FINAL POST: The Relationship Between Technology and Humans

Just WOW, watching the New York '64-65' World's Fair Futurama Ride was amazing. Not the ride itself, but rather the human idea of the future in 1964. I mean Americans in 1964, believed that we would expand our understanding and discover more of Earth and Space. The ride talks about discovering diamonds in Antarctica and building an entire city with futuristic technology. I was amazed when I was watching the ride, because there was a reoccurring theme of new infrastructure and exploring more into our planet, Earth. However, we haven't really done that with increasing technology. I don't want to be pessimistic, but they were always showing a happy/better future, but sometimes that isn't the case. I feel that most humans see the unseen future as positive just because we don't know what it is. It is shown that with the increasing productivity of technology that the world will be a better place, but why? Why is it that the future ALWAYS positive? Is it human instinct?

We have used technology to create a more efficient world especially in regards to human communication, but we haven't really made a true positive impact on the world with technology. Instead, it seems like corporate greed and self enrichment has taken the spotlight. People are really creating products that will make money, rather than impact the world positively. I'm not saying that there aren't companies who are trying to have a huge, positive impact on the world rather than just money, because there are companies that exists, such as Tesla. Tesla has started a movement of electric cars, when every "professional expert" was saying that electric cars didn't have future, and Elon Musk challenged that and proved the world wrong. In the past years, you are starting to see other Car Manufacturers to produce electric cars such as Ford, Porche, Nissan, BMW, Audi, etc.

But then there are companies like Apple who once had society interest's as the forefront of the company's mission, until Steve Jobs passed away. Once Steve jobs passed away, Apple became empowered by corporate billionaires who only seek on how to make more money. The company will do anything to increase revenue even if that means having their workers work in Sweatshops.

Even with Freedom comes a price. We have taken our technology and created a better world for humans and not the entire planet. We have been greedy, with only wanting more to life and it makes me wonder...will it be the death of us? With humans always wanting to increase the way of life without taking the Earth into consideration could be very dangerous to the future. I find it imperative to find ways to increase the way of life without damaging our planet...the only thing that keeps us alive. The question we must ask ourselves moving forward as a society is "Are we taking too much of Earth for granted?" , because there are consequences to everything. We can't always jump the gun just because we think we can!

Is Kim Jong Un Alive?

According to multiple reports, Kim Jong Un is in critical condition due to a "botched Heart Surgery". Anything surrounding Kim Jong Un's health, is a rumor or was through multiple sources, which makes this a very difficult discussion to talk about, because all possibilities are being talked about such as "his sister will take over for him" or "Kim Jong-Un's well travelled uncle could become next North Korean leader". NK News wrote an article 9 days ago called "We don't know" if Kim Jong Un health rumors are true, Trump says". Then another article states "South Korean minister dismisses "fake news" surrounding Kim Jong Un's health", and that was written on April 28.

Wherever you look online, you will find multiple stories discussing the supreme leader, and almost all of the stories will contradict each other. There is no clear statement on what is going on with Kim Jong-Un and this is what makes this conversation so hard to talk about, because rumors and fake news can easily be misinterpreted as facts which causes a lot of confusion and disarray.

This is a very interesting topic because although Kim Jong Un hasn't had a a major impact on the world, he sure has one on North Korea. If he truly is gone, there will be another North Korean leader, and he is most likely to continue the dictatorship regime that Kim Jong-Un left.

What's crazy to me is that we finally had a President who would work to build a strong relationship between the dictator of North Korea, Kim Jong Un. President Trump became the first sitting U.S. President to cross the 1953 armistice line separating North and South Korea and then in addition, they met for 50minutes with only interpreters. The reason why I bring this up, is because the United States hasn't had this much progress with North Korea EVER, and now that Kim Jong Un could be dead, does this mean that the United States has to start over?

The Future Will Tell!

Disinformation

Disinformation can be defined in many ways...

