Final Blog Post

I am proud to say that I probably have one of the smallest digital footprints of any teenager that I know. I have never had TikTok or Facebook accounts. I only begrudgingly downloaded Snapchat for the first time when I started at High Point University a few months ago because it was required to communicate with RAs and friends. I use it only when necessary. Similarly, I never even had an Instagram account until I started college when it was required that I do something on the app for a communications course my first semester. Due to that course, I do now have an an Instagram account, but I have never actually posted anything there.

I have chosen to do this purposefully. Prior to 8th grade, I was moderately interested in getting social media. However, my parents wanted me to wait until I was in high school. Once in high school, when I was finally allowed to get it, I mostly just lost interest in it despite my classmates using it more than ever.

One reason is that I took a cybersecurity course in high school that taught me a lot about the privacy and security issues of social media. Learning that 37% of Americans have had at least one social media account hacked concerned me (Abel, 2024b). Another reason might be that I’m autistic and the whole social construct of these apps simply doesn’t appeal to me the way it does to "neurotypical" people. You will certainly never catch me taking a selfie! 

Unlike in the Futurama video from the 1964 World’s Fair, I do not see technology as our savior like previous generations apparently did. In fact, I feel it’s something more to be feared, especially with AI technology becoming more mainstream now, which has the potential to create all kinds of problems. I agree with Elon Musk when he says that "with Artificial Intelligence we are summoning the demon." (McFarland, 2021). 

I do believe that I personally have a decently healthy relationship with today’s technology. I spend a fraction of the amount of time using social media that others do. According to a recent Gallop poll, the American teenagers spend an average of 4.8 hours per day on social media (Adgate, 2023). I’ve seen firsthand how this excessive amount of time scrolling can negatively effect teenagers. I have a younger sister who is frequently on social media, "doom scrolling" for hours on end.

There always seems to be drama and depression among her friends caused by things that happen on apps like Snapchat, and I believe it’s negatively affected her grades and caused issues with self esteem. She posts a lot on all the apps, including Instagram. She is applying this summer for a camp counselor position to work with youth, which will hopefully help remove her somewhat from these platforms. I am concerned about her social footprint and what the images she has posted will say about her character when she is applying for jobs.

When I Google myself, pretty much nothing comes up at all, which is how I'd prefer it to be. There are many other people with my relatively common name but nothing on me specifically. I have a legacy name, Andrew W. O’Donnell, III. Things do come up on Google for both my grandfather, LtGen Andrew W. O’Donnell, and my father, MajGen Andrew W. O’Donnell, Jr., because they have both been in the public eye in newspapers, magazines, and even interviews on television due to their positions as notable generals in the Marine Corps. So even though neither of them has ever had any social media at all, they still have some form of digital footprint.

I don’t even like the fact that someone could figure out that I’m from a military family if they chose to dig into me. Despite me doing my very best to have no traceable online presence, it seems that there is no way to truly escape it in this day and age.

I don’t even like having things such as this blog as it contains a lot of personal information. Call me paranoid, but I will likely delete the entire thing once the course is over. I’ve enjoyed learning the process of creating the blog and the writing, and I’ve certainly enjoyed the content from class. However, I prefer to remain as incognito as possible so this will be gone shortly after it’s fully graded. If you’re looking for me, mail me a letter!

Works Cited:

    Abel, S. (2024b, February 7). Top Social Media Hacking Statistics & Trends for 2024. StationX. https://www.stationx.net/social-media-hacking-statistics/#:~:text=With%20so%20many%20individuals%20having,one%20social%20media%20account%20hacked.

    Adgate, B. (2023, October 18). Gallup: Teens spend more time on social media than on homework. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/bradadgate/2023/10/18/gallup-teens-spend-more-time-on-social-media-than-on-homework/?sh=22aef64f3dcb

Blog Post #10

 The Overton Window

The Overton Window is a set or range of policies that are acceptable to the general public at any point in time. It is sometimes referred to as "The Window of Discourse." It’s a model for understanding how society changes over time and how society and culture influence politics. The policies that fall within the window are ones that are popular with the public and that they are generally willing to accept. Radical or unpopular ideas would fall outside of the Overton Window. 

