Ex-Machina

This film was definitely my favorite out of all the films I have watched during these films reports. I was very fascinated by Ava and the way she was able to speak and question not only herself but also Caleb. The purpose of Caleb was to test Ava and decided whether she truly had a conscious or not, since her creator, Nathan, could not quite figure out. As the moving continued, I began to believe that Caleb was truly falling for Ava, whom is definitely not human and completely robot. Ava was fully capable of expressing emotion and feeling touch, it seemed odd to me when Nathan mentioned that Ava was capable of being sexual and feeling that type of arousal. Its unbelievable to see how technology can create such thing with a human emotions and sense of touch/feeling. It also grabbed my attention when Ava would cause the power outages and when she told Caleb not to trust Nathan because he is a liar when Ava turned against Caleb in the end. The ending was definitely intriguing. Caleb helped Ava escape and she took advantage of the help, she was also able to express emotions that seemed true but wee completely false towards Caleb. After watching this film, I'm not so sure how I feel about this type of AI. Ava indeed turned against both humans and killed her creator. She was also capable of disguising herself in a true human physic by using the features from the other AI robots. I didn't fully understand the reason why she left Caleb after he helped her escape. I know she felt hostage by Nathan, but then again she was a working progress. This movie was definitely interesting and opened up a new perspective of how AI robots may function and what their actions may come to be.

Transcendence

The film Transcendence, starring Johnny Depp, focuses on the creation of AI intelligence with a full range of human emotion and with the power to help detect early cancer,to build a better future for all of us and to save lives. Out of all the films I have recently watched that relates to AI, this one is the most realistic form in which artificial Intelligence may develop and the outcome it will have. In the film, there was a group of anti-tech people known as Rift whose purpose was to stop Dr. Caster from further development of AI. I'm sure there are individuals in the world today who do not find the satisfaction in technology that others may find and many individuals who are against the creation of AI intelligence like robots. AI intelligence may be created for appropriate reasons like stated in the film, specifically to help the human kind but when all that technology is powered it has more knowledge than any human being in this world. It was fascinating to see how the conscious of Dr. Caster was able to be transported into a computer after he had passed away. Although the purpose from his wife was simply to keep him alive, it only became something worse and his hunger towards this AI intelligence turned him into an unstoppable form of energy that kept developing that form of technology. Having the power to keep a persons consciousness alive through a computer software is something very unbelievable and fascinating. This film was very eye-opening and gave a greater perspective on how the future may be with the development of AI. Transcendence is a great film tat displays the appropriate pros and cons towards artificial intelligence.

Twenty-First Century Radical Rhetoric

1. The ten observations for understanding the rhetoric for contemporary activists are:
Our rhetoric is anti-authoritarian meaning it tries to create a truly egalitarian society by eliminating hierarchical power structures.
Our rhetoric promotes diversity by highlighting diversity as beneficial to the individual and the collective.
Our rhetoric is idealistic and prefigurative because it espouses social justice for all and our words and actions try to invoke structures, practices, relations and values that do not currently exist.
Our rhetoric is multi-historical by replacing the hi-story with multiple low-stories.
Our rhetoric is anti-representational because we recognize that no rhetoric can fully represent another's experience and our rhetoric is creative rather than representational.
Our rhetoric privileges complex interrogation because our discussions challenge one another to reflect upon our own taken for granted assumptions.
Our rhetoric is symbolically powerful by critiquing and rejecting particular logos, labels, brands and corporate symbols.
Our rhetoric is confrontational because it often involves yelling, screaming, shouting, stomping, clapping, drumming, fists in the air, passionate manifestos and declamatory speeches.
Our rhetoric is visionary because it is driven by visions of a better world, and realize that what we do now creates a better and presumably more democratic future.
Our rhetoric is self-righteous and self-critical by wanting to change the world and thinking that we know how.

2. The five suggestions for mending the gap rhetorical gap are:
Specify your audience which helps communicate with actual people rather than an amorphous mass.
Make adjustments to your rhetoric to fit the wants and needs of your audience.
Name and explain your rhetoric by explaining the reasons behind your choices, as in protests or any action.
Make more observations by reflecting upon what you and others are doing and catalogue your observations.
Take personal responsibility which can either weaken or strengthen the success of others.