• "false information which is intended to mislead, especially propaganda issued by a government organization to a rival power" 

• "false information deliberately and often covertly spread (as by planting rumors) in order to influence public opinion or obscure truth" 

Whether you choose read one definition over the other, they basically mean the same thing. I decided to choose Disinformation as my key word to research on, because I feel like we live in a time where we are constantly trying to determine whether news is wrong by human error, or deliberately false to push a certain narrative out. Overall, I believe that disinformation is extremely dangerous to the world and could be the death of us, if we don't have our heads screwed on right. A great example would be Coronavirus. 

The other day, during a White House Press Conference, President Trump spoke about experiments that the CDC were doing on Disinfectants and COVID-19. The President spoke about a possible disinfectant to "clean out" the virus in minutes. It was beyond clear that he was speaking in regards to a government experiment, but the President was taken way out of context. 

Business Insider: Transcript

This story made headlines, and as the story got bigger, the story got more twisted. I find this to be a great example of Disinformation, because the other day, my girlfriend told me that Trump is an idiot, but I searched for the full, original video and it was beyond clear that he wasn't telling people to go home and consume disinfectants. However, my girlfriend showed me the story on Snapchat and it was very twisted. It showed the President talking about disinfectants using soundbites rather than showing the entire clip. I recommend any that is reading this, to go watch the actual press conference. 

Although there are many bad sides to Disinformation, I would like to touch on the possibility of disinformation having a positive affect. A great example would be using disinformation in war or in sports. In war, you could create fake attacks planned out on paper and have your enemy see it on purpose, so you then can plan around your enemy coming after you. It allows you to trap your enemy in war or even in sports. 

Now that I have done research on Disinformation, it makes me wonder who's most vulnerable? I came to the conclusion that people who are not involved on social media nor pay attention closely to the news are the ones that are most vulnerable because the further away you are from being involved the more you are to believe any type of news. People who are constantly reading up on news, and checking their sources will be able to detect fake or disinformation better than most people. 

I recommend watching the video below, which shows a great example of disinformation:

Defending Disinformation

Online Footprint

After reading about this task by Professor Dean, I decided to search my name on Google, "Addison Antico".

The first to pop up was my Facebook account and then my Twitter account.

But after that, the real stories started to show. 

I began to see numerous stories about my support for President Trump and also my ALS Ice Bucket Challenge. I didn't find anything that I was shocked by, however there was a link that was called "Addison Antico at NH Rebellion". I was blown away once I saw the link, but once I clicked on it, the web page was blank. I doesn't bother me that it exists, because if the day ever comes where I have to defend myself from my online foot print, then I will clear the misunderstanding. 

Someone once asked me about future jobs seeing my support for Trump and how it might affect whether I am hired or not, but I believe that I am who I am. And if a company doesn't hire me for that reason then maybe they are making a mistake. I believe that no company or business should not hire someone based off of a news story, especially related to anything about Trump, because there will be bias. 

I don't want future companies to look at me as a Trump supporter, but as someone who is strong and has no problem stating their opinions even if theres not popular. I want them to see someone with courage who went against the force, because at the end of the day I am for Free Speech and no ones should be violated because theres is different. If it is disrupting the work force then that is an entire different story, but we must be open to diversity.

Tiger King and the 1st Amendment

In at time where we live quarantined, almost every American is watching either Netflix or Hulu. If you used Netflix, you must've noticed Netflix's top shows. The #1 top rated show on Netflix is a documentary called, Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem, and Madness.

The popular documentary series evolves around a man known as Joe Exotic, who owns a Big Cat Zoo somewhere in Oklahoma. Throughout seven episodes, you get to experience what it was like to live and work on the zoo, as well as seeing several other Big Cat Zoo's across America. The most interesting part about the show was seeing what the industry was like. I mean, it got so competitive between Joe Exotic and competitor zoo owner known as, Carol Baskin. It even got to a point where Joe was threatening to physically hurt Carol by hiring a Hitmen.

Joe started his own internet show that was produced professionally by Rick Kirkham. The show received millions of views by creating content that included music videos, threatening, shooting, and even blowing up objects with Carols face on it. Joe not only used the First Amendment, but he abused it to the point where it hurt him lawfully. Joe Exotic is now serving 22 years in prison. 

