Rohan Roy

As I alluded to in last week’s passion blog, this week’s blog will be about the Mercedes-Benz AMG One car. Since being unveiled in 2015, this actual release of this car in 2022 has been long awaited. The special feature about the Mercedes-Benz AMG One is that it runs on an actual Formula 1 engine. This allows the car to have 1,000 horsepower and a top speed of 217+ mph. While the vehicle costs $2.72 million, all 275 units are already sold out (1 going to Manny Khoshbin’s collection from the last blog). 

Many did not believe that the Mercedes-Benz AMG One would truly be faster than most supercars today, which is why there hasn’t been a successful car with a Formula 1 engine yet. However, the Mercedes-Benz AMG One was able to beat the Porsche GT2RS by 8 seconds and now holds the fastest lap record on the German Nürburgring track. 

Heading into some of the features of the Mercedes-Benz AMG One, Mercedes was able to do as much as they could to create a replica Formula 1 car that is also road legal. The cockpit of a vehicle has a Formula 1 style steering wheel, which has many buttons. Almost every part of the car is controllable, from brake differential to fuel usage. Additionally, the car features the very popular DRS feature from Formula 1 cars. DRS allows the rear wing of the car to open and allow for more downforce while increasing speed by 12 mph to overtake vehicles. 

Another feature that the Mercedes-Benz AMG One owners will enjoy is that the car revs up to 11,000 rpm. This is very high compared to most supercars today, and allows for very high pitched revs. With today’s day and age with cars transitioning to electric and turbo motors, they are getting faster but don’t sound as nice. Mercedes kept this in mind with the AMG One and made sure drivers of the vehicle have both a fast and enjoyable experience in the car.

Taking a pause from talking about the Mercedes-Benz AMG One, I also talked about the Tesla Model S Plaid in one of my earlier blogs. The Tesla is about 7% of the price of the Mercedes-Benz AMG One, and is still quite comparable in performance. In fact, the Tesla beats the Mercedes-Benz AMG One from 0-60 miles per hour by .8 seconds. Additionally, the car is only a minute slower than the Mercedes-Benz AMG One on the German Nürburgring track. This just shows how revolutionary the Tesla Model S Plaid truly is in the car community.

In conclusion, I still believe that the Mercedes-Benz AMG One will be truly revolutionary in the car community. With the Formula 1 engine, it will boost the reputation for both Mercedes-Benz along with Formula 1. An obstacle Mercedes-Benz is currently facing is that the United States has not deemed the car as ‘road-legal.’ This means nobody in the United States would be able to take delivery of the car, even though they already paid for it years in advance. Hopefully Mercedes-Benz is able to do something to negotiate with the regulators and allow the car to be driveable in the United States, as I would love to see one in person.

Links used:

https://www.mbusa.com/en/future-vehicles/mercedes-amg-one 

https://www.hotcars.com/mercedes-amg-one-may-be-most-complicated-road-car-ever/ 

https://insideevs.com/news/658361/owner-takes-tesla-model-s-plaid-to-nurburgring-makes-it-look-so-easy/#:~:text=In%20September%202021%2C%20Tesla%20set,102.287%20mph%20(164.615%20kph). 

https://www.supercars.net/blog/the-mercedes-amg-one-first-drives-but-not-in-the-us/#:~:text=But%2C%20there%20seems%20to%20be,with%20regulations%20in%20the%20States 

For this week’s passion blog, instead of writing about a specific car, I will be writing about a car collection. Manny Khoshbin is an Iranian real estate investor, entrepreneur, and businessman. He is the president and CEO of commercial real estate company The Khoshbin Company. He is estimated to be worth about $100 million, and he has owned a variety of outstanding supercars with that money. His car collection is estimated to be worth about $20 million. Compared to buying a normal car that depreciates once one buys it, Manny’s cars are so exclusive and limited that they tend to gain or maintain their value over the years.

Manny owns cars from different high profile manufacturers like Bugatti, Ford, Mercedes-Benz, Mclaren, Porsche, Pagani, and Rolls-Royce. The main car he is known for is his custom Bugatti Chiron. He partnered with Hermés and paid them about $2 million for them to fully customize the car. The Chiron has a custom cream Hermés color, custom Hermés interior, along with a custom Hermés luggage set that fits perfectly inside of the car. 

Once Manny likes a car and sees value in it, he tends to buy a lot of them. For example, he owns over 7 Mercedes Benz SLRs. While the car was discontinued in 2005 and was retailed for a price between $300,000-$400,000, each of his SLRs are now worth over $1 million. Currently, Manny has an obsession with the Porsche 911 series. He currently owns 4 versions of the car with many more on the way (including the new GT3RS that I wrote about in a previous blog).

