[Week 10]

Week 10—Spring Break
Mo 3.28/We 3.30

Upcoming:

Week 11
Mo 4.4/We 4.6
Class: Multimedia presentations; Lecture—“Infographics 101”
Due: ROGERIAN ANALYSIS

Week 12
Mo 4.11/We 4.13
Class: Writers workshop; Multimedia presentations; Lecture—“Research Writing: A How-To”
Due: INFOGRAPHIC (DRAFT 1; BRING 2 COPIES)

[Tech News 3.23.16]

• Researchers just successfully edited out HIV genes from immune cells (i09)
• These 12 prefab homes can be built in three days or less (Inhabitat)
• FBI: We no longer need Apple's help to crack terrorist's iPhone (Wired)
• 2015: The first time streaming music edged out digital downloads (TheVerge) 
• Japanese researchers reveal newly-discovered bacterium that can break down and metabolize plastics (Sci-News)
• Diabetes may soon be treated via painless wearable patches (UPI)

[The Rogerian Argument: The Artificial Intelligence Debate]

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In 2014, noted astrophysicist Dr. Stephen Hawking told the BBC, "The primitive forms of artificial intelligence we already have, have proved very useful. But I think the development of full artificial intelligence could spell the end of the human race." Hawking has since been joined in his fear of artificial intelligence (AI) by a chorus of tech luminaries, including Elon Musk and Bill Gates. These critics charge that AI is developing at such a pace that its consequences cannot be fully understood nor anticipated. On the other end of the spectrum, AI proponents argue that the technology has the potential to vastly improve life for humans. AI is not something to fear, they say, but to embrace. Can we find consensus on the development of AI? Is there common ground between those that fear and AI and those that embrace it? Using a Rogerian Argument, find areas of agreement between the two camps.

All evidence to support your solution should comes from the following sources (use a minimum of four):

• "What Happens When Artificial Intelligence Turns on Us?" (Smithsonian)
• "Intelligent Machines: Do We Really Need to Fear AI?" (BBC News)
• "Artificial Intelligence: Friendly or Frightening?" (LiveScience)
• Artificial Intelligence Will Not Turn into a Frankenstein's Monster" (Guardian)
• "How Artificial Intelligence Will Revolutionize Our Lives" (National Geographic)
• "The Upside of Artificial Intelligence" (Wired)
• "Bill Gates Joins Elon Musk and Stephen Hawking in Saying Artificial Intelligence is Scary" (Quartz)
• "Machines That Can Think Will Do More Good Than Harm" (Edge)
• "The Case Against Killer Robots, From a Guy Actually Working on Artificial Intelligence" (Fusion)
• "The Case Against Out-of-Control Artificial Intelligence" (AEI) 
• "Should We Be Afraid of Robots?" (Newsweek)

Requirements:

• MLA Style
• 3 pages in length
• Works cited page (4 sources minimum)

Due: We 4.6

[Week 9]

Week 9: Mo 3.21/We 3.23
Read: TBA
Class: Reading Discussion; Multimedia presentations; Lecture—“Toward a Consensus: The Rogerian Argument”
Due: REFLECTION 5

Upcoming:

Week 10—Spring Break
Mo 3.28/We 3.30

Week 11
Mo 4.4/We 4.6
Class: Multimedia presentations; Lecture—“Infographics 101”
Due: ROGERIAN ANALYSIS

[Reflection 5: Who Wants to Live Forever?—The Science of Whole Brain Emulation]

What if the end wasn't really the end? What if science and technology promised us life after death via the digital transference of your mind? That is the premise of Whole Brain Emulation (WBE) or "mind uploading." Specifically, WBE is the hypothetical copying of a person's consciousness, including personality and memories, into an artificial digital device or wireless network. Proponents argue that within our lifetime we will have the capability of electronically transferring our minds beyond a physical body. If this indeed becomes a reality (and there are many who say it is not), how would it affect how we define our own humanity? Is a human still a human when he or she is no longer contained in a flesh and blood vessel? If humanity has grappled with the question: "What does it mean to be human?" for centuries, then how does WBE reframe the discussion? And would death have the same meaning for us if we knew we had an electronic out? Finally, if WBE were available today, would you opt to transfer your consciousness into a machine at the time of your "death"?

