EOTO reflection

While watching my peers present the EOTO presentations, one thing that stood out to me was disinformation. I feel disinformation is a huge problem in this world and happens every day. Disinformation is fabricated content or some form of fake news. Disinformation is mostly part of the political world. News channels especially will use disinformation on the opposite party they don't support to make them look bad in any way even if not one part of the information is true.

 

The peer that presented disinformation, also brought up how it is a big part of Covid-19, which I never thought of until now. So many people have different theories about Covid-19 whether it is dangerous or not.  For example, some people  believe that the Covid-19 vaccine is very safe and does not harm you in any way. This person is giving you disinformation because there are no  studies out there to support this. 

Another form of disinformation could be an impostor. A couple of years ago a  person was impersonating President Obama using an app that put Obama's face and voice on him. This looked extremely realistic to the point people believed it was actually him. The person that was impersonating Obama was saying very inappropriate things trying to make him look bad. This would be disinformation because the person impersonating Obama was saying things that were not true. 

 Lastly, Another form of disinformation is manipulated content. There are multiple times that I will be scrolling through Instagram or TikTok, and I will come across a post that will say “This person got engaged”, so I will go to the person's page and check if it was actually real and it is always people using disinformation, and just trying to get people's attention. 

 I believe that people will always put disinformation out there to try to get ahead and make themselves look good and make another person look bad. It's important to fact check things when seeing them on social media if you feel that things don’t look quite right.

False flags

False Flag is a term that I had to research to understand its meaning. False Flag is a harmful action, such as an attack  that makes it look like it was committed by someone other than the person who is responsible for it. This term is used more in the political world and military than in everyday life.  This is not a new term and it first appeared in a 16th century anti-Roman Catholic polemic that claims that Catholics pretended to faith while engaging in irreligious activities. Pirate ships would fly a friendly flag during war to deceive the merchant ships so they could draw them in.  Over the next few centuries, the term was used in a religious way until the 1800s when the term changed and was used more for deception. 

During WWII, Hilter used the term false flag when they invaded Poland in 1939.  Right before Germany invaded, seven German SS soldiers pretended to be Polish and stormed the Gleiwitz radio tower on the German side of the border of Poland. This allowed the soldiers to broadcast a short message saying the station was in the hands of Poland. The next day Hilter made a speech justifying the invasion of Poland.  

More recently is the attack on Ukraine. When the war intensified, both the US and Britain presumed that Russia planned a false flag attack to create an excuse for invading Ukraine.  The most recent example of a false flag was the storming of the Capitol on January 6th. The conspiracy theory was that antifa, a left wing activist, undermined the effort by President Trump supporters to challenge the presidential election of 2020. 

The harmful action of using a false flag leads to negative consequences. Nothing good comes from blaming other people for an attack. It's deceptive and makes it very difficult to trust someone. People who use false flags are not looking to harm someone or a group of people. For example, Hilter used a false flag to invade Poland but his ultimate goal was to eliminate six million Jews.  Putin used a false flag because he wanted to wipe out Ukraine and take control of the country. Each time a false flag is used, it is used to destroy or harm people. 

The harmful action of the false flag can have a negative effect on society. It can divide people and lead to blaming each other. Our country is divided,  the democrats and the republicans are constantly fighting and the spread of disinformation puts our country and democracy into a horrible threat. Each side blames online falsehoods which is a government attack on first amendments rights. False flags can also have a negative effect on different segments of our society. The poor might blame the rich for their quality of life when in reality  it could be other factors that have led to their poverty. 

Diversity can cause false flags. Jessie Smallet, an actor,  accused people for beating him up because of his lifestyle, but he staged the incident himself and blamed people who didn’t accept his lifestyle. 

False flags began in the 1800’s and continues to still be a problem in the political arena. It has expanded into our society and has affected many groups of people. Regardless, false flags have no positive outcomes and will always be an attack on our society or our country. It represents evil and its intent is always to put blame on someone else for negative actions. 

Martin, Roland. "false flag". Encyclopedia Britannica, 24 Jan. 2023, https://www.britannica.com/topic/false-flag. Accessed 23 April 2023.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-60434579

 In 2016, Apple launched a pair of air pods that was not like any other type of earphones. They were wireless and could connect to your phone, computer or Ipad. They are easily hidden in your air without wires hanging down. You can use them to talk on your phone or listen to music. They were the hottest item out there to buy. Kids and adults wanted them. They caught on fast and spread very quickly with the early adopters not only because there was nothing else like it on the market but because it was an Apple Product. Apple is a status symbol, and what Apple creates, people want. Followed by the early adopters were the early majority. As soon as the early majority caught on to the latest creation, it was impossible to find them in a store or online. People waited for months to buy a pair. The demand was high and everyone wanted a pair, even the late adopters. 

