User:KentDo

Entrepreneur mindset. I am looking to better myself and my life with hard work and goals. This is my second chance and I am not giving it up for anything.

Midtern Project:

For my midtern project, I decided to pick the topic of reverse engineering the brain. Reverse engineering the brain is about being able to map out how the human brain works. One of the goals behind being able to map out the human brain goes into the topic of being able to sucessfullyy deisgn and artificial intelligence that has the comprehinsion of a human mind. In essence to think likr us.

A good article on reverse engineering the human brain can be found below.

http://nautil.us/blog/will-we-reverse_engineer-the-human-brain-within-50-years

 Final Project 

1.Intoduction

http://www.technologyreview.com/view/530566/the-impact-of-the-internet-on-society-a-global-perspective/ (Discussion) BEST

This article is really interesting to me. It puts things out that we know about since we constantly do it in text where we actually think about why we are doing what we do. The internet has changed how we interact with other people but more importantly who we interact with. With the option to choose people we talk to based on common interest, we really screen people we would get along with before we actually talk to them. This has made it it extremely easier to become social.

http://www.communityservice101.com/community_service_ideas/online_community_service.html (Discussion)

This website makes you pay $25 but in return they send you a list of online community service opportunities that need help right away. I think that this site is more unique than the others in the sense that because you have to pay for the community service list, it would be constantly updated with the the latest places that need help. I like the idea of helping someone who needs help right now instead of helping a cause prepare for the next cause.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7o35ruCZ6S4&feature=youtu.be (Selected Media)

This short video caught my attention as it really makes you think about the advancements that we have made though the short time span we have really accepted technology. Mankind started off with the simplest advancements from fire to the wheel yet the last few decades we have learned to create means of communication through phone, electricity, which has brought us to the amazing point we have reached today. Although this video only shows clips of some of the advancements, it’s truly amazing how advanced our technology has really started to become.

2.Privacy and Freedom of Speech

http://lifehacker.com/5953755/what-exactly-is-freedom-of-speech-and-how-does-it-apply-to-the-internet (Discussion)

According to this article, freedom of speech online is not exactly what we think. This article taught me something new in the sense that most online sites are considered private (Facebook, reddit, twitter, commenting sections of blogs). Being considered private, we are not protected by the first amendment in freedom of speed on some sites. It's bothersome to me that I can physically walk anywhere and say what I want but I can’t go on my and post the same things while keeping my freedom of speech.

http://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/232169/why-are-social-media-experiments-considered-an-inv.html (Discussion) BEST

I think that this link is an important topic to talk about. I was actually one of the 700,000 people who were experimented on with this. I do not use Facebook anymore either because of it. Not only was I angry that I was used for this experiment without my approval, I felt like my privacy was violated to a whole new level. Think about this, someone intentionally sorts through what you would or would not see that should have been private between you and your friends. They decided that they only wanted you to see sad, depressing, negative posts to make you feel slightly worse everyday. This is a huge invasion of my privacy and personal information. It also kicked me everyday while I was already down and trying to get back up from hard times.

http://www.hongkiat.com/blog/keeping-smartphone-safe/ (Selected Media)

This is a simple article that has good simple information about how to stay safe while using yout mobile device. Most people think that they're not prone to be hacked or have viruses and this is especially the case when using mobile devices. Truth is that we are never 100% safe from technology but there are steps and measures we can take to help give ourselves some forms of protection.

3.Intellectual Property

http://www.zdnet.com/article/piracy-now-unstoppable-new-file-sharing-network-cant-be-shut-down/ (Discussions)

I picked this article because I feel like it relates to how the internet has changed so much within the last few years. Piracy has been a big topic for the internet in society. There has been a lot of effort to stop online piracy because in essence, it's theft. Illegal downloads of music, movies. and software do damage companies. With this article, another keyword that was picked up was open source. This is where things got interesting to me enough to write about this article. Open source allows people to modify the existing code of an application. Much like how wikipedia is open source and can be modified by anyone, people have been using an open source torrent site which allows someone to add on an extra layer of networks which prevents an actual location for governments to shut down. This type of interface seems to be the counter move by piracy sites in response to the online piracy crackdown governments have been enforcing.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/jessicahagy/2011/11/30/how-to-be-interesting/ (Learning Literacies-Use it) BEST