Even though cars are a large part of Manny’s life and he values them greatly, there is a reason he is worth so much money and is a commercial real estate guru. There are times where Manny sees value in a dollar amount rather than the vehicle itself. Manny used to own a yellow Porsche Carrera GT. The car has been discontinued since 2006, and the value of the car had more than doubled at the time. Manny ended up selling the car for the large profit, even though it was one of his favorite cars in his fleet. While he regrets not having the Carrera GT anymore, Manny describes to his followers how discipline always overrules emotions.

Manny has many cars on order. Unfortunately, he is unable to disclose all of the cars that he has on order due to NDA contracts, but we do know about a few of them. The most unique car he has on order would be the Mercedes-Benz AMG One. The AMG One is the first car with a Formula 1 engine since the McLaren F1. The car has so many cool features that I plan on writing an additional blog about it. Unfortunately, the U.S. has deemed the car to not be road legal. Therefore, there is a possibility that Manny won’t be able to even receive it (even though he already paid close to $3 million for it). He also has an Aston Martin Valkyrie Spider, a custom McLaren special operations car, a Porsche GT3RS, along with a variety of other supercars that plan on being released. 

Overall, I have been watching Manny Khoshbin’s YouTube channel for a few years now, and enjoy all of the cars that come in and out of his fleet. Manny is a very passionate person and stays genuine no matter how much money he has. I am excited to see all of the new cars that come into his fleet along with the upcoming new headquarters.

Links used:

https://www.dmarge.com/who-is-manny-khoshbin

https://www.carhp.com/news/check-out-manny-khoshbin-s-updated-2023-car-collection-worth-more-than-20-million 

Rohan Roy

Dr. Johan Bodaski

RCL II

April 5 2023

Protecting Data Privacy Rights for Social Media Users in the United States

Introduction: Social media is now a part of many people’s lives in the United States, with over 308 million active daily users (Statista). However, even though many of the most popular social media services were created in the United States, the lack of a comprehensive data privacy law in the country has raised concerns over the safety of users’ personal information. While users are scrolling and consuming content, many of them don’t know what’s happening to their data on the back-end. Every like, comment, share, tap, scroll, and pause is stored in the user’s database and used for many reasons. In recent years, several high-profile data breaches and scandals involving social media companies have further highlighted the urgent need for data privacy protection. Many believe it is time for the governing bodies to take appropriate action to address this issue and protect the privacy of the citizens. The ongoing TikTok ban, the rise of AI technology, and European Union GDPR have made it evident that there is a need for comprehensive data privacy protection for social media users in the United States. 

What currently happens with social media users and their data: Some may question whether social media companies are profitable given the services are mainly free to use. After a quick Google search, they can find out how profitable these companies are, and their main source of income comes indirectly from the users. When users sign up for an account on a social media service, the goal of the social media app is to unnoticeably track every movement that the user makes on the app. The app starts by using tracking technologies such as cookies and pixels to track user activity on the platform and across the web. Afterwards, the social media companies are able to use the data they collect from users to show targeted advertisements to individuals who are most likely to be interested in them. For the most part, this method of generating revenue for social media companies seems to be justifiable as they are providing a free service and using the data to provide a more targeted advertisement that has a higher likelihood of success. In fact, this method is quite similar to what has been occurring on television networks where the advertisements are similar to the type of show or movie on at the time.

The speculation rises, however, once the data is handed off to third-party companies. Most of the time, social media companies sell user data to data collection companies. This doesn’t seem to be a problem, yet those data collection companies are the ones that sell our data to the third-party services, which include scammers. There is a part of the internet that exists called the Dark Web, which consists of buyers and sellers of people’s data. Some people have never heard of it, yet the dark web consists of 85% of the Internet. The user data for an average social media account with about 1000 followers and likes sells for an average of $1-$10 on the dark web (Avira). The lack of a comprehensive data privacy law in the United States allows anybody to purchase users’ social media data and use it to their advantage. 

Rise of AI: With the rise in the improvement of Artificial Intelligence, the likelihood of success for social media-based scams increases. The system is able to scan through a user’s followers and contacts, learn the voice of a close family member / friend, and use that voice to sound more convincing and sophisticated during a scam call. These scams can lead to identity theft and financial fraud, putting users’ personal information at risk. Unfortunately, in most of these scamming cases, the populations that have been at a greater risk of having their data misused are lower income individuals as they make up a greater percentage of social media users and other free services. Users of social media in the United States should not have to worry about their personal data being put at risk when they are using an entertainment service like social media for pleasure. Scenarios like these put social media users’ personal information at risk, creating a larger need for a comprehensive data privacy law that addresses these concerns and provides users with greater protection.

