Codependency or Commensalism: How Technology Thrives On Our Reliance

     As society enters the postmodern era, it is gradually becoming easier to overlook just how intertwined technology is to our everyday lives.  Simple tasks such as grocery shopping, writing a letter, or hailing a taxi have all been simplified in a way where they can be completed with a click of a button.  Our ancestors’ Jetson dreams have been conceived in everything from our Roombas to our smart-fridges to our voice activated assistants.  Any convenience we could imagine can be ours with the right gadget for the right price.  But as technology progresses, seemingly making our lives simpler, our dependence on these devices grows.  

The cartoon The Jetsons painted an idealistic vision of the future and the conveniences of its technological advances

However, technology is not the one-way street it used to be.  As society advances technologically, we are no longer just using technology- technology is using us.  As we surf the web searching for shoes, pet sitters, and job openings, gigantic corporations eagerly watch our every move, hoping to anticipate our next with the data they’ve gathered.  Through our searches, clicks, and downloads, our interests become apparent and our ads become targeted.  This relationship with technology blurs the lines between commensalism and codependency, bringing into question whether technology is truly for our benefit or thrives off of our reliance.  

Collage artwork by artist Maya Land (@artisticsideoflife_ on Instagram) inspired by George Orwell's novel 1984

When most people think of the term “online footprint,” they think of incriminating social media posts with slurs and underage drinking, not a Google search for curry recipes.  However, our online footprint spreads much farther than our Instagram profiles.  When I googled my name and my hometown, I found multiple articles mentioning me, ranging from my time in middle school to when I graduated from community college last spring.  Even if I deleted all of my social media profiles, the articles put out by the school I have attended are incredibly public and outside of my control.  

Three out of the four search results featured in the image were about me, and all of them were published without my knowledge

Despite most of my internet footprint consisting of articles praising the academic achievements of me and my peers, it is chilling to think of what other things could be out there without my awareness.  Others could easily spread convincing lies about me without my knowledge, ruining my reputation before I had any idea.  On the contrary, someone might also find true information about me that could ruin my public image.  This once happened to a boy who tried to date me, who told me that he was 5’11” in height.  The wrestling recruitment profile I found via a quick Google search said otherwise.  

Even the things we think are for our advancement can be twisted and used against us, so we must use the internet with the utmost caution.  Before posting anything, it is important to ask ourselves if we would still post such photos and opinions if we knew we could never delete them.  In a way, our internet footprint is more like a tattoo-, something that can fade over time, but that will never truly go away.  With enough persistence, anything on the internet can be traced back to its origins, so we must be vigilant in protecting our image online.  

How the Spiral of Silence Harms Our Society

Although the First Amendment gives us the right to say anything we please, there have been times when each of us have felt too intimidated to use it.  We may have backed down from expressing our opinions due to various external pressures, such as a desire to fit in or to please, or perhaps to avoid some perceived punishment.  Many people decide against expressing their true opinions due to the possible disagreement of those around them- and the negative consequences that could result in sharing with such an audience.  When individuals do this, it creates what is known as a spiral of silence.  This occurs when individuals believe their views to be unpopular, and as a result are less likely to share them in front of others.  

This graphic demonstrates how the spiral of silence occurs in society

The human desire to please others and be held in high esteem is the driving force behind the spiral of silence.  However, its consequences can be devastating for democracy.  Our nation can only thrive when the marketplace of ideas is promoted and when differing views are exchanged.  This allows ordinary citizens to have their perspectives and assumptions challenged, which grows their knowledge and prompts them to make more informed decisions. 

The marketplace of ideas is essential to a thriving democracy

Without a culture of healthy debate, we will descend into a divided society defined by echo chambers.  Such echo chambers do not produce new ideas, but only increase the confirmation bias of the individuals in them.  Alternatively, when individuals finally decide to step out of their echo chamber, they will be too timid to share their views with those who will oppose them, creating a spiral of silence.  Opposing ideas must engage with each other directly in order to discover flaws in reasoning and to create compromise.  Otherwise, our country will only continue to become more divided and our citizens more narrow minded.  

Artificial Intelligence: Part of Progress or Our Demise? 

