Reading Response Essay
Thoreau
From the excerpt, Thoreau represents the American Dream. Thoreau states that he admired to move out of the village and spend his life in the country. He possessed a house in the Hollowell farm. In his life, he focused on simplicity and assert that luxuries and comforts hinder people from living a meaningful life (Thoreau, chapter 2). He says that to achieve peace and happiness, and the true meaning of life, people should disregard material possessions. He urges people to commune with nature, focus on a conspicuous endeavor, and at the end, one will gain spiritual wakefulness. Thoreau ideas relate to the American Dream as he says that it is important to study the nature such as flowers, the mountains, water in the river, among other natural things to experience the beauty and focus on what matters in life (Thoreau, chapter 2). Focusing on the American Dream, it is important to understand that anyone can achieve success, peace, and happiness. Thoreau adds that to achieve the dream, people should simplify their lives.
Schmidt and Cohen
Response 1
Schmidt and Cohen say that in the future, the technology will bring positive impacts such as productivity, quality of life, education, and connectivity that will bring economic opportunity (Schmidt & Cohen, 220). They add that technology will increase efficiency especially in the developing countries in terms of access to information, increase connectivity, increase innovation, and opportunities. Some of the innovations that I look forward to are 3-D printing-I would like to see how the 3-D printing will be used in manufacturing unique products (Schmidt & Cohen, 224). Also, I look forward to seeing integrated clothing machines, haircuts machines, and home robots. I am interested in these technologies and their ability to handle household duties. However, some predictions seem overly optimistic. For example, Schmidt and Cohen predict that in the future, people will not use the alarm clock. Instead, there will be a high-tech bed that will not only give comfort and support but they will also administer massage, and a special sensor inside the mattress will wake you up (Schmidt & Cohen, 229). Another prediction is that people will control the temperature while in the apartment.
Response 2
I think that new technologies will change human life in the future. People will have a more-customized future where all tasks including decision-making and reasoning will be done by computers. Thus, the networked artificial intelligence will threat human capabilities. An issue of concern is that human being will change completely in that they will lose control of their lives and allow artificial intelligence to control (Schmidt & Cohen, 231). There will be a lot of data abuse in the digital system, and people will not be able to regulate them. There will be social upheaval since the code-based machine will disrupt human work. Human beings will live in an unstable society since technology will lead to the destruction of traditional sociopolitical structures and shift to the use of weaponized information that will cause disruption. I would like to live in that world since we are in digital age and change is inevitable. However, I will control the technology so that it does not affect my life negatively. For example, I may focus on a healthy lifestyle, avoid technology addiction by limiting the use, and find time for regular exercise.
Andrews
Response 1
The problem with the data-mining companies in collecting private information online is that they do so without consent (Andrews, 324). They just collect sensitive information without seeking a warrant to benefit their industries by advertising people's habits and desires.
It matters a lot if marketers find private information such as marriage history, gender, age, friends, and other private information. This is because this information is private but the companies end up sharing with other organizations. They also record the individual's preferences to provide adequate opportunities or limit opportunities (Andrews, 328). Thus, an individual can be denied benefits such as a loan, social resources, and human rights
Response 2
Andrews believes that ‘weblining' is undemocratic in that companies use individuals' personal data to determine their value (Andrews, 327). For example, if a person's profile is positive, that person will be provided with economic opportunities, time and effort by the company. If a customer has a low profile such as poor shopping habits, and low web-browsing practices, he or she may be discriminated by being provided with limited choices.
Weblining and behavioral advertising pose a greater threat to democracy than traditional print in that with weblining, the cardholder may find that his or her credit card, discounts opportunities limited is lowered. In addition, weblining affects the type of information that one receives (Andrews, 327). When one wants to read news from the Web sites, you are not provided with the big picture such as world news. Instead, one received fashion stories and other irrelevant stories.
Work cited
Schmidt Eric.,& Cohen Jared. OUR FUTURE SELVES.
Andrews Lori. GEORGE ORWELL-MEET MARK ZUCKERBERG.
Thoreau D. Hentry. Walden: Where I lived and What I lover For. Chapter 2
