Week 4: Electronic Surveillance, Panopticism & Society

RESEARCH REPORT:
ON ELECTRONIC SURVEILLANCE, PANOPTICISM AND SOCIETY

On McLuhan, Foucault, Surveillance and Contemporary Society

Surveillance is not new to western culture, but has been documented for centuries. In “Surveiller at punir: Naissance de la prison,� Michel Foucault discussed Jeremy Bentham’s idea of the Panopticon. The Panoptic design of prison was published as a reform of prisons before the 17th century. Its theory of control, power, punishment and surveillance has continued through contemporary times. Having studied psychology, Foucault used Panopticism to examine western penalism. His contributions are still relevant to modern society.

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During Module 4, I responded to another student’s question with information that I had gleaned from Surveillance & Society, where I discussed “dataveillance�:

“Our time is a time of “new surveillance,� and specialists are speculating whether it will bring us more repression and social control, or whether it bring us the opportunity to discuss and resist how the new surveillance will be done.

Some scholars say that the Patriot Act only changed Internet surveillance in minor ways and added some bits of privacy protection in ways that civil libertarians and law enforcers would appreciate.�
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Panopticism, anyone?...Threads of Discussion

In the wake of 9/11, the idea of Foucault’s Panopticism has a renewed interest of experts in the field of surveillance. There are two types of surveillance: “biometry� (readings of the body) and “dataveillance� . The latter term means: collecting, organizing and storing information on persons. Our time is a time of “new surveillance,� and specialists are speculating whether it will bring us more repression and social control, or whether it bring us the opportunity to discuss and resist how the new surveillance will be done.

In short, the technique of Panoptic surveillance (which is applied to digital surveillance) hides the operation of the watcher (also his motives, techniques and ethics) while making the watched person aware that he is being watched. It provides discomfort and can be a source of anxiety because the subject doesn’t know who is watching, when they are watching or what/when they are going to do something to the subject. This watchfulness is used to keep groups and society under control.

Some scholars say that the Patriot Act only changed Internet surveillance in minor ways and added some bits of privacy protection in ways that civil libertarians and law enforcers would appreciate.

“Do we really want professional American law enforcement personnel conducting surveillance on people who haven't broken any U.S. law in order to help enforce the 'law' of some Party apparatchik in China?� ACLU Legislative Counsel, Mary Johnson (probably said 2003 to early 2004)
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Another issue, the non-disclosure agreements seem to be a gag order that actually protects the workings of TIA, so that they can continue their work without the public's knowledge of details. This is also terribly disturbing to me.

I don't know if I am wrong, but from the start of the Patriot Act, I felt that it was put through because it was perhaps an unrevealed part of Bush's agenda. He may have sought a reason to put an act of surveillance through Congress, whether an act of Terrorism had been made or not.
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Subject: Re: The Patriot Act
Regarding people who fit terrorist profiles:
Do you remember that earlier this year, Cat Stevens, a 1970's rock musician was picked up when he flew into the US from England? He had changed his name to a Muslim name, and he had been mistaken for a potential terrorist.

Dome Buildings, Saving Energy and Surviving Hurricanes

How about taking a look at my dome blog, “Domaround�
You can find it at

http://domaround.blogspot.com/

About "Time" and physics

This post discusses ideas about the topic of "time" and Michael Drosnin's "The Bible Code"

In our assignments, there has been some discussion about "time" and maybe, physics. Coincidentally, just before the semester started, I was reading a book called "The Bible Code" by Michael Drosnin. The book discusses time, physics, mathematics and "reality is relevant to our reading assignments. When I finished reading it, I felt there was a reason why I could not put it down. The book describes how the original old testament was coded into a sophisticated computer program. It was programmed and analyzed by some of the most noted physicists and mathematicians of our time. Actually, Isaac Newton was convinced that a pattern would yield information, but the technology did not arrive until the 20th century.

Without giving a long book report (which I know you'll appreciate), the book discusses how time in a cosmic sense, is past, present and future all rolled up into one. And, facts revealed by the bible's "code" show information from past, present and future that are astoundingly correct. And, no human could have written it with such accuracy.

