User:Vtaylor/Computers and Society/CIS2 Summer 2018/Group 2
Contributors
- for each person, next to your name, provide a link to your personal lists on your own WikiEducator user page
Project Group discussion - Group 2
- Barish Arslan - http://wikieducator.org/User:Sadmafioso
- Nicolle Ayon Campos - https://wikieducator.org/User:Nikia
- Michael Carson
- Sahiti Chilukuri http://wikieducator.org/User:Sahiti
- Ilan Yehuda Granot - https://wikieducator.org/User:Ilan1010
- Kevin Lien - http://wikieducator.org/User:Kevinlien112
- Oliver Loveday - https://wikieducator.org/User:KingLoveday24
- Adam Rubin - https://wikieducator.org/User:Rimag
- Yoin Wai Tse - https://wikieducator.org/User:Tseyoinwai0111
Contents
Group 2 "Best" resources
This is a list of what our group thought to be the best resources for the CIS 2 class. Our process of choosing the "best" included a group discussion, and ultimately, individually choosing a topic for which we thought we had the best resource. If there were conflicting "best" resources for one topic, we put it to the vote. We hope you will find these resources useful!
1. Introductions
https://neilpatel.com/blog/alternative-search-engines/
This article provided great and different ways to search the internet. This class tends to have various assignments in which one must do individual research, therefore knowing about alternative search engines is very useful, and perhaps even fun. Some examples of what you might find on there include DuckDuckGo, an online search engine that prioritizes your privacy, Ecosia, a search engine that plants trees, and TinEye, a reverse image search engine. We think it's worth giving some of these a try and great for a class that focuses on computers and the internet. - Nicolle
2. Privacy and Freedom of Speech
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aircAruvnKk&t=3s
But what *is* a Neural Network? | Chapter 1, deep learning
3blue1brown does a good job explaining high level concepts in simple ways, building up enough knowledge to get you to a working understanding of how things happen without requiring expert level jargon. He'll never replace a good textbook, but for concepts that you don't know a thing about in computer science, he can be a great place to start
I think this video is very valuable here, providing a good intuitive understanding of how this new technology works. Machine learning is present in nearly every major website we visit these days, and getting a sense of how your actions correspond to what companies know about you is very challenging. Understanding the fundamentals of the technology is one way to protect yourself. It's of course also very interesting as a way to collate information, and learn more about the habits of people all over the planet. - Adam
Encryption
https://www.tni.org/es/node/8265
This article relates encryption to communication interception and surveillance. In a government level, surveillance is needed in communication to ensure and monitor that the country is not under threat. As mentioned, the best example is Echeleon which is developed during the war against Germany and also another example in Europe was that a case was cracked by obtaining evidence of crimes from the communication interception but this action of the investigation unit was later brought into question. Internet seems to be a virtual world with no regulations, and we might want to enforce some in order be secure in protecting our privacy, but whenever it involves government activities, we are always obligated to submit our data, our privacy is interrogated and our communication is intercepted.
-YOIN WAI TSE
Privacy and Personal Information
I chose encryption and the related article is: Researchers crack the world’s toughest encryption by listening to the tiny sounds made by your computer’s CPU
Basically what it means is that the very same technology that protects your internet connection when doing online banking called SSL (Secured Sockets Layer) using 4096-bit RSA as been cracked.
The more assuring side of this story it is that has been cracked by RSA. RSA is the name of the company that invented this very strong security and it is the abbreviation of the names of the 3 creators of the technique, one of them Adi Shamir is also one of the researchers that broke it in this special case. We can be at somewhat ease (and keep doing our banking online) also because in order to break it a special equipment is needed and very close physical proximity needed either to your computer or the bank's server. You can read exactly how it is done, but to lay it basically in order to break it what they figured out doing was listening with a very sensitive microphone to the CPU (main processor) of the computer when it's "thinking about doing the math" of the encryption.
My second choice for a keyword was communications interception and I chose the StuxNet virus which attacked Iran's nuclear program and severely damaged the program
http://www.businessinsider.com/stuxnet-was-far-more-dangerous-than-previous-thought-2013-11
StuxNet is (if it exists of course) a very advanced computer virus. A computer virus is a program (think software) that has a purpose that's sneaky and usually against the user. Another trait of a virus and hence its name is that it duplicate it self by copying it self to other computers and thus infecting them and spreading like a biological virus. StuxNet is very advanced because of few reasons, it had a very specific purpose, it was very hard to detect, and it sneaked and did it's thing in a sneaky way tricking the people in the nuclear facility into thinking everything is okay.
