Blog Post #6: Selfies or not?

In this day and age, everybody has taken at least one selfie. Or maybe you've heard of it, but you decided that you weren't narcissistic enough to take one. A “selfie” is a picture taken by the person in the picture, using holding out a camera facing them. To take a good selfie, the camera must capture you in good light at a flattering angle. These pictures are then shared on social media such as Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter.

However, some people like to take things to the extreme. There are selfies that feature large groups of people and even animals. There are pictures of people atop high buildings or standing at the edge of cliffs looking downwards.

Selfie sticks are extendable devices that help you hold the camera (on your phone) further away from yourself. This helps to capture more of the scene around you, as well as include more people in the picture.

I personally think that selfie sticks should not be banned. I guess there should be some sort of rule against extending selfie sticks in crowded areas. For safety purposes, of course. Tourists tend to take selfies everywhere they go, and in popular tourist destinations, people should be aware of their surroundings. Concert stages and large gathering areas such as sports arenas have already banned the use of selfie sticks. It obstructs the view of the people behind and could injure someone.

The use of selfie sticks are managed by who is on the other end of the device. If that person is mindful of his/her surroundings, then cautions should be minimized. If that person is not mindful, then the cautions should be kept in mind otherwise someone could get hurt. Otherwise, selfie sticks are an enjoyable device that should not be banned.

Blog Post #5: Is artificial intelligence taking over?

Today, technology is graded as advanced and still developing. Artificial intelligence is one among the many advances producers and scientists today are working to broaden. As the future approaches, people tend to look and depend on the closest piece of technology the can manage to get their hands on.

What would this mean if these pieces of technology were at the furthest step of development? Let's face it: technology is always developing. A new piece of tech must always be better than the one before it. This obviously implies to AIs.

AIs aren't necessarily at the peak of its development. If you think about it, we've reached at least the mid-point in contrast to the predicted high-end future of AIs as put forth in today's media. Communication devices have been altered with the installation of artificial intelligence.

Communication has improved in one sense, and gotten worse in another.

Technology helps people connect in so many ways. Calling across the globe, live video streaming and connecting strangers on the internet. On the other hand, people always have their noses buried in a phone or a PC.

Artificial intelligence like Siri helps us to communicate better as well as learn new things. But do we rely too heavily on AIs? Artificial intelligence does all the thinking for us. Those who develop the AIs are very smart, but people who use it rely on it for entertainment and knowledge. Robot teachers in Japan are taking over the education system. I believe that in the future (not too far away), humans will be living like the characters from the film Wall-E. We could be controlled by electronics. This may sound far fetched, but artificial intelligence could take over.