European Union GDPR: The European Union General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is the toughest privacy and security law in the world. The law applies to anybody that possesses data of European citizens or residents, even if they are not in the EU. In possession of data, one must abide by the seven protection and accountability principles. Processing the data must be done in a lawful, fair, and transparent manner. The data must be processed for the legitimate purposes specified explicitly to the data subject when one collected it. Only the required amount of data as absolutely necessary should be collected and processed for the purposes specified. Personal data must be kept accurately and up-to-date. Personally-identifying data can only be stored for as long as necessary for the specified purpose. Processing must be done in such a way as to ensure appropriate security, integrity, and confidentiality. Finally, the data controller is responsible for being able to demonstrate GDPR compliance with all of these principles (GDPR.eu).

Next, the fines for violating a GDPR law are very high. The GDPR has two tiers of penalties, less severe and more severe infringements, and the fines are quite high regardless. For a less severe infringement, the fine can be up to €10 million, or up to 2% of the firm’s worldwide annual revenue from the preceding financial year, whichever amount is higher. The less severe infringements include any violations of the articles governing controllers and processors, certification bodies, and monitoring bodies. The more serious infringements go against the basic principles of the GDPR, including the right to privacy and the right to be forgotten. More serious infringements have a fine that can be up to €20 million, or up to 4% of the firm’s worldwide annual revenue from the preceding financial year, whichever amount is higher. €10 million or €20 million may be a cost social media firms may be willing to risk in order to get a higher return by selling their data. However, when it comes to up to 4% of the firm’s worldwide annual revenue from the preceding financial year, that is what will make the large social media companies back out as 4% can come out to billions of euros. 

Ongoing Potential TikTok Ban: TikTok, the app that took off over the pandemic and was exponentially expanding, is currently up for a potential ban in the United States. The ban was initially proposed by Congress due to concerns that TikTok was collecting and sharing user data with the Chinese government. India banned the app in January 2021 and hasn’t lifted it since; costing ByteDance one of its biggest markets. Additionally, TikTok is banned on government agencies and government-issued devices in the United States, Canada, the European Union, and more. The TikTok CEO, Shou Zi Chew, mentioned to Congress that the servers where user data is stored will be moved from China to Texas. Thus, only United States employees will have access to the data, eliminating any risk of transmitting data to the Chinese government. A key concern not being addressed in this case, however, is that TikTok will still be manipulating with user data. After this case is wrapped up, I believe there is a dire need for the United States to propose a bill similar to the European Union’s GDPR.

Proposed solution: In order to keep all parties happy and satisfied, a social media ban is not the best solution, but rather a comprehensive data privacy law that protects users’ personal information. The law should ensure that social media companies are transparent about their data collection and usage policies, and users have control over their personal information. On the same page, social media companies not making any money would also be unethical. In my opinion, social media companies need to take an approach where they are able to sell data, but the data needs to be much more secure once it leaves their servers. Currently, social media companies say that they sell user data to data collection companies. This doesn’t seem to be a problem, yet those data collection companies are the ones that sell our data to the third-party services, which include scammers. If a bill is proposed where social media companies are required to encrypt the data so that only trusted services are able to access user data, that will not only protect user data but will also keep them safe from scams. However, this scenario to occur is very unlikely as it will plummet the revenue for social media companies. Therefore, some sort of ethics needs to be tied into these companies. I believe that will only happen if something goes wrong, and, unfortunately, usually social media companies hit breaking news when there is a large data breach. 

Another compromise I thought of that can help both the users along with the social media companies would be a subscription service. In today’s day and age, social media is a part of everyday life. Therefore, many of us use social media for hours daily. If we use it for so long, along with wanting to make sure our data is safe, social media companies can launch a subscription service that enables those subscribers to opt out of data collection services. I’m not sure what the best price would be, but perhaps starting off with $5 a month would help the social media companies become net even as they would get a subscription fee from the user every month instead of selling off their data. The only downside I see to this approach would be that the social media companies may lose users as more users would become aware of the companies selling their data. Thanks to Elon Musk introducing a subscription service on Twitter for users to have a verified blue check mark next to their name, Meta has launched subscription services on Facebook and Instagram for their users to do the same. Currently, both cost around $10 a month, so the companies could easily sneak that data-privacy protection feature into that subscription model.

