I Should Really Read the Terms of Service
Something I learned that surprised me was the negative impact that algorithms have on people. In the article “Code-Dependent: Pros and Cons of the Algorithm Age,” it is stated that “I foresee algorithms replacing almost all workers with no real options for the replaced humans” (Rainie & Anderson, 18). Because of Algorithms, unemployment will rise. Why hire someone to do the job a machine or computer can do? I have always been worried about machines taking the jobs of people and I do not understand how taking jobs from people would be good for the economy. But machines are cheaper and make no mistakes compared to humans. Machines and computers do not call in sick but the dependence on technology for everything could hurt us in the future. If someone hacks us or the algorithm stopped working, it was stated that “…it would be the end of the world as we know it” (Rainie & Anderson, 6). I know that algorithms have positives but there are too many negatives for me. The overall impact would be negative for individuals and society. The ends do not justify the means for me because the wealth gap and digital divide is already a problem and it would just grow with algorithms. It would hurt the poor and those with less education. Social inequalities will be magnified and inequalities will be reinforced. Those who are poor and less educated will be discriminated against and their jobs could be taken too. Unemployment hurts people of color because they have a hard time getting jobs due to their race and ethnicity. They are discriminated against and are discriminated against in educational settings as well. The article talked about how people who make algorithms are White and Asian males and this, in turn, benefits people like them, not African Americans, Hispanics, or Indigenous people (Rainie & Anderson, 14). These people will be discriminated against, maybe their jobs will be taken by machines, and inequality will grow. Inequality is already bad but it will grow for African Americans, Hispanics, and Indigenous people since there is no protection for them. How about we solve inequality first then find a way to increase it again? (It’s a joke!)
To answer the question of “What’s the most absurd/invasive thing that Internet or tech platforms do or have done that sounds made-up but is actually true?” I found this article Apple fined for slowing down old iPhones — BBC News. This happened in 2017 but recently Apple was fined for slowing down their old iPhones to get people to buy the newer ones. When my friend told me about this back in 2018, I thought she was joking but it turns out it was true and Apple is corrupt just like everyone else. A problem this presents is that Apple never notified or told its customers that they were doing this. Apple never made it clear and never told iPhone customers that updating their phone would slow down their current iPhone (Apple fined for slowing down old iPhones, 2020). Apple lied and withheld the truth from customers. This relates to what we studied this week because it relates to what I learned in the reading, “Policy Brief: Privacy.” In the article, it is stated that there should be privacy policies that include “Openness: There should be a general policy of openness about developments, practices, and policies with respect to personal data” (2015, pg.3). Apple was the opposite of open. They did not tell customers about their new development or practices. I consider slowing down phones and the updates slowing them down new practices of the company. Our phones have all our personal data so Apple should have told the customers the changes that would come with older iPhones because it affects the data on our phones. Slower phones can stop us from being able to keep all of our personal data. Apple slowing phones is problematic because if they have the power to do that they can do much worse like making your phone stop working completely. It is a slippery slope. This story also reminds me of the “Medium Terms of Service” article. When we agree to Apple’s Terms of Service and other companies like Medium, we do not know what we are saying yes to because we do not take the time to read them. No one has 40 minutes to spare! (NPR, 2016) Maybe if Apple included slowing down phones in their terms of agreement, they would have gotten away with it and not been fined.
I was shocked at all the steps that the article “How to Protect Your Digital Privacy in the Era of Public Shaming” listed to keep yourself safe online. I had no idea that I was doing my passwords so wrongly! Angwin states “After all, in 2017, automated software can guess an eight-digit password in less than a day” (Angwin, 2017, pg. 2). How is that even possible? I have to rethink a lot of passwords in my life. It is crazy that longer passwords should be for the accounts you care about but I feel like 10 characters are pretty long but not as long as 30 characters (Angwin, 2017, pg. 2). It seems impossible to make your passwords this long. No wonder people get hacked. No one is going to take the time to come up with a 30 character password. I am guilty of that. Even after reading this article, I doubt I will go make 30 character passwords from now on. It is hard with so many accounts to do this for each platform you use.
