Reflection on EOTO2

The second  EOTO project/ presentation that I am summering by Maddie Marshal is about the  use and  presence of propaganda used in history, brining back its origins to ancient Athens and its growth over time from there. Even though the term "propaganda" was not discovered  until 1622, the practice of influencing public opinions has dated back many years and has deep roots in history. In ancient Greece, many people used methods like theater, gatherings , and festivals to spread political and religious ideas that definitely conflicted many peoples interests in those fields . 

The project gives examples of many  important historical moments when propaganda played a large role. For instance, during the Spanish Armada in 1588, and with the creation of The College of Propaganda. However, it wasn't until World War I that propaganda became noticeably popular in the United States. Posters, pamphlets, and newspaper images were used  to express views about the war that were conflicting .

In World War II , propaganda was used as a tool for psychological warfare. Many countries used its power to influence both soldiers and civilians. This presentation displays many times  that propaganda has had a large impact on shaping societies into what they are today. 

In todays society, we still face many forms of  propaganda daily. This propaganda influences our lives which adds to the intensity of debates in society . An example of this today, are billboards on topics like pro-life or pro-choice. These billboards serve as modern-day uses of propaganda, spreading one side of a debate to a large audience. The project also explains  how propaganda has affected minority groups in history, often making the point of how many extremists on both political sides have lead to extreme consequences. 

To sum up, this project uses many examples to show that propaganda is not an idea of the past but a very relevant use of the higher ups power. It reminds us of the power of spreading information and its role in shaping public opinion throughout history and in the present day.After watching this presentation, I learned many things like how Propaganda was so far rooted in history. I enjoy leaning about new topics when writing my own blog posts, but I enjoy learning new ideas from other people just as much. 

AI(frontline episode)

  In the frontline episode about AI, many questions are raised about the question is this new technology good or bad for the world .The video in question discusses  the constant evolution of AI in the modern world. It mentions multiple different pros and cons but there were a few that stood out to me. Firstly, the job loss from AI replacing jobs is astronomical. It mentions that most Americans can't cover a $400 supers charge, so there's no way they can afford to change their profession. 

Secondly, all of the identification and security systems that AI has been involved in is scary. For example, in China, the AI programs being able to know so much about you just from simply looking at your face is very alarming.The fact that this technology can already track your facial features at its beginning stage worries me. If this technology keeps advancing there is no telling what it will be able to accomplish.  When it comes to national security the fact that AI has already been able to identify people so well is a blessing and a curse. Everything that you have ever done could soon be available by a simple face scan is scary. Soon nothing will be private.The problem of identity theft has been greater than ever with peoples whole lives being displayed out to the public. 

 

Though AI is helping us in small tasks today at the rate that it is currently growing and becoming more and more complex is alarming to say the least. On the positive side the fact that AI can desert so much about any of us from the just an image of our face will make identity theft much harder. This is one of the pros that comes out of the positive aspects of evolution of AI. Soon many advanced tasks will no longer require humans to be completed.Many people will find themselves jobless. After watching this video all I could think about is the movie terminator. In this movie, an AI like force takes over all of the military assets in the world and uses them to wipe out humans for good. AI might be our friend for now, but very soon it will be our enemy. 

Media Consolidation

Media Consolidation -  “Media consolidation is the concentration of ownership of our news sources into the hands of fewer and fewer corporations”(Stanford business). For us, this means less and less ways to get news from different sources. 

Sinclair Broadcast Group-   Many news sources today, are owned by monopolies. An example of a monopoly who owns a large portion of our news is the Sinclair Broadcast Group, The Sinclair Broadcast Group is a company whose “primary business is to engage consumers on multiple platforms with relevant and compelling news, entertainment and sports content”(Sinclair). The Sinclair Broadcast Group now owns and operates 294 stations that reach almost 40% of the U.S. population.This means a large majority of the news that we watch is owned by this one monopoly. Giving us the fact that our news really only comes from one large source. 

Pros and cons of media consolidation

There are definitely many different opinions about media consolidation, on one hand there are many strong pros but however on the other hand, the cons are shattering. A pro of Media consolidation, is that it can raise the quality and budget of local programing. This means that local channels have been expanding their content, quality and the money they have to improve their station for viewers. 