AI is a tool, the use of which will determine the value of its impact

For much of human history, philosophers speculated that humanity's progress would endlessly continue on an upward slope, with each new invention equating advancement.  Over the course of the last century, innovations ranging from the vacuum cleaner to the typewriter to the iPhone have been promoted as tools to make our lives easier and give us more time for leisure activities.  Artificial intelligence was also intended to be leveraged for human benefit, but like other innovations it has had many unintended consequences.  AI has already replaced some low level job positions, but many fear it will continue to eliminate the entry level positions that sustain workers without a formal education.  

AI artwork inspired by the late painter Bob Ross

Additionally, the long held narrative that inventions can only aid us by giving us more leisure time has further fallen apart due to the creation of Artificial Intelligence.  Instead of giving humans more free time to make art and poetry, AI has become a popular source of free, instant art, hurting the businesses of real human artists.  Also, AI creates art by stealing works of artists and analyzing and copying their styles.  Even worse, such AI image generators do not give credit to the humans who “inspire” its work.  

How will AI affect the job market?

Artificial Intelligence will undoubtedly leave a complicated legacy.  While AI is a helpful tool for completing trivial tasks, it is still in its early stages and cannot be trusted as an accurate source of information yet.  Additionally, AI has been known to steal the creative works of writers and authors without their permission.  In such cases the AI bots have also failed to credit the original artists.  Outside of the art world, there are also ethical concerns about how AI could contribute to disparities in the job market.  If AI only takes jobs requiring unskilled labor, then how will those who cannot afford to attend university or trade school find employment?  Will AI only enlarge economic disparities, allowing the rich to get richer while the poor suffer?  AI is a neutral tool that can be used in beneficial and harmful ways, but its introduction to society has come with many ethical consequences that have yet to be addressed.

 How the Five Eyes Watch Us 

Directly after WW2, in the year 1946, a group of five English speaking nations joined forces to create agreements on intelligence sharing and surveillance with the goal of creating a more peaceful and secure world.  However, in the modern day, many worry that the sharing of data between these nations has created an unregulated loophole that can be used to exploit the privacy of ordinary citizens.  

The bilateral agreements created between the five nations in 1946 are commonly called the United Kingdom-United States Communication Intelligence Act (UKUSA).  However, the majority of the documents outlining the parameters of this agreement are kept secret from the general public, creating an air of mystery and inviting suspicion from many.

There are many conspiracies surrounding the Five Eyes

The members of the Five Eyes were especially active in exchanging information during the Cold War, when each of the five nations sought to protect themselves from the Soviet Union and limit its control.  In an age when anyone identifying as a Communist was considered a threat to the free world, these five governments made it a priority to monitor suspected individuals and to notify each other of their movements abroad.  

The five countries of the Five Eyes are the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand.  By default, these five countries share information with each other, effectively sidestepping privacy laws by having one government expose or incriminate the citizens of another government for them. 

NATO Headquarters

In addition to the members of the Five Eyes, these nations also share intel with members of the Nine Eyes (including Denmark, Norway, France, and the Netherlands) and the Fourteen Eyes (which includes Germany, Belgium, Sweden, Italy, and Spain.)  Many of these nations began exchanging information with the Five Eyes to encourage good relations with their fellow NATO partners and to counter threats from countries outside of or opposed to NATO.  

Although the Five Eyes were organized in the hopes of preventing a repeat of the atrocities that occurred under the Axis Powers during the Second World War, there is currently no international oversight to keep the Five Eyes from seeing where they shouldn’t.  

In the modern day, the Five Eyes and their “plus“ countries share intel with the objective of staying one step ahead of China and Russia, two powerful countries that have long been considered as threats to the Western world.  

Beyond the potential threat of the Five Eyes, it’s also important to acknowledge the enduring legacy of “Total Information Awareness” in America.  This program, later renamed to “Terrorism Information Awareness, was originally designed to correlate details about suspected individuals in order to predict and prevent terrorist acts.  This program was defunded and suspended in 2003, but the capacity of the government to supervise every aspect of our lives is as intact as ever.  

It would be fair to say that the generations of people alive today have benefited from technology more than any others before us.  Yet it has also become very apparent that we are more monitored than any other group of people that have ever walked the earth.  Beware of every step you take, because you are being watched by more eyes than you could ever realize.  

