superelibrarian-blog

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Human v Machine / Human + Machine

10 December 2018

Image source: channel4.com

As the course comes to an end, we have come full circle. In my first post, I spoke of attending the Cork Tech Summit (1) in May 2018, and again, something I heard there resonates with this final post. In her opening address, Caroline O’Driscoll of iWish said that 50% of the occupations our children will be doing in 20 years do not exist yet. That intrigued me. If this is true, then what will become of our existing jobs? Are we finally going to lose our jobs to machines?

Yes probably, but this has been happening since the industrial revolution. I recently introduced self-service kiosks at work, and it was signalled by some as the end of the profession. But is this really the case? My experience is a resounding no, for two reasons. Firstly they do not always work, networks are poor, and as of now, we still need humans to reboot and service the machines. Secondly, people always need help with them, they have questions, request variables, that the kiosks just cannot answer. So while some tasks have been eliminated by machine, they have been replaced with other tasks that support the machine. Helpdesks would not exist if machines were totally self-sufficient and functioned without issue 100% of the time. However, I will make this point, if a machine exists or has been invented to automate your job, then it is foolish to think that it will not. Ask one of the four Umbrella Makers, or the sole Feather Purifier that worked in Cork City in 1867 (2).

Image source: corkpastandpresent.ie

What will these new jobs be? Will they all be powered by artificial intelligence? (More importantly, will I be able to retire and put my feet up?) According to the authors of What Will Our Children Do? Jobs of the Future (3), we will be Crypto Detectives, End of Life Planners, and Robot Whisperers. Three more jobs that caught my eye from their list are: Inter-AI Conflict Resolution Specialist, Autonomous Vehicle Ethicist, and Independent Fact Checker. It is clear from these anticipated future professions that the machines will still need soft-skill managing, that we do not expect machines to ever use the same reasoning, judgement, or have the same compassion as humans.

Image source: yahoo.com

One one hand, we are afraid that robots will take our jobs, become sentient and enslave us all. Could Terminator happen? Hannah Fry (4) debates this and more in her YouTube video:

Source: https://youtu.be/etr7e2PBL4U

On the other hand, there is a huge take up for IoT devices, virtual assistants, smart devices to make our lives easier, and bring us entertainment. We don’t even need to browse now, machine learning algorithms do that for us.

One very strong theme emerging from the tech summit, was that human and machine will work together to provide solutions to human problems. The obvious example is advancement in health care, and even social care. Kleinberg, Ludwig and Mullainathan discuss research and trials into use of an algorithm to predict probability of re-offending in judicial decision making (5). Machine learning is used to improve decision making, identify patterns, predict trends and maximise resources in public spending. Will artificial intelligence help with any of the big issues of poverty, inequality of wealth, health care, homelessness, care of the elderly, less able or vulnerable?

Tom Simonite (6), writing for Wired, says: “Despite the flurry of recent progress in AI and wild prognostications about its near future, there are still many things that machines can’t do, such as understanding the nuances of language, common-sense reasoning, and learning a new skill from just one or two examples. AI software will need to master tasks like these if it is to get close to the multifaceted, adaptable, and creative intelligence of humans.”

We might not be there yet, but it is not for lack of aspiration, not for lack of ambition, not for lack of humanity.

Source: phoneky.com

Notes:

(1) Tech Summit 2018. Accessed 2 October 2018. http://www.techsummit.ie/

(2) Henry & Coghlan's General Directory of Cork for 1867. Cork: Henry & Coghlan, 1867. http://www.corkpastandpresent.ie/places/streetandtradedirectories/1867henryandcoghlan.pdf : 298 / 332.

(3) Fast Future. “What Will Our Children Do? Jobs of the Future”, Boss Magazine, (December 2018), https://thebossmagazine.com/jobs-of-the-future/ .