Also, man has "free will" to choose different paths. That's why there are many future possibilities for each path. According to the program and the scientists, all facts and all paths are recorded by a "higher intelligence" or God. No human could possibly have written it, according to the many writers and scientists, some of whom are spritual and some of whom are religious skeptics. The Bible Code has been reviewed in major scholarly institutions all over the world, including Israel and a Pentagon code-breaker. The code is non-random and the results are significant to at least 1 in a 100,000. (page 43)

I cannot pose answers to what I don't know, like whether all knowledge can be recorded in a computer program. Howver, according to this book, it seems like the best and most accurate program is the Bible Code. The book only mentioned the archival of historical actions, not the archival of human thoughts, memories and ideas. So, to attempt to answer that question would take a bit more resarch...

Yesterday, I didn't feel like spending time on philosophy and sociology, but today, it is captivating.

Reference:
Drosnin, Michael, "The Bible Code," Simon & Schuster, New York, 1997.

FROM MY THREADED DISCUSSION ENTRY:
In our assignments, there has been some discussion about "time" and maybe, physics. Coincidentally, just before the semester started, I was reading a book called "The Bible Code" by Michael Drosnin. The book discusses time, physics, mathematics and "reality. Fortunately, it is relevant to our reading assignments.

Without giving a long book report (which I know you'll appreciate), cosmically and mathematically, time is really past, present and future all rolled up into one instance. Humans have free will, so we have multiple choices and paths for how to live our lives. Each person's road has many paths.

I don’t like to pose answers to what I do not know, regarding whether all knowledge can be recorded in a computer program. However, according to the book, it seems like the best and most accurate program is the Bible Code. The book only mentioned the archival of historical actions, not the archival of human thoughts, memories, dreams and ideas. So, to attempt to answer that question would take a bit more research...and a few more millennium? We do not have enough technology to analyze the code with multiple dimensions.

Any comments? For more information, please see my blog. I just posted the topic today.

Week 2: CHATTERBOTS AND ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

RESEARCH REPORT:
CHATTERBOTS AND ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

September 10, 2005

Artificial Intelligence (AI), Computer Assisted Instruction (CAI) and Speaking Machines are topics of interest in computerized communication. In a graduate level Communications course at Quinnipiac University, students were asked to write about the topics in an online threaded discussion. Student voiced their observations, questions and opinions within a discussion that consisted of at least 138 messages.

COMPUTER ASSISTED INSTRUCTION
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CHATTERBOTS
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Norbert Weiner made an interesting point in 1954. In my comment, I wrote, �When the use of AI gets beyond our control, what will we do? As Weiner says, we cannot put the genie back in the bottle! How would we control the AI computer? Perhaps we would write a situational program to give it directions in case it wants to perform an action that humans consider to be a catastrophe.� (Gabrielle Strassmann, Tue Sep 06 2005 00:10, Automation's effect on society)
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I personally would not trust Eliza because I know that it is programmed to respond with a certain pattern. In my opinion, Eliza was considered to have a human at work behind the machine because it behaved according to the Rogerian pattern of psychotherapy. Patients may have felt safer having the conversation with an automaton, than with a human doctor. (Gabrielle Strassmann, Tue Sep 06 2005 21:31, Re: Machine as Human Being and Human Being as Machine)
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AI scientists acknowledge that Chatterbots need much improvement. Speaking machines are not as advanced as other technologies of AI. However, speaking machines are already widely used in business today. For example, when dialing for “Information,� with “411� the caller uses a form of Chatterbot to find a telephone number. The technology is also used by large corporations to automatically channel its callers. It is successful because the use of the program is very limited. Bots are successfully used by companies such as Microsoft, IBM and CYCORP. According to Ai of Tel Aviv, Cycorp is the world’s largest common sense project. The CYC Project is creating a knowledge base of interlinked information that is made of hand-coded rules and assertions. CYC is building a computer that may be capable of human-like reasoning in the future.

It was an enjoyable exercise that gave meaning to what I have read.