Additional credit to https://www.dni.gov/index.php/ncsc-how-we-work/217-about/organization/icig-pages/2660-icig-fiorc 

 The Importance of Privacy in the Digital Age 

Keeping your information secure is now more important than ever before

Nearly everyone has skeletons in their closet that could devastate their reputation if exposed to the public.  However, the seemingly neutral and insignificant details of our lives have just as much potential to be dangerous if placed into the wrong hands.  Information has never been as accessible as in our current age of technology, and anything we wish to research can be found with a few clicks.  However, this also means intimate details of our lives, including our addresses, social security numbers, phone numbers, and/or email accounts can be leaked and spread online.  Without our knowledge, online predators can find these details and use them to dox, impersonate, or steal from us, putting our lives and wealth at stake.  

Clearing your browser history can help protect your information

To keep such things from happening, we must use utmost caution when using the web.  It is recommended to clear your browser history at least once a month according to the fiber internet company Tachus. This could be “damage control“ if your device is hacked as it would give your hackers access to less of your information.  It can also make your computer run faster, so try clearing your history if you’re experiencing issues on your device!

Additionally, do not allow websites to accept cookies whenever you are able to elect against it.  “Cookies“ are another word for your personal data that websites can sell to third parties without your knowledge.  Prior to this year, I had never known how potentially harmful sharing your cookies could be.  In seeking to avoid the annoying pop-ups, I’d never hesitated to accept the cookies on any of the multitude of websites that I used.  Countless Americans have fallen into the same trap, unknowingly sharing personal aspects of their lives with strangers who had bought their data.  

It can also be useful to create a fake email account to avoid scammers from reaching you and to prevent excessive spam emails.  Personally, I like to sign up for any free rewards programs that I can in the hopes of saving money later on.  However, these types of programs always require me to register my email with the company.  In order to keep my personal information safe, I have a separate account under a fake name for whenever I need to register for something unimportant or potentially sketchy.  

Finally, use common sense online and don’t give strangers access to your personal information.  If you must give sensitive information to a website, make sure that you trust the site.  Putting your information into the wrong hands could have disastrous consequences, so trust your gut when a website doesn’t seem quite right.

The Silencing of American Anti-War Voices 

"Shock and Awe" that devastated Baghdad, Iraq in 2003

Reflections on Paper and its Impact 

Paper is an essential invention to people across the globe

Even in the digital age, paper is an essential part of commerce, media, education, bureaucracy, and virtually all other faucets of our lives.  Each day, we take for granted the centuries of innovation that were necessary to make the paper that we now regard as “simple“ and “old fashioned.“  Prior to my enrollment in this class, I had only a rough idea of how paper came into existence and then gradually shifted into a common, everyday item.  In my world history class, my teacher had briefly mentioned the ancient Egyptians inventing papyrus and using it for records, messages, and increasing government efficiency.  Beyond those vague visions of Egyptian scribes, I had no knowledge of the origins of paper.  

Cai Lun

However, in this class, I was presented with a surprising piece of information.  Paper, as we know it today, has its origins in ancient China, on a separate continent than I was once led to believe.  I felt confused to hear Maddie speak of Cai Lun, who was a Chinese court official and the innovator behind paper.  To me, it almost seemed that something as common as paper shouldn’t have an inventor, as we are so far removed from the time when paper did not exist.  If anything, my visions of paper’s birth involved Egyptian workers beating papyrus plants into pulp.  The idea of paper being invented by a man of status and wealth felt completely foreign.

Early paper making machine

What caught me even more off guard, however, was learning that the paper making process was not automated until 1799.  This means that as a country, the United States is older than the first paper making machine.  Since paper has been in existence since almost the time of Christ, I was surprised to learn how long it took for the manufacturing of paper to be done via machine.  

This EOTO presentation showed me how ignorant I was of the origins of paper but also corrected my misconceptions surrounding the subject.  Maddie presented her information in a very engaging manner and maintained my attention throughout the entirety of her lecture.  There is no mistaking that paper has had a massive impact throughout history and continues to play an essential role in our everyday lives.