Technology Welcomes an Era of Disconnected Interconnectedness

    To coexist in a world where human connection has never seemed more disconnected has challenges. I try to think back to a time before phones and instant messaging, yes there was digital video but that was more about capturing the moment. A fad right now is taking disposable photos and displaying them like a vintage trophy. Take a moment to digest what that means. Disposable photos are not all that old, but technology and the age of abundance evolve quickly. My generation grew up in the transition phase of adaptation to a digital world. We watched television stations not Netflix, and had home videos on DVD and photograph albums to flip through. My generation is barely old enough to have suffered a quarter-life crisis! The juxtaposition we see here is astounding, a 2023 trend captures the essence of "vintage" photos. This is teaching us that time is becoming a beloved artifact. If we spend too much of it engorged in the digital capture of it all we will miss the opportunity to live in the present. 

    Technology is taking over every inch of daily life. For better or worse we are in a committed relationship with something that only reads OUR emotions it can not process on a human level. Technology does not feel, instead, it predicts how to control OUR feelings with perfectly curated distractions. So I digress, but in reality, we are spending far too much time putting our efforts into a co-dependent relationship. Personally, I like to think I balance my time on technology well but I fall into the trap almost daily. Frequently I catch myself poisoned by the instant gratification and snap out of it, but I have my moments. Far more moments than I would like, when it comes to anything else I am pretty disciplined but with technology, I am a month to a flame.

    I understand the addictive risk and aim to use technology for building myself up rather than breaking myself down. "Everything is okay in moderation" is something my family would like to say growing up, mostly because I had no self-control over sweets as a child. But I see the lesson fits in the case of technology, we have to accept it but we need to be mindful of the dependence and trust we put into it. The mantra of this generation will go down in history as everything you see on the internet is NOT ALWAYS TRUE! What is true is we do not have to accept our information being used to exploit or profit or succumb to the addictive nature, I believe as a society we are beyond that. 

    I enjoy turning to technology for information, and I am constantly curious for more...give me a topic and I will absorb a surprising amount of knowledge. I know technology has limits and I deviate from those sometimes, but I am mindful of my time. I have to consider something called bedtime revenge or sleep procrastination. I mean who can I blame besides myself, my family lives states away from me so my main form of communication is my phone. For me, I would say when I am on technology it usually means I am sacrificing something else. Not to mention, it feels less personal because I am able to pick and choose when to answer and when to respond; the instant messaging becomes less instant and more done at my own leisure. 

    Beyond it all I always disconnect when I am in a place to allow conversation. For example, dinners are a time of conversation, and I never use my phone at group meals. When I travel I try not to be redundant with the photos but I do snap a few. Isn't it sad to say we go on vacations to be with one another yet we spend more time taking pictures to share with our followers, most of them we don't even know!

 

    Technology gets messy when it comes to having relationships of any kind. There is so much room for misinterpretation and an absence of personality in digital messaging and that is something I struggle with. I love technology for the safety elements it adds like my family can keep track of me in case anything happened. Technology essentially is a blanket of safety but it is just that, a blanket, and it can be taken off real fast. When we lose our phones we lose our identity, I know my family, friends and I don't have any phone numbers memorized. We depend on technology to get us to and from work most of the time, forget a map! Allowing constructive technology into our lives is a stubborn pill to swallow but it's something that resisting will only hurt us in the long run. 

Make Room AI Has Already Entered The Blog

    The age of artificial intelligence(AI) is a slippery slope and once the line has been crossed it is hard to say society will ever recover. Technology allows the world to connect and appeal to users now more than ever. After watching a PBS documentary about the age of AI, it has become prominent technology has a new prerogative; to monitor, control and sell data.

    To have privacy is a luxury that is as good as gold in today's intrusive world. While watching the documentary I wrote down five words I thought encompass the main key points; advertising, algorithm, money, competition, and power. All five of these words describe what the future of AI will depend on. These words drive how AI is planting itself in our world reaching new heights of disgust, invasion, and hatred. It is sad really, something with the capacity to enhance the world with magnanimous opportunity, instead encroaches on us only for the benefit of a few money-hungry companies. 