There are many examples of policies which used to fall far outside of the Overton Window and are now inside. One prime example is same-sex marriage. Back in 1996, support for same-sex marriage among Democrats was only 33%, and outside the Overton Window as being unacceptable and even unthinkable by some. By 2019, support among Democrats was up to 83% and inside the Overton Window as something that is considered not only acceptable by the majority but even popular. (The Overton Window: How Politics Change | Definition and Examples — Conceptually, n.d.). 

"The most common misconception is that lawmakers themselves are in the business of shifting the Overton window. That is absolutely false. Lawmakers are actually in the business of detecting where the window is, and then moving to be in accordance with it," said Joseph Lehman, a colleague of Joseph Overton who further developed the concept after Overton himself had died (The Overton Window: How Politics Change | Definition and Examples — Conceptually, n.d.).

Joe Biden, as a career politician, has done just that. Back in the 1970’s when he was just a junior senator, he said, "My gut reaction is that they (homosexuals) are security risks," when asked about how he felt about gay people (Today, 2023). Now, as President of the United States, decades later, he calls them "the bravest and most inspiring people he has ever known" and hosts the largest gay pride parade ever at the White House (Today, 2023).

Individual politicians are commonly called out as being "flip-floppers" when they change their tune on things they had stood either for or against in the past. The Overton Window, however, isn’t about any one particular politician or one flip-flopper though, it is just a reflection of the much broader public consensus. 

So, yes, Joe Biden’s advisors have detected what is inside the Overton Window, and moved him in accordance with it over the years because the Window tells them what policies are popular among Americans and, more importantly, which policies will get them votes and widespread support on certain issues.

Works Cited:

The Overton Window: How Politics Change | Definition and Examples — Conceptually. (n.d.). Conceptually. https://conceptually.org/concepts/overton-window

Today, U. (2023, August 19). Joe Biden helped a movement when he changed his mind on LGBTQ issues. Who advises him now? USA TODAY. https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2023/08/19/joe-biden-gay-friendly-president-lgbtq-issues/70233287007/

Blog Post #9

The Need For AI Regulation

As a technology enthusiast, I have been terrified by the very idea of Artificial Intelligence (AI) for years. As Elon Musk has said, "With Artificial Intelligence we are summoning the demon. (McFarland, 2021)". I believe that he is right when he claims that AI can be a bigger threat to civilization than nuclear weapons. Our parents grew up with the fear of the Cold War. Our generations is now growing up with the fear of the AI Revolution.

There are dozens of risks of AI, ranging from simply job loss and privacy concerns to far more serious consequences such as weapons authorization and uncontrollable self aware AI that could lead to human extinction. Maybe I’ve just read too many science fiction novels, but I believe there is an immediate need to put regulations into place. If it isn’t regulated there is too great a risk that it will be abused both by companies and by governments.

Just as there are international regulations and treaties regarding nuclear weapons, such as The Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons and the global Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, there too should be treaties and international regulations surrounding AI. Since the United States is the leader in AI, with 60% of the top tier AI researchers and $249 billion in private funding, this regulation needs to start here at home (Kearny, 2024). Some of the risks can possibly be addressed by existing government regulatory bodies such as the FTC. The FTC has authority of "false and deceptive" practices such as AI deepfakes. 

All existing regulatory bodies are very limited however with what they can regulate regarding AI. The creation of a regulatory body specifically for AI is probably necessary moving forward because the industry is becoming so massive. The new regulatory body could have the ability to license new technology and investigate complaints of abuse for example. On a global scale, the United Nations (UN) last year announced that they are planning on creating a 39 country advisory body to investigate the global governance of AI.

I also believe that colleges and university will
need to begin to have majors dedicated to AI since it is the wave of the future and our generation needs to be qualified to both work in and help regulate this industry. There could potentially be a lot of different employment opportunities dedicated to working with AI.

