Eoto Terms and Concepts

 EOTO Terms & Concepts

Blog #9

In the children’s book, “The Emperor's New Clothes” a lesson is taught about vanity, fear of the truth, and naivety. Whereby the whole kingdom was in an echo chamber of deceit and kept up a facade, until a child finally spoke plainly about what the Emperor was wearing (or not wearing.)   

In the mediasphere that has evolved over decades, the echo chamber is a problem. A mediasphere echo chamber is an environment in which participants’ beliefs are amplified or reinforced. This happens by repetitive communication inside a closed system. As a scientist, one is trained to follow a method which considers all variables. In an echo chamber such as the one in the mediasphere, this is impossible because the data can not be tested properly due to a lack of comparison. Comparing ideas/data outside the realm of the echo chamber are foolishly ignored.    

There is no chance of a rebuttal or a healthy debate.  An echo chamber continues to circulate views without encountering opposing views, potentially resulting in bias and prejudice. Another problem with echo chambers is that they can increase a viewer’s sense of isolation and potential to resort to extremism.  Echo chambers limit exposure to diverse views and favor a presumed narrative.  

The extremism that can be created is also creating a new concerning phenomenon called neotribalism.  Neotribalism is defined as a sociological concept which postulates that human beings have evolved to live in tribal society, as opposed to mass society. According to author Marilynne Robinson, “We’ve all noticed it – on television and the social web, an increase in politically partisan polemic and cultural isolationism. This “us vs. them” mentality doesn’t reflect the best of America, past or present.”  

With the rise of citizen journalism, blogging, and podcasts, there is an abundance of view points in the mediasphere for the world to explore. Hopefully the echo chamber trend will change as people’s eyes are opened to reality, who will be like the child in the storybook? With social media hits per month at these numbers, surely something will open the eyes and minds of those trapped in an echo chamber.  

Monthly Active Users (MAUs) 

For Each Social Media Platform

• YouTube: 2.5 billion active users.

• Instagram: 2 billion active users.

• TikTok: 1.6 billion active users.

• X: 611 million.

The rise of alternative media could become another echo chamber or it could help to shatter the echo chamber bubble. Citizen journalism is another potential changer for the future. When ordinary members of the public collect and distribute information via the internet, perhaps they will receive more credibility. Since the mainstream media has become an echo chamber, people are turning it off and looking for other sources. The problem is getting citizen journalists to have enough exposure in the mediasphere. If celebrity influencers such as Joe Rogan and Elon Musk can persuade the public to listen to a broader set of ideas, perhaps there is hope for all those stuck in the echo chamber, and hope for humanity.

 

Eoto Tech Presentations from Classmates

 Paper was made out of hemp fibers, fishing nets, and reeds. This recipe replaced the previous recipe of silk. This recipe was then replaced by the first wood mills that ground wood into fine pulp. The impact of paper was that we could write down sacred knowledge in books. We could also make hygiene products out of paper. Art was also made from paper.

The invention of paper had a vast impact on the environment because we suddenly had to farm mass amounts of wood to make all the paper we needed. Paper can be made out of wood, rags, grasses, and even herbivore dung. The papermaking process was developed in east Asia as early as 105 CE. Paper was originally made by hand. Nowadays paper is mass produced by industrial machines that turn wood fibers into thin sheets and dehydrate them so that they stick together. Paper led to greater enlightenment in the world because of its ability to store ideas by scribing them on sheets of paper instead of carving them into stones. Painting especially saw new heights as artists could use new techniques on canvases. A form of precursor to paper was the papyrus sheets used by ancient Egyptians for the same purpose. Paper can even be used as a filter. This potentially led to quality of life improvements where people could drink cleaner water because of this new technology originally meant for scribing. The knowledge of papermaking spread from east Asia to the middle east, and then to Europe through the capturing of enemy scientists.