(4) Hannah Fry, “Could Terminator Happen?”, YouTube video, 4.49 mins, 20 November 2014, https://youtu.be/etr7e2PBL4U

(5) Kleinberg, John, Ludwig, Jens, and Mullainathan, Sendhil, “ A Guide to Solving Social Problems with Machine Learning”, Harvard Business Review, (8 December 2016), https://hbr.org/2016/12/a-guide-to-solving-social-problems-with-machine-learning

(6) Simonite, Tom, “The Wired Guide to Artificial Intelligence”, Wired, (1 February 2018), https://www.wired.com/story/guide-artificial-intelligence/

References:

Forbes Technology Council, “14 Ways AI Will Benefit Or Harm Society”, Forbes, (1 March 2018), https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2018/03/01/14-ways-ai-will-benefit-or-harm-society/#148e9ab04ef0

Gemic. “Finding Value in AI: applied AI and social technologies”. Accessed 7 December 2018. https://www.gemic.com/finding-value-in-ai/

Mahdawi, Arwa, “ What jobs will still be around in 20 years?”, The Guardian, (26 June 2017), https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/jun/26/jobs-future-automation-robots-skills-creative-health

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Hackers -  a devil’s advocate post

20 November 2018

Hackers like to think they are underdogs, misunderstood, misrepresented. But is that the truth these days? I searched the term ‘hackers’ on google, and I had to wade through three pages of results until I found a negative hacking article. It seems that hackers have rebranded. The stereotypical hacker of male, nerdy, arrogantly smart, anti-social, has been replaced with hacker 2.0. It is all ethical hacking now, hackers using their powers for good. Look up ethical hacking and you will find businesses trying to sell you ethical hacking courses, training, even certification.

Image source: google.com

At best, hackers are anonymous bullies, who can wield incredible power and leverage vindictive backlash. What's wrong? Can't you take a joke? You asked for it. At worst they can disrupt whole systems, governments, and possibly even elections? The truth to election hacking may never be known, but it is clear that hackers have the potential to collude with regimes to influence political agendas.

Image source: bitcoinmagazine.com

If hackers are all good then who is responsible for cyber attacks? Data breaches? Who is creating and spreading malware and ransomware? In May 2017, WannaCry brought the NHS to its knees, the healthcare of individuals was collateral damage in pursuit of bitcoin.

In an article by Gross (1), James Lewis of the Center for Strategic and International Studies estimates the cost of cybercrime worldwide in 2017 at $500bn, which translates as 0.8% of global GDP. He estimates that “computer and Internet users face 80 billion malicious scans each day.” He also estimates that  “there are 33,000 phishing attacks and 4,000 ransomware daily, with about 780,000 records lost to hacking.”

Closer to home, a report by Price Waterhouse Cooper (2) finds that cybercrime is the most common type of economic crime experienced in Ireland, representing 61% of economic crimes reported in 2017. This is up from 44% in 2016, and is almost double the global rate. Phishing and malware were the main methods of cybercrime experienced. The World Economic Forum predicts that by 2020, $3tn a year will be lost to cybercrime (3):

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=11&v=3JY4BZfV_LA

And it doesn’t even need to be financially motivated. The Mirai botnet attack in 2016 is rumoured to have been started by teens looking to prank Minecraft users. This malware was spread through cctv cameras and DVR recorders (4). The more technology changes, the more opportunities for exploitation. The Internet of Things has opened up new channels for hackers. Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies seem tailor-made for cybercriminals (5).

But it’s the user’s fault for not keeping their security up to date. This sounds like victim blaming to me.

The UK’s National Cyber Security Centre claims that most cyberattacks are carried out by “state-sponsored hackers employed by hostile nations” (6). Similarly sensational headlines are becoming a global common theme. It is hard to know who to believe. Research for this piece found many articles quoting facts on the threat of cyberattacks, but scroll down and most of them are written by security companies. Cybersecurity is big business so they may not be entirely impartial.

However it comes down to one question – if hackers are ethical and trustworthy, are you willing to leave your devices unprotected?

Notes:

(1) Gross, Grant, “The Cost of Cybercrime”, Internet Society, (23 February 2018), https://www.internetsociety.org/blog/2018/02/the-cost-of-cybercrime/ .

(2) Price Waterhouse Cooper. “Irish Economic Crime Survey 2018”. Accessed 20 November 2018. https://www.pwc.ie/reports/irish-economic-crime-survey-2018.html .

(3) World Economic Forum, “ World Economic Forum | Centre for Cybersecurity”,  YouTube video, 2.17 mins, 5 September 2018, https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=11&v=3JY4BZfV_LA .

(4) Lipman, Paul, “The Cybersecurity Industry Is Failing: Time to Get Smart About 'Dumb' Homes”, Newsweek, (23 March 2017), https://www.newsweek.com/cybersecurity-industry-failed-threat-572949 .

(4) Ng, Alfred, “Cryptocurrency like bitcoin is easy money for criminals”, Cnet, (14 February 2018), https://www.cnet.com/news/cryptocurrency-cybercrimes-mean-easy-money/ .