I personally feel that in order to have an opinion on any subject matter regarding Joe Exotic, you must watch the documentary series on Netflix. It allows you to see everything, from multiple perspectives without biases.

Coronavirus

Due to the fact that this is all we are hearing or talking about, I didn't want to write a story about COVID-19, but how can I not when this affects our daily lives 24/7.

COVID-19 (CDC)

It's crazy to think how life has changed, here are some examples

- Schools and Colleges CLOSED

- Religious Gatherings CLOSED 

- Wall Street CLOSED (USAToday: a switch to electronic trading)

- All non-essential businesses CLOSED (How is each US State handling Coronavirus)

- No audience at Democratic Debate (NBC)

These are massive, but only a few changes that have taken place due to the outbreak of this virus. We are living in a time where the enemy isn't one person or another army, but rather an invisible enemy. This isn't a black or white issue, but a humanity issue. I personally feel that this is an issue that shouldn't contain any political biases, however we live in a time where it is nonviable. 

I personally feel that we live in a time where political divisiveness is at an all time high, especially because of the mainstream media and our current politicians including President Trump. This should be an issue that all Americans want to solve, people are dying. But for some reason this has to be another long-term political issue for congress to even secure paychecks for unemployed American workers. Massachusetts unemployment rate could reach 25%, report says. According to an article written by Jeff Brady from NPR, there are many clean energy and climate change advocates that want the $2.2T stimulus bill to not only stimulate the U.S. economy, but also climate change. However, there are split decisions over this and it appears to be partly responsible for the delays in passing the bill.

Although this is mainly the democratic politicians, each side of the aisle is guilty of filibustering bills that only hurt the American people. This is why it is imperative for the American people to show unity around it's leader so we can all defeat this disease together. Coronavirus doesn't care who you are, it will kill any gender through any social class. We can only defeat this together.

Eight Values of Free Expression: Check on Governmental Power

Although all Eight Values of Free Expression are important, I believe Checks on Governmental Power is one of the most important out of the eight. I feel this way, because with this, the other's would possibly not even exist. The Checks on Governmental Power is so powerful because it keeps our democracy in balance. Without checks on governmental power, there could be collusion and corruption by power hungry politicians. 

Most of all, I think this is the most important, because America was founded and created because of oppression. People were being oppressed and controlled by their government in Europe, that they sought new land, North America. The United States Founding Father's created this country so that all men were created equally, and that government cannot become too powerful to take over its people. This allows us to have freedom of the press, and the right to protest against our government. 

Freedom of the Press is imperative for a democracy to actually work efficiently, because they are the ones who enable the citizens of America to be informed and well-aware of what is going on and well up to date on abuse of power. Without the press, we have a fractured nation. A nation that isn't informed, is a nation that is oblivious to its leaders.  If it ever got to that point, the government can change the nation forever. 

I believe that the United States Constitution is one of the most powerful documentations to ever exist, because it gives power to the people, and by the people. Without this document, the United States would no longer be unique. We would be no different than 18th Century England, and you can only imagine what today's world would look like without America as we know it. 

U.S. Constitution, by CNN

We have seen many infamous examples of politicians seeking for more power, such as Richard Nixon in 1972: Watergate. I'm not going to entirely explain the Watergate Scandal, but without the Senate and the House of Representatives we would have not seen Nixon resign. Even with Congress, the final checks of balance is the American people. The media has a right to explore and inform the American People about what is going on and if Congress doesn't do anything, the American people can. On Election day, they are able to practice their individual right at the voter ballot and potentially change the country forever. 

My final note is that every American has a duty to their country and that is to be aware and get out and vote.

About Addison Antico

In 2016, I faced a life lesson. A lesson that would make me the person I am today. Junior year, I took a class called AP Government. This was a college-level" class teaching students about United States politics and how the U.S. Government works throughout our daily lives. However, since this was a time in which the 2016 Presidential Election was taking place, this topic flooded our class discussions. We would be constantly doing presentations on the candidates and also having open debates. It is important to understand the demographics of where my High School was. I lived in VERY liberal town that barely tolerated any type of conservatism, especially when it related to Donald Trump. 

