  murder this young woman.  This man was able to gain access to this young woman's information with the help of websites that made it possible to do such research.  Instead of just blaming the murderer this story also raised issues about whom else should be considered responsible and share blame, because access was provided by these other entities.  There is no question that the action of this murderer was wrong, there is no other plausible defense for him.  Freedom of speech and freedom to access such information can't be considered in this scenario, because the end result and purpose of what this murderer did is not justified period.

The other issue that was highlighted in numerous examples is the current discussion about downloading movies and music.  Many ethical questions arise, is it considered stealing due to copyright laws that exist today?  The western culture verses other cultures may have a different take on using copyrighted materials in a digital format.  Some may think it is ok to make a back up copy of such material.  Some may feel it is ok to download and make copies as long as they are not selling the data for a profit, they may compare it to past actions like making a recording off the radio using a cassette recorder or making a second vhs copy of a movie to let a friend or family see at a later date.  Doing this in the past may allow people to feel they are doing the same thing today and there is nothing wrong with this action.  Some people dont care that it is copyrighted material and there are laws that state the owner of such material reserves the option for how he/she material is used.  Some people use the thinking that the record companies overcharge consumers and the recording artists and companies get paid millions, but in further analysis this may on be true if everyone steals the content on the market, or they "download" a copy of such content.  I did learn that in Asian cultures an example was presented specifically the Confucius way of thinking is based on their culture that they that show honor to creators of digital content by sharing with others, which runs contrary to Western laws.  This shows that there is not a clear theory that would cover this way of thinking and action.  The Western culture may use "ultilitarian theory" while knowing our countries laws would deem we use "deontologian theory " or even ethical absolutism.  However when considering multicultural viewpoints, one may consider using "ethical relativism" or other perspectives like "confucius ethics".  This presents the dilemma of finding a sound ethical theory that would satisfy all parties involved.  

Tanzania and the Digital Divide

Michelle's Finals Prezi

Ethics Final Prezi-tation

UW-Milwaukee Hacker Attack on Prezi

Blog entry

In this weeks readings what I had engaged in the most was when we discussed online personae. The topic was interesting in my opinion because there are so many people online that this topic could vary and have a large amount of outcomes. Online personae can be different depending on what type of person you are, some people are completely different when they get on their online name when some just change real slightly if not at all. Another engaging moment this week was maintaining traits of an artificial agent may need before it is considered equal to a human being. This was interesting because this made me really think about what would make a person sure that it can be considered on a certain level equivalent to a human. It is interesting to do all of the tests and studies to see if it is true.

This week I had came across something surprising which was the idea of all of us looking out for each other online. This surprised me because the thought of having problems because someone else had screwed up, now you have to deal with it. I don't believe this would be a good idea or that things will ever become this way. What I had learned this week was a variety of things. I had learned new things about all the examples I have just mentioned plus it was very interesting and I enjoyed the knowledge and skills I acquire.

This week I will take what I have learned and remember these ideas for future discussions or experiments I may need in other classes. In discussion this week I have not learned anything that would change the way I use technology in any way. I didn't discuss any of this weeks discussions with anyone which is odd and I'm surprised I haven't but I may discuss with my peers now because there were interesting ideas and topics this week. The discussions I have been encountering this week were different then the past weeks.

This week there was a lot of talk about online personae. This was very interesting to me in the way I go online and have my log in name like every other person in the United States of America but some things that were mentioned in discussion were very interesting. There are people in the world that have completely different personality's and basically you could say identities online. By what I mean is there are people in this nation that have split personalities. When they go online they are completely different people then they are in real everyday life. There identity is someone who is not them just because they are participating in programs online that changes their mind set because the internet isn't real.

The study of cross culture communication is a interesting thing that we do not practice but it is important we understand what it is about. There are people in this world that have different cultural backgrounds then we do here in the United States. These people have there certain religious values and they communicate amongst each other these ways and with other cultures too. An example of this would be that we have the option to go to church every Sunday. In other cultures they may not got to church but they may have night rituals they attend instead to worship their gods. In all parts of the world things vary and it can be very interesting to learn about all the different religious practices in the world.