Conclusion: In conclusion, data privacy protection is a crucial issue for social media users in the United States. With the rise of social media-based scams and the ease of access to user data, the need for a comprehensive data privacy law has become more pressing than ever before. The European Union’s GDPR has set the standard for data privacy protection, and it’s high time for the United States to follow suit. While social media companies generate their revenue mainly from the user data, users must have the right to control their personal information and know what happens to it. In the absence of a comprehensive data privacy law, the personal information of social media users is at risk, leading to identity theft, financial fraud, and more. It is time for the governing bodies to take appropriate action and protect the privacy of the citizens to ensure that social media users in the United States can feel safe while using these platforms.

*More infographics will be placed throughout essay

Links:

https://www.statista.com/statistics/278409/number-of-social-network-users-in-the-united-states/

https://www.saasscaled.com/ 

https://www.forbes.com/sites/kalevleetaru/2018/12/15/what-does-it-mean-for-social-media-platforms-to-sell-our-data/?sh=438140a2d6c4 

https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2023/03/05/ai-voice-scam/ 

https://gdpr.eu/what-is-gdpr/ 

https://time.com/6259718/countries-tiktok-banned/ 

https://www.forbes.com/sites/kalevleetaru/2018/12/15/what-does-it-mean-for-social-media-platforms-to-sell-our-data/?sh=6980a8692d6c 

https://www.avira.com/en/blog/data-and-the-dark-web-how-much-is-your-personal-data-worth 

For this week’s passion blog, I will be writing about a car that was very recent in the news. This car is made by the Italian automaker Lamborghini. Their V12 Lamborghini Aventador was known as one of the best supercars before it was discontinued by the brand. The Aventador was fast, loud, and had a very sleek and futuristic design. The car had an MSRP of about ~$500k, but it would resell for up to the same price as it was a very exclusive car. There were also other versions of the Aventador including the Aventador S, Aventador SV, and Aventador SVJ. Many Aventador owners would modify the car to make it sound louder, go faster, and some were able to make the car shoot flames out of the rear exhaust. After discontinuing this revolutionary car, Lamborghini had a lot to live up to when releasing the predecessor for the Aventador.

Lamborghini did not disappoint anyone when releasing the new Lamborghini Revuelto. The replacement for the Aventador features a fascinating plug-in-hybrid powertrain, striking bodywork, lots more tech, and a more practical interior. The 2024 Lamborghini Revuelto keeps the 6.5-liter V-12 from the Lamborghini Aventador, but it now makes 814 horsepower. Additionally, the car has three electric motors that give the car a peak horsepower of 1001. This makes the Revuelto as both the most powerful Lamborghini road car to date and almost certainly the quickest. 

Many car fans have become upset that many car manufacturers are switching from naturally-aspirated and gas guzzling engines to electric motors and turbo engines. Audi and Lamborghini are both a part of the Volkswagen group. When Audi discontinued the V10 Audi R8 in pursuit of making a new electric supercar in the future, fans were upset as they thought Lamborghini would do the same. Surprisingly, Lamborghini was able to make everyone happy as they kept the original V12 engine, implemented electric motors, and overall made a much better car than the Aventador. The V12 engine is very important as it provides the unique sound of a Lamborghini and the car revs to 9500 rpm, which is very high compared to other supercars. 

Lamborghinis are known to have very impractical interiors, but the interior in the Revuelto is quite interesting. I attached a picture of it below, but you can see that the interior is full of screens. Similar to the Ferrari SF90, there is also a screen on the passenger side for the passenger to see how fast the driver is driving. Additionally, as per tradition, the start button always has a cover to mimic the spaceship feel of a Lamborghini. Speaking of spaceships, the overall design of the car makes it look just like a spaceship. Especially from the rear end of the car, the car looks like it is about to blast off into outer space. 

Overall, I think Lamborghini did a great job with the Revuelto and it is the perfect predecessor to the Aventador. It maintains the sound from the V12 engine, is faster thanks to the electric motors, and has become a more practical car with a better interior. Deliveries are supposed to start later this year, but the car is already sold out for the next two years. The even more surprising part is that the price for the car hasn’t even been revealed. I look forward to watching in-person car reviews of this new vehicle.

Links used:

https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a43399836/2024-lamborghini-revuelto-revealed/ 

​​https://mashable.com/article/lamborghini-revuelto 

Rohan Roy

Dr. Johan Bodaski

RCL II

April 5 2023

Protecting Data Privacy Rights for Social Media Users in the United States

Introduction: Social media is now a part of many people’s lives in the United States, with over 308 million active daily users (Statista). However, even though many of the most popular social media services were created in the United States, the lack of a comprehensive data privacy law in the country has raised concerns over the safety of users’ personal information. While users are scrolling and consuming content, many of them don’t know what’s happening to their data on the back-end. Every like, comment, share, tap, scroll, and pause is stored in the user’s database and used for many reasons. In recent years, several high-profile data breaches and scandals involving social media companies have further highlighted the urgent need for data privacy protection. Many believe it is time for the governing bodies to take appropriate action to address this issue and protect the privacy of the citizens. The ongoing TikTok ban, the rise of AI technology, and European Union GDPR have made it evident that there is a need for comprehensive data privacy protection for social media users in the United States. 

