Digital Communication Ethics

[digitalcommunicationethics]

Big Data Dangers - NPR

Frank, Adam. “A Brave New World: Big Data's Big Dangers”. NPR (National Public Radio). 11 June 2013. Web. 26 Jan. 2015

http://www.npr.org/blogs/13.7/2013/06/10/190516689/a-brave-new-world-big-datas-big-dangers

“Some technologies…uproot the norm of human behavior…Big Data – the machine-based collection and analysis of astronomical quantities of information – represents such a turn.”

“The central premise of Big Data is that all the digital breadcrumbs we leave behind as we go about our everyday lives create a trail of behavior that can be followed, captured, stored and "mined" en-mass, providing the miners with fundamental insights into both our personal and collective behavior.”

The article speaks largely of the potential dangers of Big Data. Some of the more “icky” uses of Big Data are spelled out in specific examples, such as behavioral health insurance and “character capacity” in terms of financial services. I do agree with the Frank’s overall argument. He tends to paint Big Data as an immaculate new use of technology, but with a dark side. It ultimately boils down to the ethical considerations of the people using the vast quantities of information at their finger-tips, and that we as people need to decide how we want to move forward.

[digitalcommunicationethics]

Lyotard: Knowledge = Power, Corporations vs. Nation States

Lyotard, Jean – François. The Postmodern Condition. Manchester University Press, 1984. Print.

“Knowledge in the form of an informational commodity…is already, and will continue to be a major – perhaps the major – stake in the worldwide competition for power… Already in the last few decades, economic powers have reached the point of imperiling the stability of the State through new forms of the circulation of capital that go by the generic name of multinational corporations.”

Big Data raises a big question regarding who now holds power. In an economy which increasingly prizes information above other forms of capital, it is easy to see how corporations can compete with entire nations. It is completely agreeable to see the lines of power and control blurring through Big Data. Facebook, NSA, and the like are just a couple names which have become synonymous with “data mining” and “power”.

[digitalcommunicationethics]

Credit Card Companies and Big Data - Behavioral Scoring

Cumo, Chris, Jay Shaylor, Mary McGuirt, and Chris Francescani. “'GMA' Gets Answers: Some Credit Card Companies Financially Profiling Customers”. ABC News. 28 Jan. 2009. Web. 27 Jan. 2015.

http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/TheLaw/gma-answers-credit-card-companies-financially-profiling-customers/story?id=6747461&singlePage=true

“A new policy being used by at least one major credit card company judges a shopper not necessarily by his credit purchases and payments alone, but also by the fiscal behavior of the fellow shoppers in the stores he visits. And in some cases, the bad repayment history of the guy behind you in line at your local megastore could result in a reduction of your credit line, which, in turn, could lead to a reduction in your credit score -- all because of where you shopped.”

[digitalcommunicationethics]

What Facebook Can Do With Your Data

Frizell, Sam. “Here’s What Facebook Can Do With Your Personal Data in the Name of Science”. Time (Magazine). 7 July 2014. Web. 25 Jan. 2015.

http://time.com/2949565/heres-what-facebook-can-do-with-your-personal-data-in-the-name-of-science/

“Facebook…manipulated users’ News Feeds as part of a so-called “emotional contagion” scientific study. Working with two outside researchers, Facebook tweaked the number of posts classified as “happy” or “sad” on nearly 700,000 users’ News Feeds in order to see how their emotions would change. It did it without those users’ consent.”

[digitalcommunicationethics]

10 powerful Facts About Big Data

Bertolucci, Jeff. “10 Powerful Facts About Big Data”. InformationWeek. 6 Oct. 2014. Web. 25 Jan. 2015

http://www.informationweek.com/big-data/big-data-analytics/10-powerful-facts-about-big-data/d/d-id/1269522?image_number=9

“The cacophony of concerns rising from a seemingly endless series of privacy and security breaches isn't likely to thwart big data's advancement. The Economist reports in its June 2014 issue that "there is scant evidence that concern about privacy is causing a fundamental change in the way data are used and stored." 

[digitalcommunicationethics]

5 Jobs Being Replaced by Robots

“Unless you’ve already lost your job to technology, there’s no need to sweat bullets — even then, your solution is easy. Focus on how you can embrace technology so you aren’t reliving eerie scenes from Ridley Scott’s Bladerunner where the distinctions between humans and robots are marginal...Master the art of communication – it’s one way that machines will never be able to compete.”

