EOTO: Carrier Pigeons

Carrier pigeons were one of the first success stories in communication history. Often undermined, these talented birds were trusted with the delivery of important messages for centuries. In some cases, their bravery was rewarded on a military level. It is a fact that we would not be the interconnected society of cellphones and instant messaging without them. 

The earliest use of carrier pigeons was recorded in Ancient Egypt around 1350 BCE. Back then, the pigeons would send word of major agricultural changes and serve military leaders as they sought to conquer faraway lands. Soon enough, Greece joined the party and used carrier pigeons to announce the winners of the Olympic Games. 

Despite common belief, these birds were used more modernly as well. Carrier pigeons played a large role in the Siege of Paris during the Franco-Prussian War in 1870. The city was cut off from the outside world, preventing any individual from passing and alerting those outside the gates. But, luckily enough, a carrier pigeon was able to be secretly exported past the gates and carry with it word from inside the fortress. A new technique was born during this time: microfilm. The microfilm process consisted of photographing documents and shrinking them to a smaller size, thus storing more information on a single piece of film. This way, more messages were capable of being delivered on one bird. 

Carrier pigeons, also referred to as homer pigeons or messenger pigeons, are the product of the interbreeding of the rock pigeon. Due to their calm nature and immaculate navigation skills, this breed of pigeon allowed for simple domestication and accurate message delivery over long distances. They used the sun's position as a compass and the Earth's magnetic field astoguide them on their journey. They also have an amazing smell that they can use to differentiate certain cues. These birds can fly for about 600-700 miles in a day at speeds up to 60-80 mph. 

Throughout history, carrier pigeons have been the saving grace for many struggling to communicate due to a number of different reasons. During 
World War I, radio communication was commonly intercepted by the enemy, which made warning one another of dangerous attacks nearly impossible. However, due to carrier pigeons, they had the ability to evade on-ground warfare and avoid being hijacked by enemy forces, successfully delivering important warnings that resulted in many lives being saved. A famous example is of the pigeon Cher Ami that, despite being wounded in the heat of battle, successfully completed her mission and saved countless lives in the process. Carrier pigeons also assisted the Navy by transporting messages from ships onto the shore when there were plane crashes and all other methods of communication had failed. 

These birds of flight have had one of the strongest roles in evolving communication technology, as it is known in the modern world. Carrier pigeons were one of the most reliable methods of communication at their time, unaffected by certain natural disasters and human error. These pigeons have been trusted time and time again to deliver important messages with accuracy and reliability. It is true that carrier pigeons are not used nearly as often as they were in the past. However, it is also a fact that we would be nowhere close to the level of communication we have today without their resilience and bravery. 

The Future of Teachers & Lawyers with AI

The dangers of AI will not come because of a massive takeover that will occur on a random day. The worry comes from the takeover of the little everyday tasks. I intend to pursue a career that practices some aspect of educational law. These two paths have contradicting predicted outcomes in terms of how AI will affect my future in the workforce. 

Education is a valuable field that is crucial for the creation of an intellectual society. A respectable education can never be replaced. However, that doesn't mean that AI will stay out of teaching culture. In fact, AI has already started to infiltrate the classrooms of modern-day schools. The good part is that the role of a teacher is not directly threatened by AI. If anything, teachers benefit from the revolution of technological tools to advance how they manage their classrooms. By allowing AI to take care of the more meticulous tasks, such as grading and making lesson plans, teachers can focus on interacting with their students and building meaningful connections. Teachers will also change what they learn in the classroom due to AI's capabilities and vast database of information. As AI becomes more of a staple in daily life, the role of teachers will change, but the love and care that is shown towards students over the globe will remain the same. 

I may begin to face challenges when I begin on the path of practicing law for educational purposes. Lawyers are slightly more targeted by the advancements of AI due to the amount of documents and cases that they must review. These analytical elements of law will be most impacted by AI. Cutting down on such time-consuming tasks will promote efficiency, but it will also require attorneys to broaden their range of skills to remain relevant and up-to-date in the industry and in their position. 