Final Blog

The weeks of 11 and 13 were mainly of interest to me. I like discussing the differences of cultures and religions. It is interesting that there are so many differences in religion but yet some are close in relation to each other. It is hard to understand other’s religion when you do not know anything about it. That goes along with anything though in that if you do not know anything about it, how are you going to understand. The only thing you can do to understand it is learn and ask questions.

I do not particularly like talking about Facebook because I think that there is just so much unnecessary things that take place on there. I like discussing why I do not particularly care for it though and that is because I just feel that it is so fake. As I discussed before, I feel like it is a song that Brad Paisley sang a couple years back called ”Online”. so many people have there real life and then they have their online life. The two are totally different and it is actually quite scary if you think about it. Chatting online is nothing like talking to a person face to face or on the phone. So many things can be taken out of perspective so easily I feel when it is broadcasted through a site like Facebook. It is so hard to believe everything you hear or read about friends doing when it is on Facebook. Maybe I am just ignorant or insecure if you want to call it that. I just feel these sites are out of control and cannot be taken serious sometimes.

The readings also brought up video games and I thought this was interesting too. I think that video gaming is almost out of control. People all over the world can play each other and even talk to each other while playing the game. The video games are so real but still so far from reality. An example could be these war games. I think that it is so hard to relate real life war into a video game. I think that the video game and real life war is so far from what actually happens. This also brings up my next point about robotics in war. I guess that is the new age of war but I do not think that is how war should be handled. There is no emotional attachment involved with robotics and the killing of people. This meaning that, how is that person controlling the robot going to react after they have killed that other person. Are they going to feel anything or feel regret? What if these robots were to end up taking the wrong lives of others? Like, innocent people that lived around or even in the war. Wh o would be at fault if the happened to accidentally get killed. I hope that it would be someone’s fault and not just get brushed under the rug. This goes back to the emotional standpoint. Would there be an attachment to those people. I think there would be but just not as great as there would be if a human had killed them instead of a robot.

Final Blog Entry

The content read and discussed during weeks 9 - 13 proved to be interesting. Topics ranged from cyber personas to the digital divide and robotics to cross-cultural ethics, but the topic I found most interesting was artificial intelligence.

Artificial intelligence is becoming more and more prominent in our lives. The most notable piece of artificial intelligence to make a big impact on our lives came when Apple's new iPhone 4S hit stores in early October. Probably the most notable feature of the new iPhone was Apple's new app called Siri. Although similar artificial intelligence apps have come out before, Siri is the first to make a great impression on our society. Siri pushes the boundaries of artificial intelligence to possess artificial emotion. People really seem to enjoy this aspect of Siri. Applications like Siri will continue to push themselves to be further integrated into our everyday lives.

Another topic that was particularly interesting was peoples' identities and experiences online. The Internet allows us to partake and behave in an anonymous fashion when on the web. People can make their own cyber personas and actually be very different people than they would be in the real world. One instance of where this takes place is on Second Life where people can customize their avatars and create their own worlds to essentially create their own cyber lifestyle. People have actually become millionaires from selling virtual products and services on Second Life!

The past four weeks of reading materials and discussions have wrapped up a very exciting and wide array of IT topics. Looking back at everything that we covered, everything was very relevant to our present and ever changing world of IT. Looking at this really makes you wonder what else will come about into our lives in the future and what new controversial topics can be discussed.

Digital Revolution?

The Internet and its effect on social revolutions on Prezi

Hacktivism-Sami Atari

Hackivism on Prezi

blog entry #3

The last
few weeks of the class have been most engaging for me. I have enjoyed the videos
as well as the reading. The reading that
stuck out to me the most was from week eleven. The readings from Tavani about community,
personal identity and self in cyber space were especially interesting.
I liked the
discussion particularly for this week, seeing how each person reacted to each other’s
comments on cyber space. The interesting
thing to me was how people are changing who they are on sites like Facebook. It is easy for people to hide behind a profile
on the computer. So easy in fact that people can be any age, race or sex. It is
so easy that we can post our opinions about anything; pretend we are anybody
else than who we really are. There is no way of knowing if the person who is
posting is who they really are. I have had friend request come in from the
person I know, only to have the real person call or text me the next day to say
it was not them and not to except it.
It goes on
to talk about blogger’s who conspire to take over countries or start wars. How people
are able to get others to conform to their opinions and ideas. This is not
always a great idea, the governments are watching for this type of action. This does make the people more prejudice to
the ideas they are already blogging about.
I feel this is important, as it is very important with everything going
on in today’s world.
Highlights of
the chapter that stuck out to me, the topics of cyber bullying, with having a
teenage daughter who is on the computer frequently for homework and Facebooking,
I wonder who maybe looking at her profile or even checking when she is on the
computer. Not being able to see the people who are always checking you profile
or speaking with you makes you wonder what type of person they are.
Online
gaming was another point brought up in the chapter. The online gaming craze is
in the boom phase. People all over the world are playing against each other all
the time. The problem with this is some people do not always know the difference
between gaming and reality. You get the high score over another player and you
never know how the player is going to react to the game or reality. Some people
do not always know the difference between reality and gaming.
I
especially liked this chapter due to how much this chapter affects every
persons daily life.

