In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, AI continues to be used to assist healthcare professionals and the general public in keeping people as safe as possible. AIs use in prediction of the spread of the disease as well as the identification of sick individuals is already documented, but AI is helping in more ways than just those. The fight against information, including the downplaying of risks and false mandatory quarantine order, is being fought by social media platforms such as Youtube and Twitter, assisted heavily by AI. AI is also being used to alleviate stress put upon health facilities such as hospitals and health organizations by the influx of new patients due to the virus. AI can help by answering frequently asked questions regarding COVID-19, and deliver information from credible sources, reducing the burden placed upon healthcare workers.
https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/348909
Sports Marketing Responsibilites
It sounds simple. Sports Marketing. Pretty straight forward right? Well there may be more to it than you think. Sports marketers don’t just promote specific teams, they can promote the athletes themselves, sports brands such as Nike, Adidas, etc, or even just simply promote ticket sales and the events that are taking place. There is much more to it as well such as knowing what the public wants and how to get them intrigued with an athlete or event. To learn more about the roles and responsibilities of what a sports marketer does click the link below. https://www.sports-management-degrees.com/faq/what-does-a-job-in-sports-marketing-entail/
Snapping the Un-Capturable Moments: GoogleClips
How many times have we seen our pet, or a baby, do something adorable and go to take out our phones to take a picture – only for them to move not even a full second later? I bet that has happened too many times for any of us to count. Google has the solution – Google Clips.
Google Clips is a camera powered with artificial intelligence technology that snaps a photo when faces or pets are detected nearby. All those once un-capturable moments of your baby being adorable, or your pet in that cute costume you put on it – just became possible to be photographed!
This is a huge revolution in the camera-AI industry, as it is a unique camera that offers a solution to a need many photographers and just people in general experience. Google Clips is the answer that these people have been looking for, and is opening up the pathway to more AI being used in the photography industry as well.
https://time.com/5176424/google-camera-clips-review/
Julia Riccio – jmr17e
Make it Positive.
With all the uncertainty that’s flooding the world right now, people are clinging to the internet as a source of information and community. While it can bring people together and encourage the re-connection of old friendships, there are also negatives that come with the frequent usage of social media.
This article gives three great examples of how to use social media positively. With all our new-found free time, we should be making efforts to use social media as a positive outlet, not as a breeding-ground for unhealthy, negative thoughts. This article by Mental Health First Aid is very insightful for everyone, despite the range of how frequently you use social media. Focus on a social media experience that builds confidence, not one that diminishes it. Lastly, remember to take everything in moderation, and never put too much pressure on maintaining a certain “image” or upholding yourself to an invisible, unobtainable standard. https://www.mentalhealthfirstaid.org/2019/06/three-ways-to-use-social-media-positively/
Bloody Sunday
The daily White House press briefings often feel like a battle between good and evil, between the angel and demon on your shoulders. One pleads, “staying at home and indoors is the best way to prevent deaths and save lives right now,” while the other argues “well, staying at home also leads to death…deaths of a different kind but death nonetheless.” Such is true for countless other topics during the daily presser, one of which, as we’ve discussed, has lead directly to the death of a man and hospitalization and his wife.
This struggle for safety will likely face its toughest test yet with Easter Sunday right around the corner. In less than 24 hours, thousands of Christians across the country, rejecting statewide stay-at-home orders, will inevitably flock to their place of worship in celebration of the “return of the king.” Truth be told, this is not a problem specific to Christianity: reports of Hasidic Jews congregating face-to-face for the Holy Week of Passover have made headlines in recent days.
The root of the problem is a very human combination hubris, greed, and ignorance that has only been exacerbated in recent weeks by the President’s “happy feet” talk and empty, unsubstantiated promise of an Easter Sunday reopening of the country. In light of several European countries considering a loosening of restrictions, this week Tedros Adhanom, the heavily scapegoated director-general of the World Health Organization, warned of a “deadly resurgence” if distancing and stay-at-home tactics are curbed.
Then, one may ask, what happens in places with no such measures or where social distancing and stay-at-home guidelines are completely ignored? In Florida, churches and other religious organizations have been deemed essential, quite literally leaving the door open for worshippers to come and go as they please in the midst of an otherwise statewide shutdown.