The Importance of Digital Privacy

Digital privacy, or more so the lack of it, is something that I have been cautioned about ever since I was a child. Parents and teachers lectured me and my fellow classmates on how, once something was on the internet, it stayed there forever. No matter how fast you take down a post, there is no way of knowing who already saw it and possibly screenshotted it in some way that immortalizes the content in a fashion that you no longer have control over. The worst part is that this is only a surface-level recognition of a larger problem with technology's vast span of features. There is a deeper web of tactics used by the government and other outside parties to hold your data and use it however they want, most of the time without your informed consent. 

What you post online, primarily on social media platforms, gives the world access to almost everything they need to know about you. Information about family, work, and even personal hobbies is scattered online with every Facebook update or Snapchat story. If not careful, you could be handing out sensitive data that is meant to remain private, like credit card details or information about your kids, that could easily be exploited by potential predators or con artists online. In his TED Talk, Juan Enriquez refers to our social media presence as a "digital tattoo". The same way that a tattoo can tell a passerby a lot about an individual, so can what is shared online with the entire world. That is why it's important for us to limit/monitor what we post about so that we can protect both ourselves and our loved ones. 

Everyone who has an online presence is at risk of having their data stored, shared, and even stolen by tech companies and other scammers. Whether you like it or not, the government probably already has a mini file on you that they keep tucked in their back pocket in case the future ever calls for it. They accomplish this through hidden technology in your devices and other governmental surveillance technology, like license plate scanners. Local law enforcement has immense power at their fingertips; the moment they learn that they can use federal equipment to gather data, they believe it could be used one day to serve justice. Despite the benefits that this may have in hard-to-solve cases, the lack of informed knowledge among the general public about the government's hidden motives. To counteract this phenomenon, the government should be as transparent as possible with how they utilize their instruments and only hold onto the information of high-risk profilers. 

The good news, for our phones anyway, is that nowadays software companies are working hard to implement encryption features into their networking so that user data remains private and cannot be accessed by outside parties, even the owners of the software. Some of these platforms include Apple and WhatsApp whole install encryption software as a default in their products so that user information is protected from anyone trying to access private messages. 

The key step in preventing any unnecessary intrusion on your data is to educate yourself on how you may be at risk and the resources that can help you prevent unknown hackers from stealing your information. The internet has a lot of different articles about helpful tips like these, so that you can stay ahead of the game and take proactive measures to ensure you are practicing safe online habits. Caution should be applied to anyone who wants to post something on the internet so that no valuable information is in danger of being abused. 

As I had touched on earlier, I grew up in an age where technology was commonly seen in all areas of my life; at home with my flatscreen TV where I would watch my favorite cartoons, my aunt's iPad, which I would play on every summer vacation, and a telephone of my own that was a long awaited gift for my 10th birthday. Although my generation and those after are blessed with the technological advancements that gift an infinite source of opportunity, along with it comes an infinite amount of things that could potentially go wrong if used misguidedly. Especially nowadays, watching kids grow up in a time where they're born practically glued to the screen, it's important to limit screen use and ensure that it is only being used for educational reasons until the kids are old enough to use their devices responsibly.  

Free Expression Reflection

The Marketplace of Ideas, introduced by John Milton, is a powerful phenomenon that rewards the truth no matter the lies that surround it. The idea is that truth and deceit will dance around one another in a battle for the top. However, no matter the strength of the intervention, the truth will rise above. If anything, the battle between good and evil actually strengthens the truth when everything is all said and done. 

Mostly seen in court trials and political disputes, the truth prevails despite outside efforts to hide and cover it up with lies and half-truths that stray from the main issue. The truth is not always easy to find, but it only takes on slip up or just one incoherent clue to destroy a whole web of lies. Continuous counterarguments and investigation of evidence establish a forum where many individual pieces overlap and are cross-referenced to give a detailed and accurate timeline of events. If one detail is off, the truth has already won. 