Some negative effects of media consolidation include the fact that all of our news is coming from one source that is not exactly trustworthy. This source owns many stations who are responsible for dividing many of the American people such as Fox and ABC Also because of Media consolidation people have stopped watching local news  

How does this affects society - Because of this monopoly of news sources it is said by a Gallup poll that only 20% of Americans have confidence in the television, news and newspapers this means that many Americans have nowhere to go for news because they do not trust the news  sources that are available to them.

Local news- For a society who use to focus more on local news it is said that national news controls the people viewership today more than ever. Local news stations are now focusing on national stories more than local stories.  

Sherman Antitrust Act-the Sherman Antitrust Act connects to Media Consolidation because its goal is to prevent monopolistic practices in the media industry which is relevant to what the Idea of Media Consolidation is because media consolidation is being caused by these monopolistic practices. 

How this affects us.  -I believe that media consolidation effects me, people around me, and my generation  negatively. If the news is only coming from a couple large monopolies, it is impossible to know if the stories and facts portrayed on the news are even true. It is almost like the news has become a dictatorship.

Conclusion - In conclusion, media consolidation negatively affects people and communities.  It can lead to people not trusting news sources like they once did. Because of very few companies owning all of the news stations, in the future this might break down the credibility of journalism and news itself. The focus on national news instead of  local stories can cut off the connection between people and the communities that they are part of . It is very important for us as a society to make sure our news becomes credible again. 

Privacy Online And Off

1.  How do these issues affect you? You friends and family?

These issues are very relevant to me and the people who are around me because we all use technology very heavily. Not only that but all of our personal information and everything we have mostly ever said has been picked up by these devices we use. We must learn to mute the microphones on our devices and not say anything that could ever be incriminating in front of any electronic device. It is not ok for the government to be snooping on anybody's private lives. Privacy has become a thing of the past and we must find a way to restore it. 

2. What should the government be doing about these issues?

The government should be breaking bonds with these big companies like Apple, Microsoft  and any other big tech companies. They should also stop using license plate readers and stick to police only using speed guns. Law enforcement should be protecting citizens and enforcing laws, not snooping in on our private lives without a cause or warrant. There is definitely a bigger plan in play that the government has for people. They want more a more information to help them control us even more than they do already. 

3. What can we do to protect ourselves from invasions of our privacy? 

A couple ideas of what we can do to protect ourselves from these invasions of our privacy are to turn off our microphones in settings so anybody listening is not able to hear your private conversations. Also I would recommend taping up the cameras on your laptop so anybody watching cannot see. Turning off your location setting is definitely another way to protect yourself from invasions of your private life. We must learn to stand up to these companies together. 

Antiwar Voices

After looking into these two websites, I believe that using different and diverse sources can be crucial to finding different viewpoints and different information. This means checking out lesser-known sources  and websites  to access what might be considered unbiased facts not influenced by the control of the corrupt government. Because  mainstream media can be tampered with  by the government to a certain degree it is very  important to check out the smaller sources that are untouched.

In this society that is democratic, free speech and free press is very important for holding the government accountable. However, not all mainstream media outlets are equally affected by government pressure. Therefore, it's our responsibility as consumers of news and information  to find out the difference between news sources that are very reliable and news sources that are not. 

The sources that I checked out for this blog are ANTIWAR.COM and the American Conservative, smaller sources that are not tampered with by the government and often provide different viewpoints than mainstream news sources . However, just because these sources are not touched by the government does not mean the content on them is entirely true.Many small sites sometimes contain conspiracy theory's that are very far fetched.  However, after looking at both these sources I do believe that they are very reliable. 

In today's digital age, where information is very easy to access , we must look into  the credibility and motivations of these sources we get information from.The public is definitely  better off with true information. With true information from news sources , in my opinion can stop the problem of our country being so divided. The internet allows many different  voices, including those on less popular websites, to be heard.  this is valuable for finding different points of view.  

In conclusion as a country who takes in so much information everyday, we should start to look into fact checking sources to make sure they are showing  the truth . Whether we rely on mainstream media or lesser-known websites, the key is to critically look at all sources. In a world  with so much information out there, we are responsible for figuring out what is true and what is not