EOTO2

 

In the EOTO 2 Presentations I feel were overall pretty good in my opinion. I saw the possibility for more topics to have more information in them because I genuinely found some to be very intriguing. For example, the group that did propaganda, I genuinely believe that that is such an important topic and I feel like they could not have chosen a better one. This world has so much propaganda in it and sometimes we are blind to it because we become desensitized if it is constantly pushed and thrown in our faces. Governments typically use propaganda to get people to flock to the government's side or towards their motives. However the government can use propaganda in many ways, the most common is making a group, organization or country look sinister or evil. It has been used to shape public opinion, it can be biased, misleading or down right false and in that case it can be very dangerous. Another topic that caught my eye was the five eyes. This is a topic I have never particularly heard about and I took a great interest in. From what the group said it is an intelligence circle between the U.K, the United States, New Zealand, Australia, and canada. It was formed during WW2 and specialized in communications and surveillance. After the presentation I dove deeper into the topic and found more information on the topic that in my opinion was really intriguing and in my opinion was something worth looking into. I also really liked the topic that I did on disinformation. In my opinion it is really related to current events and I feel that it is something I needed to go over and make people aware of because I feel like it's a topic that not a whole lot of people know about.

EOTO1 Real

In my opinion I feel that everyone who presented during EOTO 1 did an absolutely outstanding job. Everyone had shown the highest amount of understanding, knowledge and interest in each of everyone's topics and I feel that everyone had excelled in their field. Something in particular that caught my interest however was the invention of the newspaper. This presentation was delivered by Alex. I genuinely found great interest in how the newspaper came to be, that it was first invented in Rome and it was called “Acta Diurna”. Alex then talked about the more famous newspapers that have been written throughout history. Another topic I liked and I personally thought was very well delivered was motion pictures. I personally have good knowledge about motion pictures and I can relate to it since for some time I had the privilege of being an actor for some time. I have a very deep appreciation for it. In her presentation Emilia went over the kinetoscope and how that invention revolutionized the world. When it was invented everyone would rush to get a look through the looking glass of one and I can only imagine the amazement of being able to experience the first form of motion picture. Then she went on to talk about the Lumiere Brothers. How the first film that they created was of an African American man riding a horse and how that shot was taken with a series of cameras. Each of those shots were individually put together and rolled on a machine in a rapid succession to make the images go from stagnant to making the images come alive. Overall my thoughts on the way Emilia presented her topic was nothing less than outstanding. She was confident in her research work and ability and it really showed through her speech.

 

Final

 

To talk about my personal relationship with technology I would have to start from the beginning. The first time I was introduced to technology that I can Cognitively remember was when I was 5 or 6. I grew up as what you would call an Ipad Kid. and I mean that literally I loved my Ipad as a kid. Overall in my youth I would say that my relationship was healthy. I then had a very good balance between games online and going outside to play or communicate and be social with my friends or anyone really. As I got older I dove into the realm of social media, even though I did not directly get involved with many of the online dramas and political debates I saw online. I got a very good and what I would say healthy exposure to it. Then again I was in a way an online observer and what one might call “pacifist” moving up in my years to when I first got a phone at the age of 14 I then dove into the realm of snapchat, Instagram and more. This is where my relationship got in a way kind of funky. I started to learn to make connections and reach out online and communicate to friends, and that this is the new way I would sort of be able to see them. It took the joy out of going over to someone's house when I could pull them up on a screen and talk with them. This is the new norm and accepted custom now in society and in my opinion it's a poison. I honestly nowadays don't spend that much time on social media and I mean this as in using apps to communicate with friends. In my eyes social media is a resource that one can use to gain knowledge and information in this world. That in my opinion is how social media should be used thanks to the actions I took I have in a way broken free of the chains of social media and it has allowed me to love going out and connecting with my friends on a deeper scale compared to when I would be with them and they would always see me on my phone or I would see them on their phone. also actual face to face interaction has been falling g due to phones and the usage of social media as well.https://www.wbur.org/hereandnow/2024/02/19/american-socialization-down# Back to the topic of information and knowledge that can be gained off of social media. It is vast yes but the problem with so much knowledge is when do you figure out that some of what you are taking in might be or is completely false. The good thing that I love is that you can figure out if the websites you go onto are credible or not credible however if one is not particularly familiar on how to spot if the website that they are on is or not it can pose a serious problem. In my occupation I rely a lot on technology on a day to day basis and the information that I gather must be 100% accurate at all times. It is extremely demanding. Technology like I said is a tool one can use for great things. We make plans using technology, for example we build bridges, we design products and so much more. That is the beauty of technology and that in my opinion is how we should be using it. Using it to better the world and better our environment and improve our quality of life. This is technology's true and pure purpose, and its role to play in everyone's lives. It should be a safe and reliable resource and I can see it one day becoming that and, most importantly, something that everyone can confidently trust.

