34 Matching Annotations
  1. May 2023
    1. Programming for Boys and Men# In the early 1980s, a number of things changed which ended up with programming seen as a male profession, and a highly profitable and respected one. One of the changes was that some men in the computer business figured out how to make money selling software. This was particularly the case for Bill Gates who convinced companies like IBM to license his software, so he could continue making money as more people used it.

      The late 1900s witnessed a turning point in programming, which came to be seen as a man's domain despite women's significant early contributions. I think this shift was fueled by tech industry growth and influential figures like Bill Gates, who introduced lucrative software licensing. Marketing predominantly to males further established this gender bias. Yet, I firmly believe that innovation flourishes with diversity, and we must strive to challenge these stereotypes and ensure equal opportunities for all in the tech industry.

    1. In what ways do you see capitalism, socialism, and other funding models show up in the country you are from or are living in?

      India, as a mixed economy, harmonizes elements of capitalism and socialism. While it started with a socialist bend post-independence, economic liberalization in the late 1900s spurred a shift towards capitalism, propelling significant economic growth, especially in sectors like IT. Nevertheless, socialist remnants persist with government control over specific industries and social support schemes. Additionally, alternative funding methods like microfinance and crowdfunding have emerged, particularly benefiting small businesses and startups.

    1. Schadenfreude# Another way of considering public shaming is as schadenfreude, meaning the enjoyment obtained from the troubles of others. A 2009 satirical article from the parody news site The Onion satirizes public shaming as being for objectifying celebrities and being entertained by their misfortune: Media experts have been warning for months that American consumers will face starvation if Hollywood does not provide someone for them to put on a pedestal, worship, envy, download sex tapes of, and then topple and completely destroy. Nation Demands Fresh Celebrity Meat - The Onion

      I think it is often linked with unfavorable characteristics like jealousy and bitterness, Schadenfreude may also embody a feeling of fairness or balance when those deemed deserving face adversity. As with any emotion, Schadenfreude doesn't possess inherent moral qualities; it's just one element of the wide array of human emotional experiences. Its moral significance largely hinges upon the circumstances of its occurrence and the way it shapes actions and responses.

    1. In at least some views about shame and childhood1, shame and guilt hold different roles in childhood development: Shame is the feeling that “I am bad,” and the natural response to shame is for the individual to hide, or the community to ostracize the person. Guilt is the feeling that “This specific action I did was bad.” The natural response to feeling guilt is for the guilty person to want to repair the harm of their action. In this view, a good parent might see their child doing something bad or dangerous, and tell them to stop. The child may feel shame (they might not be developmentally able to separate their identity from the momentary rejection). The parent may then comfort the child to let the child know that they are not being rejected as a person, it was just their action that was a problem. The child’s relationship with the parent is repaired, and over time the child will learn to feel guilt instead of shame and seek to repair harm instead of hide.

      Understanding the different roles of shame and guilt is crucial for parents, as it aids in promoting healthy emotional development in their children. By grasping these concepts, parents can nurture a supportive atmosphere, encouraging personal responsibility and empathy over feelings of shame. This understanding guides children in managing errors constructively, reinforcing the importance of repairing harm and personal growth. This method ultimately fosters healthier emotional growth, boosting their self-worth and positive social interactions.

    1. Do you believe crowd harassment is ever justified?

      Crowd harassment, or any form of harassment, is generally regarded as unjustifiable and harmful. It involves subjecting individuals or groups to persistent negative behavior, often in an abusive manner, causing significant emotional distress and harm. Promoting empathy, respect, and understanding is essential, while condoning or justifying harassment contradicts these principles. Constructive criticism, when offered respectfully, can be helpful for personal growth, but harassment that involves intimidation, personal attacks, threats, or intent to harm is widely considered unjust and detrimental. Nurturing an environment of empathy, understanding, and respectful dialogue fosters healthier online communities and contributes to a more positive and inclusive online experience.

