Communication Technology

Session 5

The topic for discussion in today’s class was Information Communication Technology and its impact on society. For me, this was a highly significant topic as today’s world is filled with technology that directly affects how we communicate as people. Whether it be the world wide web, news articles, television, cell phones, etc, communication is something that is prevalent in our lives. I couldn’t imagine a day without being able to touch my computer or cell phone to find out about the latest news, happenings and insights around the world. Professor Shahi discussed it, however, in a much different perspective than I expected. He basically described ICT’s as drivers for the millennium development goals, its evolution in society, and as game changers for companies and businesses.

What was most interesting for me during this session was the video on Project Natal Milo Demo and the evolution of the web to version 3.0. Project Natal was basically a project by Microsoft for the XBOX 360. It was a program designed to be able to link the virtual world with human reality. This really fascinated me as I did not know that we were that advanced with regards to technology. The virtual character could literally react, engage and communicate with someone in the real human world. This to me is a key advancement in how we are able to relate with technology. It simply shows that sooner or later machines will be able to think equally to the human touch, and possibly help us make life even more convenient. Web version 3.0 on the other hand, was also interesting for me as I was able to better understand how the web works now as compared to before. The current version is basically more intelligent and sophisticated, as it does not merely take input from its users. It is now able to make recommendations and suggestions based on the type of user accessing specific web content.

The key takeaways I got from this session is that communication is an integral part of the way we live, and that as the days pass by, we continue to rely on it more as it makes its own advancements. As I have thought about it in class, communication technology has basically overruled our lives. We regularly need to be in contact and interact with people because we are socially dependent on each other. No man is an island, as most people would say.

The issues that could have been addressed more in class was how we are gradually becoming attached to technology. As I mentioned earlier, I cannot imagine myself being detached from information and communication technology. Is this something others feel the same way about to? How do people react to certain types of news and information released? Are there biases? Are people complacent? I felt that these issues could have been discussed more had there been more time.

I personally rate this session 8/10 because I felt that a little more discussion could have been made on such an up and coming piece of technology that readily contributes to society everyday. Overall, I still liked the presentations and the concepts behind the development of ICTs.