Post here by class on Thursday for participation credit for last week.
Prompts and Questions:
- Post any thought you had about the class debate between Clark and Dreyfus.
- Jenkinson and Bleecker both claim that machines deserve credit (and responsibility) for participating in human social activities. How do their claims differ from traditional arguments over artificial intelligence?
- We have basically finished the core course material for this semester. Do you feel like you understand technology better than you did before? Did this class help? Is technology worth understanding well?
William Barrett | 23-Apr-07 at 5:41 pm | Permalink
Post any thought you had about the class debate between Clark and Dreyfus.
In the debate, we discussed the problem with the internet in comparison to the library in finding information in the right way with significance and correct context. Clark’s side was able to reply successfully to Dreyfus’s claims, that the library is better than the internet, with the point on the advancement made in search engines. However, this is due to the fact that Dreyfus’s discussion and criticism of the internet was in the time of the first generation search engines, before second generation search engines such as Google. Google came along and found a solution to the problem with the first generation search engines of not having hierarchy and classification in order to obtain significance, like the library. Google’s solution was to not solve the problem directly, but distribute the problem around. What matters in the search is not only what page or how many pages are linked to what source because certain sources will be more reliable than others. This was the problem with the first generation search engine, as what mattered to this engine was what the link is. In the second generation search engines, what is looked at is who is doing the linking and how the links are used, so then the semantics to our words and searches can be figured out. Google and other second generation search engines have allowed for the search function to work fairly well and allow us to get a sense of meaning from the structure of the internet.
Kimberly Koch | 23-Apr-07 at 7:43 pm | Permalink
We have basically finished the core course material for this semester. Do you feel like you understand technology better than you did before? Did this class help? Is technology worth understanding well?
I do feel like I understand technology better than I did before this class. This class helped me realize that technology is worth understanding because it really does have control over my life in ways I never realized. I have learned that technology is controversial in its uses and its effect on humans. I think technology is well worth understanding because I believe it will have a huge impact on our future, much like it impacts our lives today. Technology will continue to grow and change the way we see and use the world. It will also continue to change how we relate to one another. I think technology’s effect on communication is extremely important and this class helped me to see just how it does effect our relations to one another.
Ashley Swarts | 23-Apr-07 at 9:29 pm | Permalink
We have basically finished the core course material for this semester. Do you feel like you understand technology better than you did before? Did this class help? Is technology worth understanding well?
I definitely do feel like I understand technology much better. Before this class, I never really thought about technology and what a huge role it plays in our everyday life. Although I don’t agree that computers are the same as us and that we are mere machines, I do now realize that computers and all technology, even the simplest things, are essential to our normal functioning and even survival in this world today. I also feel like I have a new respect for technology and how intricate and “smart” it is. I never before would have put technology on the same level as humans, but now I believe that it is in fact as knowledgeable and often capable as human beings. Because of this, I do feel that technology is worth understanding and worth paying more attention to. I definitely do not take it for granted anymore!
Ryan Marshall | 23-Apr-07 at 10:03 pm | Permalink
We have basically finished the core course material for this semester. Do you feel like you understand technology better than you did before? Did this class help? Is technology worth understanding well?
This class has given me a great insight into the controversy surrounding technology, exactly what it is and how it should be used. I feel as if I can see all sides of the situation over technology and see it in a philosophical sense. I am not sure that I understand technology itself, but I definitely have a newfound respect for how far it has come. I have learned how to think about it in relation to humans and have also learned how to think about its possibilities in the future. From everything we’ve learned in this class, it’s easy to see that technology is coming along so quickly that it may soon be at the level of humans. Technology is a frontier that not many exactly understand but I now feel I know it much better than I used to.
Jeremy Mcguire | 23-Apr-07 at 10:12 pm | Permalink
I thought this course was very beneficial to my knowledge in how we employ technology. I wouldn’t say that this course made me understand technology better with in itself but helped me understand how we employ it with in our society better. Also I have a better understanding of some of the consequences that technology could lead us in to because of our natural inclination to us technology to survive. But overall I enjoyed the class and I really enjoy learning things that are prevalent to our lives and especially when it covers material that I would never think about on my own.