3. Network rhetoric is a paradigmatic figure of contemporary activism, which is common for speakers, authors, movements, collectives, gatherings, periodicals, publications and websites to use versions of the phrases mentioned. An example of network rhetoric is social forums. Social forums allow different campaigns, strategies, problems, issues and ideologies to dialogue with one another.

4. The three basic steps that can make your network more appealing and intelligible are:
Creating a rhetorical frame by using a slogan, statement, theme, or title that ties in all the nodes together.
Using categories to manage the connections by highlighting the connections among diverse people, ideas, voices, issues, etc.
Striving for clarity and accessibility by doing whatever must be done to make your rhetoric intelligible to others by naming and explaining your rhetoric.

5. The new form of activism is referred to as Neo-radicalism. Neo-radicalism approaches activism as a communicative labor that prefigures new realities, which helps activists close the gap between their visions of the future and the realities of today.
The five guidelines for developing a neo radical agenda are:
Neo-radicalism is based on the idea that human beings create their realities through communicative processes.
Neo-radicalism asks you to walk toward your innermost political desires and create whatever realities you choose.
Neo-radicalism believes that every reality should be accepted, respected and appreciated so long as one reality does not impede another reality.
Neo-radicalism seeks to establish social systems that enamble the free creation of our desired realities: this involves investigating, confronting and uprooting any social system that hinders this process.
This struggle continues indefinitely, for even if we create a world of truly decentered realities, there is no guarantee against the re-emergence of obstructive, controlling and oppressive forces.

Body Rhetoric

       In the chapter Body Rhetoric, the focus is on how we communicate rhetorical messages through our body. There are four types of body rhetoric that the chapter looks at which are; embodied argumentations, street theater, rhetorical style and the vibe as bodily emanation. Our bodies are continuously communicating messages through the way we sit, stand, walk, and gesture. Wearing particular clothes, eating certain foods or using different forms of transportation helps communicate particular messages to others as well.
       Bodily argumentation expands the realm of rhetoric in four ways. First, embodied argumentation is a call to action where you must do what you are saying. Second, embodied argumentation provides more rhetorical options, such as being uncomfortable with conversations or speeches and more comfortable with non-verbal rhetoric. Third, embodied argumentation is empowering, in which you are fully capable of using your body anywhere and anytime to argue, debate, express, resist, and liberate your views, ideas and political affiliations. Fourth, embodied argumentation highlights the craft of everyday living where we use time, patience, practice, craft, application and revision to craft communication into well-defined arguments.
        The five steps for cultivating style are:
Observation, where you take notice of your own and others' styles like the way you move, talk, laugh, and smile.
Reflection, where we reflect upon the pros and cons of observed styles and why or why not the styles work.
Experimentation, where you experiment with different rhetorical styles by trying on and trying on different rhetorical choices and seeing what best suits us.
Application, where we choose and apply our style by adapting to certain gestures and mannerisms that continuously repeat themselves.
Chance, where we take a chance and see what happens. You must think, analyze, and rework your style but, will never know which gesture, mannerism, accent, or movement will work.
        Individual body argumentation is when one uses their individual body to make all kinds of arguments, which can be seen in a form of apparel expression. Collective bodies also make arguments butt often occurs through protests and actions, which might include: sanctioned rallies, marches and demonstrations, street festivals, and ... etc. I would I say I was in an individual body argumentation by getting tattoos on my body that express a certain meaning to myself that others may not understand and just find meaningless.

       

Moon (2009)

In the film Moon, the primary character, Sam Bell, has a three year contract with Lunar Industries in which he must supply Earth with Helium-3 which he is harvesting while on the moon. While on his mission, he is accompanied by an intelligent computer which he refers too as Gerty. The purpose of Gerty is to attend to Sam's every days need. Gerty is an example of artificial intelligence and what we may expect to see as the future progresses with technology. During the film when Sam has his accident and is unconscious, Gerty seems to begin to run things around while Sam is unstable. The use of artificial intelligence in this film does not cause a fatal or unjust act as seen in prior films, but Gerty sill thinks like a human and acts like a human at some parts. After viewing this film, I grew curious on whether one day astronauts will ever be needed again and if they will be replaced by these intelligent computers that can be left on the moon since they do not require any form of food, and just communicate with the computers. Overall, the plot of the film focused on the behaviors of Sam and how three years of isolation caused him to have hallucinations a few weeks before his return back to Earth. Gerty did serve as assistance, and from what I saw, this form of artificial intelligence seemed to stay under human control.

