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Last week in class, we completed an online scavenger hunt with a partner. In this assignment we received a list of 18 random items to find online, with a time limit until the end of class. My partner and I were able to locate everything on the list in the time frame. by dividing our efforts. One of us started at question 1 while the other began at question 18 with the goal of meeting in the middle.  Throughout the scavenger hunt, I discovered several new things, such as alternative search engine sites that were not Google, Yahoo or BING, and I also learned who Jimmy Buffet is. In the interest of completing the assignment as fast as possible, we were not able to fact-check all of our information. There was also a prize of a gift card to a local coffee shop for participants.  During the assignment, my partner and I had different methods to get answers. I mainly stuck to Google as my main search engine and starting point. However, she used ChatGPT to find her answers. I have neve...

  A protocol is a set of rules that govern how data is transmitted and received across a network. For example, in computer networks, protocols ensure that devices like computers can communicate with each other even with differences in hardware, software, and location. Another example is TCP/IP which was created for internet data transfer. Protocols define various parts of communication such as how data is formatted, how errors are found and fixed, and how to  develop and end connections. Communication between computers on the internet and the web is important because it allows for flawless exchange of information such as sending and receiving messages/ files.  The Internet is an extensive global system of interconnected networks that allows devices to communicate with each other. The Internet was initially developed to allow researchers and military personnel to share information and communicate across long distances securely. It started with ARPANET (Advanced Research Pr...

In last week's class, we discussed Artificial Intelligence and how it has advanced at a rapid pace. We discussed the concerns raised by Bill Gates, Elon Musk, and Steve Hawking. Gates' concerns about AI is about job displacement, deep fakes, and cyberattacks.  While he agrees that AI has certain benefits. Musk’s concerns are about ethical dilemmas, privacy, and loss of control. Hawking's concerns are about the machines ‘taking off’ on their own and modifying themselves. We also talked about Alan Turing who is widely considered the ‘father of AI’. He proposed the ‘Turing Test’ which is a method that determines whether a machine can demonstrate human intelligence. It was proposed in 1950. There have been several variations of this test such as a gender-neutral version, a version with an interrogator and one participant, and Viva voce.  Throughout the past couple of decades, there have been periods of great decline in AI which are known as ‘AI winter’. In the ‘70s and 80’s fun...

  ‘The Machine Us/ing Us’ is a short viral video that explores the relationship between humans and the internet. It starts with someone writing on a blank piece of paper and then shifts a document on a computer. The video claims that users of the internet have become co-creators of content on it, blurring the line between producers and consumers. The title of the video also suggests a mutualistic relationship, we (humans) use the machine (internet) by providing it data and it evolves using it. I appreciated how it portrays the internet as a collaborative thing that people share and add on to rather than something created for them.  ‘Epic (2014)’ is a short film by Robin Sloan and Matt Thompson that explores a dystopian future. The video starts with real events from the World Wide Web being created in 1989 to the rise of Gmail in 2004. However, this is when the film stops mirroring reality. In one of the predictions, Google and Amazon (‘Googlezon’) join together to create a mon...