What currently happens with social media users and their data: Some may question whether social media companies are profitable given the services are mainly free to use. After a quick Google search, they can find out how profitable these companies are, and their main source of income comes indirectly from the users. When users sign up for an account on a social media service, the goal of the social media app is to unnoticeably track every movement that the user makes on the app. The app starts by using tracking technologies such as cookies and pixels to track user activity on the platform and across the web. Afterwards, the social media companies are able to use the data they collect from users to show targeted advertisements to individuals who are most likely to be interested in them. For the most part, this method of generating revenue for social media companies seems to be justifiable as they are providing a free service and using the data to provide a more targeted advertisement that has a higher likelihood of success. In fact, this method is quite similar to what has been occurring on television networks where the advertisements are similar to the type of show or movie on at the time.

The speculation rises, however, once the data is handed off to third-party companies. Most of the time, social media companies sell user data to data collection companies. This doesn’t seem to be a problem, yet those data collection companies are the ones that sell our data to the third-party services, which include scammers. There is a part of the internet that exists called the Dark Web, which consists of buyers and sellers of people’s data. Some people have never heard of it, yet the dark web consists of 85% of the Internet. The user data for an average social media account with about 1000 followers and likes sells for an average of $1-$10 on the dark web (Avira). The lack of a comprehensive data privacy law in the United States allows anybody to purchase users’ social media data and use it to their advantage. 

Rise of AI: With the rise in the improvement of Artificial Intelligence, the likelihood of success for social media-based scams increases. The system is able to scan through a user’s followers and contacts, learn the voice of a close family member / friend, and use that voice to sound more convincing and sophisticated during a scam call. These scams can lead to identity theft and financial fraud, putting users’ personal information at risk. Unfortunately, in most of these scamming cases, the populations that have been at a greater risk of having their data misused are lower income individuals as they make up a greater percentage of social media users and other free services. Scenarios like these put social media users’ personal information at risk, creating a larger need for a comprehensive data privacy law that addresses these concerns and provides users with greater protection.

European Union GDPR: The European Union General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is the toughest privacy and security law in the world. The law applies to anybody that possesses data of European citizens or residents, even if they are not in the EU. In possession of data, one must abide by the seven protection and accountability principles. Processing the data must be done in a lawful, fair, and transparent manner. The data must be processed for the legitimate purposes specified explicitly to the data subject when one collected it. Only the required amount of data as absolutely necessary should be collected and processed for the purposes specified. Personal data must be kept accurately and up-to-date. Personally-identifying data can only be stored for as long as necessary for the specified purpose. Processing must be done in such a way as to ensure appropriate security, integrity, and confidentiality. Finally, the data controller is responsible for being able to demonstrate GDPR compliance with all of these principles (GDPR.eu).

Next, the fines for violating a GDPR law are very high. The GDPR has two tiers of penalties, less severe and more severe infringements, and the fines are quite high regardless. For a less severe infringement, the fine can be up to €10 million, or up to 2% of the firm’s worldwide annual revenue from the preceding financial year, whichever amount is higher. The less severe infringements include any violations of the articles governing controllers and processors, certification bodies, and monitoring bodies. The more serious infringements go against the basic principles of the GDPR, including the right to privacy and the right to be forgotten. More serious infringements have a fine that can be up to €20 million, or up to 4% of the firm’s worldwide annual revenue from the preceding financial year, whichever amount is higher. €10 million or €20 million may be a cost social media firms may be willing to risk in order to get a higher return by selling their data. However, when it comes to up to 4% of the firm’s worldwide annual revenue from the preceding financial year, that is what will make the large social media companies back out as 4% can come out to billions of euros. 

Ongoing Potential TikTok Ban: TikTok, the app that took off over the pandemic and was exponentially expanding, is currently up for a potential ban in the United States. The ban was initially proposed by Congress due to concerns that TikTok was collecting and sharing user data with the Chinese government. India banned the app in January 2021 and hasn’t lifted it since; costing ByteDance one of its biggest markets. Additionally, TikTok is banned on government agencies and government-issued devices in the United States, Canada, the European Union, and more. The TikTok CEO, Shou Zi Chew, mentioned to Congress that the servers where user data is stored will be moved from China to Texas. Thus, only United States employees will have access to the data, eliminating any risk of transmitting data to the Chinese government. A key concern not being addressed in this case, however, is that TikTok will still be manipulating with user data. After this case is wrapped up, I believe there is a dire need for the United States to propose a bill similar to the European Union’s GDPR.