Just last week in Louisiana, Life Tabernacle Church pastor Tony Spell was charged with six misdemeanors for continuing to hold in-person services despite the pandemic. He argues that “the president did not give me my rights to worship God and to assemble in church, and no socialist government or godless president can take that right away.”
Even in the days leading up to Easter, it has been reported that religious groups have contributed a staggering amount to the spread of the coronavirus. At least 70 attendees of a church in Sacramento, California, contracted COVID-19 last week. Spell, of the Life Tabernacle Church, told Buzzfeed News that he expects about 2,000 people to attend tomorrow’s Easter Sunday service.
At a time as dreadful as it is confusing, many have turned to religion as a beacon of hope in search for answers, community, and salvation. Though they serve no emergency purpose, church leaders posit that church is in fact essential, saying that “we as essential organizations need to show up right now. If nurses and doctor, or police officers and firefighters, didn’t show up, it would be considered dishonorable. Yet churches, for whatever reason, seem to feel like it’s okay not to show up when our world needs us most.”
This pattern of thought has been echoed throughout the country as we brace for a potentially silent yet bloody, deadly Easter Sunday. If there were ever a time to listen to the angel on your shoulder…
For helpful tips on avoiding misinformation during the pandemic, click here.
Easter – But Virtual
At a time where people should feel a sense of togetherness, COVID-19 has put a damper on that. With several stay at home orders in effect, and people social distancing, many religious leaders have decided to go ahead with Easter service but from either an empty pew or the comfort of their homes. Although this is a very difficult time for all, these religious leaders are doing what they feel is best to keep moral and the community together – some are even hosting coffee hours and brunch meetings over Zoom to allow members of the church to socialize and see some familiar faces.
This is how racism is being spread across the internet
The term “cyber-racism” is what scholars refer to racist communication online. There is no surprise to me that the internet has a darkside because I’ve seen it. The amount of hate that continues to spread rapidly on various social media accounts has become a norm to me and many other users. Leading me to the question of how is racism being spread across the internet?
According to the article since 2017 “even the inventor of the World Wide Web, Tim- Berners-Lee, has focused many of his comments about the dangers of manipulation of the internet around hate speech”(Biluc, Jakubowicz, & Dunn 2020). Majority of the racism that is spread online is by various racist groups. Although there are individuals who engage in cyber-racism to hurt others, racist groups are active on many different platforms with different goals and strategies to achieve them. The main goals of all cyber-racist typically are “to hurt or undermined other groups” and “to increase social desirability”.
To conclude, if constant online racism persist, we can potentially see an ever sharper division in society as the support for racism and far-right movements spread online.
Women in tech – best practices for gender equality
Gender equality in the tech sector is a long way from perfect. Interestingly, in the field of technology women are seen to leave the industry at a 45% higher rate than men. Much of this is due to the various injustices they face at work such as sexual harassment, exclusion, and unconscious bias.
Liz Matthews, Head of Community and Education at Mango Solutions, believes that the answer lies in increased investment in training for women to fill this corporate need, close the skills gap, and encourage women to enter the world of data. #LIS4022spr20
Link: https://diversityq.com/women-in-tech-best-practices-for-gender-equality-1507614/
With such a horrible time going on, how could anyone be so selfish enough to go out when they know they have a virus that is extremely consanguineous and still go out in public, they should be arrested, but i do not think if you’re infected you should automatically be tracked, that is way to far. I think if you’re caught going out then you should be be put on house arrest . Look at this article to learn more https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/04/watching-covid-19-surveillance-raises-privacy-fears-200403015854114.html
Accessibility and Gender Identity
To clarify, gender identity is the person’s sense of self: do they percieve themselves as male or female? Sex is the gender you were assigned at birth. To say gender identity and sex is the same thing is erasing many people. Not the majority of people, but a significant amount of people who deserve to get proper healthcare.
The article describes four different ways to showcase gender identity/sex in an option. First was the typical “Male/Female” option. The second included a nonbinary option. The third option had both gender identity and sex assigned a birth. Option D is a type-in. The article said that “participants [in the study] were excited to see more inclusive options, but many feared the information would be used against them”. This is fair – LGBTQ+ people are often vulnerable and marginalized. The article mentioned ways to solve this issue: by letting users know how information will be used and acknowledging intersectional identities to exist by using multiselect menus.
It is not difficult to add these things into a design – and it should be encouraged that everyone does include these things.
Article here: https://bit.ly/3b02Z4U
LIS 4022 Spring 2020 