Age of A.I

A.I in the right hands is a very powerful, and useful tool. It can be used to improve quality of life and assist us in our everyday lives and that is exactly how A.I sort of started off. It was genuinely a tool. However from watching the video it has opened my eyes to deeper problems that come forward with the use of A.I in the hands of major companies and the information and data wars that have arisen in this day and age. The internet initially used to be private when it came to overall general use however due to major companies wanting to improve the convenience ended up creating the most monitored invasion of privacy this world has ever seen. You are scrolling on instagram facebook and say you were talking about pasta 5 minutes ago, then you get an ad for an Italian restaurant. This actually happens and your data is being sold on the Internet and the unfortunate part of it is that in the past you have had no control over it. These private companies and organizations are also very discrete with this and many people in the past did not know that their data was being sold. Now thankfully a law has been passed that specifically states and gives an individual the inalienable right to not have their information and data sold, shared, etc. this is a major step in what i would like to call online rights. Everyday people are speaking out against the constant monitoring and the public is slowly starting to gain control of their online lives, their privacy and it is making companies upset. The other major concern is A.I in the hands of major companies. Just like the Internet these companies use your data to run A.I. However yes A.I runs off of data however it does not have to run on your data and information.

President Biden Signs Law Limiting Data Broker Sales - Epic.org

EPIC – Electronic Privacy Information Center

https://epic.org › president-biden-signs-law-limiting-dat...

Disinformation

Disinformation and Misinformation both have an effect on society and have impacts globally in this world they both have very dangerous effects on society as well. However when it comes to differentiating the two things get a little complicated. The specific definition of disinformation is, “false information which is intended to mislead”. The definition for misinformation is, false or inaccurate information especially that which is meant to deceive. In this day and age distinguishing truth from falsehood is an absolutely important skill that people have learned to develop. However even the greatest minds can unfortunately be caught in the waves of misinformation and disinformation. These two particular topics can affect the way we think and they can also be weaponized in society to divide the rich and poor. When you think about it, those who lack information and knowledge on a topic can easily fall victim to misinformation and disinformation. We see this in the government as well the spreading of false propaganda  in order to gain the support or sympathy of the public by blinding them to the truth. This is a very common tactic used by the extremely wealthy, the innovators and people in high status in life. They use these tactics to shape society and keep the people of lower classes controlled and “under their boot”.

Misinformation at its core refers to false, inaccurate or deceitful information regardless of intent. To give a visual of how this topic works misinformation can be as simple as mishearing a lyric from a song to something as big as lying about a topic with the intention to manipulate.