Proposed solution: In order to keep all parties happy and satisfied, a social media ban is not the best solution, but rather a comprehensive data privacy law that protects users’ personal information. The law should ensure that social media companies are transparent about their data collection and usage policies, and users have control over their personal information. On the same page, social media companies not making any money would also be unethical. In my opinion, social media companies need to take an approach where they are able to sell data, but the data needs to be much more secure once it leaves their servers. Currently, social media companies say that they sell user data to data collection companies. This doesn’t seem to be a problem, yet those data collection companies are the ones that sell our data to the third-party services, which include scammers. If a bill is proposed where social media companies are required to encrypt the data so that only trusted services are able to access user data, that will not only protect user data but will also keep them safe from scams. However, this scenario to occur is very unlikely as it will plummet the revenue for social media companies. Therefore, some sort of ethics needs to be tied into these companies. I believe that will only happen if something goes wrong, and, unfortunately, usually social media companies hit breaking news when there is a large data breach. 

Another compromise I thought of that can help both the users along with the social media companies would be a subscription service. In today’s day and age, social media is a part of everyday life. Therefore, many of us use social media for hours daily. If we use it for so long, along with wanting to make sure our data is safe, social media companies can launch a subscription service that enables those subscribers to opt out of data collection services. I’m not sure what the best price would be, but perhaps starting off with $5 a month would help the social media companies become net even as they would get a subscription fee from the user every month instead of selling off their data. The only downside I see to this approach would be that the social media companies may lose users as more users would become aware of the companies selling their data. Thanks to Elon Musk introducing a subscription service on Twitter for users to have a verified blue check mark next to their name, Meta has launched subscription services on Facebook and Instagram for their users to do the same. Currently, both cost around $10 a month, so the companies could easily sneak that data-privacy protection feature into that subscription model.

*Conclusion will be placed here… 

*More infographics will be placed throughout essay

Links:

https://www.statista.com/statistics/278409/number-of-social-network-users-in-the-united-states/

https://www.saasscaled.com/ 

https://www.forbes.com/sites/kalevleetaru/2018/12/15/what-does-it-mean-for-social-media-platforms-to-sell-our-data/?sh=438140a2d6c4 

https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2023/03/05/ai-voice-scam/ 

https://gdpr.eu/what-is-gdpr/ 

https://time.com/6259718/countries-tiktok-banned/ 

This week’s passion blog is going back to electric cars. Last week was about the Porsche 911 GT3RS, which is a renowned supercar that is highly respected in the car industry. So far, in the electric car industry, Tesla has been dominating the electric car market. While it has the largest market share, Tesla has also produced some of the fastest cars in the world. As mentioned in one of my previous passion blogs, the Tesla Model S goes from 0 to 60 miles per hour in just 2 seconds. In comparison to the Bugatti Chiron, a $3 million exclusive luxury supercar, that goes 0 to 60 miles per hour in 2.3 seconds. Obviously, the Bugatti would catch up to the Tesla shortly after and destroy it in a mile-long race, but it is still very impressive. 

After the news about the crazy performance of the new Tesla Model S Plaid, the Rimac Nevera was released. The Rimac is a Bugatti version of the Tesla, a luxury supercar that is electric. The vehicle costs $2.2 million, is already sold out, and the performance specifications are insane. The Rimac Nevera goes 0 to 60 miles per hour in only 1.8 seconds, .2 of a second faster than the Tesla. While it seems like only a small change, the G-force and launch hits much harder as the car is a lot lighter, the car keeps going at its current acceleration after 60 miles per hour, and overall it feels like a roller coaster. 

Additionally, the car has a top speed of 219 miles, with an unrestricted top speed of 258 miles per hour that is only allowed on a track with certain allowances and safety guidelines. On top of that, the car manages to get 340 miles on a single charge. Compared to the supercars that average about 10 miles per hour (and even 5 miles per hour when you are pushing it to the limit), a Rimac owner would save so much money from gas savings with this car (not that one who owns this expensive of a car would have to worry about that). 

