Media; Does It Serve Us Or We Serve It?

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Technology Had Been Advancing

Technology had been advancing faster than ever. Can you imagine it, flip phone were still widely used since 1990 all the way to 2010. People were widely amazed by the fact that one could call someone from the other side of the globe. It's only been around 10 years and now we can now do a multitude of things with our phone in addition to calling people from the other side of the globe. We have a massive inter-connected web called the internet where one has access to an abundance of knowledge all in a touch of a finger. Isn't that insane, this progress all happened in just a 'SINGLE GENERATION.' This growth however does not seem to stopping rather, it seems to exponentially growing at a way faster rate than before. Just like the words my teacher, Mr. Freitas had said, "We are nothing more than people on a beach, running our fastest trying to get onto the boat(trend) which is quickly going to depart before the digital tsunami comes crashing into that island." So, with both points being stated, I want you; the reader to realize that humanity had reached a certain point where we created Artificial Intelligence and algorithm that can write essays for us and even predict if one us can, will, or has became the element which brings down our communities. All of these things come to a single question, Does the technology and media we create all serve us, or do we serve it?

Do We Serve Media?

Now, the argument here is that technology and media had come to the point where it can do many amazing things. A.I for example was something many are afraid of, just like what one might find in, 'The Terminator.'

The fear of a lifeform having the same or if not way better intelligence than us humans and having a hostile mindset towards us is a very scary thing, especially if that lifeform was something we humans created. Yet with humans still pushing through to create Artificial Intelligence we are were able to create Sophia, a robot that can, 'Think for itself.'

This isn't the only thing that humanity created with exponential growing rate of both media and technology. We were also able to create some insane algorithms, some that many are now even using today. An great example of these insane algorithms being used today can be found in this Washington Post, (https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/creative--motivating-and-fired/2012/02/04/gIQAwzZpvR_story.html ). In this post a teacher was fired because with a mix of a tiny bit of human observation and a remorseless algorithm that is supposedly suppose to reach an authentic assessment determine that the teacher is a determent to the community and thus was fired. This isn't the only example of an algorithm being used as a website called ChatGpt uses an algorithm which will allow it to write a unique and well-written essay for you only with just a few key words being put in. Now, if these algorithms exist, why couldn't you say there were algorithm in place for you, both the reader and myself which use the internet to somehow be manipulated in a way someone else wants without us every knowing. The chances of an algorithm of that existing is very, very high and it also might have manipulated to start using social media or make you start playing video games on your phone. If that was true then does it mean that we are serving media?

Does Media Serve Us?

Now, the argument that media serve us can be explain very simply through the Chinese Room Thought Experiment (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_room).

Basically this experiment tells us that while technology can accomplish the work and does what it is expected of it, it does not understand what it is truly doing otherwise. This tells us that a computer executing a program cannot have a mind, understanding and a consciousness and instead follows a set of rules that are imposed on it,; those rules being things like how in English we can't have a capital letter in the middle of a word and only at the ends of it. Overall, technology/media cannot and will not be able to enslave us as we are the ones that provide and understand the information we are giving to it, we humans while follow some rules do not necessary have to follow it unlike technology. Thus, we cannot serve media but rather media serve us.

What Are Your Thoughts?

What do you think dear reader, do you think that we serve media and it controls all our thoughts with us knowing or does media serve us as we have more knowledge and understanding of it? Either way, the answer is all up to you and what you believe in.