    1. Individual harassment can also be done publicly before an audience (such as classmates or family). For example: Bullying: like posting public mean messages Impersonation: Making an account that appears to be from someone and having that account say things to embarrass or endanger the victim. Doxing: Publicly posting identifying information about someone (e.g., full name, address, phone number, etc.).

      In both physical and virtual spaces, bullying can inflict lasting psychological scars. It is crucial that entities such as educational institutions, workplaces, and digital platforms put measures in place to deter these damaging acts and offer necessary assistance to those who fall victim to them. I feel like not everyone takes this issue seriously or takes proper measures against this problem, which will only get worse in the future with the advancement of technology.

      Assuming another person's identity, a criminal act in many places is an infringement on an individual's right to their own identity and can bring about a variety of detrimental outcomes, including damage to one's reputation or financial hardships.

    1. Well-Intentioned Harm# Sometimes even well-intentioned efforts can do significant harm. For example, in the immediate aftermath of the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing, FBI released a security photo of one of the bombers and asked for tips. A group of Reddit users decided to try to identify the bomber(s) themselves. They quickly settled on a missing man (Sunil Tripathi) as the culprit (it turned out had died by suicide and was in no way related to the case), and flooded the Facebook page set up to search for Sunil Tripathi, causing his family unnecessary pain and difficulty. The person who set up the “Find Boston Bomber” Reddit board said “It Was a Disaster” but “Incredible”, and Reddit apologized for online Boston ‘witch hunt’.

      The well-intentioned Reddit users who sought to aid in identifying the perpetrator inadvertently caused significant distress to an unrelated individual's family. This incident underscores the critical need for checks and balances in digital crowdsourcing efforts, especially when the stakes are high. It also highlights the importance of professional law enforcement and investigative agencies in managing such critical tasks. The fallout of this situation serves as a reminder that good intentions must be guided by prudence and responsibility.

    1. Wikipedia: Is an online encyclopedia whose content is crowdsourced. Anyone can contribute, just go to an unlocked Wikipedia page and press the edit button. Institutions don’t get special permissions (e.g., it was a scandal when US congressional staff edited Wikipedia pages), and the expectation that editors do not have outside institutional support is intended to encourage more people to contribute.

      Digital platforms for crowdsourcing, such as Wikipedia, are astounding innovations of our time. By tapping into the diverse knowledge and abilities of people worldwide, these platforms revolutionize how information is both created and disseminated. But it's not all smooth sailing, with hurdles like ensuring accuracy and addressing potential bias coming to the fore. The case where U.S. congressional staff were found editing Wikipedia pages exemplifies the tightrope walk between openness and the risk of misuse. This intriguing episode serves as a reminder of the ongoing transformation in the way we share information, and the vital role of ethical standards in the realm of digital information.

    1. What is your take on the ethical trade-offs of unpaid Reddit moderators? What do you think Reddit should do?

      The role of a moderator can be a tough gig, often involving long hours, high demands, and occasional stress, especially when it comes to managing larger, more heated communities. It's a juggling act of keeping discussions in check, ironing out disagreements, and handling any content that crosses the line. With such a tedious and mentally taxing job, it seems only fair that those who do it should be paid a suitable salary. After all, their effort plays a significant part in the successful and profitable running of platforms like Reddit.

    1. Moderation Tools

      That's the reason we are seeing a growing fascination with how AI is revolutionizing content moderation. It's not just making the process smoother. It's also ramping up the precision in weeding out content that does not fit the bill. It's always on duty, ensuring businesses can trust it to keep their digital platforms clean and secure at any hour of the day.

    1. Doomscrolling# Doomscrolling is:

      Doomscrolling, a term that has emerged in recent times, describes the habit of endlessly scrolling through negative news or social media updates, often exacerbating feelings of anxiety, stress, and despair. While staying informed is essential, doomscrolling can lead to a cycle of negativity, causing an individual to become consumed by the barrage of unsettling information. To break free from this cycle, it's important to set boundaries and allocate specific times for consuming news and updates. By doing so, one can maintain a healthy balance between staying informed and nurturing one's mental and emotional well-being.