The Power of Language

The definition I would assign language would be a way of expression through words and the power behind those words. Language is a form of communicating, which is also portrayed through images a person may believe represents them or simply an image found amusing on social media. This form of communication through the media does form an influence because a person is sharing an image with the entire world, if the account is not private, and the image is then reposted on another account and so on leading to one simple image affecting many other social media users. The image that may be continuously reposted could be representing something important like certain awareness's, which allows all users to connect and communicate in that form.

The five guidelines for communication-friendly language are: Be accessible, Be clear, Be respectful, Be provocative, and Be interesting. I do not necessarily agree that our generation follows these guidelines because we all use different forms of wording or terms when communicating. Some individuals may use abbreviations and keep things short or some individuals may use more difficult terms that not many of us understand which may make many messages unclear. I also believe that this generation lacks respect in the way they approach individuals by using foul language and are not as provocative as older individuals may be. This generation tends to lack emotion and so they keep conversations blunt and short, uninteresting, and inaccessible.  

In the chapter The Power of Language, the quote, "War is peace; Freedom is slavery; ignorance is strength" ... "enables Orwell's totalitarian government to unleash a continuous war of infinite reach and endless duration"(107). In Orwell's novel, he believes that citizens are so enwrapped in their governments form of language that they forget their own ability to think beyond their situations (107). This form of language is influencing us through social media because we are only shown what the government want us to know. Now a days, some posts or images that are posted by certain individuals are able to be removed by the social media being used and banned off of all accounts it was posted on. The government has the ability to show us what they want us to see and not what we should be seeing. By this, we are enwrapped in the news that is shown on television and on social media but not of the news that is found more important.

The media and the world is influenced through propaganda by encountering false ideas that are consciously spread and proliferated (116). The book states that "each individual is somewhat responsible for acquiring accurate information" but today we are forced to believe that the information being introduced by the media into the world is completely accurate. This ties in to the previous question because we are only receiving information that the government also to be portrayed and so we begin to believe that what is shown through media is correct although it may not be. The intention of media is to earn recognition and the interest of individuals, and so the media is capable of displaying false information in order to coninue grabbing the worlds attention.

Bicentennial Man

         Overall, the film Bicentennial Man portrayed a beautiful view on the creation of a robot. In the film, the robot known as NDR was then named Andrew by the family he was introduced in. The husband and wife has two young little girls, whom Andrew would spend his time taking care of as well. Andrew was an extraordinary robot whose duty was to do housework, but aside showed human like characteristics such as curiosity and social skills. There is also a scene in the film in which Andrew shows some type of emotion, when they take the trip to the beach. The youngest, also know as "little miss", decided to show Andrew her favorite glass horse which was then broken when dropped by Andrew. Of course, little miss was upset about the incident and so Andrew decided to make her a horse out of beach wood. Without being told to recreate a horse for little miss, Andrew still decides too. Today, we all see robots in a negative way believing they are capable of concurring the world and terminating humans. In my opinion this film portrayed the creation of a robot in a spectacular way. It even made me want to have my own "Andrew". This robot showed many great characteristics, which were never evil in any way. Towards the end of the film, Andrew decided he wants to feel like a complete human and ends up feeling true emotion by falling in love with Portia. Andrew also states, "I would rather die a man than to live an eternity as a machine". In some way, it is quite frightening to see robots wanting to be considered human because if it comes into play in the future we will never be able to distinguish man from robot. Although there may be many negative consequences through this type of artificial intelligence I believe if the world were to create robots like Andrew, we would not need to fear termination or losing possible jobs. I really enjoyed the film, and the way Andrew portrayed himself and the characteristics he held.