It appeared to travel large parts of the world (between computers) until it reached it's final destination, the Iranian nuclear plant. It was then "messing around" with very specific equipment that controls the enrichment facility while during all that time (months to couple of years) it was submitting false data to the control room that everything is going just okay. Whether it really exist and who are the people or countries behind it may be known or left a mystery, but, if really existed that's some smart peace of software.
- Ilan Granot
https://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/2018-05-09/web-privacy-is-important-for-gmail-not-facebook This article mentioned the issue of selling our information on the social media without us noticing, an interesting research was carried out to show how we value our information. The participant were given a slice of pizza for their information in exchange, first attempt were tried without offering a slice of pizza, people were reluctant. However, when the participants were asked for a second time with a slice of pizza, many of them just turn in their information. It shows how much we care for our information before posting it onto the net, we didn’t consider the risks that we will be receiving before doing it and didn’t consider if the information that we were posting was private or not. Therefore, this article emphasize that if there is a need to go over the issue of privacy when we are not responsible and considering our risks
-YOIN WAI TSE
3. Intellectual Property
http://www.pewinternet.org/2004/12/05/artists-musicians-and-the-internet
This article goes over a survey in which artists were questioned about how the internet has affected them. The internet has allowed artists to better market and sell their creations, as wells as build a fan base. In a lot of cases, artists have also gone on the internet to look for inspiration. While there is the concern of piracy, most artists feel that the benefits outweigh the cost because the internet has made it much easier for them to make money than if they were to be out in the real world, on the streets, trying to sell their art. In fact, according to the survey, many artists do not feel that internet piracy is a big threat (which really surprised me). - Nikia
4. Crime
https://www.lifewire.com/ive-been-hacked-now-what-2487230
This article goes into detail and explains what you should do after your computer is hacked. This article is helpful because there are some immediate steps such as isolating your computer and removing the hard drive that should immediately be taken to prevent further damage. There is also some helpful information about how to prevent hacks in the future and certain software you can download to prevent them. -Sahiti
The infamous silk road was known as the paragon of laize market. Known for it's facilitation of trade of illegal narcotics, it was about a 1-2 billion dollar valuated website. I think in terms of trading and illegal technology facilitated crime this one takes the cake. Not was this illegal it was also dangerous for you to access this site. Generally speaking browsing the darkweb should be "safe" using a Tor browser, but sometimes certain pages will track you down if you're not using another VPN service or IP scrambler, malicious hackers would hack you and then steal everything you have. The silk road was the apex or illegal underground trade on the deep dark web and it's important to know about it. - Kevin
5. Employment, Education and Entertainment
Employment
https://www.employment-studies.co.uk/news/apprenticeship-systems-international-comparison
This link provide us with more updated and detailed information on apprenticeship not only within the borders but is also compared to other countries such as Canada and Britain. Most of the apprenticeship still remained in the area of traditional craft while the opportunity is limited in other areas such as nursing, construction and the hotel industry. The area of apprenticeship is mostly dominated by males and younger generation but there is a recent change that the area of apprenticeship is expanding to females which also includes the international workers. Some countries are working in order for people to apply for apprentice as early as possible after graduating high school. Most of the countries are trying to align the work of apprentices to either the national or international qualifications.
- YOIN WAI TSE
Education
https://www.diversityinsteam.com/2018/04/stem-k-8-engineering/
This website informs the readers the need of having k-8 engineering with concrete examples. It started with an experienced engineer saying that no everyone could get a grip of engineering for the first time in real life and learning the workplace is almost the common case for people who are fresh to this engineering field, it means that there’s a possibility that knowledge of engineering could be enhanced at an early by introducing engineering to school curriculum. For instance, students At Dr. Albert Einstein Academy meet their challenges when they are asked to design a door that easier to open by the teacher and also in some schools, children are attempted to design and build something with the resources that is within their reach, such as a clay boat.
- YOIN WAI TSE
Entertainment
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4NGe4dzlukc
Making Games Better for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing | Designing for Disability
There's a lot of interesting information here - my favorite piece of insight are that games can take advantage of their playable nature to give subtitles a specific ruleset that follows the game. For instance, a character can be given a certain text color, which will let you know they're talking even when the player is busy and they are not on screen. Further, 3D games can take advantage of information in the soundscape by giving visual direction about where sound is coming from. Minecraft does this with a compass style arrow system, while Fortnite gives icons and directions in a ring in the center of the screen. This lets players know about sounds without needing to hear them, leveling the playing field and giving further enjoyment.
I enjoyed the video a lot, and found it easy to digest while bringing up important points I haven't had to think about in a long time. Even a game controller is a pretty monstrous beast for someone who's never touched one, but it's been around for long enough that many people find it second nature. Similar blindspots exist all over this and other industries, and communication is the only way I know of to remove them. - Adam
Technology connects us more as it advances in all aspects such as employment, education and entertainment. We could look for job opportunities through the net, our learning environment are more associated with assistive learning and virtual learning devices, our accessiblity to the updated news and entertainment becomes higher.