final prezi

Identity Theft on Prezi

Blog post #3 - Russell Jorgensen

As it stands, weeks nine and ten are my two favorite topics that we have covered. With week nine dealing with subjects such as racism and accessibility, and week ten covering online identities, I felt a huge connection to these topics.

I stand by my thoughts that cybertechnology hasn't reduced racism. I do believe it has brought it more in to the spotlight. It is easier to see as it is right in front of us and widely accessible. Something that might have gone unnoticed is now out in a medium that millions of eyes can see.

When it comes to accessibility of information technology, I have a few different standpoints on this. I still think this is a privilege, and not a right. If you have the means to gain use of technology and the internet, great for you. My children have access to technology and the internet, but should they? Sometimes I think that people who do not have access to the technology have it better because they are shielded from some of the things my kids have been exposed to. Should we teach our kids? Yes. I think we should make sure that they know how technology can be used for not only good, but what they should not be doing with the technology.

I did start thinking about cybertechnology and people with disabilities lately. So much is being done so that people can access technology if they are not as “able bodied” as the majority of people on the planet. I am still torn as to who is responsible for getting it to those less fortunate and making it accessible for them. Designers are taught to design for the majority. People who are blind can not use something like an iPhone easily. With something so graphic intense, is it really up to Apple to make sure that the blind can use their product? Should a 3^rd party company be the ones that are making the advances? I am not sure.

With week ten, we started going in to the online persona. This is something I personally have a lot of time with. I have been online since the early 90's when ODS (Online Data Systems) and PC-Exec were the big BBS systems in the area. This predated Skype, chat, AIM, all of it. We had our own online personalities and people went to huge lengths to make sure that people never knew who they were. People had screen name handles that were never the same as their real names. This was a safety net for them. I've been going by “Falken” for years online. It has sort of become a nickname for me. I answer to it when it is said in my presence. I have used it as a stage name, a music project name, and as most people see here, my online name. Have I mislead some people as to who I really am with this online personality of mine? I don't think so. Others might disagree as it only shows a little slice of who I am and therefore I am misleading people to who it is I really am.

I'm going to miss doing these blogs. I think it is something that each class that is discussion heavy should have students do. After getting a few weeks out on the material, you forget what it is that you were reading and discussion.

Blog 3

For me the topic that I felt most engaged in and seemed to elicit a lot of discussion during this section of class occurred in week 11. This discussion was centered on the question that Turkle asks, "is the 'personae' we create online an expanded self or separate from the self?" (pg 180) And the instructors question “Is your online identity who you really are or is it an expanded version of yourself—possibly a separate identity?” For me I do not have anything to hide or ashamed of, so my online personae is the same as the one I live in real world. I believe that our online personae is an extension of who we are, for some this allows who they really are to come out without the reservation that real life may place on them. For many their real life personae’s consist of compromises that they have had to make to conform to the norm or what others expect of them, so I do not believe that this real life personae is truly not who they are deep inside. For these people the online format allows those people to bring out their real personae from deep inside in a somewhat anonymous fashion without retribution from those in their real life. Being anonymous is the key here as the amazing popularity of social media sites such as Facebook makes it ever more difficult to hide facts from people you meet in this day in age. Not that that is a bad thing as I think it would be harder for those that do not do the correct or moral right thing may get caught, such as adulterers. Your whole life can be basically accessed by a search on Facebook depending on the security setting you have set. I believe that although these peoples online personae’s and in real life personae’s may have some differences the online personae just allows them to expand on their real life personae’s to create a whole. Further the instructor asked us “If you feel as though it is separate, does this change the ethical nature of any of your behavior while acting as this persona? Why or why not?” While I did not think that are personae’s are separate I still believe that the anonymous nature of some sites allows people to act in ways they would not in their real life or in person. Again I believe this is true because being anonymous allows you do the things you would not do if your name was attached to the act. This does not mean their personae’s are different, but that they are able to expand on it.