    1. Digital Detox?# Some people view internet-based social media (and other online activities) as inherently toxic and therefore encourage a digital detox, where people take some form of a break from social media platforms and digital devices.

      It's becoming more popular because people are worried about how too much screen time might affect their mental health and well-being. Digital detox can be really good for you though, It can help you sleep better, focus more, and even make your relationships stronger. But there are some potential downsides too, like not being able to access information and missing on important news. It's important to find a balance between being online and offline so that you can enjoy technology without it causing problems for your mental health and well-being.

    1. Intentionally bad or offensive content# Users can also create intentionally bad or offensive content in an attempt to make it go viral (which is a form of trolling). So when criticism of this content goes viral, that is in fact aligned with the original purpose.

      Not just people but a lot of companies generate buzz by creating content that is intentionally provocative or controversial. Although this approach can be risky, it can also lead to widespread attention and engagement. Some businesses even take it a step further by posting content that is intentionally embarrassing or offensive in order to gain viral traction are often successful.

    2. Content is sometimes shared without modification fitting the original intention, but let’s look at ones where there is some sort of modification that aligns with the original intention.

      In the brand-new digital age, content can unfold rapidly throughout numerous structures and networks. It's vital to maintain the tune of the ways the content material is being dispensed and make sure that any changes made dont stray far away from the original message or offer a misleading representation of the content. However, it is also important to acknowledge that making modifications to the content material can, once in a while, help enhance the overall message.

    1. What strategies do you think might work to improve how social media platforms use recommendations?

      Implementing strategies like prioritizing content from reputable sources and giving users different recommendation algorithms would improve the Social media experience. By doing this, recommendation algorithms would be more accurate and can reduce the spread of misinformation and harmful content. These strategies are also reasonably easy to implement using the power of AI tools.

    1. recommendation algorithm

      Since the birth of new AI models and machine learning algorithms, the effectiveness of recommendation algorithms has been significantly improved. The ability to analyze vast amounts of data especially watch history, content liked by mutual friends, etc., has revolutionized how recommendations are made, making them more personalized and effective. These technologies have allowed for more accurate user recommendations, ultimately enhancing their overall experience and bringing more business to the companies.

  2. Apr 2023
    1. Another strategy for managing disability is to use Universal Design, which originated in architecture. In universal design, the goal is to make environments and buildings have options so that there is a way for everyone to use it2.

      Adopting Universal Design will make people with disabilities feel more included and integrate them into normal society. Some features of Universal Design are poorly implemented. For example, suppose a person in a wheelchair wants to go through two doors right after each. In that case, they press the button that would automatically open the door, but the person has to press another button to get through the second door, although it could be designed so that both doors open with one button outside the first door. This poor design can be found in the UW campus, like all the dorms and even the hub.

    1. If an airplane seat was designed with little leg room, assuming people’s legs wouldn’t be too long, then someone who is very tall, or who has difficulty bending their legs would have a disability in that situation.

      This is an interesting example of disability, as people often associate disabilities with more visible and physical impairments such as blindness, paraplegia, deafness, etc., and often think medical problems are the root cause. Many types of disabilities are invisible and cannot be obvious, such as mental health problems and learning disabilities.

    1. Non-User Information: Social Media sites might collect information about people who don’t have accounts, like how Facebook does

      In my opinion, this is an unethical thing to do as the user who doesn't even use the platform isn't aware of this happening. Collecting data from people who don't have accounts and have no control over the choice of giving their data could benefit the company in numerous ways, but it violates the user's privacy.