6. Midterm - Grand Challenges
Disaster Prediction (Earthquakes and Hurricanes)
There is work being done by several companies to improve earthquake predictions, such as GeoCosmo, QuakeFinder, and Terra Seismic. The use of satellites, as well as big data, are useful tools in the prediction of an earthquake. In particular, Terra Seismic claims it is already able to predict earthquakes with 90% accuracy, however they do not know how to relay the information fast enough to enough people. A company called Quakey Victoria agrees that people are not receiving adequate information to help prevent a disaster from happening, as most people have general knowledge of what to do if an earthquake happens, “but not much [info] that targets what the impact could be on them “ (Ben Kerr - founder of Quakey Victoria).
How can we better join efforts to both improve earthquake predicting technologies and relay forecasting information to a those who will be impacted by the earthquake? - Nikia
https://futurism.com/satellites-will-soon-predict-earthquakes-and-volcanic-eruptions-from-space/
https://www.viatec.ca/articles/software-maps-earthquake-risks-in-greater-victoria
Saving Coral Reefs
Coral reefs contains high marine biodiversity and is beneficial for humans too, as it can minimize that damage caused by natural disasters such as hurricanes and storm surges. Protecting them could reduce the chance of loss of species and thus maintaining the food chain.
Methods and Examples to Save Coral Reefs
https://www.thenational.ae/uae/environment/the-deep-impact-on-the-gulf-s-coral-reefs-1.392298
Dubai is one of the most advanced city in Saudi Arabia, their method to maintain the coral reef system is to create an artificial coral reef system. It is said that this project is in progress, and the result shows that it could attract organisms to inhabit there, it also shows that when different boulders and breakwaters are set, it will attract different kinds of species. For a high energy environment like breakwaters, it attracts rare kinds of corals and fish instead of
common ones which means that
by controlling the artificial coral reefs we can also by chance solve the issue of over-fishing.
There’s a company in Los Angeles is planning to build artificial coral reefs for the environment and also for tourist attraction. It has known that the artificial reefs are working an
d there are also divers that are attracted to visit underwater installation with sculptures, as the Neptune Burial site in Miami receive good reviews. Their aim is to recover the coral reefs that was gone near the hotel resort, while at the same time, earn from the project through attracting tourist.
https://tech.co/technology-save-coral-reefs-2016-11
This articles explained that there are now three possible ways of technology saving the coral reef. First of all, we can stimulate the growth of coral by using an electrical biorock, this will create natural mineral and coral fragments will then be transplanted. Second, a method and a device called bathymetry to monitor and map the coral reef constantly for any changes. Third, 3D printed coral reefs could be used to mimic the original coral with the same composition and planted in order for an ecosystem to develop.
- YOIN WAI TSE
https://www.sciencenewsforstudents.org/article/creative-ways-help-coral-reefs-recover
This article was a great starting point to begin exploring coral reefs. This article clearly explains what causes coral bleaching and the detrimental effects that it has on the environment. I would highly recommend this article because it is very interesting to see how some of our everyday actions can contribute to this problem. This also discusses some other interesting technologies and different techniques scientists have used to help improve damage coral reefs. - Sahiti
7. Evaluating and Controlling Technology
- Great Technologies
(BEST) https://github.com/cassidoo/getting-a-gig If you're a tech major (or even if you're not), this GitHub "article" has super great tips on "getting a gig." It is extremely informational and wildly encouraging. She cites some great resources (a lot of which are free) to try out for practicing a mock interview, polishing up your skills, programming sets, along with various helpful textbooks and links to fellowships you can apply for. It also includes information about how to network with different people in your industry which is also really important. I highly recommend this. - Nikia
Machine Inteilligence
This article evaluates deeply into what machine intelligence unlike the link above, it tells us the difference between machine intelligence, machine learning, deep learning and artificial intelligence. These types of technology might seems similar to each other in general but in fact, they are different because different approach is used to obtain certain type of intelligence. It also contains a table that tells the difference of Classic AI, simple neural network and biological neural network. Furthermore, the topic is accompanied by some practical example to distinguish these three approach to the artificial intelligence, and it also explains the definition of machine learning which is referring to a machine that learns and works by biological neural network approach.