A Call to Rhetorical Action

        The advancement of technology has improved a variety of life situations that has been beneficial but also not so beneficial at times. Technology may help us build a new, inclusive social norm through the many forms we are capable of communicating. Technology has its many purposes, but one of the main ones that benefits the whole human race is communication. A social norm can be considered anything that seems custom to the human race and no so out of the ordinary. Using a cellular device as a form of technology provides us all who own one the ability to communicate and contact individuals in the state and even across the world. The amount of individuals whom own a cellular device over power the amount of those who don't, and so it seems typical to the individuals who do have a cellular device to believe everyone else does as well, social assumption. The use of this form of technology is extremely common nowadays due to the many functions contained in the device as well. I personally believe the form of communicating through the technology we have today will help build a new inclusive social norm, especially because technology only continues to advance.
        Not only does technology highly impact our lives on a daily basis, but so does the media. The media usually tends to ignore or falsify our movements and actions through their beneficiary. We could all possibly agree that the media only lets us see what the media wants us too see. These false movements and actions may be seen through many advertisements and celebrities whom are contracted to say certain things about a product, person, or even actions. Celebrities is a main example due to the fact that many individuals look up to celebrities as role models and wish nothing more than to maybe be like them. Celebrities are often contracted to promote certain products or are interviewed for certain views on current events, or personal occasions. The media focuses on hiding information that will cause controversy, and instead makes us all believe that the awful things we see occur often is out of good reasoning.
        Currently, five contemporary challenges that activist face are creating decentered movements, developing new forms of leadership, learning to communicate across contexts, building translation alliances and dealing with the media juggernaut (pg29). Technology may help us overcome these five challenges through unity and through what individual choose to share on the media. Through unity, we must all come together in agreements over decisions and information being displayed on the media, and to be able to control the falsified information which is also an issue on media. Through the unity, it will become easier for individuals to communicate with each other and agree in situations. Lately the lack of unity and communication drives everyone opposite directions with different views on situations. The more we all unite with one another and express certain views through technology, the less challenges we will face as the future progresses.

Artificial Intellgence begins to take over

                Technology has developed profoundly over the year which has been beneficial and not so beneficial through its uses. The development of technology today is advanced in a way the artificial intelligence now exists. In the article "Facebook Is Already Using Its Artificial Intelligence On You", it is confirmed that while using Facebook on a daily basis, we are working with artificial intelligence. The artificial intelligence that Facebook offers is the capability of recognizing interaction and the content that being delivered throughout the feed, such as liking statuses posted by other people. I am personally not a daily Facebook user, but there are times I am curious and want to look through my feed to see what has been occurring around the world. I remember that when an account is created, it asks many questions such as; what are your interest? what is your favorite movie? favorite book to read? ...etc. Its quite incredible to see how Facebook processes a persons interest to find common preferences. The software truly goes an extra mile to keep the user engaged on their account by being presented with similar preferences to theirs. Like Facebook, I would say another social media that uses a similar form of tracking a persons interest would be Instagram. On Instagram we are provided the option to explore our interests and are able to view pictures that current friends have posted or even liked themselves on their own account. Not only are we capable of searching almost anything we are interested in on Instagram, but we are also given the capability of viewing what our current friends are interested in or viewing from their likes. The article has proven that all current Facebook users can now be recalled as a post-human through the use of AI in this social media. Without a doubt we are all surrounded by different forms of technology, and just like I was unaware that by using Facebook I was already interacting with a form of artificial intelligence, means that there are more programs we are engaged in that may now also be considered artificial intelligence. Although Facebook functions with artificial intelligence I still believe it to be considered a social network due to the amount of communication and sharing done between many individuals. Although Facebook goes above and beyond to keep the user engaged by finding similar preferences,  people we may know are also suggested and that is how former acquaintances, friends, or family connect.
            In "5 Very Smart People Who Think Artificial Intelligence Could Bring The Apocalypse", Venor Vinge shares with the readers his intake on artificial intelligence. Vinge believes in a theory of "singularity" which describes the interaction between robot and humans. He believes that through the competitive rise of technology to benefit the economy, military, and even artistic is so compelling that the extinction of human race is definitely a possibility. I completely agree. The more advanced that technology becomes, the more technology is relied on. Humans are definitely being defeated by technology. The more technology advances, the more a humans own mind and intelligence is being over ruled. There was a report that revealed "65% of U.S. consumers are spending more time on their computers than with their significant others"(Technology Is Taking Over Americans' Lives). The article reveals how engaged humans are in technology and the interests it carries on a person. The study revealed proves how we have became post-human by being attentive to our technological devices than our own loved ones. Technology may seem so fascinating and intriguing to ones eye, but in the end the harm it causes may be inevitable.