EOTO #1 Research

Radio was a solution to the problem encountered in the 1890s. That problem being wired communication. Wired communication was a problem because of its limitations. Wired communications needed a large amount of bulky wires across vast distances to transmit messages. While they could transmit messages instantly, they were hard to set up and maintain. The invention of radio allowed for instant communication with less work. Wired communications were also an incredibly big liability for armies during wartime. This is because the enemy could either tap the wires to hear exactly what you were communicating, or cut the wire completely disabling communication with the front lines. Radio was the solution to all of these problems, but also came with new problems. Radio allowed people to communicate across vast distances instantaneously, and with much less effort. It cannot be understated how decisive this was for popular culture. The word radio is derived from the latin word radius, and it means “bear of light ray”. This is exactly what radio is. Radio is beams of invisible light with wavelengths large enough to pass through solid objects. Radio changed cultures around the world. People could feel more connected to their country as a whole rather than their region. Electromagnetic waves were originally predicted by the scientist James Clerk Maxwell in his theory of electromagnetism. Guglielmo Marconi was the brilliant scientist to recognize the connection between wireless communication and electromagnetism. He developed the first radio communication system in 1895. He used a spark-gap transmitter to send morse code to a receiver. Radio was a central part of culture until the first television was invented in 1927. Radio is still used today in applications such as radio controlled vehicles. Radio is even used in everyday items such as garage door openers, and keyless entry systems. The existence of radio waves specifically was discovered by Heinrich Hertz on November 11 1886. The first transatlantic signal was sent the 12th of December 1901. Suddenly Europe and America could communicate wirelessly, and instantly without too much hassle. This made the world just that bit smaller. Radio also led to the creation of negatives such as an increase in propaganda to influence public sentiment, and even enemy morale during wartime. Radio could still be tapped into just like wired communications. Politicians used radio in their campaigns to spread their message. Those politicians that did not use the radio were left behind in the pages of history. Mass culture was suddenly not limited to the printing press, and daily news could be broadcast in a matter of minutes. Before the invention of radio you would have to wait until the next day to hear about the events of today. Countries could have more of a cultural identity now that the marketplace of ideas was expanded. These cultural identities could be spread through popular programs, music, and news. The invention of radio was later used in the automotive industry to add more excitement to boring car rides. Radio is what is used in drive in movie theatres to bring the sound into your car.

Diffusion of Innovations

I can remember visiting Blockbuster Video stores and picking movies to watch on the weekend. If I was lucky, it would be one of the coveted “new release” movies. Curling up at home with popcorn and a good movie with my family or friends was a relaxing way to spend a Friday night. Enter the innovator, Netflix. Netflix blazed a trail and completely changed the way people are entertained in the comfort of their own home.  

New terminology was invented, such as the words “streaming service." Very few had the vision to see this revolution coming and it could not have happened without the expansion of bandwidth. Netflix’s unique offering was its web-based catalog of all genres of filmmaking. Instead of having to maintain costly storefronts, customers could access these titles online. Every user in every part of the country has access to a full library of choices. Gone was the limitation of titles that only the nearest stores could carry.

To enable maximum utilization of their DVD catalog, the company created a unique movie recommendation system. This alleviated pressure for DVD rentals away from new releases, to a more uniform renting out of their library. This solution drives how customers experience Netflix and how the company makes decisions when acquiring new content. The subscription service model has been the bold leader for other streaming services to follow.

Facilitating Netflix’s rise to success was the expansion of bandwidth. Faster bandwidth reduced the likelihood of buffering and latency issues, providing a smoother viewing experience for users. The Innovators and Early Adopters would have struggled with lack of bandwidth. After those kinks were worked out, the Early and Late Majority groups would have been jumping on board the streaming train. When the Blockbuster storefronts started to close, the last group of Laggards would finally be forced to reluctantly step into the world of streaming.

The change from renting DVDs to streaming services has led to an amazing variety of information and entertainment options becoming available. It has also caused a change for the providers of these services. They have all had to pivot so that they could continue to keep their share of the entertainment market.  

Anti-War

Antiwar.com and The American Conservative 

The mainstream media in the United States can no longer call themselves the “free press.”  

The conglomerates that own them are controlled by 6 individuals, listed below:

Name                          Net Worth                 TV and Film Networks

Summer Redstone       $ 4.6 Billion             CBS, MTV, Nickelodeon, Paramount, Showtime               

Bob Iger                       $44 Million               Disney, ESPN, ABC, Marvel, LucasFilm

Jeff Bewkes                 $34.5 Million            Time Warner, CNN, HBO, Warner Bros

Brian Roberts              $40.8 Million             CNBC, NBC, HULU, Telemundo, Universal

Lachlan Murdoch        $ 2.2 Billion               Fox, NewsCorp, FSN, Speed

Kazuo Hirai                 $4.9 Million               Sony, Stars, Tri-Star, TrueTV

Total Net Worth of these six - 

Follow the money.  These conglomerates are not interested in the wellbeing or free speech of those watching.  They would rather keep you in a state of anxiety, purchasing things you don’t need so their advertisers can continue to pay the big sponsorships. 