Brandon Wilkins | 23-Apr-07 at 10:46 pm | Permalink
We have basically finished the core course material for this semester. Do you feel like you understand technology better than you did before? Did this class help? Is technology worth understanding well?
I feel that I have a better understanding of the views of which people of on the affects of technology. This class has taught me to view the repercussions of technology on our way of life. I do feel that it is important to understand these aspects of society and how humans have become dependent on technological equipment. I have a background which enables me to understand how certain technologies work, but this class has definitely provided me an understanding of another viewpoint on this topic.
Sam Mowry | 24-Apr-07 at 6:34 am | Permalink
I feel like I understand technology less than I did before, but I kind of like it. It was such a novel thing to me to think about technology from a philosophical perspective that I feel like I only managed to start to view it and haven’t been able to do any analyzing yet. But the topics are all really interesting, so I look forward to hopefully taking more philosophy classes in the future and maybe then I’ll feel like I accomplished more.
Wes Gotschall | 24-Apr-07 at 8:20 am | Permalink
I kind of feel like Sam here. I had a basic understanding of what machines are. Silicon circuit boards, wires, etc. but I don’t know how they work. I don’t know how they are programmed. I think I’ve just become more in tune to the fact that they are so integrated into our lives that we don’t even realize it. Just like writing this post. Twenty years ago this class wouldn’t have had this as a tool to use. Maybe not even 5 years ago for that matter. Machines, technology, and the Internet are integral to the way we go about our daily lives. I don’t see this as a bad thing because we are still manipulating the machines. While we have established (in my opinion) that the machines in the NOVA video could think, humans are still in control and studying to see how far we can go with technology in the future. I hope I’m right when I say this, but I think it was Clark that said we will begin to use technology to further ourselves rather than fix our flaws in the future. For this reason, technology is worth understanding and worth understanding to the best of our abilities so that we can continue to improve the world around us.
Amanda Bleatman | 24-Apr-07 at 8:53 am | Permalink
I have thouroughly enjoyed this class. I’m glad I’m not the only person out there with the somewhat anti-internet/technology viewpoint. Thank you Heidegger and Dreyfus! (Oh and of course Dan! Can’t forget you.) And yes this class has definitely helped me in understanding technology. It has given insight into the different human aspects that are affected by such things on both sides of the issue. The information has also given me some artistic inspiration and genuine interest in pursuing additional information. (I love Heidegger).
Danielle Foster | 24-Apr-07 at 9:04 am | Permalink
We have basically finished the core course material for this semester. Do you feel like you understand technology better than you did before? Did this class help? Is technology worth understanding well?
I feel as if I have learned a lot about technology this semester. I didn’t learn a lot about how things work and the typical things you would expect to learn when discussing technology. I learned the deeper side of technology, the effects it has on society and individuals is much more than I expected. This class made me look at technology in a new way that I never thought I could look at technology with. I feel as if I understand the way that people actually view technology a lot better now. This class has definitely helped me. I do think that technology is worth understanding well. It is such a huge entity in our society that everyone should at least understand it.
Adam Domanico | 24-Apr-07 at 9:14 am | Permalink
I do feel that I understand more about technology eversince taking this course. Technology is one of those things that people take for granted and just execpt it as something that will always be there. Rarely, I feel, people think about how the technology that they are using works and even more rarely people think about its effects on us as people and on our society as a whole. This class has opened my eyes to the necessity of doing those things. I never thought about how spell check allows us o be ignorant and how AIM allows us to face no risk or responsibility. I now value the role technology plays in our lives a lot more but I also realize the value of personal relationships with people. Overall I feel that this class is the best combination of abstract philosophy and real life aplications that I have ever experienced.
