The Progressive Era: Anti-War Voices

After exploring two anti-war voice websites, I noticed how strong these anti-war voices were being used, though I've never seen or heard of these websites before. Antiwar.com has a mission to advocate for non-interventionism in U.S. foreign policy. A platform for diverse voices of individuals who oppose military intervention. Another anti-war voice is The American Conservative, which exits to challenge unchecked power in the government and businesses to support individual freedoms. Both of these websites got me thinking as to why we don't often hear of anti-war voices and opinions.

Anti-war websites are rarely, if ever, shown on mainstream media within the United States because the government is against anti-war. This is why it is rare to come across sites like Antiwar.com and American Conservative. A major reason for this is due to the government's control in the media meaning they have the ability to block content they disagree with to prevent Americans from finding such sites. 

The United States is pro-war and pro-military therefore, they want to keep these sites hidden in order to protect our country's reputation as the government believes it will tarnish the reputation of America. If Americans happened to see more of these anti-war beliefs it would be harder to get them to understand the purpose of war. 

It all comes down to money and the profits of war. When declaring war countries can benefit financially and the government is all about money. Increases in military spending can result in economic growth which overall boosts the economy. War can also result in the obtainment of valuable resources enhancing the economic power of the country. And of course, when a country wins a war it can enhance the country's standing for trade purposes among other countries. These are some of the key aspects countries think of when declaring war making it beneficial in their eyes. 

In order to keep our economy running and growing the government wants to ensure we stay pro-war and pro-government. Keeping these anti-war websites hidden to the public is their way of doing so. 

EOTO: Total Information Awareness

In 2002, the New York Times reported that the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) was developing a tracking system called "Total Information Awareness" (TIA). This system was based on the idea of pulling together as much information as possible about as many people as possible into a large-scale database making information available to government officials and sorting through it to try to identify terrorists. It was able to do so through computer algorithms and human analysis detecting potential criminal activity.

This system was developed under the direction of John Poindexter who at the time was the director of DARPA's Information Awareness Office. It was intended to give access to private data to law enforcement without having to obtain a warrant or suspicions of wrongdoing. 

John Poindexter

This project utilized the "revolutionary technology for ultra-large all-source information repositories" populated by transaction data which was contained in databases. Not only could the system track government records but also individual's financial and medical records, buying habits, travel and technology history, personal and family associations and so much more. It is no wonder this program was so controversial. 

Information signature tracking was a key component of TIA. This tracked individuals by analyzing their information signatures to try to identify potential terrorist attacks. 

Another key component of TIA was to develop data-mining tools in order to sort through the vast amounts of information to uncover patterns. It also worked in the development of Project Genoa and similar search tools. It had a goal to fund the development of additional tools and data-mining technology that could help analysts understand and anticipate future actions.

An additional component of the program was the development of biometric technology which enabled the tracking and identification of individuals. DARPA's "Human ID at a Distance" program sought to utilize technologies including facial and gait recognition for identifying individuals from a distance.

There were many concerns with the program including privacy rights, potential for abuse, and even the system being ineffective. Since this program is based on speculative assumptions about how databases can be tapped to stop terrorism many individuals didn't think it would work at all.

A year later, in 2003, Congress eliminated funding for this project and closed the Pentagon's Information Awareness Office which is where TIA was developed. However, this didn't eliminate other government data-mining efforts similar to TIA. Projects including the Novel Intelligence from Massive Data within the Intelligence Community Advanced Research and Development Activity (ARDA) as well as the FBI and the Transportation Security Administration who are also working on data-mining projects aimed at fusing intelligence data, commercial databases, and public databases continue to evolve following the end of TIA.

This program affected everyone in society in many ways both good and bad. While TIA aimed to enhance security preventing terrorism and crime through their comprehensive data analysis, it could also lead to privacy infringements. If data was misinterpreted it could result in wrongful surveillance accusations harming trust in the government and the use of technology along with individuals themselves. It could affect people differently based on socioeconomic status. For example, if surveillance increased in lower-income communities it would be more difficult for those individuals as opposed to wealthy communities who would have better access to legal protection and ways to shield themselves from surveillance impacts.

