A video that complies videos and photos of articles and press conferences that discuss how the global pandemic is being handled in the United States. It starts from federal government and then moves down to my own personal community and the people that are affected by it.

This is a video project that will focus on the spiraling effects coronavirus has had on the United States from the top officials from the country to local citizens calling for action.
Titled: How The United States Actually Handles A Pandemic

I’ve kind of decided to alter my idea for my research project. Considering how COVID-19 has become a dominant part of our lives, there has been a lot of misinformation or exaggerated spread across the media. I want to focus on how the social media platforms are handling the vast spread of misinformation. I want to do this by making a webcomic commentating and discussing how we view the new and take in the information that we are given.

The book The Black Box by Frank Pasquale explains how companies use our data to determine basically everything about our lives, especially finances. With all these companies tracking us through our phones, computers, and other devices, companies sell our data and use it to determine what kind of person you are by that; if you’re reliable with making payment or receiving a loan, but by doing this, it is discriminating people, who don’t fit well into the algorithm. 

How do we fight against these companies selling our data and using it for their own agendas?

In Cathy O’ Neil’s Ted Talk, she further explains how these algorithms are biased, and how it can discriminate against minorities, women, and poor people. And, that just because the algorithm is a computer, doesn’t mean that it isn’t biased. It is biased because of the requirements that are put into the algorithm. 

How do we find out who are making these programs and how do we make regulations to stop them from using our data for nefarious purposes?

In the article written by Janet Vertsi about how not using big data made her look like a criminal. It kinda reminds me of when you (Ben Grosser) made the email program that adds in words that government trackers. 

Should people stop opting out of big data and if so how or will it have an impact on these companies?

The skit was really funny because it showed that people rely so heavily on computers, that even when they are wrong, people will still get the bad end of the stick and be at fault for it. It’s also interesting how common these mistakes are made, but people will still get negative effects from it.

Why do we put people at fault when technology and algorithms are wrong even though we know it is wrong?

The talk given by Virginia Eubanks called “Automating Inequality” describes how these data algorithms are forcing discrimination. People are put into these systems and if they don’t fit the requirements it can still screw them over even when it wasn’t their fault in the first place. This ties into both the book and ted talk when describing how these algorithms are biased, especially towards women, minorities, and poor people.

How should we protect these people that are negatively affected by these algorithms?

In the book Programmed Visions Wendy Chun explains how the use of technology has become part of how we view ourselves and the world. I thought it was interesting when she mentioned how we view things such as molecules and senors in the human brain as software, and physical things in nature as hardware. I think with her saying this really shows how much that we let technology dictate how view the world even before these imaginary and invisible systems were created. 

When do you think we will go too far with technology to where we can’t tell it apart from real life, or will we be consumed by the invisible existence of software and use that as our reality?

In the Team Human podcast, there was a lot of discussion to further drive home the point that humans’ feelings and emotions are starting to become more similar to how technological systems work. There was a lot in this podcast that I go agree with. We rely on these systems for human connection and interact when it’s not enough to have these connections, so they basically become artificial. It’s almost like humans becoming the machines.

Is there a way we can spread awareness about this to people?

In the excerpt from How to be a Geek by Matthew Fuller, he explores the ideas of the people who are geeks are the ones that control how technology and the money behind our technology and the money that is made from it. He mentioned how this is a thriving time for geeks because they are so invested in it. I think that this is true, the people who are really into the ideas of these systems are the ones who are in control,. But they like to play it off as if they aren’t part of these systems or they don’t have as much power as they actually do. 

How can we not let the power of these geeks control just about everything we do?

The article written by Soren Pold explains how the meta interface affects us more than most people know. We think that we are just interacting with the interface and that there is no relationship between us, but that is not the case. The interface is actually noticing us and is interacting with us, which is something that can be pretty detrimental. 

How do we get people to care about how their privacy isn’t well protected?