So one day, I came home to my father and I told him that I was getting vocally beat up at my school and in my classes for showing support for then Candidate Donald Trump. So I asked my dad if we could place hundreds of Trump Campaign signs all across our yard (house was not as visible as most) to show our support and stand strong with our own beliefs. We did the math and it costed thousands of dollars, so it wasn't practical. So then I got a better idea...one big Trump sign facing the street. 


So that's what we did.

This was posted By President Trump's Facebook Account

We built a Trump Sign that was 14ft tall and 50 ft long built onto a wooden frame facing the main road. We even decided to get lights to display the sign at night with cameras facing towards the sign just in case someone decided to vandalize our 1st Amendment, and someone did try to. Another random member of the town decided to go to the Town Building Commissioner to have it taken down, but "the towering statement is in line with building code and is protected as political speech". 

Wicked Local

After a week of having the sign up, I faced a lot of criticism in school from teachers and students, but i stood my ground all the way to Election Day. The lesson I learned from this experience is that whatever you do in life, it will always disrupt a group of people and it is imperative that you stay true to your beliefs and stay strong, but respectful. If people show strong opposition towards you and your beliefs, that is okay, just don't let your 1st Amendment be violated. Nothing stopped anyone else from doing the same, but with a Hillary or Bernie sign. It is imperative to protect our 1st Amendment or else I wouldn't 
be the person that I am today. 

WSPN 

The Affect of Twitter

Twitter has revolutionized the way humans communicate, especially politicians or celebrities. It's hard to believe, but look at the current U.S. President, Donald Trump. The man is constantly bashed for the amount of times he tweets, however it gives the President a direct channel to communicate with the American people. There are 262 million International users, so not EVERYONE has an account, but the President's tweets are heard by media outlets, which they then amplify the presidents messages (tweets) to the American people via television.

Market Watch

Although Twitter only allows you to produce 280 characters, it allows businesses to speak directly to their consumers. A great example would be a company that has to put out a "recall" or just has to clarify a misunderstanding to their customers. Twitter allows the company or even the CEO of a company to reply straight to their consumers.











It might sound like 280 characters aren't that much, but they do have a strong impact on society. A great example would be Elon Musk. Musk tweeted about the stock market and it went absolutely viral. This not only brought laughter to his fans and free publicity to the world. Twitter is a platform for people to get a message out and to respond to their fans and critics.

"the stock is so high"

The Printing Press

This week, in my marketing class, we are discussing about innovations and inventions. Looking at a chart in our class textbook (Principles of Marketing and Personal Selling, Edited by Michael Sahagun), it shows the "Most Important Innovations in History (Since the Wheel). The #1 most important innovation is the Printing Press.

What exactly is a Printing Press?
A Printing Press is a mechanical device that allows ink to be pressed onto a piece of cloth or paper, creating a message. This paves way for mass production of ink on uniforms and ink on paper creating newspaper and books. No one actually knows when the first printing press was invented or who exactly invented it, however the oldest known printed text came from China in the first millennium A.D. But around 1440, in Germany, a man by the name of Johannes Gutenberg innovated the 150 year old "printing press" and by 1450, he had perfected a printing machine that would be the ready to use commercially. This was known as the Gutenberg Press.
 (https://www.history.com/topics/inventions/printing-press#section_5)

I agree that this is one of the finest and most important innovations since the wheel, because it was the start of mass communication across Europe and eventually the world. Even to this day, new paper companies use machine such as the Printing Press to create their product. However, nowadays they cost up to 78 million dollars.