Ty Gubser - Final Prezi

Final Blog

After doing the research for my final paper, it has really changed my mind on how I view Facebook. This social networking giant is essentially taking over all forms of communication between people. It is getting to the point where people are just using Facebook to contact people all of the time. Back in the day, this would not be the case. For example, what if you just got back from vacation and wanted to share your photos? Today, well you would just upload it on Facebook for all of your friends to see instantly. However, going back to the day where Facebook was not here, you would most likely call up your friend and sit down with them to show the pictures. This promotes true conversation since it is face to face and not just through a chat box online. I even find myself distancing myself from people more and more since I can see everything they are doing anyways. It almost seems like an awkward question to ask someone what they have been up to if they update their Facebook all of the time. If I did not use Facebook, however, this would be a good question to ask someone whom I have not seen in awhile.

So, with this knowledge of how much it pushes people away from true conversation, I plan to not use Facebook as much. I am going to focus on actually getting together with people when I want to talk about what is going on in their life. Granted Facebook is easier to get in touch with people, but I do not believe it is the best way to keep a good friendship.

The one exception to this would have to be long distance relationships. For these relationships it makes it really easy to talk to someone whom you possibly would not be able to with the expensive long distance charges. Since Facebook does not care where the person is from, they are just a click away. I am actually using it currently to do just that, and it works very well.

Final Prezi-Facebook/Information Privacy/Demoting True Conversation

Facebook Demotes Conversation on Prezi

Prezi- Marc Jankowski

Final-Privacy and Security of Internet on Prezi

Sara McGlasson-Maynard-Final Prezi

Cloud Computing on Prezi

Prezi-Phillip Striggow

Striggow Trucking and Farms on Prezi

Prezi - Michael Starks

What to do.... on Prezi

Blog 3

The reading that engaged and interested me the most was Dreyfus’ On the Internet, Chapter 4, where he discusses the “leveling,” where all information becomes equal in the eyes of observers. Dreyfus begins by talking about Kierkegaard’s disdain for The Press. He explains that the press and its ability to disseminate information to the masses give every person the ability to hold an opinion on matters that they have no firsthand knowledge of. They are able to hold a “God-like” view of worldly things and simultaneously hold them at a great distance. Not only are they given a birds-eye view of popular to topics but all the topics are being discussed with equal emphasis. No piece of information is given priority or considered less important than any other. He proposes that this leveling creates apathy to information where all information is horded for the sake gaining more interesting information with no purpose. He says that the seeking of information becomes a means of avoiding boredom but that by trying to subdue boredom in this was people ascend into despair in the Aesthetic Sphere. The internet, Dreyfus says, is the place to perfect the ascent into the Aesthetic Sphere where “nothing is too trivial” and “something interesting is only a click away.” Dreyfus goes on to explain the Kierkegaard’s Ethical Sphere where people are able to anonymously devote themselves to causes and ideas without making any real commitments by using the internet as their medium for their actions. This sphere reminds me of the reading we have done on the role of the internet on the social revolutions where people are able to stay at home and do nothing but get the feeling that they are helping to fight for a cause by “liking” a Facebook page or by changing the color of their profile picture. People by way of the internet are able to feel like they are fighting for revolution while remaining safely at their computer where they can “help” many causes at once which are only a hyperlink away.

Dreyfus’ article reminded me of how many hours I have mindlessly spent stumbling all over the internet in search of interesting information but always feeling like it was dull and how arrogantly I was able to sneer at one pages content and go on to the next where I might just as easily internalize some piece of information that came from a nobody who might have no real basis of their knowledge except another website. Thanks in part to this article I’ve put a stop to the mindless and aimless web browsing that was driving me to ennui. It’s also helped me put together something I was coming on to, which is that I have lost having a serious goal. I’d put up generic short term goals that would simply lead to more indecision in my life.