The airpods caught on because they are an apple product. Apple creates a good product and there are many benefits to the airpods. First, they are wireless so people don’t have to worry about the wires hanging from their ears. The wires can get tangled, but the airpods are small and fit comfortably in your ears and have their own charging case. Second, they are user friendly. You can connect the airpods to any apple device, and if you don’t have an apple phone you still have the capability of using them. 

The laggers may not have been excited about the airpods due to the cost. When people first bought the first apple phones they had a pair of earphones that came with it. The airpods cost between $150 and $200 which could have turned people away from buying them. The new Airpods Pro which has noise canceling and costs up to $249.00. The cost might be one of the only negatives about purchasing the airpods. It has been seven years since the launch and most people have a pair of wireless airpods or a device like it. Since the price has come down on airpods many laggers have joined in wearing wireless AirPods.

After watching this video, it opened my eyes on how AI is playing a larger role than I ever imagined. I never thought about the impact it has on everyone.  The impact that it is playing on people's livelihood and taking away jobs is becoming a big problem. What surprised me the most are the depletion of jobs that are being taken away by AI and how this is making the richer rich and the poorer poor. They have removed jobs like cashiers and replaced them with self checkouts. Being a cashier is one of the most common jobs people get, so the more jobs that are used by AI, the harder it will be for people to get jobs and put food on the table.  What I learned the most is how AI is learning about people's predictive behavior and that is the center of marketing. The Amazon smart speaker can learn so much about a person's behavior just by listening to your voice's baseline and making changes over time. 

A pro to AI is the advancements in the world of medical technology. If technology can find cures for cancer and other diseases, then AI has a more meaningful presence. It would only add to the field and would be a benefit. It would not be taking jobs away, instead it would be enhancing the medical field in finding cures. 

A con to AI is  all of the spying they do on a person's private lives. For example the amazon echo your thoughts are no longer private. It hears everything you say and stores that information to use for marketing. I have learned that if I search for something good, minutes later ads will flood my social media platform. No longer is anything private. For example, last night I was talking with my friends last night about Greece, and two minutes later I saw an ad for a vacation package to go there. With the advancements of AI comes the advancements of our personal data for companies like google to use and sell our information for the benefit of other companies. London is the number one country that has the most surveillance cameras and watches their people wherever they go. If someone J-walks they know. I have learned privacy is a thing of the past. Marketing is no longer a surprise to the company if people like their product. They know before they bring a product to market what demographic and age group they are targeting because of AI. They know more than we will ever realize. It's scary to think AI knows more about me that I might know about myself. The data that is collected about myself and shared to other companies so they can be more profitable gives me a very uneasy feeling. This breach of privacy helps shape the way a person thinks and maybe feels about certain products. It influences the way we think and feel without us even realizing what is going on. 

Anti War

Anti War

Before writing this blog I really had never heard of anti war, because I have never seen it in the news. I believe the underrepresentation of strong antiwar voices in mainstream news can be attributed to several factors. First, mainstream media outlets are often owned by large corporations with various business interests, some of which might be linked to the defense industry or have political connections. This can lead to a reluctance to promote antiwar perspectives that conflict with their financial interests. Second the relationship between the government and media outlets can also play a role. Governments often seek to control the narrative around wars and military interventions, portraying them as necessary or justified. Journalists and media outlets may feel pressured to conform to this narrative to maintain access to government sources and information. I conclude despite these factors; it's essential to seek out diverse perspectives, including strong antiwar voices, to have a more comprehensive understanding of global events. The First Amendment protects the right to free speech and dissent, and it's crucial to maintain a vibrant and open discourse on issues like war and peace. By exploring alternative sources of information, such as Antiwar.com and The American Conservative, you can expose yourself to different viewpoints and form a more informed opinion

EOTO Amazon Kindle

    The first Kindle in 2007

Books at one time were purchased from a store or rented from a library. In 2007, Amazon launched a new way of reading, called the Kindle. The Kindle uses a display technology called electronic paper. It produces a sharp screen image that looks like text printed on paper. This new device saved people the time, allowing them to download books and magazines right to their kindle. The first Kindle could only store 200 e-books from Amazon.com The sole purpose of Amazon launching the kindle was to bring people books at the tips of their fingers. Over the years, other electronic devices have come to market like the phone and computer that allows you to read books but the Kindle has remained a form of a book that has improved with technology. 

