Media Law & Literacy

When I’ve talked about The Algorithm™, it's usually in light reference to curated internet feeds. It’s not unusual for people to joke about its aggressive effectiveness. But returning to my computer science roots, I want to break down why it becomes genuinely terrifying when paired with modern AI. An algorithm is “ a computerized process that evaluates data to perform actions … without case-by-case human oversight ” . Commonly, this looks like YouTube recommending related videos: ‘if you liked that, then maybe you’ll like this’ but automated. And honestly, when I first noticed how personalized my advertisements were, I wasn’t bothered by it. Humans simply can't process data at the scale machines can and the internet contains an overwhelming amount. So yes, I appreciated the help shifting through it all. However, algorithms were never innocent. The breach of privacy was already real: a casual in person conversation about holes in my boots instantly turned into targeted ads for w...

You may or may not notice a trend in my philosophy, but here I am again presenting why capitalism leads to the death of human empathy. Historically, greed is consistently the motivator for war. But to pull off a war, you need propaganda. War isn't fought by a single person— it requires command, production, resources, and thousands of foot soldiers. And as always: money. The cost of a war isn’t just metaphorical, it’s expensive. And that price is paid through the tax of the people. “The war with Iran has depleted Pentagon funding, and the shock to the oil economy will have a direct impact on the fertilizer market farmers depend on.” “The new “$1.5 trillion funding target tracks typical military bureaucratic logic” where only “$11.1 billion would go to US farmers” . That’s why wartime propaganda is so intense: it needs public support and funding. It's no secret oil is an incredibly sought after resource. But surely there's no coincidence that the targeted nation happens to ...

As the name suggests, Online Influencers are meant to influence. Typically these are people with large followings on a social media platform whose popularity enable them to have a major impact on their viewers. Compared to Content Creators, “they aim to influence their audience's opinions and buying decisions” . While Online Influencers can also have their own style or type of content accompanying the promotion of products, the main goal is still to sell something to their audience. Influencing is truly the job: and the only aspect of the job. You see it constantly: ‘here’s my daily routine as an influencer’ and the video starts with unsubtle advertisements for various brands the Influencer may not even actually be using; leading into some vague ‘work until 5pm’. And yet that work seems to be making money given their extremely lavish lifestyle. But the lifestyle is essential to the marketing. They're selling you the idea that your life could look like that if you click on the l...

I first realized how terrifyingly broken our privacy system is when my family was visiting my father’s long time friend. I was too embarrassed to admit I forgot his name so I looked up his address to find out. In under 5 minutes, I uncovered his full name, his last four addresses, his entire phone number history, along with similar records for his wife and 2 kids. And truthfully, I didn’t actually know his actual address, I just pulled up google maps while my dad was parking the car and went from there. I did that just to avoid a social blunder but imagine if someone with actual malicious intent wanted that information. It doesn’t have to be on a grand international scale either; stalkers are not a far fetched idea and online harassment has become so common and accessible due to the lack of privacy. When it comes to license plate tracking and data farming , it's not just about privacy— it's about who uses the data and why. Data collection is framed as necessary for public safet...

Everytime I'm stuck at a traffic light for longer than a minute, I get curious. A swarm of questions hits me: How do they work? At complex intersections with turn signals, what if there's no one in the turn lane? Would the signal still go off? And if it doesn't, how did it know? Or pedestrian lights that don't have a button but work anyway— what IS their secret? Everytime I say: ‘when I get to my destination, I’ll look up the answer and solve the mystery once and for all’. Which as you may have already inferred: that’s never happened. The good news is that the cycle has ended! Before diving into mechanics, consider the classic 1900s movie scene where someone runs into the road: there’s some yelling (maybe cursing) as the horses pulling the cart rear up along with the typical ‘whoa’. Traffic gets disrupted due to instinct, a horse reacts to the obstacles in the way. Motorized vehicles changed everything. A car didn't have survival instincts and certainly wouldn't...

Social Media was built to exemplify two core values of free expression: Promoting Innovation (Jack Balkin) and Individual Self-Fulfillment (C. Edwin Baker) . But the reality of today is that those same platforms of free speech are being trampled by the ability to profit. The internet has enabled people to connect all over the world. That's where the emphasis of technology started: ”a common information space in which we communicate by sharing information” (Tim Berners-Lee, 1998). Blog websites, forums, emailing, phone calls, texts— those were the staples of the early days of technology. No more letters that took weeks to deliver on horseback. Ideas and thoughts could be shared almost instantly. And it was clear the effect it had on innovation and community. For example, when my required school art class forced me to spend an hour staring at a pile of fruit and ten minutes picking charcoal out from under my fingernails, I was hardly inspired. Online, however, I found artists who s...

When I think of The Justice System™, I picture the classic court setting and confusingly specific wording of contracts. It all feels like it’s supposed to be almost clinical and rigid— legal and removed from emotions or personal attachments. Yet the videos changed my view to see court as something deeply passionate. "Does oral argument make a difference? Of course it does, it has to." I was surprised to hear this but I completely agree (especially now with AI taking over our rhetoric). The laws put in place are meant to reflect the values of the people. I don't think emotion should be removed from the court because it's the true foundation of our country (hard to start a Revolutionary War with nonchalance). I always assumed the final decision wouldn't have any objections but the inclusion of disagreements is unbelievably critical to maintaining cohesive justice across the country. How are other judges meant to rule on future cases if they can't clearly unders...

  Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (YouTube ) This is my favorite place to get news. I tend to avoid reading the news or hearing about current events. And live reporting never interested me because I often felt like the emphasis was getting the information out quickly without any fact checking or further investigation. So I have a preference for investigative journalism. That being said, I find most news leaves me feeling depressed or I’m intensely passionate about an issue that feels like I have no say in. I enjoy this show because it does in depth research on topics in a comedic tone that makes it feel less heavy to digest. But most importantly for me, is that the show always closes on the note “so what can we do” and provides real tangible suggestions for viewers to partake in if they feel strongly about the topic. The hopeful ending note is something I greatly appreciate and feels less like I’m just being told the world is burning to the ground. Google News Aside from LWT, I ...