    Humans are reaching a point of stagnancy in purpose, and AI is eating up all the data possible. The symbiotic relationship between humans and technology is evolving from mutualism to parasitism. It surprised me to find out companies aren't at a point where enough is enough, honestly the deception and invasion would leave my conscious uneasy. Early investor and advisor to Facebook, Roger McNamee, critiques the unapproved stretch for data. Companies like Facebook are reaching lethal levels of surveillance capitalism. For example, in response to the 2018 Cambridge Analytics scandal, CEO Mark Zuckerberg responded by saying he "will now make data protection a priority". Um yeah, it only took breaching up to 87 million users' data.

    Online security is weaker than ever before. Hackers barely even have to try to find information as if companies are selling it as real estate. Recently debilitating scams have come out about AI maliciously cloning voices and calling gullible parents saying their child has been kidnapped by replaying prerecorded AI-generated audio. It is sad to say that a documentary intended to show the truth, can't help but insinuate some fear-mongering. The truth is scary because people are uneducated and ignore it. Ignorance is bliss until your information is being sold without your consent and every choice you make is predetermined by an advanced artificial intelligence system. 

    It is without question AI is here to stay and the advancements CAN be positive. The resilient story of Alastair Mactaggart, a real estate developer fighting for the right to say no to data mines, gives me hope for an age of productive AI usage. AI has the potential to change direction for the better, on a surface level AI serves a beneficial purpose. Everything is recorded now which makes it easier to catch delinquent behavior, a world with less crime undeniably is safer. Access to boundless knowledge is easier than ever and we can use AI to predict what we are looking for before we even search! AI is accessible, durable, and long-lasting which can make the world move at a faster pace, with the exception of those who lose their job due to AI. The benefits are applicable to a few, and if you end up on the wrong side of things, good luck. 

    This brings me back to the vocabulary words mentioned above; advertising, algorithm, money, competition, and power. Where there are advertisements, there is AI meticulously formulating a perpetual algorithm to appeal to the user. AI is fighting for user's attention and those with money want to have top-tier AI programming to win the everlasting competition for our data that will ultimately lead to achieving the influx of power. The insatiable hunger for power can control people in a way society would have never imagined before the introduction of the internet. 

EOTO: Are Confirmation Bias Winning You Over Right Now?

Britannica.com defines the theory of confirmation bias as “People’s tendencies to process information by looking for or interpreting, information that is consistent with their existing beliefs” (Britannica.com).  

 

    The need to find people similar to oneself dates back for ages, interrelation is a subliminal yet crucial survival instinct in mankind's ability to prosper. Much of the world has adopted a hypersensitivity to unfamiliar values that stray from our own. Few of us have a conscious gauge of how our world is influenced by the people around us. According to Patrick Healy who wrote for Harvard Business School “One of the most common cognitive biases that humans face is known as confirmation bias” (online.hbs.edu). After doing secondary research of my own I felt compelled to share my findings. Starting with some preliminary background, a cognitive bias in my own words is; an error in cognitive propensity in human thinking and justifications that differ from the logical probability reasoning and plausibility that one would otherwise have. Cognitive bias can be applied to the theory of confirmation bias founded by English Psychologist  Peter Watson. For more information on cognitive bias click here.

    I see confirmation bias happen subconsciously every day. Open the TikTok FYP (for you page) and you find an echo chamber constantly repeating the user's interests. The illusory truth effect is structured around repetition until we see something as true… even when we know for a fact it is not. From the compelling echo chamber to the deceptive illusory truth effect, social media users face a one-sided algorithm dependent on confirmation biases. Now take that a step further and immerse yourself into your day-to-day life; how often are you influenced by those around you in the classroom, workplace, or sidewalk? Confirmation bias gives humans confidence to feel uneasy and entertains a high-alert defense mechanism around whomever made them uncomfortable or disagrees. All it takes is a few others with similar feelings to act or not act then we do the same. We are subjected to confirmation bias ALL THE TIME. If I had my definition for confirmation bias, I would say it is an umbrella term for the many facets of influence around our behavior and preexisting beliefs for someone in both social and political elements of our daily life.

