On the the Season One FINALE of CCTea, Kevin and Zach return to the booth to recap the gnovis event of the year: gnoviCon 2019! The theme of this year's conference was "Big Tech, Data & Democracy." Over the course of this episode, we will bring you sound bytes from each speaker, while adding our own commentary and analysis to the different discussions. There were 2 panels at gnoviCon, the first titled "Big Tech & Competition Policy" and the second titled "Big Tech & the Future of Democracy." Our esteemed panelists came from a multitude of industries and professions, and offered their unique perspectives on these topical and critically important issues. Between panels was a keynote speech by Siva Vaidyanathan, which covered the topics of big data, Facebook, and cultural behavior in the Digital Age. Are tech giants such as Facebook and Amazon threatening our democracy? What kind of anti-trust regulations or policies can (or should) be implemented to combat monopolistic tendencies in a capitalist society? What’s the best way to handle your crazy relative on social media amplifying misinformation across your news feed? Today, the tea will tell... Table of Contents 0:00 - Intro 1:55 - Panel 1 Overview 2:40 - Phillip Verveer on Antitrust 5:05 - Harold Feld on Sector-Specific Regulations 9:15 - Diana Moss on Declining Competition 12:20 - Mark Whitener on Application of Antitrust 15:15 - Lauren Willard on the Broader Discussion of Antitrust 17:30 - Concluding Thoughts on Panel 1 19:10 - Siva Vaidyanathan Keynote Summary 32:10 - Panel 2 Overview 32:35 - Sally Hubbard on Facebook’s Lack of Alternatives and Possible Regulation 35:40 - Emily Vargas on Media Literacy & Education 37:40 - Ethan Porter on Correcting Misinformation and “Crazy Uncles” 40:35 - Gnovicon in a Gnutshell 41:10 - Kevin’s Cold Take 41:40 - A Final Fond Farewell Contact: Zach Omer - zdo2@georgetown.edu Kevin Ackermann - kaa128@georgetown.edu Music by: LAKEY INSPIRED • Follow LAKEY INSPIRED on SoundCloud here - https://soundcloud.com/lakeyinspired
Kevin and Zach return to the booth for the second-to-last installment of CCTea's first season, where they discuss the hot topic of artificial intelligence! Artificial intelligence (or AI) has become quite the buzzword in today's society. New "smart" devices with machine learning algorithms are integrating into our daily lives at a rapid pace. These machines can sift through unfathomable amounts of data to recognize patterns, predict behavior, and maximize efficiency. While these machines may still be bound by their foundations in binary code, some worry that they are evolving faster than their human creators. Should we be excited? Should we be worried? Today, the tea will tell. Table of Contents: 0:00 - Intro 1:15 - Semantic Issues with AI 4:45 - The 3 H’s (Hope, Hype, Hysteria) 6:30 - Another H (History) 9:00 - Logic Theorist (1957) 9:45 - The Turing Test (1950) 11:15 - Conversational AI: Automated Communication 14:00 - Sociotechnical Blindness 15:15 - Accountability in the Age of AI 17:20 - Machine Learning 18:20 - Natural Language Processing 22:20 - Exponential Growth of Technology 23:25 - The Future of Work? 25:45 - Importance of Adaptability 26:40 - Kevin’s Cold Take 27:15 - Denouement & gnovicon 2019 Learn more about gnovicon and register to attend here: http://www.gnovisjournal.org/gnovicon-2019/ References CGP Grey. (2014). Humans Need Not Apply. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Pq-S557XQU Johnson, D. G., & Verdicchio, M. (2017). Reframing AI Discourse. Minds and Machines, 27(4), 575–590. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11023-017-9417-6 Vincent, J. (2019, March 5). Forty percent of “AI startups” in Europe don’t actually use AI. claims report. The Verge. Retrieved from https://www.theverge.com/2019/3/5/18251326/ai-startups-europe-fake-40-percent-mmc-report All background music in this episode was created by AI technology from Jukedeck - create your own at http://jukedeck.com.