Disinformation on the other hand is the deliberate action of creating false information with the intention to deceive. It is crafted with precision targeting the most fragile points in anything in order to bring it down or diminish. It targets fears, anger, and hope in society to create the most chaotic and uncontrolled reaction from the public. Initially when I was doing my research I believed that these two topics were the same in meaning however with further study I have found the clear difference and its effects on this world. Once a person sees how these two topics are used to divide first hand the difference becomes extremely clear as well.

https://www.apa.org/topics/journalism-facts/misinformation-disinformation

Being aware of these topics and being able to know the difference and spot them is absolutely essential for one's well being and realizing that these two have real world consequences is of utmost importance. These consequences you can sometimes see on the news and in day to day life and they are not as light as if a neighbor were to give bad weather information and you end up getting rained on. People can lose their lives from misinformation and disinformation. It can affect the economy, how people view each other, it can even start major conflicts between nations and lead to events that we are seeing today. For example the Russian and Ukraine war our media has lied to us about the casualties of the war. Russia has suffered mass casualties, however according to https://www.antiwar.com/ ukrainians have suffered 500,000 casualties over the course of the entire war. The media has stated however that only 50,000 Ukrainians have died in the conflict and this is not even counting civilian casualties. The european theater is nothing but total war, create mass casualties no matter if they are military or civilian. That is the motto of that war, no one is safe. The only way things are going to get better is if we start telling the truth.

Diffusion Theory

Innovations have been a key part to human progression. People have accepted many revolutionary changes throught life and in history. The world and its technologies are a constant flowing and changing atmosphere where the upgraded and the latest thrive over the obsolete. However something is not obsolete if it is able to fulfill and perform sometimes with a few tweaks, but sometimes just off of sheer value that the innovation has brought to the world. One could say a great example of this would be the Airplane. Using the diffusion Theory to explain the acceptance of aircraft and the integration of the technology into modern society. 

The first aircraft, invented by the Wright brothers, was only a footstep in the journey of one of the most advanced and useful machines on earth. I could imagine however when the people first saw the first aircraft the wright brothers flew in North Carolina, was it thought of as a revelation by some but i could see how a majority thought that the wright brothers and the invention of the airplane was a bad, or crazy idea. However as time progressed people began to trust airplanes as they became more technologically advanced the people who initially thought tht they would never take interest or use a plane or any aircraft “laggers” began using them and seeing the usefulness of these revolutionary machines they became consumers and began to use the invention. However even today there are people who still do not use aircrafts for reasons of their own and there are also those that dont use them because of their beliefs. Airplanes have also been used and sought after throughout military history. The production and usage of different variants and models of aircrafts and the evolution of military aircraft throughout history has been crucial to the evolution of warfare aswell. As a piolt my opinion twords airplanes is very biased since I love aviation and I love flying so I am a major consumer according to the Diffusion theory.

The Progressive Era

Our government is known to be very secretive. All in the name of “National security”. America is also a major arsenal and weapons producer and sells its products all across the world. When these weapons reach different consumers/countries, they sometimes dont always end up in the most stable of hands. The U.S has a really bad knack for selling its weapons to not so good people who use American weapons for evil. One particular case of this happening is when we sold weapons to the mujahideen who later became the Taliban then we ended up fighting in a war for 20 years that we didn't even need to get involved in. in my personal opinion the U.S in a way sort of glorifies conflict in nations because 1 it makes the U.S money, 2 the united states has been playing sort of a “world police role” ever since the 50’s and we have not actually been in a actual conflict since WWII only what one could accurately sum up as policing acts. However this is only covering the conventional operations side of things.

America’s special operating forces are embedded in countries and regions all over the globe and are trained to operate in the most hostile, unforgiving, and most grueling environments known to man. They are trained to hide and operate in plain sight as well. This is effective but it is also a double edged sword. Communities are affected by these small military operations and unfortunately sometimes civilian lives get involved as well.anti war activists express their concerns about not just U.S military activities in the world but military operations in general. Wars destroy homes and bring down nations. A majority of the damage you do not see is covered up because the government doesn't want you to actually see the horrors of war and the actual effects nobody thinks about. If people actually saw that side of war instead of going on websites sites to find it, that the government put in the “back alley of the Internet”. It would change the whole perspective on military operations globally.