Asimo Robot New 20 Features

This video demonstrates the capabilities of the robot Asimo which is being developed in Japan. Showing its impressive 20 new features it can perform complex tasks such as identifying multiple peoples' voices, unscrewing a bottle and pour liquid into it, and carry trays. More interestingly it can direct people in a facility, while giving instructions.

Video Description:
"he all-new ASIMO is now advanced from an "automatic machine" to an "autonomous machine" with the decision-making capability to determine its behavior in concert with its surroundings such as movements of people. At the beginning of the development process, the following three factors were identified as necessary for a robot to perform as an autonomous machine, and the technologies required to realize these capabilities were developed; 1) high-level postural balancing capability which enables the robot to maintain its posture by putting out its leg in an instant, 2) external recognition capability which enables the robot to integrate information, such as movements of people around it, from multiple sensors and estimate the changes that are taking place, and 3) the capability to generate autonomous behavior which enables the robot to make predictions from gathered information and autonomously determine the next behavior without being controlled by an operator."

Social and Ethical Concerns
People and Machines
This video provides an insight into the future when humans will be interacting with more human-like robots. With these capabilities, the all-new ASIMO takes another step closer to practical use in an environment where it coexists with people.

1.5 million pages of ancient texts to be made accessible online

A huge database will be created in digitizing 1.5 million pages of rare and ancient texts, most dating from the 16th century or earlier. The digitized pages will include early printed books—called incunabula—from Rome and the surrounding area; Greek manuscripts including early church texts and works by Homer, Sophocles, Plato, Hippocrates; and Hebrew manuscripts from the Middle Ages and the Renaissance.

Employers Asking for Applicant Facebook Passwords

There are reports of employers asking for the Facebook passwords of job applicants and, in some cases, for current employees.   Checking social media sites this way is called "shoulder surfing" because the employer is seeing everything you do, rather than just the public information you want them to see.
If this happens to you, all the work you may have done on adjusting your privacy settings to limit what some of your friends, family and others can see is basically useless.  Once you have given out your login information, the company will have full access to your account.

Social Ethical Issues
Privacy: Employers have FULL access to your account and can see everything instead of what you limit to the public (privacy settings).

Reliability Integrity: How reliable are the employers? Can they ensure that the account information won't fall into the wrong hands?

Policies: It is against Facebook's policy to ever give your login information to anyone, so what do you do in this scenario?


http://jobsearch.about.com/b/2012/03/25/employers-asking-for-facebook-passwords.htm

Smart Phones Closing the Digital Divide

It found that just one in five adults does not use the internet in America.
“Once someone has a wireless device, she becomes much more active in how she uses the internet — not just with wireless connectivity, but also with wired devices,” reads the report “The same holds true for the impact of wireless connections and people’s interest in using the internet to connect with others. These mobile users go online not just to find information but to share what they find and even create new content much more than they did before.”
But while smartphones are boosting internet connectivity among less privileged groups, the financially secure, the well-educated, and young people are still more likely to own smart phones.
Internet use habits are changing, as well. In addition to email and search, more Americans are using the web to access social networks. Internet banking is also on the rise.
It also found that race is not a good indicator of mobile use. Whites are as likely as African Americans and Engish-speaking Latinos to own mobile phones.
“The internet access gap closest to disappearing is that between whites and minorities,” researchers wrote. “Differences in access persist, especially in terms of adults who have high-speed broadband at home, but they have become significantly less prominent over the years — and have disappeared entirely when other demographic factors (including language proficiency) are controlled for.”

social ethical issues:
Digital divide is lessening in America between minority groups and people in general. Because of the smart phone people feel more inclined to go online to share what they find.

http://tech.li/2012/04/smartphones-digital-divide/

Canada Considers Implementing Complete Digital Currency

"The Royal Canadian Mint has announced it will release a completely digital currency called MintChip. MintChip will be stored on physical chips and will be able to hand both big purchases and nano-transactions – purchases less than $1."

Reliability and Integrity / Security: The developers stated that the chip was unhackable, but there have been reports that it has been compromised by an electron microscope, needles, and acid. If you drop the chip then you lose the money stored in it. What preventative measures can stop someone else taking it?




Read more: http://techland.time.com/2012/04/10/canadian-government-considers-completely-digital-currency/?iid=tl-article-mostpop1#ixzz1rpiqKgCp

Japan's ATM machine: Using your palm and a pin number to access

The way we use currency is always changing. We have undergone a transformation from coins to notes to credit cards and now, Japan is close to implementing a new type of system. You can soon access ATM machines using just your palm and a pin number. The machine uses biometric technology to access the IT and perform its function.