 Akins, C. (n.d.). 5 Jobs Being Replaced by Robots. Retrieved January 29, 2015, from http://excelle.monster.com/benefits/articles/4983-5-jobs-being-replaced-by-robots?page=6

 I agree with Crystal in that there is nothing to sweat; that all we have to do to avoid being replaced is to embrace our technological counterparts. That being said, I disagree with her in that distinctions between humans and robots being marginal would be a bad thing. I’m not talking about Bladerunner, which is a film I have never seen, rather I’m thinking of the future. A bionic human seems to me to be the next step in evolution. Humans are imperfect beings who forget, get sick, and have many other imperfections. With the assistance of technology, there is no reason why these imperfections can’t be fixed. Likewise, the thought that machines will never be able to compete in areas like communication is old fashioned. 20 years ago, people thought computers would never be able to reply one sentence, let alone several. That being said, if we look at systems like clverbot, we can see that, though it’s not exactly the best communicator, a machine can hold a conversation for a few moments. This small step towards artificial communication shows that the thoughts from 20 years ago and, more importantly, this article are wrong.

[digitalcommunicationethics]

A True Story About the Future - The Singularity is Near

“The Singularity is an era in which our intelligence will become increasingly nonbiological and trillions of times more powerful than it is today—the dawning of a new civilization that will enable us to transcend our biological limitations and amplify our creativity.”

 Kurzwei, R. (n.d.). The Singularity is Near » Homepage. Retrieved January 26, 2015, from http://www.singularity.com/

[digitalcommunicationethics]

A HISTORY OF TRANSHUMANIST THOUGHT

“If either superintelligence, or molecular nanotechnology, or uploading, or some other technology of a similarly revolutionary kind is developed, the human condition could clearly be radically transformed.”

Bostrom, N. (2005). A HISTORY OF TRANSHUMANIST THOUGHT. Journal of Evolution and Technology, 14(1).

[digitalcommunicationethics]

Electronic Communications Privacy Act

“The ECPA, as amended, protects wire, oral, and electronic communications while those communications are being made, are in transit, and when they are stored on computers. The Act applies to email, telephone conversations, and data stored electronically.”

[digitalcommunicationethics]

Lower Merion School District

“the district would only remotely access a laptop if it were reported to be lost, stolen or missing…parents and students were not explicitly told about this built-in security feature…In an "acceptable-use" agreement, the families are made aware of the school's ability to "monitor" the hardware”

 Bliman, Nicole. "Student Says School Webcam Spied on Him at Home." CNN. Cable News Network, 19 Feb. 2010. Web. 28 Jan. 2015. <http://www.cnn.com/2010/CRIME/02/19/laptop.suit/>.

[digitalcommunicationethics]

Automation: Good for business, bad for jobs

“[The] lessening of manual processes would allow more time for IT admins... I have heard what seems like hundreds of executives say the same thing about automation, but it is just not the case…[If] you are working as an IT admin, make sure you get new skills and make yourself indispensable to the IT department.”

Scott, J. (2014, February 16). Automation: Good for business, bad for jobs. Retrieved January 27, 2015, from http://www.itpro.co.uk/638953/automation-good-for-business-bad-for-jobs

I agree with Ms. Scott’s argument about how automation will allow businesses to grow because it will take away human error. I also agree with her statement that the only thing employees can do is to become indispensable to their job. That being said, I don’t agree with her in her thought that automation is bad for these jobs. As she said, with automation comes the need for workers to become an indispensable part of the business they work at. For that to work, they would have to stop being worker drones, and start being out of the box thinkers. These thinkers will then help the business they work at and, more importantly, society as a whole, by coming up with new innovative ideas within their field.

[digitalcommunicationethics]

Students Taking Online Courses Jumps 96 Percent over 5 Years

“The number of college students taking at least one online course nearly doubled, from 23 percent to 45, over the last five years…”

Bolkan, J. (2013, June 24). Report: Students Taking Online Courses Jumps 96 Percent over 5 Years -- Campus Technology. Retrieved January 26, 2015, from http://campustechnology.com/articles/2013/06/24/report-students-taking-online-courses-jumps-96-percent-over-5-years.aspx

[digitalcommunicationethics]

Lyotard's Language Games Explain Divide Between Digital and "Real" Selves

"blah blah blah blah blah" Francois Lyotard, The Postmodern Condition: A Report on Knowledge," Univ. of Minnesota Press: Minneapolis, MN, 1986. I buy Lyotard's argument about X because Y and Z. Further I Q and W. However, when he says U, I typically respond P. Etc. Etc.

[digitalcommunicationethics]

Facebook will have 5 billion users by 2050

"blah blah blah blah blah" Sam Rivers, "Social Media 3.0," The Wall Street Journal, Nov. 5. 2015 #Facebook #BigData