FBI vs. iPhone

In respects to the Apple company, i completely agree that "Citizens, and iPhone users, have a legitimate interest in keeping the data on their phone private and secure". Although Apple allows citizens the right to privacy I don't not agree that apple should refrain from allowing the FBI from viewing information that may be lingering in ONE device and in a cellular device that will no longer be capable of being used by its original owner. Putting myself in Tim Cook's, I would not refrain the access of the device to the FBI. I would grant the FBI access to the data currently lingering on the device but would be hesitant if they demanded to retrieve encrypted data using a code in the system which will grant them access data to any iPhone. All iPhone owners have the right to privacy as citizens, and should not be affected by the investigation still going on. If the FBI turns out winning the right of access to the encrypted data, they would be violating Apple's right to allow iPhone users to keep data on the iPhone private and secure. If Apple's stand against the FBI gets its way, the rights that will be impacted by their refusal will be that of privacy of all iPhone owners, and the demands by the government "would undermine the very freedoms and liberty our government is meant to protect". As stated in a prior reading dealing with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, it states in article three of the preamble that "Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person". Apple's stand on protecting iPhone owners data falls under this article by granting the person the right of security. These specific human rights "lays down obligations of Governments to act in certain ways or to refrain from certain acts, in order to promote and protect human rights and fundamental freedoms of individuals or groups"(United Nations Human Rights). Overall, the government and investigators definitely have the right to view what is on this terrorists phone in a way of protecting citizens from more terrorist acts from occurring, but I agree they do not have the right to force apple to create a backdoor into the security system that will affect all iPhones and the privacy of their owners. I strongly believe Apple has the right to stand up for all their iPhone users privacy in the end. .

Ethics of Artificial Intelligence

I personally believe that all weapons violate the Martens Clause because of their purpose and usage. The Martens Clause "bans weapons that violate the "principles of humanity and the dictates of public conscience" (416). Weapons are specifically made to cause collateral damage, whether on purpose or as defense, and no matter what the reason may be behind its usage, a person or persons will be murdered. The creation of lethal autonomous weapon systems will also violate the Martens Clause due to the fact that it may "violate fundamental principles of human dignity by allowing machines whom to kill" (416). By creating such AI weapons, we are putting our own lives and other human beings life's at risk by allowing machinery/robots to decide whom to terminate and under what circumstance. Like the example provided in the article, these robots may be programmed to terminate any individual performing "threatening behavior" and may result in murders of innocent civilians. Although the article mentions great benefits from the creations of these AI technologies, such as systems that "could help the elderly, improve health care, make jobs safer and more efficient, and allow us to explore space or beneath the ocean", we are going to need to rely on all this technology with knowing an error could occur at any given moment. You may be exploring the ocean when suddenly what your traveling in stops with no way back to a safe surface. This examples leads to the reason that all machinery created must have meaningful human control. In my perspective, having meaningful human control over technology means an individual whom is using a certain type of technology is using it for a greater/meaningful purpose and knows how the technology completely functions and how to keep it under control. An example of what meaningful human control means to me ca be seen in surgeons whom use different types of advanced tools to perform surgeries on individuals for a meaningful/life-saving reason and have complete control on the tools and how it functions. The scope of the four conversations of the article is the pros and cons of the development of AI weapons. It begins with the violation of humanity into having representation and leaders to convince the public and ends with the benefits AI weapons produce and the fields it may improve. The fields that are impacted by these AI robotics are mainly the medical field, the military, and the air force including NASA and its space craft. A great example of how AI robots may violate humanity is displayed in the film The Terminator where an advanced cyborg made out of liquid metal is destined to terminate an individual. A computer system known as Skynet, gained self-awareness and realized its extent to its abilities leading it to want to exterminate the human race and their "usefulness". This film is a great example on how artificial intelligence violates humanity and how impossible it may be to control once it has gained its own self-awareness.

