Blog 13: Net Neutrality

The underlying issue of the net neutrality debate is simply the arguement whether the web should be available to everyone on an equal level, much like the phone network, or if providers should be allowed control traffic, much like cable tv. Content providers such as Google and political extremists are examples of pro-neutrality supporters. For content providers, their business is to provide customers with equal access to the web. They would like to provide equal service at high quality to keep their customers happy. Political or religious extremists are in favor of net neutrality because they are affraid of the posibilities that their messages may be sensored. On the other hand, telecomunications companies such as AT&T and libertarian groups are against net neutrality. For telecomunications companies, an open system would mean that they have to treat all customers and sites with equality and that they may be doing all the work while not making the profit. For libertarian groups, they see net neutrality as unneccesary government intervention that stiffles innovation. Personaly I am pro-net neutrality because I believe that the internet should provide equal information to all. Additionally, the posibilities of monopolization or government interference if the web became a closed system is even more scary than the arguement that keeping it neutral would be unneccesary government intervention.

Blog 12: AI

I do not believe the Turing Test is a good test for intelligence at all. First of all, I don't even believe intelligence to be an attribute of non-living objects. That being said, testing an object for intelligence is silly in my opinion. You could say that the Turing Test is a good test for the compitence of a program which is created by man and is therefore the intelligence of man. Sure we can be tricked by the Turing Test, but only to a certain point. Just because I might open spam mail, doesn't mean that I have completely been tricked by a computer. Humans have the intelligence to open the mail and immediately recognize that it is indeed spam. To say that a computer or a program has intelligence is to completely ignore the human intelligence behind the creation. Human language is so complex and operates on levels completely beyond the explaination or understanding that we have of it. Therefore, to accurately translate that into a program is impossible. Sure, we can get close, but it is nothing more than a simulation. This is easy to oncover after talking with a chatbot for more than a few minutes. And the BBC article makes a good point. Perhaps the integration of technology in our lives has detracted from human ability to communicate and therefore it is us failing the Turing Test and not the computers passing it. While a computer may have superhuman memory, it can not comprehend sarcasm, relate personality to text, or even have its own original thoughts. If the basis of intelligence is though, computers have none. All they do is compile data that has been programed into them. Obviously a computer doesn't have emotions. I do not believe there is any way to test the intelligence of a computer, as I do not believe computers to be intelligence. If a computer could give me advice, empathize with emotions, and express opinions, then maybe we could discuss its intelligence, but until that day a computer is nothing more than a man made tool to store and retrieve data.

Blog 11: Mashup Sites

CellReception.com is a site that uses Google Maps to locate cell phone reception. This site is interesting and usefull because it has a great databass of cell towers. You can search by area code, city, and state. The website will provide a Google map with markers for where cell phone towers are. Other users can also write comments about cell phone reception in specific areas. This could be very useful if planning a long road trip.
Apartmentratings.com is a site that also uses Google Maps. This is a very useful site if you are looking for an apartment. You can search for an area by zip code. This is much easier than craigslist because you don't need to sift through all the posts. You an just enter your price range, location, etc. and ApartmentRatings will create a map with all of the apartments available that match your search.
Dudewheresmyusedcar.com is a fun and practical site combining Google Maps with eBay Motors. Here you can search for a used car by location or by make and model. Like Apartmentratings.com, this is way easier than looking through all the classifieds on craigslist or in the newspaper.