Recently, many popular amusement parks have implemented the use of Virtual Reality in their Rollercoaster rides. The rider would still climb aboard the physical ride and experience all the twists and turns. However, the rider would wear a VR headset that enables them to see something completely different. It is like the rider enters a new dimension and experiences new things.

There are many advantages of using VR in a theme park. It is easy to trick the brain into thinking its somewhere else. Additionally, its much cheaper to create a VR attraction than a traditional physical ride. With virtual reality, it is very easy to adapt to the season and festivals. For example Christmas or Halloween theme rides.

Source:

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-01-04/virtual-reality-has-added-a-new-dimension-to-theme-park-rides/9301060

Facebook announced that data of 87 million people was shared with a firm, Cambridge Analytica. The figure was 37 million more than previously reported. Cambridge Analytica worked with Donald Trump’s election team and the Brexit campaign. It is said to have used the data it acquired to develop a program to predict and influence voters.

The first unethical issue is the fact that the company used paid users small sums of money to download an app and take a quiz. The app would scrape private information from the profile and their friends. This is a breach of the IEEE code of ethics. The company should reject bribes of all forms. Another issue I find unethical is the data could have been used for much more nefarious purposes. The data can be used to recruit terrorists. The commandments say that the company should think about the social consequences.I find that Facebook is too adamant about monetizing people’s data. They can make money from advertisements and other sources. Social media cannot manipulate people’s information for the gain of others. They should switch their current business model to a more advertising model.

Source: http://www.euronews.com/2018/04/05/facebook-data-leak-affects-87-million-users

Recently, Amazon has released a cashier-less grocery store public in Seatle, WA. Although its an experiment, its popularity cannot be underestimated as people from all over the city wanted to experience the evolution of “grocery shopping”. Instead of having a checkout section, a smartphone app and hundreds of camera are used. Using Computer-Vision algorithms and Machine Learning together, it is possible for it to figure out what the customer is picking up and charge the credit card connected to the Amazon account.

It first started off as an experiment and for the past year, Amazon employees have tested the technology by buying different kinds of mood and see if everything is accurate. Amazon currently dominates the online marketplace, and with its acquisition of Whole foods and the success of the cashier-less store. Amazon may also revolutionize regular retail shopping. Eventually, Amazon hopes to open up more stores in different locations. Regardless of how crowded it is, the customer controls how long he/she wants to spend in the store. With this logic, it makes shopping very convenient.Amazon is not the only store that is working on cashier-less shopping. A company in China has tested an autonomous store, and a company in silicon valley is working on its own cashier-free store.

However, there are some downsides of this revolution. It may seem weird to scan a QR Code when entering a store and it would definitely take time for people to get used the efficiency of the store. With the lack of human contact, it may be a little unnerving for customers. Additionally, if the autonomous store spreads all over the country, it would make a lot of people lose their jobs as a cashier.

Guest Speaker Drew Wham described how good ML use cases work. Amazon Go is using Machine Learning and Computer Vision together to make our shopping experience seem easy and seamless. The advancement in Computer Vision and Machine Learning shows that there is unlimited potential in using it to make our lives better.

Source:

https://www.technologyreview.com/s/610006/amazons-checkout-free-grocery-store-is-opening-to-the-public/

In this New York Times article, Kate Murphy talks about how there is no privacy on the internet. She mentions how the controlling authorities do not care because it proves a guilty conscience. ‘If you aren’t doing anything wrong, then you should not mind.’ This viewpoint of the higher authorities puts the general population in a very unwanted and uncomfortable position. However, most people do not seem to notice the consequence of this issue. From Snowden’s revelations to the Equifax hack depicts the vulnerability to cyber snooping abundantly clear.

As time passes, people are seeming to realize how public data might be used against them. Someone might not get a job due to a social media post. There has been little discussion on privacy and why its important to an individual because all the attention is on the legal aspects of privacy and how it restricts global trade. There is no legal agreement that categories information as private information. Additionally, it’s hard to argue for privacy when people eagerly share their personal information on social media. In class, we learned that the Fair Information Practice Principles governs the US Privacy laws. However, what we lack is a foundation that helps the general population and not just the corporations.

Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/05/sunday-review/we-want-privacy-but-cant-stop-sharing.html