All this condescending talk about why confirmation bias limits reactive conversation can be a buzz kill...yet on the plus side, it allows us to rationalize and be picky about what we choose to retain and or how much we remember which in turn causes less conflict. It also encourages security and confidence in our views. So the two extremes impact the world in a profound way, in some perplexing universe we have an over-sensitive society that isn’t comfortable hearing disagreements or we have an emotionally disconnected neutral world that can't be bothered to disagree. Think of this theory as an invisible radar that can read the feelings of those around us and assume how to react and when to tune into what. Everyone would live in a world without outside-the-box thinking, less contrastive criticism, and less innovation or growth as a society. There would be a great impact on social and political extremism and polarization. The Decision Lab concluded in a study that "This bias can lead us to make poor decisions because it distorts the reality from which we draw evidence. Under experimental conditions, decision-makers have a tendency to actively seek information and assign greater value to evidence confirming their existing beliefs rather than entertaining new ones" (thedecisionlab.com).

I think it really takes from society’s ability to blend in areas that have harsh boundary lines resulting in a more copy-and-pasted circle. It raises long-term concerns for me because you look at the minimalism wave and everything has lost all color all design any individuality. It will end up making us socially unavailable to dissonance. People who are not accepting of the minority will only circulate the information that they want to see. Where there is money there is power and if the powerful people are constantly confirming there aren’t really people struggling imagine the detrimental divide our society will see. Gender inequality can get a little too involved in disagreement as a result of confidence-building confirmation bias. It also takes away from the people who want to change the opinions that surround them. Confirmation bias is choosing what you want to believe in order to validate your own values and opinions, if you never choose to see other perspectives the world is going to become a non-accepting cold place.

Personally, I try to choose the right view that is neutral and do my fact-checking before I preach about something. Especially in the world today I see it happen all the time in my friend groups, I will be talking about something and I actively see the listeners either tune out or turn off. Meaning they either are biting their tongue because they don’t want to create a frenzy or because they are arguing only their point of view. We are losing our backbone literally and figuratively, especially with the rise of social media and instant gratification. Future generations will live in a soft world where people aren't comfortable with opinions of any kind.

TikTok Downloads Spread Faster Than COVID-19 - Diffusion Theory

    Having the ability to adapt, introduce and learn new technology is an important part of making progress in society, technology, science, and anything really. The continuity of adapting to an intellectually progressive era comes in waves. To laggards, innovation is the probable cause for every problem in society right now. In the eyes of the early to late majority, it is a blessing disused as change. To early adaptors, it is the gift of a lifetime. I believe it is just that; a gift that we are so commonly given. We forget how often innovation unfolds right before us. And maybe you feel neutral accepting innovation is a necessary evil, we simply have to have it. Adopting new ideas all settles differently from person to person. American sociologist, Everett Rogers, conceptualizes the thinking behind why some are eager to accept change and others hesitate to ever make the shift. He wanted to unmask why people adapt the way they do. Rogers' curiosity theorized what is known today as Diffusion of Innovation, the answer to why your venturous brother might have downloaded TikTok four years ago but your traditional parents vow to never. Or why all you have ever known is an iPhone and your grandparents still use a landline! Timing matters with the law of diffusion of innovation. 

    The Diffusion of Innovation theory focused more on the fundamentals of behavior change. This requires looking at innovation as a product that is trying to be sold almost. How would you make the advertisement reach the maximum amount of the public? In terms of innovation, deconstructing and understanding why a change is going to be appealing to everyone helps with adoption later on. 

    Take 2019 when COVID-19 was thriving and the lockdown was the new normal, there is one social media app that gained popularity exponentially fast. Take a guess...if you thought TikTok then I know we are on the same page. This app became the place for people to connect and bond when the options were limited. Would TikTok have diffused as widespread if it weren't in the midst of quarantine? Probably not. This is the acme of the Diffusion of Innovation Theory. 