We've heard from current students. We've heard from CCT alumni. Now Kevin and Zach sit down with Georgetown CCT professor and media scholar Dr. Michael Koliska to discuss journalism and the impact of fake news on the industry. Piggybacking off the last episode about Internet Urban Legends, Episode 8 seeks to understand what happens when fabricated (or false) information online makes it way into our news feeds. Dr. Koliska discusses how trust becomes exploited when irresistible gossip and misinformation make their rounds on the internet, the importance of transparency from news organizations, and on the flip side, the importance of media literacy from consumers of news. Is fake news unique to the Digital Age? How do factors like time, trust, and authority help dictate what we believe in the news we read or watch? Today, the tea will tell. Table of Contents 0:00 - Lead-In 0:55 - Introducing Dr. Michael Koliska 1:40 - From Tall Tales to Fake News 4:30 - The Irresistibility of Misinformation 5:30 - Conflated Terms in the Mainstream 6:35 - Perceptual Limitations & Exploited Trust 9:30 - Algorthmic Transparency 12:10 - Sharing As Surveillance 13:00 - Hindrances to Transparency (Cost & Time) 14:45 - Why Be Transparent? 17:00 - News As Entertainment (s/o Neil Postman) 18:25 - The Privilege of Information 19:30 - Shrinking Attention Spans 20:50 - A Complex Conundrum 22:30 - The Digital Divide 24:35 - Emphasizing Media Literacy 27:30 - Kevin’s Cold Take References: "Transparency is the new objectivity." - David Weinberger (@ 15:40) Guess, A., Nagler, J., & Tucker, J. (2019). Less than you think: Prevalence and predictors of fake news dissemination on Facebook. Science Advances, 5(1), eaau4586. https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.aau4586 (@ Music by: LAKEY INSPIRED • Subscribe to the LAKEY INSPIRED YouTube channel here - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOmy... • Follow LAKEY INSPIRED on SoundCloud here - https://soundcloud.com/lakeyinspired • Follow LAKEY INSPIRED on Spotify HERE - https://open.spotify.com/artist/3zDGj...
Episode 7 of CCTea takes a spooky turn as Kevin and Zach take on the topic of Internet Urban Legends! From the ancient myths of vampires, dragons, and mermaids to modern horror stories such as Slender Man and other creepypastas, how are these tales created, embellished, and disseminated in the Digital Age? How do nostalgia, fake news, and Pokemon factor into the equation? As FDR once said, “We have nothing to fear but fear itself.” This notion is certainly poetic, but is it true? There’s so much to be afraid of in contemporary society: nuclear annihilation, smallpox going on a reunion tour, and Slender Man! All of these fears stem from a common source: the unknown. How do the expressions of these fears morph and transfigure in a digitally mediated society? What can we learn from monsters online? Today, the tea will tell... Table of Contents: 0:00 - Intro 1:10 - Kevin: Internet Monster Boy 3:05 - How Urban Legends Spread 5:30 - The Dish on CreepyPasta 7:00 - Introducing Slender Man 9:05 - Radicalization by Myths & Urban Legends 11:30 - Censoring Online Content From Children 13:15 - What Monsters Represent 15:05 - Distinguishing Reality From Fiction 16:50 - A Brief Background of Fake News 19:20 - New Forms of Literary Exploration 22:10 - Nostalgia Within Online Urban Legends 25:00 - Pokemon's Lavender Town 27:15 - Kevin’s Cold Take Works Cited Evans, T. H. (2017, December 20). Opinion | The Ghosts in the Machine. The New York Times. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/08/opinion/sunday/the-ghosts-in-the-machine.html Lavender Town Syndrome. (n.d.). Retrieved February 12, 2019, from http://creepypasta.wikia.com/wiki/Lavender_Town_Syndrome Manjoo, F. (2017, December 20). Urban Legends Told Online. The New York Times. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/10/technology/personaltech/slender-man-story-and-the-new-urban-legends.html Mar, A. (2017, December 7). Into the woods: how online urban legend Slender Man inspired children to kill. The Guardian. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/news/2017/dec/07/slender-man-into-the-woods-how-an-online-bogeyman-inspired-children-to-kill Stoeber, J. (2018, July 12). Creepypasta and the psychology of negative nostalgia. Retrieved February 12, 2019, from https://www.polygon.com/videos/2018/7/12/17562402/fiendzone-negative-nostalgia-petscop-creepypasta Uberti, D. (2016, December 15). The real history of fake news. Columbia Journalism Review. Retrieved from https://www.cjr.org/special_report/fake_news_history.php Contact: Zach Omer zdo2@georgetown.edu Kevin Ackermann kaa128@georgetown.edu