    2. Unclear Privacy Rules: Sometimes privacy rules aren’t made clear to the people using a system. For example: If you send “private” messages on a work system, your boss might be able to read them. When Elon Musk purchased Twitter, he also was purchasing access to all Twitter Direct Messages

      Unclear privacy policies are a massive problem in today's world. Many people don't pay close attention to privacy policies and often skim through these lengthy documents, assuming that companies have their best interests in mind. Unfortunately, this can be a grave mistake, as companies often have different motivations for collecting and using user data.

    1. Additionally, social media might collect information about non-users, such as when a user posts a picture of themselves with a friend who doesn’t have an account, or a user shares their phone contact list with a social media site, some of whom don’t have accounts (Facebook does this).

      I am curious about the accuracy and usage of the data collected by social media sites about non-users. Although it's common for these platforms to collect information from their registered users, collecting data from non-users without their consent might be unethical, as the non-users are not even aware of it.

    1. 8.5.1. Reflection# After looking at your ad profile, ask yourself the following: What was accurate, inaccurate, or surprising about your ad profile?

      I was pleasantly surprised by the accuracy of my ad profile, which correctly reflected my relationship status, homeownership, education, and industry. However, I did notice that it got my age and language wrong. I wonder what other sources do they use to get such accurate data about me apart from my search history.

    1. This page has several examples of trolling. For each one, consider the following: What are the potential benefits of this example (e.g., it’s funny, in-group identifying)? And who would get the benefits? What are the potential harms of this example? And who would suffer the harms? These examples will range from mild to much more extreme.

      Trolling not only can go viral, but it can also generate attention and increase interaction. This may lead to more people visiting a website, which might increase sales and popularity of the brand. To get attention and notoriety, some businesses may even purposefully use trolls or engage in trolling activity.

    1. Some reasons people engage in trolling behavior include: Amusement: Trolls often find the posts amusing, whether due to the disruption or emotional reaction. If the motivation is amusement at causing others’ pain, that is called doing it for the lulz. Gatekeeping: Some trolling is done in a community to separate out an ingroup from outgroup (sometimes called newbies or normies). The ingroup knows that a post is just trolling, but the outgroup is not aware and will engage earnestly. This is sometimes known as trolling the newbies. Feeling Smart: Going with the gatekeeping role above, trolling can make a troll or observer feel smarter than others, since they are able to see that it is trolling while others don’t realize it. Feeling Powerful: Trolling sometimes gives trolls a feeling of empowerment when they successfully cause disruption or cause pain.** Advance and argument / make a point: Trolling is sometimes done in order to advance an argument or make a point. For example, proving that supposedly reliable news sources are gullible by getting them to repeat an absurd gross story. Punish or stop: Some trolling is in service of some view of justice, where a person, group or organization is viewed as doing something “bad” or “deserving” of punishment, and trolling is a

      Apart from these, people also troll because of their insecurities and boredom. Trolls may engage in trolling activity as a coping mechanism for their own insecurities or low self-esteem. Some people may troll because they are bored or want to break up their own monotony and spice up their life.

    1. Context Collapse

      Context collapse may result in both good and bad things. It may result in more diversity, exposure to fresh perspectives, and a feeling of kinship with others from various origins. However, it can also result in a loss of privacy, social phobia, and a dread of being looked down upon or misunderstood.

    1. 6.1.1. Why We Care About Authenticity# As a rule, humans do not like to be duped. We like to know which kinds of signals to

      In order to make decisions and judgements, people rely on their capacity to receive and understand signals from their surroundings. When these signals prove to be unreliable, it may be unsettling and cause us to lose faith in the world we live in. It is only normal for us to be curious about which signs to believe and which to be wary of, as well as to feel betrayed when we are misled for another person's entertainment or financial advantage. This is why being truthful and open-minded in relationships and other social situations is crucial.

    1. Friction is anything that gets in the way of a user performing an action. For example, if you have to open and navigate through several menus to find the privacy settings, that is significant friction. Or if one of the buttons has a bug and doesn’t work when you press it, so you have to find another way of performing that action, which is significant friction.

