ICT and World Change
Today’s topic was about Information Communication Technologies (ICT), which I believe all of us could easily relate to given that ICTs have become an indispensable part of our lives.
The lesson started off with a YouTube video about Project Natal which was certainly an eye-opener for me. Project Natal was about a technology which allows us to interact with a character which feels and looks so real. A virtual character which is capable of having a conversation with you, capable of having and showing his emotions and also capable of catching whatever you had thrown into the screen. Remarkable indeed! What seemed impossible in the past has been made possible due to the advancement of technology. Such interactive technology could bring much convenience to Man. For instance, parents could be the virtual character and have an eye over the children at home over the screen. This might sound like a great idea for the parents because they longer need to be physically present to watch over their children. Instead, they can just do it over the screen. However, the thought of having a parent like this makes me shudder. As cool and convenient as it might be, I wouldn’t want a virtual parent. Humans and virtual characters are different in the sense that you can feel and see the emotions of humans. That’s what makes us human. A virtual parent wouldn’t be able to give the child emotional support as much as a real human parent would. Hence, I think that such interactive technology should only be used for gaming purposes. Parents should never rely on such interactive technology to fill their places.
A point mentioned in Reading 2 which I found really interesting was the use of submeter satellite imagery. The reading gave an example of the use of these independent sources of submeter satellite imagery owned by private organizations whereby it would enable anyone to watch as the trees are being cut down at a certain part of the globe. And also, we would be able to see the names and companies of those doing it. I find the use this ICT a good way to prevent more selfish companies from going into logging projects which is severely detrimental to the environment because everyone across the globe would be able to witness the process of them causing harm to the environment. Given the increase in environmental awareness and increase in green consumerism, there has been a paradigm shift towards a more environmentally-friendly market. A 2007 Goldman Sachs study found that companies with a strong emphasis on sustainability outperformed the market, often by a large margin. Thus, the change in consumer preference may cause companies to think twice before going into such projects as they might be afraid of being boycotted by green consumers. In addition, they may want to capture the attention of the increasing number of green consumers and hence they might instead use this money to invest in a project which is sustainable for the environment. Therefore, the use of this ICT would touch on the Corporate Social Responsibility of the company, compelling them to stop logging projects.
An area I felt that more could be discussed on was the impact of ICT on education. Given the prevalent use of Internet, Msn, Skype etc, ICT have enable us to communicate with people over the world, exchanging useful information with them; clarifying our doubts on online forums where people from different countries could give you different views and solutions which might change your perspective on how you view a certain issue. Hence, it has open a whole new world for us to explore and never stop accquring new knowledge.
Overall, I would rate the session 8/10 because I found it to be really engaging.
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