This gif isn’t related to what we’re reading – kinda. But the title of Pariser’s 7th chapter has just… got this song stuck in my head. When I was five the Spice Girls were life, don’t judge.
What I really want to talk more about is Pariser’s section on robots. The reason being is because that is why I originally came to MSU. My plan was to build longevity robots to help keep seniors in their home longer. I don’t like nursing and care homes, I think there are people who are placed there just because they’ve become a burden on their family. Younger and younger seniors are being shipped off to care homes and I think it’s interesting the greed that is behind that. Anyway, get off my soap box about elder care. I wanted to (and still want to) build robots to help the elderly maintain their independence in the home. Not only to help with chores but because the elderly do face issues of being lonely. Loneliness is a prominent issue in the United States and the UK when it comes to the elderly. Which is why programs like A Place at the Table, an adult 
foster care home in Minnesota, are so important. People get to busy to care for their aging family members and APatT works to give the elderly in their care social experiences to help keep them happy and healthy. It prides itself on providing personalized care for every senior living with them (though their license only allows 4 people at a time). My idea that robots can provide a lot of these same services isn’t false, but APatT provides something a machine can’t, the human based interactions that we crave.
That being said, I am so uncomfortable with the idea that I can be reduced to a code in a system. I know I already am. I know that this blog post connects with my social media while that social media is found via a string of letters and with my involvement in social
media almost my entire life is accessible via that string of letters. Come December that is going to change, because I’m removing myself from a lot of social media in the coming year (with graduation, prospective jobs, and so forth). But there will always be a string of letters that makes up who I am online. Pariser touches on topics in chapter 7 that make me so uncomfortable. I hate the idea of facial recognition software, if only because I don’t want to be accused of crimes I didn’t commit but am accused of committing because the software said it was me. I always feel like I need to be Arnold Schwarzenegger in Total Recall when he goes through security. I have a gif for that but it’s very flashy and I don’t want anyone coming across it and it triggering a seizure disorder.
We are numbers already. Everything about us comes down to a number. Our numbers are bought and sold everyday.
The Half Ginger 
Kas,
I like how you mention that you can be reduced to code, and analyzed in a system that way. I get a sense that this is uncomfortable for you, and I think that’s pretty normal. I often times wonder at how other people view themselves, or at least create a sense of self. I think that I don’t know how to feel in a highly digitized future, because I still struggle to define myself even now.
I have to admit, I took some inspiration from your post because you mentioned longevity robot and how they could be used to help seniors maintain their mobility and independence that is often lost in old age. I guess this brings up another question that I have as well. I talked about Blade Runner and how it seems to bring up uncomfortable boundaries between human and robot. What if these longevity robots become real ( I think they will)? Will they be replaced by nanotechnology that helps seniors to live longer?
At what point do we stop creating these weird boundaries around what we subjectively view as normal, even in relationship to technology? I feel like as soon as someone who hates robots/technological advances has a piece of technology help their lives in a tangible, quantifiable way, they shut up about whatever they were complaining about in the first place. It’s purely fear of the unknown, and the idea that we are important and have something to lose that seems to create this fear of the unknown/technology. The funny thing is that America allows everyone to complain without them putting any work in first. And I’m guilty as well.
Kas,
Yeah, I guess my identity being reduced to code used to make me uncomfortable, but I really don’t care anymore. I will continue to flirt with the FBI agent watching me through my laptop cam, and I will continue to use the Internet, even though I know its just using me. I guess It’s just because I don’t really value my privacy, as long as I don’t know it’s being invaded. They can never invade my mind. (well, not yet at least) I guess its bad to apathetic about it but it just doesn’t bother me.
That being said, the internet is DEFINITELY affecting my thinking, especially recently, and I do think that somewhat “deleting” oneself from the internet is an excellent idea. I have a serious Internet addiction as do many of us, and so I think it is better to use it less. When you stare into the “black mirror” your world becomes only as big as it is. No bueno.
Thanks for sharing