I picked this article because I find it very important that people remember (and the new generation to learn) to actually go out. This article had my attention at 1. Go exploring and 2. Share what you discover. As a 30 year old, I find pleasure in exploring new things and places. I love technology and the ability to share where I am or what I'm doing on Facebook or Instagram. I find sadness when I see the new younger generation who is constantly sharing but never going exploring! Technology has taken such a big role in our lives that the generation who don't know what it was like to have to physically walk to a friends house, knock on the door, and ask if they were home don't understand how important the experience of exploring the world (or any new place) is like. Go on a hike, watch the sunrise, and post that online instead of being content in using google images with the keyword sunrise. We can balance tech and life without having to give up one or the other.

http://www.elon.edu/e-web/imagining/surveys/2014_survey/2025_Internet_Looming_Threats.xhtml (Discussions)

This talks about how content will be shared. I agree that technology has stepped up to both prevent and allow content sharing. Piracy has been a huge issue and I agree there will continue to be updated algorithms that block content sharing. Torrent site have been a main concern and I can see how the use of blocking algorithms will keep certain torrent sites from showing up on search results. It's interesting because SEO methods to have the specific site show up on a search results page would have to fight with specially designed algorithms to keep them away. I am interested to see which algorithm will end up winning.

4.Crime

http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2015/02/16/bank-hesit-cybersecurity-kaspersky-report/23509937/ (Discussion Favorite) BEST

This article is about how a group of hackers stole as much as 1 Billion dollars from 300 different banks across the world. One bank reported almost 8 million was stolen. The group had multiple people using computers to do crime. They could hack into ATM machines and have them disperse cash when a mule was in the area to collect it. Transfers of money were sent to their own account set up for the heist. This is an interesting article because this group pulled more of a heist than a   hack. The reports have said that the hackers would wait an learn how the account owners and bankers had used the accounts in order to find a method to steal the money. If you think about how much work it takes to hack into one computer let alone a bank, imagine how insane it would have been for this group to hack 300 banks and not be caught while being in the banks systems for months. We don't really think about what we can or should do if we were victims of cyber crime because it's always been more of a movie thing. That won't happen to us right? Well if it did, would you honestly know what to do?

https://www.fbi.gov/scams-safety/fraud/internet_fraud/internet_fraud (Selected Media)

FBI's fraud department gives good tips on protecting yourself from fraud. Most of these are common sense practices to help avoid putingg youreslf in a situation where you are vulrablele to fraudulent cirme. Some of the information is very generic such as "watch your information carefully". This site is useful because it reminds users to be careful with the information they have and use. These tips by no means will stop internet fraud however they set good safety practice.

http://www.online-tech-tips.com/computer-tips/how-to-protect-your-computer-from-hackers-spyware-and-viruses/ (Selected Media)

This site has great informatuon about how to keep your computer safe. Most people think that they are not likely to ever be hacked but have experienced spyware and viruses. This article gives a few tips on how to protect yourself and avoid viruses and spyware. There are a few good companies that are mentioned in the article who sell or provide free services with virus scanners (although they might be limited) that will help keeo you and your computer safe.

5.Employment, Education, amd Entertainment 

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/20/education/turning-to-education-for-fun.html?_r=0 (Keywords) BEST

The article is about edutainment which in my opinion is more about learning for fun. The idea works around the thought that you learn well when you are having fun. The downside to this is that you are not working for a certificate or credit for the courses you take which sometimes come at a course fee ranging from $5-$8,000. I find that for myself I rather take this type of course than an actual course in college.

http://boingboing.net/2015/05/04/edutainment-failed-me.html (Keywords)

To sum up this article, it is about the failed attempt at edutainment in the past with older video games. I believe that that's fair to say but disagree about not advancing enough with it in modern times. Companies like leap frog focus edutainment for children and there are countless apps for iPads and iPhone that focus on the same. As for adults, we have courses that are designed to teach us specific things that I believe are awesome. A painting class for date night to Rich Dad, Poor Dad's online game to teach us about financial intelligence are great examples of what this article says does not exist.

http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2015/06/11/choosing-the-right-digital-learning-device.html (New Source)

This article talks about different devices such as ipads and laptops and how they are used for different age groups. It is mostly positive things about how each age group uses these devices but has left out important factors about hte negatives that come with relying on devices for education.