-YOIN WAI TSE
Internet of Things
https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2018/07/24/protecting-iiot/
This article is saying that security infrastructure of IoT is vulnerable and many of the security and operational data are usually collected via network log collectors. There’s a table showing the different methods for control, configuration and data collection. Among all the methods, wired networks, Wi-Fi networks and cellular networks are commonly used. I use cellular network very often but when we are travelling outside the country or to a rural place, a portable Wi-Fi comes in handy. However, as mentioned in the article, commonly used methods such as Wi-Fi can be vulnerable and it is also risky to connect to public Wi-Fi.
-YOIN WAI TSE
This articles discusses that while there are many benefits to technology because it connects people to information, not everyone around the world has reaped those benefits. There is not only a huge gap between the developed and developing countries over wealth, there is also a huge divide when it come to technology (also known as the digital divide).This article is great because it explains a misconception that we might have: technology is spreading and more and more people are having access to it. However, that mostly applies to developed countries and more people , including children in the developed world are using technology. - Sahiti
8. Risks, Failures and Responsibilities
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk:Alexandria_Ocasio-Cortez
I looked at Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez' page, as she's a public figure who quickly gained notoriety in the world after beating out an incumbent in the midterm elections last month. A major contributor on her page is Brendon the Wizard, who's helped wtih at least 2500 articles, likes tornadoes, and is a libertarian communist. In talk, there's a naturally a lot of conversation on where exactly to define her views ('far-left', despite being what the media calls her, makes some contributors uncomfortable as a nonjudgmental label), and there is also debate as to whether her family life and work in a taqueria is relevant to her page, or if it contributed to her political views.
It was nice to see some cordial (though brusque) dialogue happening around how to best present beliefs alongside history and facts, and it actually taught me more of how wikipedia and its contributors examine the importance of information. They attempt to distill into relevant specifics, avoiding any bias, and have to dig deeper than that to discuss their own contributors bias and how it's affecting their opinion - without ever taking things personally or trying to be more of an authority than they are. - Adam
https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/medical-profession-is-underutilizing-computer-technology/
This was a great article that discussed some of the benefits of using technology in the medical field. Things like online medical records that we thought could havean amazing use do have shortcomings and are not being as useful as they were meant to. If there were to be investments in all aspects of electronic medicine and training the pay back would be many times over. This article was really motivating to read because it showed that just with a little more investment and people working on technology, there could be huge improvements to the medical field especially when it comes to effciency. After reading this article I see another huge benefit of technology to possibly solve real life problems in society. - Sahiti
9. Anytime, Anywhere
This is a company that combines the data for a patient into one easy to read resource, letting doctors make decisions with all the knowledge currently available. Of course, it's reliant on doctors actually putting their information into the system, but it's less steps than pen and paper, or the other systems that may not propagate among all areas of the hospital, or different places someone might need to visit. A lot of companies make their business by making things slightly easier, becoming the middleman of sorts, and phones allow that process to happen and help the users of the products.
The medisas company looks very interesting. I volunteered in physical therapy clinics for a while, and saw doctors spend a lot of time gathering necessary information and posting it to clipboards or movable computers (literally, desktop computers on wheels they could drag from client to client) having a fast, secure, and private way to deal with that information and capture it would make their job a lot smoother, and let them see more patients more quickly. - Adam
https://www.npr.org/2017/12/17/571443683/the-call-in-teens-and-depression
NPR addresses the trend that a lot of suicide and depressions are rising due to an upsurge in teens with smartphones. More specifically he singles out social media, the most prevalent social media platforms i.e. snapchat and instagram are a great way to show things off in life and essentially "connect" with the web through pictures and videos. The reason why this is bad is usually when teens are view these things and compare themselves to the postings, they lower their self esteem. This, in extreme cases, leads to depression. This is important because with the more and more understanding we have about mental health and the link we have with our phones, the better off society will be when we impart this knowledge to our younger counterparts. - Kevin
10. Technology Advances, Social Trends
https://www.research.ibm.com/ibm-q/learn/what-is-quantum-computing/
Quantum computing has been up and coming for a while, but consistent progress keeps being made. The simple analogy they use is to imagine that instead of the two bit system computers use, zeroes and ones, we have a kind of four bit thing because direction is now involved. The main impact this will have on consumers that I know of is that encryption we've been using will suddenly be obsolete, as the protection that computers couldn't compute the passwords through brute force will no longer be the case thanks to quantum's incredible speed. I imagine this will help other areas, like folding proteins, working with big data, and all sorts of other computationally heavy tasks.
This information is incredibly valuable, and IBM even has a quantum computer you can play with. You can explore that right here:
There's no denying how complex this is, and like most devices there's a certain amount of fundamental understanding before you can even begin to understand what's happening. I think more than anything it reminds me how specialized we've become to create complex devices - like how no one person knows exactly how a smartphone works, but a group could explain each part they worked on themselves. - Adam