One area that I see the Marketplace of Ideas springs into action is in the case of divorce. I'm not referring to divorces that end on common ground where the two parties peacefully separate and, if children are involved, work together to provide for the child in a healthy coparenting environment. Coming from a divorced family where the first priority on everyone's minds has always been to protect their own image, the truth tends to get lost in the cutting-edge, detailed design to target the "opponent" and ruin their integrity. 

The case of Gohil v. Gohil (2015) is a prime example of a divorce case where the law works diligently to ensure that truth triumphs and the proper consequences are dealt. To summarize, in Gohil v. Gohil, a couple goes to court because the wife believes that the husband was not fully disclosing his financial assets in accordance with the approved divorce proceedings. The husband originally stated that any of his side transactions belonged to his parents and not himself. The Marketplace of Ideas had revealed that not only was the husband keeping aside money of his own, but he was also a part of some criminal activity on top of that. If it were not for the wife's insistence to push past his lies, the court would not have been aware of the additional violations being committed. 

Divorce has left a mark on nearly half the United States population of children, as growing studies show that 50% of children will be the result of a separated household. The neurological impact of such a big change in a kid's life has the potential to leave a scarring mark on the child's ability to interact with others and resolve conflict as they mature in their adult years. Bringing acknowledgement to the harm that a messy divorce can have on youth is essential in teaching divorced parents how to put aside their differences if they want what's best for the child. 

The truth can be difficult to pinpoint if it is clouded by a mirage of falsities and deception. However, hope is not entirely lost. There is only so much manipulation that can be done before there is no choice but for the truth to come out. Additionally, in our day-and-age of technology, it's difficult for things to stay secret for long. It only takes one sneaky reporter to shine light on the real story. 

My Top 5 Sources of News

1. Social Media  

Despite the continuous jab about using social media as a new source, the algorithms used are effective in spreading topics to a larger audience than if they were only displayed on a news channel. Platforms such as Instagram, Facebook, and even Snapchat love to give out tiny pieces of information, just juicy enough to compel the viewer into wanting to know more. Most of my knowledge about any relevant news/topics comes from these social media handles simply because they are the most accessible and entertaining methods that grab your attention and keep you hooked. 

2. Google 

Google's vast ocean of information is what makes it such a target for any confused individual wanting to know anything about any topic that has ever existed. Because it has so much data across its multiverse of websites and hyperlinks, Google frames itself as the "be all, know all" of the internet. As a kid I was always relieved when I saw my answer at the top of the Google page in its own box because that's how I knew I had found what I was looking for. It's not entirely accurate to say that Google is a perfect source of media, but it certainly is a great tool that, when used correctly, can be a valuable resource on almost every occasion. 

3. Family Members 

From finding out there's no school because of snow to knowing if a store was actually closing for good, when I wanted to know if something was true, I would run to my family for the answer. Both my mom and my cousin have been some of my most prominent sources of receiving information. Sometimes, hearing news from a familiar face that you trust makes it easier to digest an outrageous piece of information. If I'm unsure about something I hear in the news, one of my first instincts is to double-check what I hear with someone I know and trust completely, giving me a slight ease of mind on something that would otherwise leave me skeptical. 

4. Local News Stations 

Growing up less than an hour from Boston, there were a couple of news stations that had become a staple on my living room TV. WCVB Channel 5 and NBC10 Boston were on practically every morning. I enjoy local stations because they provide updates that are more meaningful and relevant to a person because they show news that more directly impacts the viewer based on their surroundings. This is one of the ways I can get a better sense of what is happening around me and keeps me connected to the outside world in an easier way. 

5. The New York Times 

The New York Times is a timeless creation that has been publishing the latest news for over a century now. Over time, they have transformed from one of the most popular newspapers to a modern media sensation that not only shares reliable news articles but also has a series of additions, such as games (Wordle, Connections, etc.) and comedy strips. To this day, I still use The New York Times when I'm looking for details on the newest updates on current global affairs.