6.Midterm Grand Challenges

http://www.nextgov.com/emerging-tech/2015/01/how-reverse-engineering-brain-could-help-machines-learn/102537/ (Keyword)

The human brain is very powerful but it has limitations that computers do not have. At the same time, computers have limitations that the human brain does not and reverse engineering the brain is where that problem can be solved. Computers are able to process thousands of pages of data in the time the human brain can process one. By reverse engineering the human brain, we can make technology advance beyond the imaginable. Being able to create computer systems that can recognize images and learn about the image in a one shot earning experience would be a game changer in military reconnaissance. For example, computers would be able to analyze satellite images and be able to understand the image with potential threats and strategic response tactics like a human looking at it would. This doesn't sound that impressive until we realize that that one computer can do the job of 10,000 analysts in the same amount of time.

http://gizmodo.com/5614170/reverse-engineering-of-human-brain-likely-by-2020 (Discussion Favorite) BEST

With the human brain's cortex having roughly 22 billion neurons and 220 trillion synapses, reverse engineering the human brain will take some time to complete. Super giant companies such as IBM have been in the process of building super computers to help reverse engineer the human brain however, at the time of the article and even up to the current date, we do not have the technology available to build a computer powerful enough to decode how the human mind works. According to this article by 2013, IBM would have engineered a super computer named Sequoia with the ability to offer 20 petaflops per second during peek performance. To be able for a computer to simulate the 25 million bytes or 1 million lines of code, researcher require a machine with a computational capacity of at least 36.8 petaflops and a memory capacity of 3.2 petabytes. The earliest time that IBM has estimated a machine to meet the minimum power requirements to simulate the brain falls roughly into the year 2016. The work IBM has contributed to the focus of reverse engineering the human brain has been a huge step to giving us the ability to decode how our brains work. Without a company like IBM developing this technology, there would be no team on earth working on providing the technological tools needed to our science teams working with the human brain.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IM_k_c6Uj0A (Media)

Dutch neuroscientist Randal A. Koene speaks at a TedX event about reverse engineering the mind to computers. Interesting enough, Randal's research is centered around the possibility to transfer the human mind into non-biological substrate. By learning how to decode the human brain, we can map how the human brain functions unlocking next level advancements in computer technology. Using computers to emulate the human brain, Randal researches the feasibility of creating a "road map" of the brain and spikes in brain activity. There are many obstacles to be able to map the human brain. Teams of scientists have been working on solving the obstacle problems to ensure accuracy of data through different types methods designed to create massive amounts of tiny connections to replicate the network of the human brain. The work that Randal A. Koene has contributed along with the scientists working with him have a huge factor to the possibility of success to unlock the minds map. Companies such as Intel and iBM have worked on computers strong enough to power a simulation of the mind, however Randal's work is the advancement we need to be able and create the simulation necessary to replicate the human brain's functions.

7.Evaluating and Controlling Technology 

http://www.biometricupdate.com/201511/multi-finger-authentication-the-next-phase-in-smartphone-identity-recognition (Keyword) Authentication

I think that this article is pretty cool in the sense that it acknowledges the flaws of biometric authentication. Pointing out that even the iPhone 5s was hacked so quickly. The article identifies the flaw of lighting which causes inaccurate authentication. The article also points out that 1/5 people use the same password for everything. That is a shocking number if you think about it. I do wish that the article was bit longer but it was enough for me to not dock off any points. I think that using 4 fingers instead of one is a pretty creative way to authenticate the user. I am not sure how well it will do but it has potential.

http://halfanhour.blogspot.com/2006/08/things-you-really-need-to-learn.html (Learning Literacies) BEST

This article is about the things that we are not taught in school but is very important to learn if we are to contribute to our success. The simple things like how to read. As explained in this article, it's not about how to actually read but it's about to to be more effective at reading. To understand all the bs that are just fillers to take up space. Like this topic, the other topics in essence are about how to be more effective at certain things. To improve what we already know but are not taught to do them effectively enough.

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/demand-for-robots-artificial-intelligence-rising/ (Keyword)

Good ideas for the use of machine intelligence. Thinking beyond a driver less car is great as having a robot companion to help the elderly will be very effective for all drivers. Has current prices of the costs to build a robot. Compares current cost to how much more it was to build 10 years ago. Details about the growth rate of using robots. This article would be better if there were more information about A.I. technology.