Angela Kinsella | 24-Apr-07 at 8:54 pm | Permalink
I have learned a lot about technology since taking this class, but I wouldn’t say that I understand it any better. I have thought about things more than I usually would have, like the possibilities the internet brings to people everywhere. But, like the debate we had in class, there are many drawbacks to the internet that I had not really thought about before. I have thought about the chance that the internet will disengage people from real interactions if used to excess. Someone could live perfectly fine without having to leave the house if they just had the internet and a credit card. This is where I have a problem with how the internet is so pervasive in everyone’s lives. I think people need to start making conscious efforts to not consume themselves with technology so much. I think it is extremely important as humans to still have that interaction. This class helped a little in this realization for myself, but technology is still confusing to me.
Ashley Swarts | 25-Apr-07 at 11:00 am | Permalink
I think it is interesting how a few people have claimed that they understand technology less than they did before, but I can definately see where they are coming from. Before this class, I took technology for granted so much that I didn’t ever really think about it how they work and the effects they have, whether positive or negative. By opening my eyes to all the different ideas and contoversies on technology I feel that because I know more, I realize how little I really know about technology. So compared to what I actually knew before, I know more. But when put into perspective of what I thought there was to know before this class, I know less (if that makes any sense?!).
Ashley Graham | 25-Apr-07 at 1:06 pm | Permalink
After taking this class, I think that I understand the concepts and ideals behind technology better than before. I do not actually understand a specific aspect of technology better, as I would had I taken a computer science class. I do now realize how technology is intricately embedded into our lives, so much so that it has almost become a part of ourselves. , and I am able to recognize perspectives as to why technology evolves with humanity.
Andrea Fish | 25-Apr-07 at 3:54 pm | Permalink
We have basically finished the core course material for this semester. Do you feel like you understand technology better than you did before? Did this class help? Is technology worth understanding well?
In some ways yes, I feel that I understand technology a little better after taking this course. But considering what the word technology actually encompasses I don’t believe that any one person could truly have a grasp of its entirety. So many philosophers take different stances on the issue and we only covered a small potion of those opinions. Who is to say that one is more accurate than the other? In the end it all comes down to your own beliefs on the matter. Technology has been around forever, but the Internet boom has changed society drastically all in the matter of a few decades. I think it is very important for us to keep up with an understanding of technology because the possibilities seem endless at this point in time.
Fernando Londono | 25-Apr-07 at 8:28 pm | Permalink
We have basically finished the core course material for this semester. Do you feel like you understand technology better than you did before? Did this class help? Is technology worth understanding well?
I feel like this class has confused me more about technology than I previously thought of, but in a good way. Technology is the essence of our generation, it is what separates us from animals. Technology is worth understanding because it is a reflection of who we are so in a way if we are able to understand technology we are able to understand ourselves. Take for example our economic stance as a nation, where before we were considered to be part of an industrialization movement. But that seems to now have change to a more informational period where consumers are allowed to search and shop for particular items of interest through the Internet. Not only can they shop for these items but they can research and hear other peoples opinion about the product who already have it. So this is a good thing BUT allowing yourself to be exposed to only articles, newsfeeds, videos etc. of YOUR interest individuals may be secluding themselves from other items of greater or equal importance. This is where I believe it can get very dangerous because everything else in one person’s eyes is not noteworthy to view. But yet again why not reinforce and expand through research the things that are of interest to you since ultimately you are the one that decides the outcome.
Erin Murphy | 25-Apr-07 at 9:21 pm | Permalink
I think I understand better how we connect with technology. If you consider a life without technology, or consider a sort of alternate reality in which humans do not have the ability to create the technology we have, it’s almost like part of what makes us human is taken away. Technology doesn’t separate us from our environment. Buildings, gadgetry, formal systems… this *is* our natural environment.
Kerry Phelan | 25-Apr-07 at 11:07 pm | Permalink
We have basically finished the core course material for this semester. Do you feel like you understand technology better than you did before? Did this class help? Is technology worth understanding well?
I don’t know if I understand technology better than before. Now I know how different people feel about it and what they think technology is. Their ideas were nice to hear about because it made me think as if I were in their shoes…can I see technology in that way? This class is the only thing that made me think like that and I liked it. It was something new and something worth trying. I’m not sure if technology is worth understanding well because it is constantly changing. Lowever, I think we should know the basics or atleast something about it so we aren’t completely clueless.