Week 3: JANET MURRAY’S UNIVERSAL MACHINE AS A MEDIUM

RESEARCH REPORT:
JANET MURRAY’S UNIVERSAL MACHINE AS A MEDIUM
September 16, 2005
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Can humans record all knowledge through the use of digital technology and new media? Is the computer truly intelligent or is it mechanically efficient? What is intelligence? Do humans think though computers? These questions are important considerations at the end of the twentieth century and beginning of the next millennium.
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'The most beautiful experience we can have is the mysterious.
It is the fundamental emotion which stands at the cradle of true art and true science."
(Albert Einstein, 1931)

Week 1: SOCIAL IMPACT OF INTERNET TECHNOLOGIES

INTERVIEW REPORT:
DISCUSSING THE SOCIAL IMPACT OF THE
NEW INERNET TECHNOLOGIES

September 2, 2005
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During August 2005 at Quinnipiac University School of Communications, graduate students in a course entitled, “Introduction to Interactive Communications,� participated in an online forum on the sociological effects of new media and society. Three questions were discussed in an online interview:
1. “To what extent do you rely on digital technology for our personal and professional needs?
2. Are you a digital enthusiast or digital skeptic?
3. Do you believe that new information technologies will empower or alienate you from the “real� world?�
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In 1945, Vannevar Bush saw the failure of linear media to reflect structures of complex human thought, and thus was excited about his vision of a global age that could relieve humans from the limitations of linear media. In “Garden of Forking Paths,� Jorges Luis Borges anticipated the possibilities that germination of multiple choices would bring. Nicholas Negroponte of the Massachussetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Gilles Deleuze and Felix Guattari also reflected on the progress that interconnected nodes would bring. Metadata would connect information around the globe.
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Decades later, Joseph Wizenbaum wrote about the shortcomings of new media after his successful experiment, ELIZA, was seen as the first example of a new form of automated therapy. Wizenbaum was even ignored by other scientists after stating that it did not demonstrate a solution to understanding natural language. He did not want to see humanity coded like autonomous clockwork. Wizenbaum disagreed with other scientists at MIT who completely trusted modern science and supported the ideas of students who felt that not even the best of machines could give significant meaning to their lives.
During Francis Bacon’s time in the Age of Reason, the goal of thought was rationalism. In the twentieth century, common sense and wisdom had been made less legitimate through the dogma attributed to scientific knowledge. In 1992, Hannah Arendt wrote about intelligent Pentagon policymakers who were overly proud of being “rational.� When making decisions, they calculated instead of using basic human intelligence to make judgments. Science had become and addictive drug.
In the 1970’s, Theodor H. Nelson defied the computer elite with his book, “Down with Cybercrud.� In his visionary project, Xanadu, Nelson extolled the future of media and culture. His critics did not believe in a future for a hypertext network until it became widely popular in the 1990’s. Nelson supported the benefits of Computer-Assisted Instruction but also warned that it can be used in an imitative and thoughtless way to continue the mistakes of public education.
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Digital technologies and “fantics� provide society with amazing potential in communication, research, knowledge warehousing, education and many other areas. As with other media and technology, new media can be used in beneficial ways but also in the most harmful and detrimental ways to society with surveillance, phishing, theft of identification, and Internet abusers. I feel enthusiastic yet cautious regarding the use if new media. With human free will, new technology can be used for both empowerment and alienation. A balance in use of digital technologies is healthy for society.
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Positive Statements I've Heard

Peter said:
* You're good with computers. You'll be able to do this.

* It was hard years ago. But you've dealt with the cards well. I hear people who have comfortable lives complain. But when the going gets hard, you either deal with it, or not.
It's how you play with the cards, and you played it well.
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* Also, I got a birthday greeting from an unexpected person. Who knows what's out there!
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It's sad when a friend moves away. It's harder to keep in touch.
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Learning about AI

The following link is an interesting article on Artificial Intelligence that relates to my online course at Quinnipiac University.

"AI think, therefore I am"

http://www.apcmag.com/apc/v3.nsf/0/C89F335A82CCA4BBCA256DEC00036F27