Please Say Terrible Things About Me!

Recently, Google had to re-write the algorithm that decides what websites appear first in a search in response to a story published in the New York Times. For some reason, the original algorithm caused websites with awful reviews to come up first in a search. For this reason, some businesses actually want their customers to write bad reviews about their company so that they will appear at the top of a search. They say "it increases business". Is that weird or what?! However, the main incident that caused google to re-write its algorithm was due to the owner of DecorMyEyes.com, a glasses company. According to customers, the owner bullied them to the point of threatening sexual harrasment if they didn't write bad reviews.

According to the article, this is not the first, or last, time something like this has happened. I understand that business owners have to be smart technology users, but is this really necessary! Unfortunately, when new technologies are created, there will always be a way to exploit them. It is important for engineers to predict the consequences of certain technologies, but it is also the responsibility of the individual to use these technologies responsibily. Technology not only provides opportunities for exploitation, but mass exploitation. In the past, you could only be threatened or coerced into something if the bully had personal ties to you. Now, with instant and global communication, anyone with technological savvy could manipulate a large group of people with ease. In this scenario, the manipulation led to unfair business practices, but it could get much worse. Along with techonological advancement comes an individual responsibility to uphold ethics and moral values.

The Next Generation

Recently, a group of fourth graders were allowed to visit Saint Josephs hospital to learn about robotic surgery techniques. They not only watched videos of surgery, but allowed the kids to use the robots. Surprisingly, the kids did very well. They seemed very comfortable with this new technology. I think that this experience represents a paradigm shift in the way our generation views technology versus the way past generations have viewed it. In the past, complicated technologies, like computers and robots, were "grown-up toys". However, today, children are learning from a very young age how to use technology and in many cases understand certain technologies better than their parents.

Unfortunately, while this generation understands the newest technologies, there are many skills that are lacking. For example, with such a focus on the use of technology, many mathematics skills have been lost due to the high capability of calculators. As well as a loss in mathematics ability, I have noticed an increasing amount of people who can't read analog clocks or use paper dictionaries! This may not seem like a problem, but old technologies are sometimes better than new ones. People expect this generation to become the leaders of the future. While I'm sure that there are many who will excel in the future, I can't help but be concerned that our dependency on technology will lead to a decline in our technological advances. I believe that there needs to be a focus on technology in schools, but I also believe that we need to make sure that children are learning basic skills.

Politics and the Internet

While technologies, such as the internet, are rapidly developing, our legal system is a little bit behind. According to the article I just read, the Obama admistration and FCC Chairman, Julius Genachowski, will propose a bill to Congress on Dec. 21 proposing the idea of "net-neutrality". Net-neutrality is based on the idea that high speed internet providers will no longer be able to control the speed at which certain sites load. However, the bill will not propose regulations for mobile internet. The fact that the bill will not include provisions for mobile internet providers is controversial because many feel that it will cause smaller companies and other lesser-known websites to not receive equal representation.

This article presents many interesting dilemmas. Most importantly, the bill described in this article is almost causing the internet, or atleast the mobile internet, to become less democratized. Big websites like facebook, won't have a problem existing but smaller websites or peer-to-peer filesharing websites may be slowed down and slowly be phased out of existence. Before I read this article I was not aware that large internet providers had the ability to slow down or speed up the loading of internet sites. This situation reminds me of the way that commercials are always louder than the television program being watched. It is a good reminder of how much the media can manipulate the information we have access to without us even realizing it. However, I am glad that the government is finally trying to "update" our legal system. As technologies change, the legal system must develop to accomodate these changes. Part of being a Ben Franklin is learning how to foresee the legal and cultural implications of certain technologies.