The Total Information Awareness program showcases the complexities between national security and individual privacy. While it aims to increase public safety, its controversial methods raised significant ethical concerns resulting in the end of the program although similar initiatives still continue on.

Diffusion of Innovations

The diffusion of innovations theory, developed by Everett Rogers in 1962, describes the speed and pattern of how new ideas, products, and practices spread throughout our society. This theory involves six groups: pioneers, early adopters, early majority, tipping point, late majority, and laggards. By understanding this theory, we can gain insight into the emergence of innovations, such as the first newspaper. 

Diffusion of Innovation Model

For starters, the modern newspaper was a European invention. Its early pioneers involved several individuals during the 17th century however the first pioneer was Johann Carolus who wrote the very first newspaper "Account of All Distinguished and Commemorative News" in 1605 in Strasbourg France. As the author of the first newspaper, Carolus took significant risks however his courage sparked a movement that would become a cornerstone for the diffusion of information. 

Following Caroulus, many early adaptors, primarily city residents interested in politics, began publishing newspapers. These individuals who wrote and read newspapers played a crucial role in embedding newspapers into our society. This allowed for communication beyond the current word-of-mouth sources.

As newspapers gained traction, the early majority began engaging with it establishing newspapers as an everyday read. They contributed to normalizing newspapers as reliable sources of information and allowed for continued growth.

In the 1950s, newspapers faced a tipping point due to the emergence of televisions. Individuals viewed the television as a new exciting medium for news shifting their attention away from newspapers. Later on in the 1990s, the rise of the internet allowed for an incredible amount of media options also contributing to the decline in individuals reading newspapers due to quicker and easier media platforms.

Despite this decline, newspapers stayed relevant among the late majority who still read print editions of the paper or access it online. These individuals value reading the paper as a part of their daily routine and some of them still get newspapers delivered to their homes.

Then there are laggards who don't necessarily care about being up to date on the newest technology. However, they eventually end up using the technology due to it becoming such a common presence in society. While newspapers aren't used as much today as they were in the past, mostly everyone has read a newspaper at some point in their lives or will end up inevitably as it is a very common source of news and information.

Overall, the newspaper was an invention that transformed our means of communication and obtaining communication. Although they are now published online in addition to paper copies of the newspaper, they are still regularly being read. We are very fortunate to live in a time when the emergence of the newspaper continues to shape our access to information as prior to the invention there was little to no spread of information. Although some inventions resulted in the tipping point of the newspaper it overall led a foundation for the current sources of information we have the luxury of utilizing today.

Living in the Age of AI

Watching the documentary In the Age of AI opened my eyes to rapidly AI has been integrated into our everyday lives. Before the video, I wasn't fully aware of the prevalence of AI and just how common it is being used in the United States, let alone its even greater presence in China. 

One component I found particularly surprising was that China has bypassed credit cards and now uses facial recognition for payments. This stood out to me because I never even thought of that becoming an option for payment which is a bit frightening now that I am aware as it puts into perspective just how much AI is taking over. It made me think about the potential of the United States adapting facial recognition for payments in the future as well which would hurt credit card companies and lead to significant job losses. 

I was also shocked to learn that China uses facial recognition to identify and fine jaywalkers. This ties into the talk of China's social credit program, which would give people numbers using facial recognition based on their behavior in public. A high score would result in perks such as discounts while a low score could result in punishments such as being banned for using public transportation. I think this can be a really great system because it rewards good behavior which could result in a more filled society of people with integrity. However, on the other hand it is alarming to know that you are constantly being watched and scanned. 

Another interesting element from the documentary was the story of AlphaGo computer program developed by Google. AlphaGo learned the rules of the game Go using its database of historical games to figure out how to win. The public debut was a landmark moment unveiling deep learning, a form of AI, mimicking human brain neral networks. They tested the system against  Lee Sedol, the greatest Go player of all time and the algorithm beat Sedol in four of five matches. This test proved that AI could gather a great deal of data beyond what a human can handle, and use that data to teach itself how to predict an outcome. The Chinese government even referred to this as the "Sputnik movement" highlighting their mission to lead in AI by 2025.