    Before TikTok, there was Musically the same app that reached about as far as the early adopters (younger generations) before it merged with TikTok in 2018. Up until pre-pandemic it coasted to the late adopters. The introduction of COVID-19 allowed the app to diffuse without question for the late adopters and even coerced some laggards! It is hard to resist an arguable good laugh or an irresistible new fad to try! Especially when it's one of the few ways to get some human interaction. A great example is my mother who said to me today as I was cutting the skin off a kiwi, "Oh you're supposed to scoop it out with a spoon that's how they do it". I say "Mom who?" and without hesitation, she responds "The people on TikTok". Okay, so this is what happens when TikTok diffuses to my typically laggard mother.  

    It is hard to say with a successful app formulated to hypnotize users and steal their attention for as long as possible how many people would argue the bad outweighs the good. Users are eating the TikTok algorithm UP! Myself included, I am on it more than I ever thought I would be. Every day I have a condescending voice in my head reminding me I am glued to the most mundane app out there. 

    Though the app is not all bad, it informs me with real-time news updates and is a great place to learn the kind of hack that only a stranger's mom's best friend's grandmother knew! Either way, it is a place for someone with a sponge brain like myself to absorb and absorb and absorb. The cost outweighs the benefits when the information users choose to absorb is mindless entertainment and clickbait. Creators feed into the negative frame when they make videos with the intent to leave viewers at a cliffhanger for "part 2". This incentive to reach for more views and steal users' time to go viral and earn a desperate dollar is poison on the app.  

   The trajectory for TikTok is promising as it can serve as a new marketing tool, a fast track to being an A-lister if you're lucky or a place for never ending information. However it is key to remember that with any new communication technology, it is easy to get carried away and become addicted. A little thing called instant gratification has been a rising concern as communication technology advances. It comes down to the user knowing their limits and being mindful and self-aware when the line between positive and negative becomes washed. 

Is There A War On Our Voice?

   I have been alive for 22 years more than half of them being in the digital media age. So tell me how the only war-related news I remember hearing on the media was about a year ago when Russia declared war on Ukraine. Social media, in fact, all mainstream media FLOODED with posts swarming to protect and instill hope in the Ukraine community. For the first time, I saw a glimpse of the fear and fright that was taking over another country. It is because of the antiwar messages everywhere I was given an unusual perspective to empathize with what I had seen. The people had an opportunity to advocate for antiwar when it did not involve our country directly. It became a glimmer of hope during a dark and sad situation. In my adolescents, I can recall conversations about Afganastian and Iraq wars sparking up often. To my surprise I never paid much attention, I never understood what was going on, I only knew WAR WAS BAD! 

    Ready for things to get convoluted, if an antiwar conversation is constructive, then why do we not see more about the voices that fight for antiwar? Is it because the ulterior views are so systemically contained and oppressed, almost like being locked away and hidden from the public eye? I imagine it's like trying to talk to a customer service representative for USPS by phone, you have to know the precise keywords to say to get somewhere remotely close to your goal! Similarly to how I feel about antiwar websites, I never even knew they existed. Quite frankly, I wish more people knew if you want to know more click here. 

 

  The government has a reputation for making obscure efforts to eradicate the voices of the people for speaking out against them. Take the Sedition Act of 1798 and yet again in 1918. The 14th Amendment is conceptualized as laws giving people the freedom to petition. Why would the government despise being disputed so immensely? To be anti-war does not necessarily mean to be an anti-American disgrace. It means receiving the freedom to speak for what you believe in, our God-given right! Why make a God-given right so political? After all, the government can't take those rights away from us. Still, they try to find loopholes to intervene. The government went as far as passing the Espionage Act to jail anyone who undermined the war efforts. This induced fear and it allowed them to have control over voicing opinions. Antiwar voices have been punished for decades. Yes, it is a hard pill to swallow because America's Founding Fathers worked diligently to promise a land of life, liberty, and freedom! Freedom from religion, of religion; of speech, of the press; of assembly, to petition. Without the freedom to petition the country depreciates those checks and balances. It is the people's responsibility to find the land of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, even if it means dissenting from the typical view! 