 (5) BBC, “UK cyber-centre thwarts hostile hackers”, BBC News, (16 October 2018),  https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-45863953 .

References:

Bond, David, “ UK needs to do more to manage cyber threats, say MPs”, Financial Times, (18 November 2018), https://www.ft.com/content/541cb8d4-e9a1-11e8-885c-e64da4c0f981 .

Rutter Pooley, Cat, “ Cyber security efforts turn proactive after sophisticated attacks”, Financial Times, (15 November 2018), https://www.ft.com/content/68a9398a-d065-11e8-9a3c-5d5eac8f1ab4 .

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Fake news, trolls and virtue signallers – morality in digital culture.

13 November 2018

There is so much to dislike about the internet and the broader digital sphere. Instagram is making us self-obsessed, Tinder makes adultery easy, trolls destroy self-esteem. African princes will steal your money, Facebook will steal your data, fraudsters will steal your identity. Is anyone who they say they are? Is it fake news? How can I tell? On top of all this, my devices are giving me ADHD, ruining my eyes, causing me to lose the art of conversation. They may even be spying on me!

I have a love-hate relationship with Facebook. I have a Like, Love, Haha, Wow, Sad, Angry relationship with Facebook - life reduced to one of six emotions.

Source: giphy.com

Am I suffering from compassion fatigue? I had better sort that out quick with a spot of virtue signalling. I bet there is an inspirational meme for that. 

The use of terms such as snowflake, keyboard warriors, virtue signalling, suggest we are becoming over sensitive and hypocritical, but that we are also quick to accuse others of those faults. 

Image source: quickmeme.com

A survey carried out by Pew Research Centre (1) among American adults show that the majority feel that the internet has been good for society, but this number has decreased since the previous study in 2014. The positive aspects to the internet were identified as: easy and fast access to information, and ability to connect. The negative aspects identified were: withdrawing from human communication, fake news, a range of concerns for children, illegal activity, and privacy. A survey among developing countries carried out by the same organisation in 2015 (2) reports that 42% of people feel the internet is bad for morality, but 64% feel it is good for education.

Does all this negativity, hating and deception mean we are worse people?  Has the internet contributed to a decline in morals?

Morality is the system of values and behaviours at play in a culture, what is right and wrong, what is “good”. Furthermore, what is moral will differ from culture to culture. There is no doubt that the ability to stay anonymous has enabled bad behaviour. Added to that, it is hard to ignore the very stark findings about the impact of social media on the mental health and self esteem of young people in last year’s report by the Royal Society for Public Health (3).

In Rifkind’s article (4), a celebrity recalls an affair in the 1960s and says she wouldn’t get away with it today. Lack of privacy and digital traces keep the behaviour in check, but the (lack of) moral values which lead to the affair are still present. At the end of the day, people use the internet, and as such, the internet can only be an extension of their own values. Would cybercriminals be regular criminals anyway?

The social media generation appears more compassionate. The obvious examples are the recent Irish referenda on marriage equality and reproductive rights - all sides claiming morality on behalf of society. There is also the very real outrage and compassion at the plight of Syrian refugees. Is it my filter bubble, or are we as a generation more aware, more vocal and more prepared to act? Remember Apollo House? (5) (6) And social media is rapidly pushing for change in the new evils of plastic and palm oil.

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vgl-TCmNyRA

At an individual level, the internet has made it easier for people to be generous. Consider the huge amount of online fora that support and encourage people through depression, or bereavement. Look at online altruism, Donate Now buttons making it easier to help. Look at the phenomenon of crowdfunding. The coding community is based on principles of free, equal access, information sharing. And consider the wealth of free online learning resources and tutorials.

Generosity, awareness, supporting, highlighting injustice, sharing, helping. Sounds moral to me.

Notes:

(1) Smith, Aaron, “ Declining Majority of Online Adults Say the Internet Has Been Good for Society”, Pew Research Centre, (30 April 2018), http://www.pewinternet.org/2018/04/30/declining-majority-of-online-adults-say-the-internet-has-been-good-for-society/ .

(2) Pew Research Centre, “Internet Seen as Positive Influence on Education but Negative on Morality in Emerging and Developing Nations”, Pew Research Centre, (19 March 2015), http://www.pewglobal.org/2015/03/19/internet-seen-as-positive-influence-on-education-but-negative-influence-on-morality-in-emerging-and-developing-nations/ .