      Although the frictionless design is popular and is what most product developers strive for, they have certain drawbacks. The Lack of control in the frictionless design approach can potentially cause confusion or resentment to the user as they can't modify or customize the product interface as flexibly as it was with friction. Frictionless design can improve user experience and participation, but it must be calibrated with the user's expectations and preferences and should not jeopardize critical functionality.

    1. Web 2.0 Social Media# In the first decade of the 2000s the way websites worked on the Internet went through a transition to what is called “Web 2.0.”

      In my opinion, Web 2.0 is arguably the most revolutionary and lifestyle-changing innovation in the 2000s that changed how the world works completely. Without Web 2.0, the Internet would continue to be essentially a one-way communication channel with few options for user involvement. Without social media sites like Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat, online communities would be considerably smaller and less linked. Online education and remote employment wouldn't exist.

    1. Age Name Address Relationship status

      The type and constraints suitable for these fields are: Age - The type should be an integer. Depending on the app, it should be from either 18 - 120. The lower limit of 18 can be decreased depending on the content. Name - The type should be a string, and the constraints should be that it cant be longer than 250 characters so that it doesn't break the system. Relationship status - should be of type boolean. If true, it should say in a relationship; if not, then single.

    1. Metadata is information about some data. So we often think about a dataset as consisting of the main pieces of data (whatever those are in a specific situation), and whatever other information we have about that data (metadata).

      Metadata plays a crucial role in organizing and analyzing data. Before learning about metadata, I had no idea what it meant or how it was used. But after reading this definition. I was amazed by the broad scope of its application and how it can change based on the context in which it is used. Metadata has numerous applications, from music and photography to data analytics.

    1. We also would like to point out that there are fake bots as well, that is real people pretending their work is the result of a Bot. For example, TikTok user Curt Skelton posted a video claiming that he was actually an AI-generated / deepfake character:

      The utilization of deep fakes can inflict reputational harm upon individuals or groups by inducing them to mouth words and committing acts they have never vocalized or committed. Additionally, such technology can be deployed as a tool for cyberbullying - with unfortunate consequences including harassment and psychological trauma inflicted upon victims. Furthermore, the rampant deployment of deep fakes with their robotic counterparts can facilitate a breakdown in trust regarding information dissemination and media integrity.

    1. A photo that is likely from a click-farm,

      Click farms also indicate broader problems with social media and online platforms, such as performance pressure and the desire for immediate satisfaction. They also affect society by distorting reality and encouraging dishonesty and deceit. It is also relatively harder to detect click farms than standard bots.

  3. Mar 2023
    1. “We’re not making it for that reason but the way ppl choose to use it isn’t our fault. Safeguard will develop.” But tech is moving so fast.

      Developers are responsible for designing technology with ethical considerations and implementing safeguards to prevent harmful use, even though users have agency over their technology usage. By the time safeguards develop, the tech might cause many problems, and damage can be done. And I believe leaving the entire responsibility to the users to use it ethically is not the right approach for the tech devs.

    1. Nihilism# There is no right or wrong. Nothing matters. There are many different types of moral nihilism. But they all boil down, one way or another, to the idea that moral reasoning or trying to think about ethics is not real, or is based on a mistake. Even if one is inclined towards nihilism, there is still truth in the anthropological observation that people do deliberate about how to act and how to live, and that these deliberations consistently take the shape of one or more of the ethical frameworks above, considering principles, character, virtues, consequences, responsibilities, and so on. So it is still interesting to look at ethics, even if you like the idea of nihilism.

      There are always multiple opinions, and one can't say which is the right approach and which isn't. Despite the melancholic and unsettling reputation which often precedes it, embracing nihilism can encourage an enhanced ability to cherish each fleeting moment in time while simultaneously rejecting society's normative expectations. Nonetheless, another perspective warrants consideration; one must not overlook the potential for personal fulfillment and contentment within a world that may lack definitive objective significance or purpose.