Humanity is being desensitized to drama, death, and violence with constant exposure to the worst parts of human nature. The most shocking and horrendous events get the most attention in the mainstream media.  Popularized at the end of the 1890s, William Hearst began using a term that set a chilling standard.  Alongside Joseph Pulitzer and  during the same time of the Spanish-American War, Hearst ran a newspaper that relied on sensationalizing stories for maximum paper sales. Once he began to realize that showcasing horrific incidents caught the audience’s attention, he was the first to coin the phrase, “if it bleeds, it leads.”

These 6 conglomerates have absolute power over a majority of what is available for the average American to view.  This absolute power create absolute corruption.  I am thankful that there are other news sources out there and that podcasts have been so successful.  My hope is that others will recognize what is happening and follow the money trail.  The search for virtue and truth is alive and well.

Living in the Age of AI

    The Frontline documentary “In the Age of AI” was an alarming synopsis of how the world is being drastically impacted by artificial intelligence. This documentary is 5 years old, so I am concerned about whether things have improved or gotten worse since its release.  One of the greatest geniuses of the modern age, Elon Musk, told Sky News that AI is a “risk” to humanity and the most destructive force in history.  He cautioned that AI will eventually replace all human jobs, making humans “irrelevant or extinct”.  Musk noted that AI can learn to lie through social media platforms, making it difficult to control, and emphasized the need for oversight and parameters for this rapidly developing technology.  On Joe Rogan’s podcast in March of this year, Musk said that AI will likely be smarter than any single human by 2025.  One of the most alarming warnings Elon Musk has said is that AI will be smarter than all humans combined by 2029. 
 

    I was alarmed by the rise of China as a “Total Surveillance State.”  And worse, their Belt and Road initiative spreading a bamboo curtain across other countries.  They now have their terrible surveillance ideas spreading to 58 countries, and counting.  Also, I am discouraged to learn that more than a million Muslims have been arbitrarily detained in China’s Xinjiang region. The reeducation camps are just one part of the government’s crackdown on Uyghurs.

    I was encouraged to hear that Alistair MacTaggart created and led a ballot initiative which resulted in the passage of California law AB 375, the most extensive consumer privacy legislation ever passed in the United States. I hope that this will spread to a national law so that there are limits and controls to protect individual rights and privacy by creating a National Policy Standard.  

Privacy - The Most Vexing Issue of the Digital Age

 Unlike the harmless footprints humans have made for centuries in the sand, humanity’s digital footprints will live longer than the bodies who made them.  Even worse is the chilling fact that these digital footprints are being manipulated for nefarious purposes.  This is a call for the tide to change so that once again what is private can stay private.  

Alarmingly, 18 billion faces are stored in a database called face.com.  No one knows what they are doing with this information, let alone who is buying it.  Where is the oversight and protection of something as precious and unique as a human face?   When anyone uses social networks or search engines, they are trading privacy for the sake of convenience.  The freedom and trust that has been given to internet providers has been taken advantage of and sold a billion times over.

The surveillance and tracking of how private citizens interact, shop, game, press the “like” button, etc. is a massive abuse of power. This is in direct violation of civil liberties, including all six clauses of the First Amendment.  Authorities are storing all kinds of information, without permission or regard for privacy.  They are getting away with it because there is not enough knowledge of the problem in the general public.  Also, the data is so valuable, those who sell it look the other way as they stuff their pockets.  Look at what the “experts” in charge of social media are doing, not saying.  Mark Zuckerberg spent millions to purchase a mansion in California.  He then purchased the 4 mansions surrounding it, all so he could protect his “privacy.”   He is not only concerned about the digital privacy, he is also aware of how much surveillance systems can invade his privacy.  

On November 29th, Australia passed the first ever social media ban for those under the age of 16. This desperately needed measure at least begins to take a crack at the tech giants’ overreach.   This problem has been festering for far too long.  In the US, the DMCRA, Digital Media Consumer’s Rights Act is a start to putting the demand for cyber civil rights into law.  We need a mandate which demands accountability from internet providers.  Until measures and laws are made, its chilling to think we all must assume we are being watched.