The first kindle did not have any major problems, but over time improvements were made to make it more appealing. The original kindle did not have touch control, but with improvements, the kindle came up with a full keyboard, navigation buttons and a design to make it easier for people to hold it in their hands. The kindle also makes an option to hear your book by plugging in headphones. They also changed their navigation page to help make it easier to select books. 

In 2009, a second kindle was created. The technology advanced and made the pager turner quicker as well as more storage. The Kindle store increased their book titles to over 230,000. The price of the kindle when first launched was $359 but over time it was reduced to $259 making it more affordable. In 2011, a big change came with the fourth kindle. This kindle no longer had a keyboard and was replaced with a touch screen. The storage was again improved making it a 4GB and now the battery lasted weeks instead of days.  More advancements came over time. Kindle launched the Kindle Paper White, which added illumination to the display so you were able to read in the dark. Each year or two the Kindle made improvements. One thing that never changed over time was the kindle was created to be a book and regardless of the advancements it still remained only a book. 

The Kindle gave readers another option. Ifr people did not want to go to the books store or rent a book from the library that has been passed from one person to another, they could download a book within seconds from anywhere and begin to read. There are no due dates and I no longer have to work on bulky books. The Kindle is slim and sleek and easy to put in a bag or pocketbook.  The elderly who may not be able to get out and drive can stay within the comforts of their own home and enjoy their kindle with endless books. 

The one downside to the Kindle is that it took away from bookstores. According to the American Booksellers Association, every week in the pandemic one or more independent bookstores closed.  The opposite happened with Amazon, sales increased up to 60%. 

The KIndle Paper White

Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. "Kindle". Encyclopedia Britannica, 12 Jan. 2023, https://www.britannica.com/technology/Kindle. Accessed 4 April 2023.

• https://bookriot.com/history-of-kindle/

  Refinery29www.refinery29.com › local-bookstores-need-help-support.

Eight Values of Free Expression

 

After reading the eight values of free expression, two, in particular, resonate with me: Stable Change and Individual Self-Fulfillment. Both of these free expressions connect to all social media platforms in today's world, where political and social changes are happening at an unmatched pace. Social media provides a voice for people to share their thoughts and feelings.

The ability to express oneself freely on social media is a powerful tool for promoting satisfaction and happiness. Without this outlet, people's emotions would be bottled up, potentially leading to negative mental health outcomes such as depression and anxiety. For instance, during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, social media platforms have been essential for individuals to connect, share experiences, and seek support. By providing a safe space to talk about their feelings, social media platforms can help people feel heard and validated.

As a frequent user of social media, I appreciate the opportunity to express my views and engage in discussions on a wide range of issues. This is what the First Amendment to the US Constitution is all about - protecting our right to freedom of speech and expression. Social media platforms are like public meeting places where people of all backgrounds can join in and discuss important topics. Stable change also means that our world is always changing, and to keep things safe; the government needs to watch over us, requiring alertness from the government to ensure the safety of its citizens. Social media platforms are a valuable tool for monitoring potential threats and identifying risks. By monitoring social media, the government can prevent dangerous situations before they occur, ensuring the safety of all citizens.

In any democratic society, the right to express oneself freely is very important. Social media platforms provide space for individuals to exercise this right. As we face challenges in today’s world, it's important to protect and defend our right to express ourselves in all ways.

The self-fulfillment theory empowers individuals to discover and embrace their authentic selves. In psychology, we studied Maslow's hierarchy of needs and how it illustrates how people are driven to fulfill their potential, with self-actualization as the ultimate goal. Maslow identified five stages of needs, beginning with basic physiological needs and culminating in self-actualization, which involves realizing one's full potential. Today, social media platforms such as Tik- Tok and Instagram provide a space for people to discuss and explore their gender identity, allowing them to share their thoughts and even post images of themselves. As someone confident in their identity, I find this application of the theory on social media to be valuable to others. The theory can make connections between individuals who share similar interests and political views, leading to a sense of community and support. For some, this may help lessen feelings of isolation and loneliness. To feel comfortable and confident in how you feel, it's important to have one's needs met. Without meeting these needs, it can be challenging to express oneself and achieve happiness. 

https://www.simpleypsychology.org/.