The Turing Test

Computers are often thought of as the way of the future, but when it comes right

down to it, how does a computer compare to the original computer, the human brain? This

is of course a difficult thing to measure because the brain and the computer have

different components and variables. However, a smart man named Alan Turing came up with

a little something called the "Turing Test." This test is used to determine if a computer

is truly intelligent.

Some of the qualifications a smart computer would have are a large memory, the

ability to identify different situations, the ability to problem solve, possess self

awareness and emotion. The Turing test is based on a computers external awareness and

measure different aspects such as motor coordination, language, emotion and complex

reasoning. The test is measurable in terms of pass/fail and easy to understand and

administer.

Problems that arise have to deal with the fact that computers, though they are

of course designed by humans, do not inherently possess the qualities of humans and

instead must be specifically programmed. The Turing test is not able to measure all

aspects of intelligence and results also depend on the sophistication of the person

asking the questions.

All in all, the computer will never be exactly comparable to the human brain,

but the Turing test is definitely a step in the right direction.

the Digital Divide

Though it is obvious that there is a huge gap between how people use technology between America and a third world country, it is less recognized that the digital divide is present even in our own city, as well as in different parts of this country. I remember when I was in high school the class clown in my class tried to make the excuse of why he didn't do his homework, "I don't have a computer." He was kidding, and everyone who heard him say it laughed because it was a ridiculous to think that someone wouldn't have a computer in Los Angeles in this day and age. However, I learned from this week's lecture that millions of people in this modern country don't have a computer in their house, even more people do not have home access to the internet. This fact makes the digital divide an extremely important issue to discuss in today's societ, especially in relation to education, government, health, entertainment and work.

In education, interaction is very important for the development (especially in young children) of a well rounded foundation. It is important for teachers, if they are going to use technology in the classroom, to still make it an interactive learning enviornment, not isolated and reliant on a monitor. It could be too easy for a teacher to rely soley on technology like we do in other aspects of life and forget to incorporate the fundamental social part of learning. 

In terms of government, it is common knowledge that things can be quite inefficient to say the least. It is great that technology can make things such as going to the dmv easier, but there is also a downside. People who do not have computers, such as low income families or Katrina victims cannot benefit from the quick online information and forms and they are the ones who need it the most. This also goes for healthcare, Medicare patients, who are usually old and don't know how to use a computer that well, are the ones who need convenience the most but aren't able to take full advantage of it.  

It is a well known fact that people these days are becoming familiar and comfortable with technology at a younger age. Older people, in turn, are less likely to be apt at learning new skills, especially on the computer. This gives a large advantage to younger people and puts out older people who are not used to having technology always be a part of their everyday life and are now seeing it as almost a requirement in the workplace. 

With entertainment, it is great that people can now access the internet from their computers and look at pretty much anything online. However, when it comes to children, this can be dangerous because the internet is an unregulated world that a child or teen these days can better navigate than their parents. With endless channels on many televisions, it could be hard for parents to keep tabs on what their kids are being exposed to. 20 years ago, this would not have been an issue, but with the digital divide present and growing between generations, this is a well known problem.

The growth of technology, in my opinion, is a good thing. However, this growth is drastically changing the world we live in, and it is important to keep issues such as the ones I have talked about above in mind so that we can keep a balance preserved between old and new, have and have not. 

Mashups

1)Being from Los Angeles and living currently in San Francisco, I always have a lot of people coming to visit me. The problem is, I live in a dorm so they can't stay with me and they always want hotel suggestions. I usually suggest a hotel downtown because I know there are a lot, but there must be some closer to school. Through programmableweb.com, I found a mashup of google maps and 4Hotels.us which maps all the hotels in an area and allows you to click on them. I will definately use this next time I have visitors so they can stay closer to usf rather than downtown!
here is the link- http://hotel-map.4hotels.us/

2)http://www.thursdayclub.com/city/
This mashup of twitter and google maps allows me to click on my city (SF in this case, but they have every city in the world) and find all the restaurants, bars and clubs in that city. Not only that, it gives links to reviews and ratings of all the venues. This is useful to me being new to the city, but I would also use this when I travel to unfamiliar cities to know where to go for food and fun.

3) http://www.ilovemusicvideo.net, this one is amazing! It is a mashup of lastFM and youTube and it allows you to type in an artist you want and watch all music videos of them that are available. It is really easy to use, I used it to watch morrisey videos that are rare just now, otherwise I would not know where to find them! Unlike some mashup sites that I have looked at, it is very clean cut, easy to use and organized with a definitive purpose.