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   In "Mind Control and the Internet", Sue Halpern talks about how neural implants could lead to mass mind control. A man who received the gift of hearing through two cochlear implants raved about how soon we will all be technologically enhanced and essentially have Google 24/7. That isn't necessarily a good thing. Halpern quotes Eli Prasier who shows how the algorithm google uses to get you your information isn't unbiased. First off, it curates what information comes your way by sorting popularity. Even more frightening for the future is the fact that Google reinforces your ideas by sending you similar search results to the views you already have. The essential question if we all get plugged into the matrix she asks, is will our thoughts have corporate sponsors too?     In contrast, Clive Thompson says that having a lot of exposure to like minded people isn't bad. Like it or not, we only really speak to a few people on a regular basis. These people can actually ...

The 2008 Obama campaign and what it means for the future

   In 2008, Clinton won the primaries in Texas but Obama overwhelmed the caucuses and won the state. The secret? A company named Blue State Technologies that will change the face of campaigning. The Kerry Dean campaign in 2004 saw an unprecedented rise in online donations; though they eventually lost sine not enough people had a connection to the internet at the time. The people who ran the website went on to form Blue State Technologies. Four years later, when everyone is much more connected to the internet, the results were astounding. They gave people the tools to push the Obama campaign- people could download fliers, donate money, get telephone numbers of people who hadn't voted yet, and they spread everything in a streamlined way on social media. Clinton on the other hand, tried to run her campaign top down with volunteers and got much worse results. Another aspect was instead of spending emails that went to spam most of the time, people got word out to thousands in 160 c...
       The PBS documentary "Growing Up Online" raises concerns about how kids are growing up in a more dangerous environment than their parents did, that they cannot control. First off, the documentary is talking about what were then new problems in 2005 when I was seven. The concerned parents and teachers talk about how their kids are so addicted to their social media and can't function normally. A teacher says that this is not the world she started teaching in and she doesn't like it. Since then, the world has evolved past the fears of the internet.  Over ten years later people of all ages are plugged into the internet nonstop and the vast majority can function perfectly. A different viewpoint one teacher raised that should have been built on years ago is that the teachers complain how kids aren't reading but just using sparknotes and that isn't necessarily a problem. He said that if a kid can embrace the wealth of information available and corroborate it to...