(3) Royal Society of Public Health. #StatusOfMind: Social media and young people's mental health and wellbeing. London: Royal Society of Public Health , 2017.

(4) Rifkind, Hugo,“You can do anything (but you shouldn’t): the brave new world of internet morality”, The Spectator,  (25 July 2015), https://www.spectator.co.uk/2015/07/you-can-do-anything-but-you-shouldnt-the-brave-new-world-of-internet-morality/ .

(5) O’Hanlon, Aengus, “Apollo House Dublin: Video of musicians playing at occupied Nama building goes global”, Dublin Live, (23 December 2016), https://www.dublinlive.ie/news/apollo-house-dublin-video-musicians-12363961 .

(6) Zahara Moufid, “Shelter Me: Apollo House  Documentary Official Trailer”, YouTube video, 1.40 mins, 8 March 2018, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vgl-TCmNyRA .

References:

Critical Thinker Academy. “What are moral values?”. Accessed 13 November 2018. https://criticalthinkeracademy.com/courses/moral-arguments/lectures/659294

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Digital Divide in the Workplace

11 November 2018

The digital divide is alive and well in Ireland. The lack of national broadband to areas outside big towns and cities is a real issue. Poverty and age are factors which leave citizens disenfranchised and disconnected. However, even with access to devices and connectivity, the pace at which technology changes creates its own divides. Our lecture on the digital divide made me wonder if there is a generational digital divide in the workplace. All things being equal in terms of access, do managers have the skills to keep their companies competitive? Is there research, and what can be done about it?

Image source: www.imgflip.com

We have all seen the memes which suggest that young people don’t know what a floppy disk is. I must admit to a lingering mistrust of the cloud, and reports of the demise of usb make me more than a little anxious.

In an article in the Irish Examiner (1) Kyran Fitzgerald highlights the lack of digital skills in senior and older managers in the workplace, and the problems this poses for businesses. Digital natives entering the workplace expect the pace and infrastructure that they use in their personal lives. They see no distinction between work and personal devices, or work and personal applications, they “think in images and communicate instantly”. Fitzgerald says that managers “must do what they can to keep up so as not to lose touch”.

Research shows that this workplace digital divide is not new. In the excellently titled “Cleaners don't need computers” (2), a research article from 2008, Cooke and Greenwood discuss the impact in the workplace of manual workers being excluded from company communications. It is still the same today, outdoor staff without access to email or intranets, depend on others to inform them of policy and organisational change, entitlements, even social events. This leads to lack of participation at best and exclusion at worst.

Image source: www.creativeintellectuk.com

The problem is clearly greater than just old equipment in the office. A lack of a proactive digital strategy or culture manifests in many ways – workers who rely on helpdesks rather than self-solving, a reluctance to deviate from traditional training methods, a hierarchical structure from top down which does not lend itself to intergenerational collaboration, “older” workers who expect to switch off their devices.

The problem of the digital divide in the workplace is further compounded by the fact that managers often don’t recognise the problem. In her Forbes article, Higginbottom (3) describes a difference in perception between managers and employees. Managers think they foster a digital workplace, but the employees do not agree.

Dan Latendre (4) suggests that there are four drivers that influence a digital workplace:

The mobile workforce culture - using hotdesking or working from home

The generation gap in terms of attitudes towards digital culture, trends, information access

Use of own devices in the workplace, they are less restricted, newer, faster

The fact that technology and a strong digital strategy will attract the best staff

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IfgaE6rxGt4

So, what steps can be taken to bridge the digital divide in the workplace? The most basic step a company can take is to have a digital strategy. This must go beyond social media. Fitzgerald’s (5) article encourages reverse mentoring, where younger employees keep senior employees up to date with technology changes. Safaran Ali’s (6) youtube video explains and expands on the benefits of reverse mentoring. Bloomfire staff (7) recommend “self-directed social learning opportunities facilitated through appropriate interactive tools.”

I will leave the last word to Kim Cassady (8), who insists that technology driven tools and policies are essential for a company to bridge the divide and even thrive. “Putting forward policies designed to serve everyone allows companies to take advantage of diverse talent and use technology to bridge many of the gaps it has created”.

Notes:

(1) Fitzgerald, Kyran, “Barrelling towards a brave new world”, Irish Examiner, (29 October 2018): 18.