8.Risks, Failures, and Responsibilities

http://medicalxpress.com/news/2015-11-self-calibration-braingate-brain-interface-ease.html (Discussion)

This article talks about new methods currently being used to pick up the brains electrical activity through implanted electrodes. This is interesting to me because we are using technology to implant things in the brain to monitor the brains functions. I believe that this could result in important data about how our brains activity work. I can see there there could be negative results and dangers associated with this kind of use of technology. Do you think that it is safe and worth the risk of damaging someone's brain to be able to learn how it works?

http://www.futureforall.org/futureofmedicine/medical_technology.htm (New Source)

Current advnacements in medical technology. This article has sources with regenoration with organs. This type of technology is a game changing advancement in medical technology. Not only will lives be saved but people will be able to live longer. It can be debatable that this type of technology is playing God and will take alott of bad publicity in the news. It comes down to how responsible the person holding the technology is to the overall well being of the human race.

http://cbs4indy.com/2015/11/04/technology-could-have-unintended-consequences-for-kids-say-experts/ (Keyword)  Consequences BEST

There are unintentional consequences that have been tied to kids using smart phones. According to this article, for every additional 1 inch a child's head leans forward from being hunched over looking at a screen, 10 extra pounds of pressure is being applied on their neck and back causing headaches and possibly even scoliosis. I believe the physical consequences of using too much technology is being overlooked and chose this article because it comes back to the smaller simple problems being caused by technology abuse.

9.Anytime, Anywhere

http://www.cyberalert.com/blog/index.php/geolocation-the-newest-movement-in-mobile-marketing-and-measurement/ (Keyword)

Explains how business are planning to use geo location to market and how customers can benefit from allowing stores to track them via gps with discount incentives. This article did a very good job with describing how geo location can help with a business's analytics. There are results of survey data with how many people are willing to be tracked which is a surprising number while keeping in mind how many people want to keep their provacy. The difference between giving your locating for shopping incentives and for personal reasons were completely different.

http://foscam.us/wireless-ip-cameras.html/ (Discussion)

I think the this is one of the most overlooked things we can do on our smartphones. Having the ability to remotely access your security cameras in work or at home while you are mobile is an awesome thing to have. If you are on vacation and your alarm was activated, you can access your cameras from across the world anytime and watch in live time what is happening.

http://www.cavalierdaily.com/article/2015/11/mink-moocs-uva (Discussion) BEST

This article talks about the possibility of the online courses to be accredited by colleges. It also talks about an experiment that San Jose State did where they had blended the course with Harvard and MIT with a 30% higher pass rate than their classroom only peers.

10.Technology Advances, Social Trends

http://www.popsci.com/heres-look-facebooks-internet-drone (Discussion)

Facebook has designed a UAV drone that will allow the plane to fly up to 3 months without out needing to land. This is a huge development in the future of computers. The drone was designed to provide internet access in remote areas where there is no internet connection. While most people are worried that drones are dangerous, truth behind the concept to bring internet access to the world greatly outweighs that fact. Having the ability for reliable internet access will have a great advantage over military installations in the area, internet connection for gps beacons while exploring uncharted areas, and most importantly, providing internet access for educational resources to parts of the world that currently do not have internet.

http://www.wired.com/insights/2014/09/technologies-dominate-2022/ (New Source)

This article talks about the advancements that will be taking place in technolgyy in the future. Topics such as nanotechnology which are hot topics of the future for the medical industry as well as military technology. Nanotechnology is fairly new technology but has been around for a few years. The advancements and potential for the technology is under rated I believe. I do believe that by the year 2022, nanotechnology will be one of if not the most important new technology we will be using.

http://www.arterranrenewables.com (Intel Enviornmental Award) BEST

I believe that this technology will impact a greater number of people in the world. The burning of coal has a great impact on the environment and a technology like this one which would replace the burning of coals impacts the most people. Other technology will help a greater number of people in the current moment however, by using this type of technology, we save all of the future generations to come on our planet. The ability to preserve our planet for hundreds if not thousands of years longer will overall have a greater impact. This technology is a "drop in" replacement for coal which if the world were to apply, one of the greatest changes to keep us and future generations on the right track would be effective.