Ryan Riordan | 26-Apr-07 at 12:02 am | Permalink
This class was definitely interesting because i had not imagined that hte philosphy course i would be taking covered a topic like the internet. That topic is worth every bit of time we have spent exploring it. I don’t know if i necessarily understand the Internet better than i had before, but it makes me think more and more about the tools, like the internet, that i use everyday. I feel that that is why this class was valuable to me. It made me think a bit about topics i had never put much thought into. I don’t think i will ever fully understand things like the internet, but it I feel i will question these things more and more after this semester.
Tariq Mohammed | 26-Apr-07 at 6:57 am | Permalink
We have basically finished the core course material for this semester. Do you feel like you understand technology better than you did before? Did this class help? Is technology worth understanding well?
Prior to this class, I understood technology (computers, Internet, etc.) very well. What this class did for me is it made me look at technology in a different way. I saw how technology effects human aspects and society in both positive and negative ways. This deeper and more complex method of understanding technology is critical because as we progress, technology will only become more of a dominant factor in our world. We can only stay one step ahead if we thoroughly understand it.
Rutvi Shah | 26-Apr-07 at 7:26 am | Permalink
We have basically finished the core course material for this semester. Do you feel like you understand technology better than you did before? Did this class help? Is technology worth understanding well?
This class has no doubt enhanced my understanding of the impact of technology on our everyday lives. We are surrounded by technology and have become completely depended on it. One aspect that I found interesting is how technology can also become a burden in our lives today due to our dependancy on it. Also, towards the end of our course, we had in depth discussions on the internet and wikipedia which were very helpful in gaining a complete insight on how they effect our lives now. This is the only class class that I have taken that has touched these topics, which happen to control our day to day lives. I really enjoyed taking this particular section of the class!
Krystal Kniep | 26-Apr-07 at 8:04 am | Permalink
I definitely feel like I understand technology better than I did before. Technology is become such an integral part of my life, it is hard to imagine it without it. I have learned from this class the negative effects of technology can have on people. For example, overusing facebook, myspace, and aim can cause people become more lazy and distract them from what they should be doing. On the flip side, I have learned the positive affects it has on my life as well. Technology has provided me with a great outlet for learning and finding useful information. I have realized there’s so much more to learn about technology and I almost feel pressured to keep up with it. I have also noticed just how technology will continue to impact people’s lives and it is consistently changing day by day. I am going to be an elementary school teacher, and we have to take two technology classes to graduate. It has really hit me that I always need to be one step ahead of the game compared to my students.
John Creger | 26-Apr-07 at 8:15 am | Permalink
We discussed in class how an artist and his tools collaborate to construct art. I never took into consideration the functions of the tools and how they extend limitations the artist For example, a brush can only make so thin of a line, paint can only be so dark of a color. And because an artist may imagine what he wants to draw and it is perfect in his head, the limitations of himself and the tools he uses restricts him from constructing that perfect piece. I am beginning to understand how the artist and the tools are collaborated to construct art- regardless if the paintbrush controls the stroke, or the artist hand controls the paintbrush.
Erica Yuenger | 26-Apr-07 at 9:12 am | Permalink
I feel that I understand technology better, but I’m not sure if that’s a good thing. I felt the same way about poetry everytime we analyzed it in grade school and high school. Poetry is nice, and our teachers made us analyze and pick apart every single stanza, line by line. So, in that sense, we understood it better, and the meaninf behind it and the language devices that were used to give it that deeper meaning. But sometimes when you overanalyze, you lose the overall picture, that poetry is beautiful even when you don’t take hours to find the sinificance in every single word. I felt the same way about understanding technology. On the one hand, I understand the controversial issues surrounding technology from the Turing/Searle debate, to the Gehlen/Heidegger distinction, and to the more modern questions regarding the internet embedded in the arguments of Clark and Dreyfus. While these debates raised questions I never would have thought of regarding technology, I will continue to use technology throughout my lifetime, and most likely I will not be thinking of whether the technology I am using can think for itself or if it will eventually take me over, just as I do not analyze every single line when I read poetry.