(2) Cooke, Louise, and Greenwood, Helen, “Cleaners don't need computers”: bridging the digital divide in the workplace", Aslib Proceedings, 60: 2, (2008): 143-157, https://doi.org/10.1108/00012530810862473.

(3) Higginbottom, Karen, “A Grand Canyon Digital Divide Between Employees And Their Bosses”, Forbes, (23 June 2017), https://www.forbes.com/sites/karenhigginbottom/2017/06/23/a-grand-canyon-digital-divide-between-employees-and-their-bosses/#27e5960b72b2.

(4) Latendre, Dan, “How Your Digital Workplace Can Help Bridge the Digital Divide”, CMS Wire, (8 June 2017), https://www.cmswire.com/digital-workplace/how-your-digital-workplace-can-help-bridge-the-digital-divide/.

(5) Fitzgerald, 18.

(6) Safaraz Ali, “What Are The Benefits of Reverse Mentoring? - Part 1”, YouTube video, 3.05 mins, 12 October 2017, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IfgaE6rxGt4.

(7) Bloomfire Admin, “Is the Generational Digital Divide Real?”. Accessed 2 November 2018. https://bloomfire.com/blog/is-the-generational-digital-divide-real/.

(8) Cassady, Kim, “3 Ways Technology Influences Generational Divides at Work”, Entrepreneur Europe, (29 March 2017), https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/290763.

References:

Casey, Kevin, “Reverse mentoring: Is it right for IT?”, The Enterprisers Project, (25 August 2017), https://enterprisersproject.com/article/2017/8/reverse-mentoring-it-right-it?sc_cid=70160000000h0aXAAQ .

Sullivan, Bob, “Here's Why You Shouldn't Fear the 'Digital Divide' at Work”, NBC News, (29 May 2016), https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/here-s-why-you-shouldn-t-fear-digital-divide-work-n581656 .

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Public Libraries as a Barometer of Digital Culture

21 October 2018

Image source: Cork City Libraries

I listened with interest to the class recording this week, and my ears pricked up when libraries were mentioned. I have been a librarian in public libraries for 27 years, and we are still clearly fighting the image battle. When it was suggested in class that libraries aren’t playful, a student offered maker-space as a counter argument, and that is certainly one strand of services that libraries provide. And there are many more. So, if you will indulge this old librarian, I will make the case that public libraries are indeed playful and all the other qualities of Third Places. I would also go so far as to say that public libraries are barometers of digital culture in society.

Image source: Cork City Libraries

Public libraries are neutral spaces, places that anyone can visit, everyone belongs. You don’t need money, you don’t need to give a reason. This is one of the most powerful forces for equality, a “leveller”.

Oldenburg (1) says a Third Places have “unique importance as focal points of community life”. You only have to read the sub-title of the most recent national library strategy (2) to see that public libraries meet this Third Place function: “Inspiring, Connecting and Empowering Communities”. Newspaper reading-rooms, bookclubs, spaces for hire, conversation café, festivals, coderdojo. All free. All open to everyone. Less ssssh, more buzz.

Image source: Cork City Libraries

I would like to extend my argument, and make the case that public libraries are barometers of digital culture. Call in to any public library and you will see exactly where different elements of society intersect with digital culture and at what level. We can measure it in three ways – we give access to digital facilities, we help people navigate digital platforms, we help people create and contribute to digital culture.

In this free, neutral, non-judgmental space anyone can have access to a PC, printer, internet, tablet. We are still the only places where basic PC classes are taught outside a school setting, to help people with the very real digital divide. We are quite often the first port of call to give people a soft non-threatening introduction to apps, ebooks, emagazines. Every day we help people set up an email address, use the council app to check the housing list, print a boarding pass.

Image source: Cork City Libraries

For young people we are places where they can turn Lego into animation, where they can make a stop-motion film or write a graphic novel, where they can learn to code. For entrepreneurs, we are places where you can meet, learn and connect. For those who know it all already, there is the free WiFi without having to pay for coffee. Behind the scenes, we are actively digitizing the past to preserve it for the future.

Image source: Cork City Libraries

I have recently had the very great pleasure to secure and spend €350,000 on improving our digital facilities. Much of that will upgrade our meeting room and events infrastructure, but I am delighted to spend it also on supporting our coderdojos, on the first public access 3D printer in the city, on a portable creative tech lab for young people, on a digital music literacy project, and podcasting. Libraries  - all that, and playful too.

