While reading the long read "The Internet Apologizes" by Noah Kulwin, one of the overwhelming thoughts that bounced around in my head was that the creators of the Internet had no idea people were going to use and abuse it the way they have. The inventors made it with good intentions in mind, other people were the ones who ruined it.
The Internet, social media, and iPhones were all created to improve communication between people and keep people in the loop, so to speak. The masterminds behind it did not think about the ways it could be abused, just about the ways it could be used. One could argue that the Internet is still being used today for communication and keeping people in the loop, just not in the way that we want it to. Now, like Rich Kyanka pointed out, the kind of communication that is being portrayed across the Internet is toxicity. People are cyber-bullying others and using the Internet to their advantage. Cyber-bullying is a perfect example of the toxicity that has developed over time by us, the people using the Internet. We could have stopped it or never started it in the first place, but when there is a way, people find it. It is easier to be mean to others than to be nice, especially when there is no face-to-face connection.
In the portion of the article titled "Step One- Start With Hippie Good Intentions," I feel as if the creators are bashing on what they thought and the way they viewed the world at the time. They are not disassociating themselves from what they know and see now when looking back on what they were doing and thinking when they were first inventing the Internet. Personally, I do not think this is a good thing since back then times were different and they can not blame themselves for how society has evolved; in fact, the creators mention multiple times throughout the "in 15 Steps" section of the article how at that time they were hippies and had hippie ideas. They were trying to make the world a better place in a way that they believed would work. The inventors had no idea what would happen in the future, nor how the world and its people would develop, they only knew what was happening at the time. That was what they put into their creation. If they were to recreate the Internet now, they still would not know how the world and its people would develop, so they would not be able to take precaution against the way people might abuse it like we do today.
Are the creators of the Internet really the ones to blame for the way people manipulate the Internet? Why does it seem that everything that is made with good intentions is always abused by people with bad intentions? Do you think that if the inventors knew that people in the world were going to abuse their creation they would have set precautions about it? If so, what kind of precautions do you think they would have set?
-Jasalyn Avila
What I keep coming back to with all of our discussion on the influences of technology and, more specifically, the Internet, is that we do create with good intentions, as Jas mentioned. We are exceptionally smart, and we are able to create so much with our growing intelligence. So why do we keep messing up these "beneficial" inventions?
ReplyDeleteI believe that the first problem is that we think that things are under our control, from the creators with good intentions, to the users who think that we understand, to those that are using technology to purposely manipulate us. However, with all of these factors merged together online, the outcome would have been impossible to predict. Underestimating is definitely a problem, yet at the same time, I don't think that the creators should feel that they were especially naive because we're all in the same boat.
Something else that struck me during the summer and continues to resurface is our unrealistic expectations. We want to perfect the system, to find the perfect algorithm that will weed out the problems that arise, yet given that we are human, it cannot and will not work. We can program away all we want, but we cannot program humans or change the fact that we are imperfect. Perfect programs being used by imperfect creatures are doomed to fall to corruption due to the incongruence between creation and creator.
I don't want to come across as though I'm saying, "Screw it, we're bound to mess up anyways." I'm all for improvement and analyzing and learning from the mistakes we've made. However,I do want to point out that this is a learning process and that though it's great to want to improve, at some point we'll have to settle for whatever is "good enough".
While I think that it's a good thing that the creators of the Internet are now able to recognize the faults of their creation, I don't believe that they could have foreseen the extent to which they would expand. It's great that now that they've stepped back from the reigns they can see the chaos they've left behind them. All that can happen now is for us to also look critically at what we've contributed to the mess and try to change what the Internet is used for so that it more closely resembles what it was invented for.
When there is good, there is evil incorporated into everything we say, do, and act upon. Even when we think that something is so helpful and beneficial, there is always an underlying evil waiting to strike and put a negative connotation on whatever the idea was. No matter what the intentions are when something is created, there will always be people that take advantage of it. No rules can just be followed and obeyed because there are always people that mess it up and abuse what they have been given. This also includes the Internet. I don't believe the creators of the Internet are to blame for the way other people have been acting towards it. Just as Liz said, you can control objects, but you can't control people. They will always go through with what they want to do, and usually, there is nothing we can do about it.
ReplyDeleteJust like Jas, I also wonder why things/ ideas with good intentions always end up being abused. I don't really have an answer. It could be that they need a way to let out anger, or maybe people enjoy contradicting everything and making everyone miserable. I don't think there is a real answer to this question which is disappointing because I have been wondering the same thing.
For the summer blog assignment, I recall discussing the topic of whether the creators of the Internet are the ones to blame when it comes to the manipulation of its use. I am more than glad that we are discussing this topic once again. Furthermore, I do agree with all of your statements.
ReplyDeleteAs Jasalyn said, the masterminds behind the fascinating invention of the Internet did not intend for the people to misinterpret its use. Advancements in technology were created for the better such as medical machines and mobile devices that allow easier communication between friends and family. However, I also agree that humans try to perfect the system which is proven to be unrealistic since us, humans, aren't perfect ourselves, like Elizabeth said. Ultimately, this supports my opinion that creators of the Internet are not the ones to blame because it's rather impossible to create something that is "perfect". I don't mean to rain on anyone's parade, but there will always be something that ruins a good thing, if that makes sense. For instance, you can't have a good day without experiencing a bad day. It's also impossible to figure out why this is the way the world works. Maybe people with bad intentions have a negative outlook on life which escalates into the destruction of good things that come their way.
If the creators of the Internet knew that the use of their invention would be abused, there is little to no possibility they can set precautions that will avoid problems such as cyber-bullying. They have no control over that, unfortunately. Although, social media apps include settings that can block and report certain users which can stop hurtful comments and/or messages. In a way, these precautions show that creators are accepting the fact that their invention is far from perfect and are working to improve it.