In the beginning of 2001: A Space Odyssey, I believe it is appropriate to compare us humans to the apes. The apes seemed frightened and curious when they noticed a long black rectangular figure in the middle of their environment. Humans can be compared to these apes through their reaction and emotion. When we are introduced to new technology we are won over by its physic, which attracts us and sometimes just makes us want to have it. We may not necessarily know how this new technology in front of us functions but we become curious and begin using it and observing it to figure out what it may be. The apes were at first frightened/furious when they woke up and realized there was something there that wasn't before, but soon enough they became curious and began to surround the object and feel it. This is exactly how humans are with technology. We may not know what it is or how it functions, but our curiosity overcomes us and so we must own it and know how it functions. We can also compare the use of technology in the film to recent technology today. Although we do not have programed computers that speak to us constantly like the computer in the film, Hal 9000, we do have programmed phones that respond to our voices and do as we say, Siri. It is quiet frightening to see how Hal began to act and how he wanted to demolish the humans aboard because he didn't want to be turned off. He began to observe their ever move and was determined get rid of the humans. It is unbelievable to see how machinery programmed by humans may just suddenly begin doing actions on their own. It makes me double think on how that is possible? How can a programmed computer suddenly build a mind of its own and make decisions for itself? The advancement of technology today is definitely frightening.

In Hayles  reading, I can conclude how technology has advanced highly and how it is increasingly affecting humans. In the Macy Conference on Cybernetics, it is stated that they view human beings as "information-processing entities who are essentially similar to intelligent machines"(pg14). The technology that has advanced today has grown capable of obtaining human characteristics and processing human actions through machines referred to as "robots".  It is very likely that as this kind of technology continues to advance the less humans there will be in the work force because machines will begin to take over manual work. In the reading, Hayles defines humanism as a form of post-humanism due to the advancement on technology and how different it has changed from prior years. I would define humanism as strictly being a human. By this I mean that a person lives and experiences the outcomes of life. A human is given the opportunity of making own decisions for themselves and becoming a part of society. Although this may be the way I view humanism, Hayles strictly views humanism as a connection between a human and technology. Our beliefs on humanism differ because I view it as a natural way of being human and living life while she views it as a strict bond of the human body and a technological machine. Even though it is difficult to accept, I will consider myself a post-human because of the amount of technology I am surrounded by and by the amount of use I encounter each day. Technology will only continue to develop over the years and eventually cause a drastic change in the world. A quote that caught my attention in the reading stated, "The human essence is freedom from the wills of other, and freedom is a function of possession"(pg3). After reading it a couple times, it is still difficult to truly understand. My understanding from this quote is that a human is free in the world, free in owning material and free in developing but that freedom becomes a possession to technology. We become addicted to the advancement of technology only craving more until we have completely been possessed by the addiction. 

After reading Universal Declaration of Human Rights and Why We'll Always Need a Civil Right's Movement, I concluded that human rights and civil rights are different. The difference between the two are that human rights are given to every individual, meaning that all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and in rights. As stated in the reading, "each individual is entitled to all the rights and freedom set forth in the declaration without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language,etc. On the other hand, civil rights are rights individuals fight for to obtain equal treatment without discrimination. As mentioned in the second reading, civil rights include black Americans, immigrants, young people, and also individuals who consider themselves gay equal members of our nation, with all the rights and dignity that a member should obtain. Human rights allow the individual freedom and equality regardless of their ethnicity, sex, etc. and civil rights allow the individual freedom and equality between men and woman without discrimination, and are rights that are sometimes fought for. Although they may seem to coincide and relate in some aspect i conclude that they are different because a human right is entitled to an individual for being human and are universal, whereas a civil right is a right that an individual is given by the country of the individual and also change from one country to another.

Hello, my name is Kassandra Jimenez and I am one of the new members to the class. I do not live on campus, therefore I commute to school daily. I enjoy listening to music, being decorative, and can possibly say am addicted to Starbucks. Apart from school, I also have a job outside of campus where I work at In N Out.  My expectations for this course this semester is to be capable of bettering my writing and making it stronger. I expect myself to achieve all the assignments expectations and to earn passing grades on my work ethic.