Technological Singularity? Agree or Disagree?

The theory of Technological Singularity that was created by Ray Kurzweil is a theory that I both agree and disagree with. The Technological Singularity typically postulate an "intelligence explosion", where super intelligence design successive generations of increasingly powerful minds, might occur very quickly and might not stop until the agent's cognitive abilities greatly surpass that of any human. The reason that I agree with this theory, because of the technological advancement that is moving ahead at such a rapid pace, I wouldn't be surprised if we do create such highly intelligence beings. On the other hand, we never know if our technology will ever become advanced enough to do such things because it might be too much for us. I acknowledge that this can happen but I also think that our human capabilities might not be able to come up with the technology unless another Tim Berners-Lee or Bill Gates appears able to do the impossible because that’s what humans have been doing every day, tackling the impossible.

Marshall McLuhan: The Medium is the Message

Marshall McLuhan was a Canadian philosopher of communication theory. His work is viewed as one of the cornerstones of the study of media theory, as well as having practical applications in the advertising and television industries. McLuhan is known for coining the expressions the medium is the message and the global village, and for predicting the World Wide Web almost thirty years before it was invented. With the arrival of the internet there was renewed interest in his work and perspective. The time is ripe for a fresh appraisal of his thought--an enterprise to which Marshall McLuhan: The Medium is the Message makes an indispensable contribution. Aside from providing that service, this biography tells a story that is fascinating in its own right, especially as it illuminates the enormous gap between the “media guru” and the real man in all his complexities and contradictions. "The medium is the message" is a phrase coined by Marshall McLuhan meaning that the form of a medium embeds itself in the message, creating a symbiotic relationship by which the medium influences how the message is perceived. The phrase was introduced in his most widely known book, Understanding Media: The Extensions of Man, published in 1964. McLuhan proposes that a medium itself, not the content it carries, should be the focus of study. He said that a medium affects the society in which it plays a role not only by the content delivered over the medium, but also by the characteristics of the medium itself.

Information Age and a Global Village: April 3rd, 2013

The internet has grown at an incredible rate where anywhere and everywhere, there is technology that is being used. The information age is a period in human history where there is a shift from traditional industry that the industrial revolution brought through industrialization, to an economy based on the information computerization. This age is right now and has been booming ever since the 20th century. The internet has been a big part of why the information age has gotten so big and important. Because of the internet, access to everything is now much more convenient and things like this spread out over time since people nowadays want things done fast and quick. In a commercialized society, the information industry is able to allow individuals to explore their personalized needs, therefore simplifies the procedure of making decisions for transactions and significantly lowers costs for both the producers and buyers. So in a way humans are a part of the promotion of the Information Age because we are the ones that spread the power of the internet and technology so that everyone wants in on the latest and most innovative way to get things done. Now everyone around the world is connected, something that wasn't even thought was possible 100 years ago.

April 2nd Assignment: Marketing online

One of the products that are marketed through the internet would be a house. There are many different good and bad things that come with marketing an idea online. One of the merits is that you are able to know the full specifications of the house more than if you looked at it in real life. The size of the house and the pictures that they display on the internet can make the house look more appealing and better. This can also be a bad thing because one person might not want to know about the full information about the house since it can get very overwhelming. One of the demerits to marketing a house online is that it doesn't give you all the details about the house like maybe there might be problems with the house that the previous owner doesn't tell. So the new house owner might have to get stuck with the bills of clearing up the problem. There also might not be enough web strategy of trying to market the house online, rendering it useless. The information that is said online might not always be true so you might get let down when you actually see the house. Some people just might want to meet in person more than online since when you are looking at it through the internet, it might make you feel a bit isolated and discourage you from buying the product.