Notes:

(1) Oldenburg, Ray. Celebrating the Third Place: Inspiring Stories About the Great Good Places at the Heart of Our Communities. New York : Marlowe & Co, 2001 : 3.

(2) Local Government Management Agency. Our Public Libraries 2022.  Dublin : Department of Rural and Community Development, 2018, https://drcd.gov.ie/wp-content/uploads/LGMA-Our-Public-Libraries-2022-v2.pdf

References:

Freyne, Patrick, “A day in the library: ‘This is a safe space for people’”, Irish Times, (28 July 2018), https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/books/a-day-in-the-library-this-is-a-safe-space-for-people-1.3578203.

O’Brien, Carl and Burns, Sarah, “Nearly €8m to be invested in technology for libraries”, Irish Times, (25 July 2018), https://www.irishtimes.com/news/education/nearly-8m-to-be-invested-in-technology-for-libraries-1.3576529.

Riordan, Ann. “55 Reasons Why Librarians Matter”. Accessed 20 October 2018. http://corkcitylibraries.tumblr.com/tagged/55reasons.

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What on earth is a SNES?

17 October 2018

Image source: www.edgylabs.com

Today’s lecture was about gaming. I was a teenager in the 1980s, one of three sisters. Gaming was so far off my radar - I don’t recall any of my peers talking about gaming never mind taking part. It may have been a boy thing. It may have been a socio-economic thing, we were the last family for two streets to get a television set. We had books, we had musical instruments, but all we wanted was to be out of the house with our peers. I had to look up NES and SNES during the lecture.

The three sisters grew up, and have five sons between them and they all play video games, and one daughter who doesn’t. That is interesting in itself, but what struck me most about today’s lecture is that gaming improves decision making. I must find out more.

An article in elearningindustry.com  Baer (1) states that ‘‘it is pertinent that employees learn how to fully assess situations and make decisions as quickly as possible to run an effective business. Playing games is a solution to this problem.” But where is the data?

An article in Frontiers Psychology (2) presents the above table of studies into whether "video game training enhances cognitive performance on tasks other than those specific to the game". Sims 2 was the subject of the study and decision making was the training benefit observed.

Image source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sims_2

Professor Daphne Bavalier, (3) head of the Brain and Learning Lab in the University of Geneva, lists the following positive effects on the brain gained from playing video games: better vision, ability to resolve small detail in clutter and to resolve different levels of grey. She also reports better focus, attention, ability to track multiple objects of attention simultaneously. The game player is also quicker when shifting focuses of attention. The applications for treatment in brain or vision rehabilitation are huge. For further reading, there is a substantial bibliography of recent research on the Lab’s webpage. (4)

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FktsFcooIG8

So what are the benefits of video gaming specifically related to decision making? Baer’s (5) article lists the ability to think fast; to quickly assess a situation; to quickly solve problems and obstacles; constant reward or failure teaches consequences of decisions made. Baer has seen these benefits in both medical and financial scenarios.

Carey Morewedge’s (6) article in the Harvard Business Review delves even further into the role of video gaming in removing biases in decision making. In their research, subjects were shown similar scenarios in a video and in a game, and the subjects who used the game reported reduced bias, leading to better decisions.

Brian Glass (7) reports that “action video games, such as Halo, can speed up decision making but the current work finds that real-time strategy games can promote our ability to think on the fly and learn from past mistakes.”

Fascinating, I’m sold! See you next week, I’m off to buy a SNES!

Notes:

(1) Baer, Stephen, “Teaching And Reinforcing Quick Decision Making With Games”, eLearning Industry, (2 December 2017), https://elearningindustry.com/quick-decision-making-with-games-teaching-reinforcing-quick.

(2) Boot, Walter R et al, “Do action video games improve perception and cognition?”, Frontiers in Psychology, (13 September 2011), https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2011.00226/full.

(3) Daphne Bavalier, “Your brain on video games”, YouTube video, 17.57 mins, 19 November 2012, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FktsFcooIG8

(4) Université de Genevé. Research / Review articles. Accessed 12 October 2018. https://www.unige.ch/fapse/brainlearning/index.php/publications/

(5) Baer, https://elearningindustry.com/quick-decision-making-with-games-teaching-reinforcing-quick.

(6) Morewedge, Carey K, “How a Video Game Helped People Make Better Decisions”, Harvard Business Review, (13 October 2015), https://hbr.org/2015/10/how-a-video-game-helped-people-make-better-decisions.