Include at least two of the following in your discussion:

• "'Transhumanists' are planning to upload your mind to a memory stick…" (Daily Telegraph)
• "The Strange Neuroscience of Immortality" (Chronicle of Higher Education)
• "You Might Never Upload Your Brain Into a Computer" (io9) 
• "Could You Transfer Your Consciousness to Another Body?" (IFLScience)
• "Scientists Discover how to 'Upload Knowledge to Your Brain'" (Daily Telegraph)
• "Uploading the Mind: Could a Digital Brain Feel Pain?" (LiveScience)

Requirements:

• MLA Style
• 1.5 pages in length
• Works cited page

Due: We 3.23

[Tech News 3.16.16]

• Sony announces $400 VR gaming systems coming in October (CNet)
• Uber introduces family plans (Engadget)
• Arx Pax debuts the Hendo Hoverboard 2.0 (Wired)
• Dutch artist reconceptualizes the common windmill (i09)
• Waze now planning your trips days ahead (Gizmodo)
• Here's how the 2016 US presidential candidates scores on tech issues (ArsTechnica)

 

[The Toulmin Model: Abundance]

If you believe the nightly headlines, the world is a bad place—and getting worse. And the future, we are often be led to believe, is grim and hopeless. However, Diamandis and Kotler’s Abundance takes another view. Their book reframes often pessimistic conversations about the future. Instead of readily accepting conventional beliefs of a hopeless global downward spiral—mass starvation, population explosions, dwindling natural resources—their book first posits that A) many challenges are not as dire as we may think (and are actually improving), and B) that we are on the precipice of a set of technological advancements that could help solve many of today’s problems. Technology, they argue, offers humans opportunities to tackle some of their greatest challenges of this century. For this assignment, you will utilize the Toulmin Model to construct a rhetorically-sound argument in support of Diamandis and Kotler’s view of the future.

Note: Only Abundance should serve as the source of your grounds (e.g. evidence).

Use THIS template to present your claim in outline form.

Due: Wed 3.16

[Week 8]

Week 8: Mo 3.14/We 3.16
Read: TBA
Class: Reading Discussion; Multimedia presentations
Due: TOULMIN ANALYSIS (ANNOTATED—DIRECTIONS TO BE GIVEN IN CLASS)

Upcoming:

Week 9: Mo 3.21/We 3.23
Read: TBA
Class: Reading Discussion; Multimedia presentations; Lecture—“Toward a Consensus: The Rogerian Argument”
Due: REFLECTION 5
 

[Future News 3.12.16]

• Goodyear debuts its 360 spherical tires (ScienceAlerts)
• Are we moving past the keyboard?? (YouTube)
• How cities are integrating urban parks in their core (National Geographic)
• Does Hong Kong show us a glimpse at future cities? (Atlantic)
• BMW presents its futuristic concept for its centennial anniversary (DigitalTrends)
• Silicon Valley positioning itself as the center of automotive innovation center (Evannex)

[Week 7]

Week 7: 3.7/We 3.9
Read: ABUNDANCE—Part Six: Steering Faster
Class: CLOSE READ; Reading Discussion; Multimedia presentations; Lecture—“Persuasion and the Toulmin Method"
Due: REFLECTION 4

Upcoming:

Week 8: Mo 3.14/We 3.16
Read: TBA
Class: Reading Discussion; Multimedia presentations
Due: TOULMIN ANALYSIS (ANNOTATED—DIRECTIONS TO BE GIVEN IN CLASS)

[Tech News 3.5.16]

• California's high-speed rail delayed three years (TheVerge)
• Meanwhile, here's how Elon Musk's Hyperloop would work (Cold Fusion)
• Facebook is teaching its AI using children's books (New Scientist)
• Boeing's new self-cleaning airplane bathroom utilizes UV light to kill microbes (Inhabitat)
• Harvard scientists create 4D-printed plants that alter their own structure (Harvard Gazette)
• University of British Columbia in Vancouver offering students "Nano Studios" for $700/month (Inhabitat)

 

[Reflection 4: A More Perfect Union—On a Mixed Race America]

President Obama is often lauded as our first black president, but he might more accurately be identified as our first mixed race president. That he is viewed as a black president, when is actually half white, points to our country's complicated history with race. Indeed, President Obama may very well be providing America a peek at its future. It is increasingly clear that 21st century Americas will look markedly different than those that came before them. Though still relatively small in numbers, mixed race Americans are already changing the racial landscape of the country—according to a 2013 study, a record 12% of newlyweds married someone of a different race. Consider also that future mixed race Americans will be further reshaping an already increasingly less white population. But just how will mixed race Americans reshape the country we know today? Are we evolving toward "a more perfect union" or will this racial trend eventually render our country unrecognizable to Americans of today?

Include at least two of the following pieces in your discussion:

• "The Changing Face of America" (National Geographic)
• "Multiracial in America: Proud, Diverse and Growing in Numbers" (Pew Research Center)
• "Mixed Race People are Changing the Face of America" (Huffington Post) 
• "Report Says Census Undercounts Mixed Race" (New York Times)
• "Raising a Biracial Child as a Mother of Color" (Atlantic)
• "Interracial Marriage: Who is ‘Marrying Out’?" (Pew Research Center)

Requirements:

• MLA Style
• 1.5 pages in length
• Works cited page

Due: We 3.9