(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Printing_press)

Facebook v. Fake News

(https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/craigsilverman/top-fake-news-of-2016)

Facebook has always been so popular from the moment it was created. It practically birthed social media which came with Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter, YouTube, etc. Even to do this day, Facebook remains at the top of popularity amongst other social media platforms. According to Buffer, within the marketing library, it states that Facebook is the #1 platform for businesses to consider for their brand. Writer, Alfred Lua, has conducted research to find  that there are 2.23billion MAU (Monthly Active Users). However, recently within the past years Facebook has struggled to combat Fake News, especially at the time of the 2016 Election.
(https://buffer.com/library/social-media-sites)

Ever since learning that there was fake news across Facebook during the 2016 Election, Facebook has worked towards identifying Fake News or any type misinformation on its platform and eliminating it from its site. However, recently people are starting to identify that a loophole exists within the system. This loophole allows iniquitous users to get around its strategy to stop fake news. To be fair, Facebook has done a lot to combat fake news and accounts that spread misinformation, and reports have shown that is working, however this loophole still exists which means theres a lot more work to do.

Mashable, a Scottish-American news website, technology and social media blog, has discovered an old glitch that still exists, but specifically Facebook Groups. This glitch allows Facebook Pages to simply produce and spread false news and misinformation by a feature that was antecedently shut down about 2 years ago, Editable Link Previews.

(https://mashable.com/article/facebook-loophole-fake-news-link-preview/)

(https://mashable.com/article/facebook-loophole-fake-news-link-preview/)

Link Previews are the "embeds" that appear when you post a link on FB. Normally, they contain a "large thumbnail, the main URL where the link is from, the title of the post, and a short description of the article". However in a private FB Group, Writer Matt Binder, came across a fellow FB user. who explained how he discovered a weird glitch that still allowed Facebook Pages to edit link preview metadata. Like I stated before, this feature was apparently shutdown, completely, about one year ago.


I personally believe that Facebook will fix these major issues as they always have in the past, but I truthfully believe that it is the publics duty to hold Facebook accountable and call it out when they are in the wrong, because if there are not repercussions from this issue, Facebook won't care to do anything about it. But I do believe that attacking the Fake News issue on Facebook is the start of ending the spread of Fake News. Back in the olden days, fake news/propaganda would be spread through physical papers or pamphlets, but now with the rise of social media and technology it makes it much more dangerous. But I do believe that we will fix this issue, but it will never end 100%. Society and our institutions will have to be constantly adapting and paying attention to Fake News and Misinformation.

History and Workings of The U.S. Supreme Court

The United States Supreme Court has always been known as the "highest judicial court in a country or state", and even when learned at a young age you are taught to value and respect the highest court in the land. This isn't just preached by historians and politicians, but by the American people and this is because the Supreme Court decides legal cases that directly affect the American people by interpreting the 200 year old document, The U.S. Constitution.

Politicians are frequently arguing about the constitution, but within the Supreme Court, politics is put aside. After watching these two videos discussing the Supreme Court, it showed me the respect and honor each Supreme Court Justice had for one another, because at the end of the day they all knew that their views came out of logical reasoning and most importantly "good faith", and not political tendencies. Listening to Former Supreme Court Justice, Sandra Day O'Connor, talk about her first day entering the conference room showed me that these positions of power are not only valued by the American People, but even by the Justices themselves. They understood the power of their role and most importantly they didn't let it affect them. The Justices talked about how they worked in collaboration with one another and that allowing everyone to speak just once was really important, because it gave everyone equal time to state their views/opinions. The types of strategies they used to work in collaboration with each other are really thought out and is shown to be imperative, even the small things like being sure to shake each others hands before taking the bench/working in conference. These types of strategies represent the value that they all hold to this position.

Behind the Scenes of Sandra Day O'Connor's First Days on the Supreme Court
One new thing that I learned about the U.S. Supreme Court is Opinion Writing. I was unaware that once a case has been decided, there must be an opinion piece backing up their decisions to go with it and I found this very interesting. One member of the majority writes it and if there is a justice who disagrees has the right to write their own dissenting from the decision. I found this to only be interesting, but imperative to have in our Judicial System, because it allows future judges to go back and review past reasonings for their decision on specific cases which can help judges decide IF the case is similar by principal.