Overall, I think AI is an incredible tool that we can utilize for so many different things, just as outlined in the video using AI for facial recognition, board games, self-driving trucks, and more. However, it is alarming to know that AI is becoming more and more prominent in our everyday lives taking away from personal interactions and employment for individuals. 

EOTO Presentation on The History of Internet Search

The emergence of internet search began in 1990 with the start of the first internet search engine Archie. Four years later, Yahoo was founded followed by Backrub two years after that. In 1998 Backrub changed its name to the regularly used search of Google.

Archie 1990: Alan Emtage created Archie, short for archive. It is considered the first internet search engine, which automated the process of finding files on FTP (file transfer protocol) sites. It allowed users to search for file names and directory listings on these FTP servers.

Yahoo 1994: Founded by two Stanford University students, Jerry Yang and David Filo. The name Yahoo is an acronym 

for "Yet Another Hierarchical Officious Oracle. It quickly 

became one of the most popular web directories. They broke the world record for the largest simultaneous yodel in 2003 and 2015. 

Backrub 1996: This is now regarded as the predecessor of Google search engine, developed by Google founder Sergey Brin and Larry Page who studied at Stanford University. It was named Backrub because the search engine used backlinks to rank pages. By the time Google was created, 25 million pages were already indexed by Backrub. The foundation for SEO (search engine optimization) was laid by the search engine Backrub. 

Google 1998: Backrub was renamed to Google which is a 

play on mathematical expression reflecting Brin and Page's mission to organize the world's information making it 

accessible and useful universally. Soon after, it caught the attention of Silicon Valley investors prompting Sun co-founder Andy Bechtolsheim to write Brin and Page a check for $100,000. This investment began the birth of 

Google. 

Nowadays, 70% of online search requests are handled by Google and it is worth 1.84 trillion dollars. Internet searches have impacted our society in so many ways including educating the public, access to research, remote job opportunities, digital marketing, and allowed for rapid growth in technology.

Privacy On and Offline

Common day-to-day activities we partake in work in forming our digital footprint- the trail of data left when using the internet. Activities such as web searches, online purchases, location data, app usage, and many other components you may not even be aware of are contributing to the formation of our digital footprints. It is important for people to be aware of just how much information we are giving out daily and to be mindful of our digital footprints. As I watched a few TedTalks on privacy on and offline I was shocked by just how much information we give out every single day. 

The first TedTalk I watched, "Your Online Life, Permanent As A Tattoo" by Juan Enriquez painted the picture of our online presence perfectly. He begins the TED Talk by talking about body tattoos and how they show a lot of stories. He then compares them to forms of electronic tattoos, for example, social media sites, cell phones, GPS, security cameras, credit cards, and more. 

Each of these electronic tattoos shares information about who we are just as body tattoos do but on a deeper scale. He then dives into how facial recognition is constantly improving. When we take a photo on our cell phones it distinguishes who each person in the picture is even creating separate albums by your friends and family members throughout your camera roll. Facial recognition can also find the names of each person you take a photo of as well as download all of their records. In addition to this, companies are now implementing cameras that take your photo and tie it to social media figuring out your interests to better market products to people. These tattoos will live far longer than we do. He wraps up his speech by discussing the Greeks and how we are now threatened with immortality because of these electronic tattoos.

In addition to these electronic tattoos that we engage with, we are also being monitored just by having electronic devices around us even when they arent in use. Christopher Soghoian's TED Talk "How To Avoid Surveillance... With the Phone in Your Pocket" begins with him sharing the alarming fact that our telephone and the networks were wired for surveillance first. While on the phone, our government can be listening as well as another government, hackers, stalkers, criminals, and more. While telephone companies have made surveillance a priority, Silicon Valley companies have not by building encryption technology into their products ultimately making surveillance very difficult. 

