Supreme Court Blog #3

 

    I have somewhat of a background on the Supreme Court from taking a politics class earlier in college. We went over the basics like judicial review, important cases, and the setup of how Judiciaries are chosen.  I feel that there are important things to take away from this video. One of those takeaways is that this video shows what a textbook can not show. The justices are discussing with one of the experts documenting the Supreme Court for a majority of the video. They explain how the court appears differently when viewed, from how they actually operate. The most surprising thing I learned is how they try to make points aware to each other during the process of oral argument between the lawyers. The justices stated that the lawyers are more of a mediator. They make sure to ask the lawyers specific questions throughout the hearing, in order to spread awareness of points of the case that they find vital. Those who come to watch the court hearing are under the misconception that the hearings are just made up of justices making dialogue with the lawyers. In reality, it is just a professional way to bring the attention necessary to issues in the case to their fellow justices. Myself included, I had no idea this was how they operated. As stated by Justice Kennedy, people are always questioning if the oral argument in the courtroom makes a difference. I thought to myself for a moment, why don't the justices just review the facts of the case on their own, and come together to make a decision? They are the highest order of justice. It was then that he said Abstract principles have to be applied in a real-life situation, and that the lawyer's purpose is to do exactly that. The most important takeaway of the video is exactly that. These nine justices dedicate themselves to reserving the highest order of justice in this country, yet they like anyone else do not have the ability to just look at something and decide if it is correct or incorrect. They need to have an argument said to them, to remind them of the realism of the case so that they can abstain from making a compromised decision. It is important to realize that lawyers represent the voice of the people, bringing the facts and opinions of the general population to the most prominent figures of justice within our government.

AI Technology

 

    Automation is becoming a major issue. Advancements in technology are creating a massive line of unemployment. Robots are automating the tasks needed in factories. This is causing a lot of blue-collar workers to no longer work. Advancements in technology may be speeding up production, but overall it is a negative effect. To be honest I believe we really don't need to increase the speed. Most factories are making more products than there is demand. By speeding up the process, we are not only being wasteful, but we are taking the opportunity to bring food to the table right of the hands of many Americans. This automation is cutting out the middleman. 

    You either make it or you don't nowadays. While the amount of wealth may grow in certain individuals, overall poverty will skyrocket. Another concern about AI is privacy. It is concerning how much data new technology can automate about you, just from using a search engine like google. With algorithms, companies can learn information about what we click on, and what kind of ads we are interested in. It is through data collection that these internet companies make the most of their revenue. They make an extremely large portion of their wealth from collecting data and having targeted ads sent toward us. 

    Advertisements are making companies more money than the services they provide currently. Even by messaging your friends on social media, data is collected. You say you are going to meet up at 6:45 tonight, this is still collected. AI technology is quite innovative, but we really have to be aware of the consequences that come with it.

Issues of Privacy

 

    I believe privacy is something that is very hard to come across nowadays via online. Almost everything you do is monitored online. Your history for instance is constantly being tracked and monitored. Companies pay to see what you have looked at online, so they can target you for advertisements. It is scary to know that industries know exactly what type of things interest you and that they can constantly send out advertisements directed towards you, and specifically you. With the internet being such as heavy presence today, we all might as well be wearing a chip on our shoulders. It is crazy to think that we all are willing to have eyes on our backs 24/7. Every time you practically pick up your phone, someone is out there collecting some sort of data about you. It is not like we are not completely kept in the dark, however. We are told what to expect by agreeing to the terms and conditions of all these websites and organizations. People on the internet are private sectors, so as long as we enter the contract, which everyone does, we are agreeing to have them invade our privacy. To be realistic, almost every person is not going to sit there for hours reading pages upon pages of agreements for every little thing they want to do on the internet. We could simply protect ourselves from most of this privacy invasion by simply reading the terms and conditions, although this would mean we can not use the same online organizations as everyone else. To be protected from these things, in the long run, is to not use them. The government can not really do anything about this, we are willingly agreeing to these private contracts, and therefore none of our rights are violated legally. 

Top 5 News Sources

 

          I am not one who pays attention to the media due to the bias surrounding it, although I still like to keep up with current events that are happening. Here are my Top 5 news/informational sources I like to keep up with. 

1) Vice News - Vice news was created about 9 years ago and focuses on video essays and documentaries. They focus on underreported stories and are very unbiased in most of their content. They will report on things such as escaped cartel members, poachers, underground fashion industries and etc. They mainly focus on interviewing people and letting them tell their stories, as well as some coverage, is done by themselves. I particularly like Vice for doing what no one else really does, and their lack of influence on their content.

2)  ESPN- for all things sports I stick to ESPN. Although it is not important information and does not really tell you much about the real world. However, I do like to keep up with sports and ESPN is great for that. They track about every sport there is, offer live stats, report insights on particular players or games, and even cover multiple sporting events. I think they are great at what they do and offer a fair amount of information.

3) The Guardian - The Guardian is an extremely old and reliable news source that has been around since 1821. Originally known as a newspaper they have expanded into the web over time, and track news around the world, but mainly focus on both the United States and the United Kingdom. I believe they lack the bias other news publishers have due to being stationed overseas, as some of their employees don't really get too swept up in the politics of the United States. They cover both conservative and liberal-appointed news and are very good at putting out information. 

4) Associated Press - The Associated Press is another news source that has been around for a very long time. Founded in 1846, they cover global news and have 53 Pulitzer Prizes. They are very neutral in their media coverage. They tend to stick to facts, and do not try to paint a poor image on the material they are covering. I find it to be a great place to get information on global events, and find their stories to be very informational. 

5) Wall Street Journal - I solely look at the Wall Street Journal for all things business. As someone who is coming into adulthood, I find it important to follow up on major news stories involving the economy. I think the Wall Street Journal is about as clearview as it gets. I just started following them about a year ago, and only check it from time to time, but they are pretty straightforward and very informational and do their best not to stir you into their own opinions.