In Episode 6 of CCTea, Zach & Kevin discuss the tricky topic of Internet Semantics and Etiquette, and how the ways in which we carry ourselves online can often spill over into our physical lives and relationships. They ponder the different methods of communicating online and their effects on understanding; the recent rise in image-based communication; modern dating and networking; and generational differences in communication expectations. So what are the protocols for the torrential flow of digital information? Are the bountiful modes of communication and expression available online allowing us to better articulate and convey meaning, or are they adding layers of depth and ambiguity to our correspondence, and leaving us all anxiously analyzing the smallest details of semiotics and semantics? Today, the tea will tell. Table of Contents: 0:00 - Intro 0:50 - Net Etiquette aka ~Netiquette~ 1:55 - The Medium is the Message (McLuhan shoutout) 3:15 - Gr8 Expectations: The Digital Divide 7:10 - Enhanced E-talk [8:05 - feat. Chelsea Peretti in "Brooklyn 99"] 11:00 - Synchronous vs. Asynchronous Communication 13:00 - TEXT YELLING vs. bein chill 14:10 - Reply Timeliness 17:45 - The Shrinking Refrain of Free Culture 20:40 - Modern Courtship 21:50 - Networking Netiquette 23:10 - All the World [Wide Web] is a Stage 24:50 - The Social Politics of “ Following” 27:05 - Kevin’s Cold Take 27:35 - Outro Contact: Zach Omer zdo2@georgetown.edu Kevin Ackermann kaa128@georgetown.edu
Zach & Kevin return for Episode 5 of CCTea to discuss the phenomenon of mediating our memories through camera phones, social media and other digital locative tools. The mobility and ubiquity of these mobile technologies have facilitated their ability to serve as recording devices and memory makers, just like film cameras and handwritten diaries before them. It’s become so easy to document and chronicle our lives through snapshots and to stockpile all that data in cloud storage systems, but what are the ramifications of that process? What happens when that content-- our cherished memories-- gets lost, corrupted, or deleted? Does it become fragmented and lose some of its richness? Do we leave enough time to reflect on our memories, project our current self onto them, and commit them to long-term memory, or do we rely too heavily on outsourcing that cognitive load onto computers? Today, the tea will tell. This discussion will feature an academic article called Record and Remember: Memory and Meaning-Making Practices Through Mobile Media (Ozkul & Humphries, 2015), a metaphor from Fortnite (the video game), a drowned phone, "food-stagramming" avocado toast, the paradox of nostalgia, and time wizardry. The full table of contents is below: 0:00 - Intro 1:00 - Ozkul & Humphries (2015) 1:45 - Locative Media: Foursquare Mayors 2:35 - Memory-Making: Capturing Time through Photos 5:05 - "Where Were You On..." 7:00 - Kevin's Slurp Juice (Fortnite) Metaphor 9:15 - Screenshots of Decontextualized Sentiments 11:45 - Hoarders: Digital Clutter 12:45 - Quantified Memories of a Camera Roll 13:30 - Zach's Drive to DC: A Drowned Phone & Deer 16:00 - Memory Fragmentation from Lost Content 17:20 - "Food-stagramming" & Other Utilitarian Photos 18:45 - Outsourcing Memories with Cloud Storage 24:05 - Text vs. Image: The Projection of Self 26:00 - Time Wizards & the Nostalgia Paradox 28:30 - Kevin's Cold Take 29:10 - Outro Works Cited: Özkul, D., & Humphreys, L. (2015). Record and remember: Memory and meaning-making practices through mobile media. Mobile Media & Communication, 3(3), 351–365. https://doi.org/10.1177/2050157914565846 Contact: Zach Omer - zdo2@georgetown.edu Kevin Ackermann - kaa128@georgetown.edu
Episode 4 of the CCTea podcast follows up on the previous episode about Wearable Medical Technology through a full-length feature interview with a star student of the Communication, Culture & Technology program at Georgetown University. Shavini Fernando, a Fall 2018 graduate of the program, recently designed her own wearable medical technology called O2Wear. Her device will continuously monitor users' oxygen levels and will alert the user and their primary care provider if oxygen levels drop too low. Shavini won multiple awards on campus for her invention, including over $50,000 worth of prize money to further develop her device. In the exclusive CCTea interview, Shavini discusses the background and inspiration for her invention, beginning with her own struggles with a heart condition called Eisenmenger's Syndrome. Her incredible stories include an out-of-body experience, an accidental stroke, a lost passport, and a letter from President Obama. See below for the full table of contents: 0:00 - Introduction 0:45 - Shavini’s Origins (Sri Lanka) 1:25 - Grad School & Teaching in Australia 3:25 - Eisenmenger's Sydrome Explained 7:00 - The Blue Face Incident 8:00 - Cardiologist Visit 9:40 - Right Heart Cardiac Catheterization 11:00 - Shavini Defeats Death 14:30 - A Dismal Diagnosis 16:45 - Traveling to the U.S. 17:00 - An Accidental Stroke at Johns Hopkins 17:45 - “I Feel Like I’m in Grey’s Anatomy” 18:45 - Recovery: Continuous Oxygen 19:45 - Obtaining Insurance Through ObamaCare 20:40 - “You Have Letter From the White House” 21:10 - Switching Visas Under Trump 22:25 - Choosing Georgetown & CCT 23:45 - Changing Visas: International Shenanigans 25:45 - Lost Passport Abroad 28:05 - Physical Gains and Goals 29:30 - O2Wear Explained 34:30 - “It’s Not Just For Pulmonary Hypertension” 36:35 - GU Bark Tank Competition 38:00 - Coming Up With The Name “O2Wear” 40:45 - Training for Pitch Night: GIPC Competition 43:30 - Pitch Night: “I Forgot My Entire Pitch” 46:05 - What’s Next? 48:10 - The Importance of a Positive Outlook