The reason I went back to talking about the Porsche at the beginning of this blog was to relate to the fact of how it is a versatile car. Not only can you take the car on a track and push it to its absolute maximum, but you can also easily drive it around town. In a similar way, the Rimac Nevera would be more versatile. It is one of the fastest cars in the world, and it has those 340 miles of charge. Therefore you can take it on a roadtrip and perhaps hit the top speed of 219 miles per hour (given you are driving on the German Autobahm, which has no speed limit). 

Overall, I find the Rimac Nevera to be very interesting, and it will be revolutionary to the future of the supercar industry. Proving to the world that an electric car can be both fast and fun without the sound of a gas-guzzling engine, we will be able to make cars that have clean energy and are still fun to drive. We already see that other car manufacturers like Lamborghini are revamping their Aventador models from a V12 to a more hybrid engine with electric motors. Afterwards, within a few more decades, all automobiles and supercars will be electric and we will have more charging stations than gas stations. 

In my previous civic blogs, I addressed how social media companies like Instagram and Snapchat along with tech companies like Amazon and Google have access to a lot of data. I also mentioned how there is a lot of risk associated with having this much information, especially when some of the companies are selling it. Once the data is sold, we don’t know what these third-party companies are doing with our data and information. In this civic blog, I will be addressing some of the scenarios that these “dark” third-party companies do with your data.

There are obviously the regular situations where you purchase or view a product on a certain website, or you like a post on Instagram that has that product. Afterwards, you proceed to see comparables of that product whenever you are scrolling elsewhere on the internet. In my opinion, that does not seem to be that large of a problem as that is how ad companies are trying to make some money. The problems occur when the scams start to occur. Remember those robo calls that we used to get that are now marked as “scam likely?” Well these types of scams have improved, and they have improved a lot.

Similar to how we now have AI services like ChatGPT that are evolving on a daily basis, there are similar services that scammers have developed to make them more human-like. Those texts, DMs, and phone calls you are receiving nowadays are mainly developed from artificial intelligence. I recently listened to a podcast from SaaS scaled that featured a COO from a cybersecurity company. The person that was featured, Atif Ghauri (who is also my neighbor), talked about how there is a part of the internet that exists called the dark web. The dark web consists of buyers and sellers of people’s data. Some people have never heard of it, yet the dark web consists of 85% of the internet. That’s right, the large-scale internet all of us use on a daily basis for entertainment and information is only 15% of the internet that actually exists.

Once they have access to the data from social media companies, scammers are using the new capabilities of artificial intelligence to sound more like family members in distress. People are falling for it and losing thousands of dollars. The scammers start off by seeing who follows who on social media and uses certain algorithms to determine family members. Afterwards, they use videos of the users speaking and train the artificial intelligence to match their voice. Finally, they find the phone numbers of the other family members and reach out to them in urgent need for money. That is just one of the many ways scammers are using artificial intelligence to make money in a very unethical way. They’re only expense is purchasing data from social media companies and developing artificial intelligence software, yet the amount of money they are able to make by scamming people is limitless. Unfortunately, most of these scamming companies are based outside of the United States, so it is hard to penalize or charge them, yet social media companies need to do a better job with managing data.

Something else I wanted to address when it comes to third-party scamming companies using social media to their advantage would be the demographic of people they target when conducting these scams. Unfortunately, in most of the scamming cases, the populations that have been at a greater risk of having their data misused are lower income individuals as they make up a greater percentage of social media users and other free services.

In my opinion, social media companies need to take an approach where they are able to sell data, but the data needs to be much more secure once it leaves their servers. Currently, social media companies say that they sell user data to data collection companies. This doesn’t seem to be a problem, yet those data collection companies are the ones that sell our data to the third-party services, which include scammers. If social media companies are able to encrypt the data so that only trusted services are able to access our data, that will not only protect our data but will also keep us safe from scams. However, this scenario to occur is very unlikely as it will plummet the revenue for social media companies. Therefore, some sort of ethics needs to be tied into these companies. I believe that will only happen if something goes wrong, and, unfortunately, usually social media companies hit breaking news when there is a large data breach. 

A compromise I thought of that can help both the users along with the social media companies would be a subscription service. In today’s day and age, social media is a part of everyday life. Therefore, many of us use social media for hours daily. If we use it for so long, along with wanting to make sure our data is safe, social media companies can launch a subscription service that enables those subscribers to opt out of data collection services. I’m not sure what the best price would be, but perhaps starting off with $5 a month would help the social media companies become net even as they would get a subscription fee from the user every month instead of selling off their data. The only downside I see to this approach would be that the social media companies may lose users as more users would become aware of the companies selling their data. Thanks to Elon Musk introducing a subscription service on Twitter for users to have a verified blue check mark next to their name, Meta has launched subscription services on Facebook and Instagram for their users to do the same. Currently, both cost around $10 a month, so the companies could easily sneak that data-privacy protection feature into that subscription model.