Security: This system looks like it would considerably increase the amount of security at banks because each palm is unique to an individual. It will be interesting to see if other countries follow this example.
Authenticity

http://www.theverge.com/2012/4/12/2943164/cardless-atm-japan-ogaki-kyoritsu

Google Glasses

Google glasses are Google's latest innovation. These glasses track your location and they constantly capture videos of your surroundings. They're recognition software is able identify location and faces of people discretely. There are plenty of cool features such as voice recognition and gps navigation commands.

Social and Ethical Issues
Reliability and Integrety: This device looks like it may impair vision. Will it be dangerous to use it while driving like texting because of the pop-up distractions? If someone is injured who is liable?
Pirvacy and Anonymity: This device constantly tracks your location.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/04/10/google-glasses-video-deve_n_1414882.html

How Target Figured Out A Teen Girl Was Pregnant Before Her Father Did

Target along with many other superstores store lots of information from customer, such as their purchases, on IT and from this they are able to predict some incredible stuff about the customer. From this they are able to send coupons for things that would cater to that specific customer's wants and needs. In this case they were able to predict that a teen was pregnant before her own father knew. You can read more about that process in the article. At what point does their system begin invading on our privacy if it is that scary accurate and is able to work consistenly?

Article: http://www.forbes.com/sites/kashmirhill/2012/02/16/how-target-figured-out-a-teen-girl-was-pregnant-before-her-father-did/?partner=forbespicks&google_editors_picks=true
Found on reddit

US e-voting system cracked in less than 48 hours

"Researchers at the University of Michigan have reported that it took them only a short time to break through the security functions of a pilot project for online voting in Washington, D.C. "Within 48 hours of the system going live, we had gained near complete control of the election server", the researchers wrote in a paper that has now been released. "We successfully changed every vote and revealed almost every secret ballot." The hack was only discovered after about two business days – and most likely only because the intruders left a visible trail on purpose"

From article: http://www.h-online.com/security/news/item/US-e-voting-system-cracked-in-less-than-48-hours-1463881.html
Found on reddit.
This puts the security and integrity of online US voting polls at risk. Such a large and significant event in the country's reliability is compromised. Imagine if a malicious user had hacked it. People's privacy would be invaded because the ballot reveals information about them. As it stands, it appears there are too many ethic concerns with e-voting for it to be viable. Perhaps it is better to stick with traditional ballots until better s

SOPA passed in Ireland

"SOPA (the highly controversial instrument that reinforces online copyrights laws in Ireland) has been signed into law.

Critics, which include most of the Irish voting public, have outlined how the SOPA legislation will limit internet freedom. Put plainly SOPA will limit your ability to blog, repost others content or even use a companies name without a trademark acknowledgement, opening the unsuspecting public up to a host of potential claims.

Online piracy won't miss a beat, but web standards like Facebook, Blogger, YouTube and so on will be put at risk.

It would help if the definitions of breach of copyright had been clearly defined, but that's not the case here at all. This legislation leaves you vulnerable to be be the subject of an injunction for even posting a song on a social network page."




Read more: http://www.irishcentral.com/story/ent/manhattan_diary/irish-government-signs-disastrous-sopa-law-141103363.html#ixzz1oLpBUAXp

Travel Agencies

This is a business that relies on information technology. I did a short presentation to my itgs class with a prezi that can be viewed below containing information about what it is along with social and ethic considerations.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1K8aSgdJyawFkP5MkAFjzgnawGyo8nyvMQhIn_LgZ8G4/edit#

Google New Privacy Policy

privacy, security
Apparently, google is implementing a new privacy policy that a lot of people are getting upset over. Most people know that google collects a large amount of data from you when you use their search engines. However, the new policy states they are going to start sharing this data between google services, such as their search and gmail, something that they did not previously do. Searching something on the search engine may affect things such as what shows up as your recommendation videos on Youtube and such. I think people are over reacting because google already had this massive amount of information about you beforehand, they aren't collecting anymore than they already have been. No privacy information about you will be compromised, your google pages will just be a little more personalized now.

First Post-Hello

Hello, my name's Tyler.
I just made a new blog and I'm going to update it regularly to share my opinions on global IT issues i find on the web. I look forward to hearing your comments and discussions regarding the topic - whatever it may be on!