In Episode 3 of CCTea, Kevin and Zach tackle the topic of Medical Wearable Technology, and discuss how these devices affect our health, our daily lives, and even our social interactions. They also analyze the differences between consumer wearables (such as FitBit, Apple Watch, Garmin, etc.), and true medical wearable technology (such as glucose monitors, pulse trackers, and diagnostic wearables). Do you use wearable medical technology like step counters or pulse trackers? How do they impact our physical and mental health? What are the medical, financial, and legal implications of these devices? Today, the tea will tell. 0:00 Intro 1:05 Wavering Walks of Winter 3:00 The McFitBit 4:50 Most Accurate Pedometers 6:00 Story by Kevin: A Dark Side of Personal Health Tracking 10:00 Showcasing Quantified Health 11:45 The Broad Spectrum of Medical Wearable Tech 14:00 Medical Monitors & Surveillance 16:00 Privacy: Consumer Wearables vs. Medical Devices 17:30 Grindr Scandal: Selling Sensitive Health Data 20:20 Wearable Tech Revenue$ 21:40 Zach’s Secondhand FitBit Testimony 23:00 Positive Aspects of Gamifying Health 25:30 Kevin’s Cold Take Tune in next time for a follow-up episode containing an in-depth interview with Shavini Fernando, a CCT entrepreneur who recently invented her own award-winning medical wearable technology!
Kevin and Zach return to the booth for Episode 2 of the CCTea podcast, this time welcoming a guest feature: Kimberly Marcela Duron, the assistant editor-in-chief of gnovis! This week we will be discussing Identity Formation in the Digital Age, through 3 different lenses: TV & Cinema, Social Media, and Marketing/Advertising. So, what makes you, you? The formation and development of our personal identities in the Digital Age has become increasingly influenced by what we watch, where we go, what we buy, and how we conduct ourselves online. How does our digital environment affect the way we develop, process, and adapt our sense of self? The rise of social media has allowed us to tweak and experiment with our identities, with each platform providing different nuances for personal presentation, broadcasting of thought, and observational learning. Does this allow for unique development and enrichment of identity, or does the commodification of likes and shares on social media lead us toward a homogenized version of identity, as many of us strive for acceptance rather than genuine self-presentation online? 0:00 - Introduction 1:00 - The Effects of Film & TV on Identity Formation 1:55 - RIP Stan Lee 3:15 - “Watching Up” 4:00 - The Impact of Coco on Hispanic Identity 5:55 - Representing Everyone 7:10 - Insecure and Other User-Generated Content 8:20 - Shifting the Mainstream with Authenticity 9:00 - Creating Content as a Conversation 10:35 - Diversity of Representation in Social Media 11:30 - Tumblr and Observational Learning 13:50 - Identity Fluidity on Social Media 14:55 - Personal Online Brands 15:45 - The Process of Identity Formation 16:30 - Gamification of Identity 18:05 - TFW: Relatability Through Universalities 19:10 - Social Media as a Collective: “Duckface is Out” 21:35 - Incubating Identities 22:15 - Infiltration of Consumerism: Brand Exposure 24:30 - Branded Content & the Rise of Normcore 27:10 - Brandless Brands 29:45 - Kevin’s Cold Take For questions, comments, and requests for the show, please contact: Zach Omer: zdo2@georgetown.edu Kevin Ackermann: kaa128@georgetown.edu
In this fast-paced digital environment we are living, distractions have become unbelievably abundant. It's never been easier or more inviting to become sidetracked. When these distractions begin to take up more of our time than our actual responsibilities, are their roles reversed? Is it possible for distractions to actually become a responsibility in our lives? As the Niagara of information communications becomes increasingly torrential-- and personalized-- feelings of obligation transfer away from our required work and studies and toward merely keeping up with the current. In the first episode of CCTea, the Web & Blog team of gnovis Journal (Kevin Ackermann & Zach Omer) tackle this tricky topic of technological distraction and what it means for our personal well-being and mental health, as well as the sociological ramifications of continuously indulging the desire to distracted. 0:00 - Introduction 1:30 - Temptation to Multitask 3:20 - The Vicious Cycle of Distraction 5:30 - Dealing With Distraction 7:15 - The Metaphor of the Moth 9:05 - Distracted Driving & Autonomous Cars 11:55 - The Effects of Hyper-Vigilance on Mental Health 12:40 - Regulating Addictive Substances 14:35 - Individual Powerlessness 15:30 - Social Media Martyrdom 18:00 - The Intrinsic Value of Idle Time 20:45 - Kevin's Cold Take 21:15 - Contact Info & Outro