   A question I ask myself; why silence the people who aren't a threat to anyone, who have no incitement in their words? Instead, the mainstream media almost highlights the lawless protests, and the angry and violent people. That seems beyond backward, I would want to live in a country knowing the government is doing everything in its power to silence the infectious violence that spreads with incitement, wouldn't you? Why is there a war on the antiwar voices? The people have every right to discuss and access both extremes of war talk. We should be promoting peace and putting an end to war. Instead, the U.S. media is focusing on it more. The balance should sway towards antiwar talk yet the mainstream media chooses otherwise and honestly brings hate and fear into the country. The media should not be framing things for the worse. The only way to stop the war on our voices is to find a way to promote peace rather than oppress it. 

EOTO Ballpoint Pen Findings

 

    When we think of modern-day pen and paper there's a handful of pens I think we all would imagine. A highly saturated consistent ink flow Pilot Ink rollerball pen; the one with ink practically pouring out for "clean and elegant" writing as described by writers at your best dig a review website. Or think of the classic BIC Pen; an inexpensive ballpoint pen everyone loves. Then there's the designer of pens the Mont Blanc fountain pen; a pen brand well known for meticulously crafted fine material pens "Our pieces are crafted to perform superbly and symbolize elegance for many lifetimes"(montblanc.com). Regardless of brand, we know the pen was revolutionary. Think before the invention of the ballpoint pen. The invention of the ballpoint pen welcomed a new era of innovation for writing and communicating.

 

    I like to play a game with myself when I think of an invention, I call it the million-dollar idea of the day. Prior to Apple announcing the update with Facetime video voicemails, it was one of my million-dollar ideas! Now there serval ideas that come to me because I genuinely am thinking about how to make something better or fix a current system, true. However, most of them come to me because of how inconvenienced I am, when something agitates me so much so that even I could make it better. That was the thought behind the Ballpoint pen. 

    In 1938, after working on it for a decade prior, brothers László and Györy Brió invented the ink made from paste for the functionality of a ballpoint pen. László was a journalist and his brother was a chemist. László was aggravated with how slow drying and easy to smudge-ink was and sought out to fix it.

     However, the original patented ballpoint pen was by John J. Loud in 1888 after a frustrating battle to mark tanning leather. Loud created the technology that had a small rotating metal ball clutched in a socket with the ability to cycle ink from the reservoir to the surface. After a few prototypes and trial and error, he realized the technology behind a ballpoint pen allows for deeper penetration of the ink, enough to write on elements other than paper. Loud described his invention as "Consists of an improved reservoir or fountain pen, especially useful, among other purposes, for marking on rough surfaces such as wood, coarse wrapping paper, and other articles where an ordinary pen could not be used"(dayspringpens.com). 

    It becomes so effortless and unintentional to fall into a loop of dissatisfaction, nothing is ever enough. That feeling of chasing something for the adrenaline and dopamine rush that comes with the next new thing! Sort of what I would imagine being shopping addicts rush. Thinking back to a time before there was writing I can barely find the imagery to explain what I see. A world with no print would appear minimal. Nevertheless, humans evolved and found new technology. What I am trying to say is that the invention of the ballpoint pen had a significant impact on the communication we use today in 2023. The ballpoint pen has such an ordinary impression in our eyes except we fail to remind ourselves what a world without writing would be. 

    Serving as a catalyst for sending letters, sharing ideas, and more, writing was more accessible than ever. People could share a rapid flow of ideas thanks to a pen so portable. It was easy to use, and maintain and smudge-free!! The ballpoint pen changed the ability to communicate. It solved the crisis of distance blocking the ability to communicate. Instant messaging was not introduced for another 33 years! So try to imagine the rush of excitement people had to be able to share ideas so easily! The ballpoint pen became vital transportation for any and all ideas to end up in writing. Sometimes a tiny introduction can lead to a profound technological advancement. 

    Unfortunately, as with any good piece of technology, the ballpoint pen created some dilemmas, some we still face today. Many series and varieties of this pen are crafted with heavy metals and lead, both materials that do not contribute to the bettering of our environment. According to AKTIV TRADING "Worldwide 130 billion are used per year. This results in 20,000 tons of highly toxic heavy metals".  This is where humans excel in other routes to try and do better, the invention of digital type is an example of how the crisis has been helped. Aside from the negative impact on the environment and 1940s gossip that might have conversed the ballpoint pen was a positively complex yet simple, standard invention. 