Text messages sent from an iPhone to another iPhone can not be wiretapped easily and tech companies are now turning on encryption features in their products by default. This has allowed for easy communication without interference from governments and wiretapping of conversations. However, it has also angered several government officials. He emphasizes the importance of using the prevention of government surveillance tools to secure our calls and our messages.

While it may be more obvious we are constantly being tracked online, we are also being monitored out in public, everywhere we drive, and in every store we enter. Catherine Crump discusses current surveillance equipment which now allows police departments to gather more information on humans than ever before in her TED Talk "The Small and Surprisingly Dangerous Detail The Police Track About You." 

By just driving a car around alone they can gather things about you including religion, education, mental illnesses, and so much more. Even license plate readers track you determining the owner of the car, where you're going, and who you're with. The government can use this information to figure out how citizens interact which is information that used to be private. However, due to modern-day technology, access to citizen's information is far greater than necessary. And just because you don't see these trackers doesn't mean they aren't there.

Each of these issues affects me, my friends, my family, and every human as a whole. We are constantly being observed and monitored with little privacy anymore. The government should make stricter regulations on access to information though they are the ones accessing this information about humans. 

I believe that it is unlikely the government will do much about these issues in the future for they likely use the information learned to their benefit. However, we as humans can do a better job of keeping this information private. For example, simply turning our phones off when we are not using them prevents from the government hearing our conversations, and unplugging devices such as Alexa or Google when not using them so that it doesn't listen to every conversation you have. Although it is scary to realize all of these issues occurring around us from these TED Talks it is important to be aware of them so that we can take steps towards protecting the invasion of our privacy.

The First Newspaper

The emergence of newspapers transformed our means of communication and knowledge. Prior to the invention, access to information was very limited and difficult to obtain. The creation of the first regularly printed newspaper opened many avenues for common citizens to become informed on the world around them. They now demonstrate our ways of recording defining moments in history acting as a way for humans to can connect, learn, and engage.

The birth of the first newspaper was influenced by several key members of society in the 17th century. The Renaissance which took place from the 14th to the 17th century promoted an increase in demand for written materials and overall information in the growing middle classes who didn't have as much access to information at the time. The earlier invention of the printing press in the 1400's made printing written publications possible for mass production setting the stepping stones for the invention of the newspaper.

Johann Carolus

From 1618-1648 the Thirty Year's War, a war between Catholic and Protestant states, occurred in central Europe creating a greater need for a means of communication with citizens. This war also led both Catholic and Protestant states to shape public opinion by utilizing printed pamphlets and news sheets.

"Account of All Distinguished and Commemorative News," written in German language was printed in 1605 in Strasbourg France. This was printed by Johann Carolus who obtained a license granting him the ability to be the first to print regular weekly newspapers. Later on in 1659, Carolus published the "Relation" which is recognized as the first newspaper in the world by the World Association of Newspapers. 

1609 edition of
Carolus's Relation

Early newspaper pioneers faced censorship challenges including Carolus. Three years into his publishing Carolus faced censorship challenges which became known as the first censorship incidence. European governments censoring newspapers made it harder for them to grow however to avoid financial difficulties due to disobeying, Carolus had to shift to censoring his articles.

In 1695 the Continuation Bill passed without the renewal of the Licensure Act. This allowed copyright and pre-publication censorship to expire. Once press censorship laws were lifted and printing technology advanced newspapers flourished like never before.

Prior to the invention of newspapers people typically received their information through word-of-mouth. This made it difficult to gather information as it only spread so fast resulting in little to no information on important matters. Newspapers revolutionized our means of communication by providing regular printed publications that had the power to rapidly disperse news to a wide range of people. In fact, the concept of "public opinion" stemmed from the introduction of newspapers. Writers were able to express opinions and analyze current events ultimately allowing readers to form their own opinions on topics written about. It became very apparent that newspapers began to influence public opinion and have positively impacted the development of our society. This allowed citizens to become more educated and informed which increased engagement within our government as well as important breakthroughs regarding science, art, economics, and more.

Not only did the newspaper contribute to a new form of communication itself but it was also a precursor for contemporary mass media forms including radios and television sparking inventions in photography as well as other communication technologies.