(6) Glass, Brian et al,“ Real-Time strategy game training: emergence of a cognitive flexibility trait ”, PLOS, (7 August 2013), https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0070350.

References:

Dye, Matthew WG et al, “Increasing Speed of Processing With Action Video Games”, Current Directions in Psychological Science, 18:6, (2009): 321-326.

Ericson, John, “Video Games Improve Decision Making, Brain Power; Real-Time Strategy Games Like 'StarCraft' Can Boost Cognitive Flexibility”, Medical Daily, (21 August 2013), https://www.medicaldaily.com/video-games-improve-decision-making-brain-power-real-time-strategy-games-starcraft-can-boost-253251.

Mikulak, Anna, “Not Just Fun and Games”, Association for Psychological Science, (30 July 2015), https://www.psychologicalscience.org/observer/not-just-fun-and-games.

Recommended Reading:

Card, Orson Scott, Ender’s Game. New York: Tor, 1985.

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Why has Facebook endured? (and where is Gurgaon anyway?)

7 October 2018

Facebook has been going strong for 14 years. It has 1.47 billion daily active users and 2.23 billion monthly active users (June 30, 2018). It is big business. It has over 30,000 employees, 13 domestic offices in the US, and 42 international offices, including an office in Gurgaon (1). Within a year of its launch in 2004 it had 1 million users. It has outlasted rivals like Bebo and Myspace.

Image source: https://www.cnet.com

The survival and growth is all the more extraordinary considering the privacy scandals, the perceived reluctance to deal with hate speech, and fake news. When the Cambridge Analytica scandal broke, Facebook sustained the biggest stock market loss in single day. It doesn’t do things by half. Articles in February and March wondered if Facebook’s glory days were over. Shira Ovide (2) wondered “will the company be damaged forever either from loss of trust, flight of advertisers or new types of regulatory burdens”?

But it has bounced back. Why?

One clue to why Facebook still appeals is in the language and culture it puts out there.

‘Facebook’s mission is to give people the power to build community and bring the world closer together. People use Facebook to stay connected with friends and family, to discover what’s going on in the world, and to share and express what matters to them.’

Let’s look at this a bit more closely:

Give people the power

Community

Stay Connected

Share

Express

Inspirational and persuasive. It’s all based on the Friend. Find Friends, Add Friends, Like and Share. And we want to believe it. However behind this vision of a global village is a business, driven by profit, not community.

And we can’t avoid privacy. Following Cambridge Analytica, some high profile celebrities deleted their accounts, and . But the drop off in users has stabilised again. Are people just not concerned about privacy? Is it seen as a nuisance impeding immediate access to gratification? Is short term access is more important than long term security? It will be fine. Who is going to be interested in pictures of my dog? And isn’t Zuckerberg going to fix it all anyway?

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G6DOhioBfyY

Facebook collects data and sells it to advertisers. It is a tech company, not a philanthropic one.  It develops sophisticated tracking systems, algorithms, and when it is found out, develops more programs to appease us.

Image source: https://newsroom.fb.com/news/category/inside-feed/

Maybe it’s as simple as convenience. Facebook users are inherently lazy. It has made life so easy for us. It brings everything to our feed, we never need to leave the site. It’s like the Walmart of the Internet, everything under one roof. Filter bubble? I can’t see any filter bubble. I’m afraid Facebook will be with us for a while yet.

P.S. Gurgaon is in India.

Notes:

(1) Facebook Newsroom. Accessed October 7, 2018. https://newsroom.fb.com/company-info/.

(2) Ovide, Shira, “Is This Time Different for Facebook?”, Bloomberg Opinion, (20 March 2018), https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2018-03-20/facebook-has-endured-potholes-but-data-crisis-may-be-a-crater.   

References:

CNN, “Mark Zuckerberg: ‘I’m really sorry that this happened’”, YouTube video, 14.55 mins, 21 March 2018, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G6DOhioBfyY

Deagon, Brian, “Mark Zuckerberg, The Facebook Data Breach And The Dark Side Of Social Media”, Investor’s Business Daily, (23 March 2018), https://www.investors.com/research/industry-snapshot/facebook-data-breach-cambridge-analytica-scandal-zuckerberg-social-media/.

Deagon, Brian, “This Is Why Facebook Stock Has Endured Despite Data-Privacy Blunder”, Investor’s Business Daily, (5 July 2018), https://www.investors.com/news/technology/facebook-stock-instagram/. 

