FINAL POST AND BLOG POST 11

Based on the topics that we covered specifically about technology throughout the semester, there are certain factors that caused the World Wide Web to change the world of mass communication by moving around governmental barriers to trade, and most importantly, the world wide web overtime, has fueled economic globalization. Throughout this course we have also learned about how blogging and social media platforms such as Instagram, Twitter, and especially Facebook become disruptive, and empowering at the same time .

Ways that blogging and social media platforms act as disruptive technologies, specifically social media has disrupted what we do and how we interact with the world. Social media is so embedded into every aspect of modern society that in a way, makes it difficult for us to imagine what we’d do without it. Sadly the 21st century of younger generations have never lived in a social media free world, compared to generations before us. The power of social media has not only changed the way we live but it has also changed the things we do. What I find really scary is now we are living in an era of hashtagging, trolling and live streaming. However, like social media, blogging has also become very disruptive. Blogging can have some negative effects. Bloggers can encounter disagreements which further explains why bloggers who put certain content that allows people to have discussions, sometimes will encounter comments that are mean and vicious. Sometimes bloggers who post daily, usually reiterate information that is already there, which can result in low quality. However, there are ways that blogging and social media act as tools for empowerment. When it comes to social media. Social media is used as  a powerful tool to communicate to the outside world about struggles  faced by a certain group of people in certain communities. Like blogging, social media has also become a free and open setting to debates, exchanging ideas, and sharing opinions. Social media also allows us to build relationships and we can also educate ourselves on certain things that can catch our attention. Social media  also allows us to think about what we really care about and what we really want to read about. 

Not only have we talked about social media and the dangers of social media, but also towards the end of semester, we talked about the development of AI (artificial intelligence), the importance of it and how it can be used against us in the future. Towards the end of the semester, we watched a documentary explaining the age of AI. While watching the documentary, there were several things that I found very interesting. I learned that China is the first to emerge facial recognition. China is the best place for AI because there is ten times more data in China than in the US. Another interesting thing I learned from the documentary  was that the US  will be the first to establish AI; however, China will be the first to build the infrastructure of AI. Another thing that I also learned was that as AI progresses, AI will possibly help us see things that humans were never able to see before. This also means that AI machines may help us become more creative and innovative. Although there were some positive effects that AI could have on the future, there were also some possible negatives as well. I learned that throughout history there has always been a complicated relationship between humans and machines, causing machines to  take away an enormous amount of jobs. Overall I think that I thoroughly enjoyed all topics that we have covered. Participating in discussions and writing blog posts about certain topics has allowed me to put things into a wider perspective as a journalist.