Works Cited:

E. Kearny, Tim (2024, January 29). Top 10 Countries Leading in AI research and Technology in 2024. Techopedia. https://www.techopedia.com/top-10-countries-leading-in-ai-research-technology

McFarland, M. (2021, December 5). Elon Musk: ‘With artificial intelligence we are summoning the demon.’ Washington Post. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/innovations/wp/2014/10/24/elon-musk-with-artificial-intelligence-we-are-summoning-the-demon/

Blog Post #8

The Social Credit System, how un-American is it?

China’s social credit system is a combination of government and corporate (however, it is to be noted that in the Chinese world, corporations act as basically an extension of government) surveillance that gives citizens a "score" that can restrict their ability to take actions, such as buying plane tickets, taking out loans or even pubic shaming for such nefarious actions as "frivolous spending".

This system has been in place in China for a little over five years or so now. I liken it to a modern day "Scarlet Letter" so to speak, when a woman was once forced to wear a red letter A for "adultery" on her dress.

Will such a system ever come to America? I highly doubt it. The implications are frightening and Orwellian. For starters, I believe it’s downright unconstitutional as a violation of the First Amendment. If someone, for example, wants to question side effects of vaccines on Facebook, and they are given a low score by someone at Facebook that doesn’t share the same viewpoints then a persons political opinions could negatively effect their ability to do other things such as use online payment services such as PayPal.

It is a slippery slope. Who exactly gets to decide what is "inappropriate" or extremism? Where is the line drawn? In my mind it makes perfect sense under an authoritarian regime like China, but not in a constitutional federal republic such as the US because it’s essentially a "blacklist system" that gives preferential or discriminatory treatment against citizens.

There are numerous negative implications for Americans, if this system were to exist here. If your social media account is hacked and something is posted without your knowledge or consent it could negatively affect your score and take months or years to fight the fraud. This is highly likely to occur since 37% of Americans have had at least one social media account hacked. (Abel, 2024)

Similarly, with the rapid advances in new artificial intelligence (AI) technologies, it will become increasingly more difficult for people and organizations to tell if a photo is real or not. Someone could very easily alter an innocent photo of you to put you in a compromising or obscene position. With AI, no one will know anymore what can really be trusted. Imagine now that the fake AI photo significantly lowers someone’s social credit score.

Last year, The House Business and Labor Committee unanimously endorsed a bill that would seek to block our government from using social credit scores. One supporter of the bill, Rep. Cheryl Acton, R-West Jordan said, "It’s sometimes called 'tech-induced totalitarianism,' or digitally-induced social control where they use these other factors to move people in one direction or another. It’s another way to socially engineer acceptable behavior. To my mind, it’s un-American because it’s a way to reshape society outside of the political process."

I agree with her and would wholeheartedly support such bills to prevent what is happening in China from occurring here. We must not allow the government to decide what is acceptable here in America, we are a free country and nothing remotely similar to China's system has a place in our society.

Sources Cited:

Abel, S. (2024, February 7). Top Social Media Hacking Statistics & Trends for 2024. StationX. https://www.stationx.net/social-media-hacking-statistics/#:~:text=With%20so%20many%20individuals%20having,up%20for%20social%20media%20platforms.

Could China's "social credit score" happen here? Utah lawmakers move to make sure it can't. (2023, February 15). The Salt Lake Tribune. https://www.sltrib.com/news/politics/2023/02/15/could-chinas-social-credit-score/

Tate, K (2021, August 3). Coming Soon: America’s Own Social Credit System. The Hill. https://thehill.com/opinion/finance/565860-coming-soon-americas-own-social-credit-system/

Blog Post #7

Violations of Privacy

The thought of governments and corporations having free access to your personal information is a scary thought to have, yet it is completely commonplace in our modern technologically advanced society. Our government itself reaches into almost all aspects of communication that most people use, and there have been instances in recent years where they have been caught outright spying on American citizens. Even though we are supposed to live in a free country without fear of the government watching us like Big Brother in 1984, these publicized incidents have brought this assumption into scrutiny.

On the other hand, the way that corporations violate our privacy isn't much better. When you sign up to join any kind of social media or communication platform, you sign a contract, which makes an agreement between you and the company. However, most people don't actually bother reading what they're signing, and what's in these contracts may be surprising. Many of these platforms take full ownership of any content published by users, have the right to collect and sell data about the users to third parties, and have full access to any private and personal information associated with users.