Interpreting the Eight Values of Free Expression

    The U.S. society and government are built on the right to expression of free speech. During the early formation of the Declaration of Independence, Jefferson, and Madison emphasized and fought for the citizens to have freedom of speech by eradicating the Sedation Act which limited the peoples right to criticize the government. With the fear of totalitarianism returning, they believed without this freedom the democratic approach would crash and burn. This is why the First Amendment was established as the acting rule in the American government; which states "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abiding the freedom of speech, of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances". A society that works together sharing the voice of many will accomplish far more than a society with one voice to lead the decision-making for all. 

    The First Amendment initiated the protection of the people meaning: freedom from religion, of religion; of speech, of the press; of assembly, to petition. Thus various theories based on the merit of eight key values of free expression came to fruition those being; 

    1. Marketplace of Ideas
    2. Participation in Self-Government
    3. Stable Change 
    4. Individual Self-Fulfillment
    5. Check on Governmental Power
    6. Promote Tolerance 
    7. Promote Innovation 
    8. Protect Dissent 

    When analyzing and reflecting on why freedom of speech is of the utmost importance I believe these four values are worth highlighting in depth: John Milton's Marketplace of Ideas, Benedict Spinozas Stable Change, Jack Balkins Promote Tolerance, and Steve Shriffins Protect Dissent. 

Most Important: Promote Tolerance 

    In a country where freedom of speech is happening daily people need to understand the importance of disagreement in discussion. Bollinger's value in Promote Tolerance is the most important value in my opinion. Yet, I see this value to be fading as the world becomes more sensitive to contradicting ideals. Anger and fear are the two leading emotions to ignite change in a person and though I am not encouraging people to get angry, I believe it is crucial to find people with different beliefs in order to tolerate all ideas. The protection of hate speech in the First Amendment is a deliberate attempt to welcome all ideas and all shortcomings in order to spread the norms and teach right from wrong. This is thought it was Bollinger suggested in the value to Promote Tolerance. We should not live in a society that fears hearing or saying personally upsetting, or hateful speech; for it will only bring about proactive thinking and productive change for all. 

Most Personal: Marketplace of Ideas

    When I ask myself which one of the eight values is most personal to me I choose the Marketplace of Ideas, also known as the Discovery of Truth suggested by Milton, arguing truth and falsehood can not co-exist. This value reminds me of the Cognitive Dissonance Theory molded by Leon Festinger an American psychologist discussed in a persuasion class I recently completed. Festinger's theory teaches that you can not have beliefs and behavior in contrast for too long before guilt wins. This compares to Milton's value because it is believed truth will always win out in grappling with falsehood, in fact, falsehood builds on the strength of truth. I feel this value paved the way for freedom of the press.

    Furthermore, this value is personal to me because it allows me to have access to write this blog with my truths without a license required. Similar to the voice social media today gives people. In a world where the line between truth and falsehood is beyond washed out, having the freedom to write and read others' truth gives me hope for an honest future because once the fact is written in ink it can not be erased.

In Action Today: Stable Change / Protect Dissent 

    Two values that I believe go hand in hand and are commonly seen in society today are Stable Change suggested by Spinoza and Protect Dissent suggested by Shiffrin. The idea of Stable Change not only is a safety valve for our society to prepare for potential threats and uproar but also allows people to speak their minds. We see this today all the time with protests for what people believe is right that contradicts the government. What comes to mind is when the world was in turmoil over police brutality. Spinoza's value allowed for controlled protesting when there could have been a greater threat if people felt the need to act clandestinely. To complement Stable Change is Protect Dissent, the protection of all ideas regardless of popularity. I think of all the minorities that have risen up and spoken up for what they believe in. A prime example would be the LGBTQ+ community, though neighbors, churches, or states might not agree with the values of the LGBTQ+ community. The LGBTQ+ people are allowed to criticize and question the (dare I say) 'norms' without the fear of punishment and that is exactly what the value of Protect Dissent entails.