Unit 1 Project Post
Source 1: Pencil Shop Article
This article talks about a shop in New York dedicated to selling all types of pencils. The owner of the shop has a passion for pencils, shown through the creation of her shop as well as a pencil tattooed on her arm. Pencils are somewhat of a dying breed – they do their job well, but there are other forms of technology that get it done better (pens, mechanical pencils, the Apple Pencil and iPad, etc); “Pencils are like fax machines and margarine: They do a job, sure, but other things do the same job better – pens, emails and butter, respectively”. One would think that a business like this has no point – but the owner, Caroline Weaver, doesn’t mind this and wants to continue doing what she loves. With writing technology advancing by the day, this pencil shop is an example of trying to keep things traditional in an advancing world. Writing in all forms has been around for ages, and that goes with the utensils for writing as well. As technology advances, so does the way we can convey our writing – in schools for example, lots of people would wrather type notes on their computer or write it on their tablets, rather than use a standard pencil and paper. And if people do use pencil and paper, they either write in pen (since it looks more professional) or use a mechanical pencil due to their convenience. Almost no one uses a standard pencil anymore, so one of the goals of this shop was to bring back something that isn’t used much anymore. Unfortunately, this shop closed down in late 2021.
Source 2: COVID-19 Misinformation Article
“Nearly three years into the pandemic, Covid-19 remains stubbornly persistent. So, too, does misinformation about the virus”. This is the opening sentence of this article, one article of many that talks about the misinformation spread about Covid-19. Misinformation can be thought of as a virus as well – so easily spread, especially nowadays. A century ago, misinformation about a virus would either have been spread by paper or word of mouth – nowadays, all someone needs to do is post on social media, and instantly thousands of people can see it. This goes to show how easy technology has made communicating with others through writing. Most platforms are committed to combatting Covid-19 misinformation, but some such as Twitter – who are run by vaccine skeptics – allow these posts to continue floating around, giving people the wrong image of the virus. Even the sites that state they are committed to shutting down misinformation “have struggled to enforce their Covid rules”. This article, as well as the thousands of articles like it, show how technology can be used for things other than good. In the form of writing, videos, etc, these people are able to spread misinformation about the virus that will reach millions of people within minutes.
Source 3: Frontiers for Young Minds Article
This article is an example of using technology to have editors from around the world take a look at writing pieces and offering their feedback (even if the editors are children, as seen here). Once these kids review and edit the research papers written by real scientists, the research papers are put up on the website “Frontiers for Young Minds”, where anyone can access and read such writings. Having the papers edited by kids allows for anyone to be able to understand what’s being written by the scientists; “’Scientists tend to default to their own jargon and don’t think carefully about whether this is the word that the public actually knows’”. Because the public would be more willing to read these scientific research papers if they could actually understand them, the people behind Frontiers for Young Minds thought that it would be a great opportunity to help fix that by making the readings more understandable for the average person. This is a great example of people using technology for writing purposes. Without the technology of this website (or computers or internet, in general), getting these research findings out to millions of people would be much harder. This is an example of combining writing and technology for a good purpose. I feel like this project succeeded in its purpose, as now thousands of articles are being edited by kids for the general public’s understanding.
Source 4: BBC’s Video on ChatGPT, AI Software
As society continues to advance in terms of technology, certain tech gets released that gets people’s heads spinning with how “good” they are. Meet ChatGPT, an AI software created by the company OpenAI that can do a wide range of things, like writing essays and poetry, as well as have an actual “conversation” with the user. Those who’ve seen too many horror movies may think this as creepy, but many people are using this software to aid their everyday life. BBC interviewed people from around the globe on what their thoughts are on this new software – many say that it is “revolutionary”. Having AI do things for people seems like an easy way to live life, and many people believe this to be the future. However, there are, understandably, some doubts as to how this will play out – mostly coming from teachers and professors. One comment on the video was from a math teacher who was able to put in “a number of calculus I & II application problems involving integrations and differentiation”, and the result was that “the program gave such a beautifully detailed solution for each question with correct notation”. They then claimed to have this worry them, because students might start using this software to do their homework for them. According to the video description as well, schools in New York City have banned the use of ChatGPT due to worries that students will use it to cheat. The invention of this AI, as well as other forms of AI, show just how far humanity has come in terms of technology – soon, as some people may think, we might have AI do everything for us in the future. ChatGPT is also an excellent example of the “two sides” of advanced technology – on one hand, many people think that it is a good thing while others aren’t so sure. ChatGPT poses some benefits, sure, but one can’t ignore the potential issues that it may cause.
I think it's cool how your sources all connect together because they have to do with evolution and new technology in society. I enjoyed your summaries and thought you did a nice job making it clear what each source was about.
ReplyDelete-Amanda
I think you included your quotations very seamlessly, and I think the sources you chose were also very interesting. I like that you talked about both positive and negative aspects of technology too! -Lauren
ReplyDeleteI am glad you included the Frontiers for Young Minds article! I thought it was really interesting and meaningful, so I am glad to see someone who agrees. You did a great job articulating the goals of each source. Good job! -brianna
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