Another thing to be considered is that technology can enable not just governments and corporations to violate the privacy of individuals, but also just normal individuals can be capable of this too. These days, there is so much information about us that gets harvested and put out on the internet, and if someone had malicious intent and wanted to find out more about a person, it's easier than ever for them to do so.

Identity theft is a crime that has been happening more and more often. Data breaches of corporations sometimes happen, which leaks the personal information they had on you out into cyberspace. Cybercriminals can then use this stolen data to access even more of your personal information, and most scary of all, can even impersonate you and do things with your accounts and info while pretending to be you.

However, it is possible for people to protect themselves from corporate and individual threats to their privacy. When signing up for any kind of platform, make sure to read the contract you're signing and make sure it's something you're willing to agree to. If not, either don't use the platform at all, or don't attach any kind of personally identifiable information to your account and use a fake email. Speaking of fake emails, make sure that you have one that doesn't have anything that could identify you on it, and use that instead of your personal one on certain websites and services.

Blog Post #6

Why do we never hear anti-war perspectives?

Biased media in the United States is nothing new. Media in our country has always been about selling newspapers or getting the highest TV ratings, rather than simply reporting the facts. Even as far back as the late 19th century, "yellow journalism" was using sensationalism over facts. 

It was this "yellow journalism" that got us involved in the Spanish American War, a war which contributed to America becoming an Imperialist nation. This point is only to say that the mainstream media has long been involved in biased reporting. It’s no different today.

As you suspected, I have never heard of either of those two websites. I viewed them in-depth and wasn’t surprised that I found their name to be an apt description of their contents. On antiwar.com I was immediately drawn to sensational headlines such as "Chaos in the Red Sea" and others. These websites seem to hold a view that is unpopular among the highest echelons of American society, the view that wars are bad and our country shouldn't be getting involved in them.

However, the so-called "mainstream" media is also frequently accused of being biased. Many of them often make excuses for wars. It seems we have to read multiple articles from multiple sources in order to get the full picture on any subject, be it war, healthcare, or anything else. 

It’s important to remember that not only the media but individual people come with their own biases as well. I am the son and grandson of Marines who have fought in many wars. I have my own bias when it comes to this subject due to my family history and upbringing in a pro military family.

With my own biases in mind, I actually disagree with the statement that we "never" hear very strong anti-war sentiment in the mainstream media. It may not be frequent, and I may just be hyper aware of it due to my father being a Marine officer, however, I have witnessed a lot of anti-war sentiment in the mainstream media over the years. Some that has come in the form of news networks frequently having anti-war celebrities such as Michael Moore and Mike Farrell.

So while we may need to seek out more obscure websites to find very strong anti-war sentiment, I do believe it is seen in the mainstream media as well, perhaps just not as overt. 

Since the "War on Terror" and the more recent battles abroad, such as the war in Ukraine, have lingered for very long I think that what you see is a trend of strong support for involvement at the beginning of such military operations but then that support fades over time as more lives are lost and more money is spent.

Americans tend to rally around the flag, but that erodes into dissent as the months turn into years. I would say that Americans have a very short attention span.

Blog Post #5

As a Game Design major, I try and stay up to date on all the latest computer and software technologies. I usually do all that research on my own since it’s a subject that interests me. However, in terms of technology that I have learned about from someone else, I would say that I learn the most about technology innovations from my father, especially as they relate to the military. He is a Major General in the Marine Corps and they often are involved in making sure the military stays innovative and works on training Marines in these new technologies.

Some of the new technologies I find interesting and we will discuss them further or I will read more into them on my own. One recent example has been the use of what is known as “cognitive radar.” Cognitive radar is the next generation of digitize radar wave that results in transmit-receive flexibility. It has more intelligent embedded computing that can adapt to its environment. It can greatly improve target identification and improve overall situational awareness. Since I am highly involved in computers and enjoy building them myself, I like to learn how computer innovations are effecting other industries and learn about them from leaders in various fields.