Osnos, Evan, “Can Mark Zuckerberg Fix Facebook Before It Breaks Democracy?”, The New Yorker, (17 September 2018), https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2018/09/17/can-mark-zuckerberg-fix-facebook-before-it-breaks-democracy .

[superelibrarian-blog]

Rebranding the Cyborg

2 October 2018

At the Cork Tech Summit (1) 2018 last May, I was amazed as one of the presenters created a cybernetic organism live on stage. His presentation was on the potential of RFID implants to replace keys, credit cards, travel tickets, access fobs. A volunteer from the audience was implanted with an RFID chip, to incredulous gasps, and shakes of the heads from the audience. The definition of a cyborg defined in that presentation, is a person who has a piece of smart technology implanted, inserted, permanently made part of the body. It blew my mind. The presenter was Dr. Patrick Kramer (2) from Vivokey, you can see a similar presentation on YouTube (3) here: 

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0pzZHFqliyQ

Amber Case (4) uses a looser definition, you only need to carry the smart device, not have it embedded, to qualify as being a cyborg. Taking either definition, it’s revolutionary, the stuff of 1970s prime television. Or is it?

Image source: https://www.flickr.com/photos/51764518@N02/14722189969

Part of my recent work has been project-managing the introduction of RFID self-service kiosks in our city’s public libraries. And we are playing catch up, one of the city’s university libraries had this technology fifteen or twenty years ago, our Dublin library counterparts, ten years ago. By and large, customers (and staff) have taken to it. I think the customers would be very surprised to know that the same technology created a cyborg one kilometer away at the Tech Summit.

Image source: Ann Riordan

It’s all in the integration. We already have a public services card. Is it that much of a stretch to imagine one smart citizen card - think public services card, plus medical card, plus library card, plus student card, plus passport, plus driving license? Now replace that card with a chip.

It is not hard to anticipate the arguments. Do we have the right to body privacy? Can I say no? What if the chip breaks or leaks? What about the security implications? Can we trust all that personal sensitive data onto one chip, and who controls it? And what about the darker side? Instead of trade in stolen passports, will there be trade in stolen chipped body parts? Now that is truly the stuff of television. Judging by the whispers in the audience at the Tech Summit, these were the very real fears. With all our digital advancements and the speed at which new devices and integrated platforms are thrown at us, will the public ever accept cyborg technology?

Image source: https://www.flickr.com/photos/publik15/3904952978

But cyborgs are already among us. Think hearing aids, think timed medicinal implants. Deep Brain Stimulation implants in patients with Parkinson's Disease have shown life changing improvements to their condition (5). Consider the developments in prosthetics and augmented reality, and imagine the lives they can transform. Maybe it's time to rebrand the cyborg.

Notes:

(1) Tech Summit 2018. Accessed 2 October 2018. http://www.techsummit.ie/

(2) Patrick Kramer Twitter page. Accessed 2 October 2018. https://twitter.com/doccyborg

(3) Patrick Kramer, “ Super-humans: interconnected cyborgs”, YouTube video, 20.41 mins, 31 May 2017, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0pzZHFqliyQ

(4) Amber Case, “We are all cyborgs now”, Ted video, 7.46 mins, January 2011, https://www.ted.com/talks/amber_case_we_are_all_cyborgs_now

(5) Wonders, Carl P, “Self-tuning brain implant could help treat patients with Parkinson’s disease”, National Institutes of Health, (29 May 2018), https://www.nih.gov/news-events/news-releases/self-tuning-brain-implant-could-help-treat-patients-parkinsons-disease

References:

Cyborg Anthropology. “Defining Cyborg Anthropology”. Accessed October 2, 2018. http://cyborganthropology.com/Defining_Cyborg_Anthropology .

Murray, Niall. "Late-opening self-service libraries to add members" , Irish Examiner, (14 June 2018), https://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/late-opening-self-service-libraries-to-add-members-471842.html.

Swain, Frank. “Cyborgs: the truth about human augmentation”, BBC Future, (24 September 2014), http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20140924-the-greatest-myths-about-cyborgs .

Taylor, Charlie, “Humans 2.0: building a better being with smart implants”, Irish Times, (17 May 2018): 38.

Weiss, Haley, “Why You’re Probably Getting a Microchip Implant Someday”, The Atlantic, (21 September 2018), https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2018/09/how-i-learned-to-stop-worrying-and-love-the-microchip/570946/ .