Overall, the issue of data privacy and security remains a challenge that requires ongoing attention and solutions. Technology and artificial intelligence used by scammers is only getting better, and social media companies need to take a better initiative in protecting user data before something goes south fast. There are definitely a variety of approaches that they can take to ensure they still generate a similar amount of revenue while keeping their users’ data safe. Time will tell when they will finally admit they were wrong and unethical and get back to their standards.

Links used:

https://www.saasscaled.com/ 

https://www.forbes.com/sites/kalevleetaru/2018/12/15/what-does-it-mean-for-social-media-platforms-to-sell-our-data/?sh=438140a2d6c4 

https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2023/03/05/ai-voice-scam/ 

Our deliberation topic was on homelessness in Philadelphia. We described to the class the current state of homelessness in the city, along with three different approaches that we believe would help solve the problem. Our approaches included expanding the city’s government homeless shelter system, establishing a career development and preparation program, and installing hostile urban architecture. I personally liked a mixture of both approaches 1 and 2, but if I could only pick 1, I would choose approach 1. The class also agrees with this. If I had to remove an approach, though, it would have to be approach 3. I understand the rationale behind it, but it just doesn’t sit right with me. 

The class brought up some interesting points that we hadn’t even considered. At one point, it felt like there was a debate that sparked between a few individuals in the class. I think it was Erke that mentioned how people in politics are focused on middle-income citizens and won’t worry about homelessness when running for office, but someone else talked about how they would definitely prioritize homeless people when voting. I also believe that this was an important topic to deliberate about as it addresses people outside of the Penn State community, and we even had a surprise guest pop in to listen in on our discussion. 

Overall, I think that our deliberation went great. The class seemed to be interested in our topic and participated by contributing their thoughts and inputs, we finished right on time, and we all seemed to agree on which approach was best. In terms of our videos, I believe that the audio could have been better. I know for my video, the class ended up hearing a door slam (which I had no idea happened at the time of recording). When it came to the deliberation itself, we could have better organized who talked when. For example, there were some people that were doing most of the talking and others barely had the chance to speak. Also, we should have spent more time thinking about and addressing all of the stakeholders in this issue apart from the homeless people themselves. Other than that, I think we did a great job and helped the class rethink their perspectives on homelessness, especially in large cities like Philadelphia.

I know I have written mainly about electric cars over the past few passion blogs, but for this week we are talking about a gas car. Not just any gas car, but one of the most respected gas supercars: the Porsche 911 GT3RS. I will specifically be writing about the new 992 version of the GT3RS as it just came out last year.

The Porsche car brand is one of the most respected car brands in the world. Porsche has top-notch build quality, a timeless design, outstanding performance, and a price that is better compared to other luxury car brands. When car experts are asked to choose between Ferrari and Lamborghini, most of them preface their answer by saying they would rather pick Porsche instead. Porsche makes a variety of cars, from sedans, SUVs, crossovers, along with supercars. They do have an electric car, the Porsche Taycan, but I believe Teslas are much better than that. 

For all Porsche models, there is a base version, followed by a sport, GTS, Turbo, Turbo S, and some even have a Turbo GT version. As you progress through the versions, the sportiness and cosmetic features of the car improve, but the price also goes up. For example, the base model Macan starts at about $65k, but a fully loaded Macan Turbo S can cost over $130k.

The Porsche 911 is one of the most respected supercars for the price as it has a lot of power along with the timeless design and good build quality like I talked about earlier. The highest version of the 911 is the Porsche 911 GT3RS, which is a race car mainly meant for the track, but is also allowed to be driven on the road. Previous versions of the GT3RS have broken lap records on the Nurburgring, a famous track in Germany. 

This new version of the GT3RS, the 992 GT3RS, starts at over $230k, yet it is already sold out and you need to have some good connections to get an allocation. Unlike other supercars that have resorted to a turbo-based engine, this car continues to have a high revving naturally aspirated 518 horsepower engine that sounds amazing and allows the car to go 0-60 in about 3 seconds. This 992 version also features a large wing in the back. The interesting part, though, is that the wing is not fixed. The angle and degree can be controlled by the instrument cluster in the car, so the driver can adjust the wing based on the road conditions. If there is a corner coming up, the wing may come up to help with downforce and braking into the corner, but if there is a straight line, the wing can completely open using the Drag Reduction System (DRS) to allow the car to reach maximum speed in the short amount of time and distance.

The car’s design is also updated to match the current lineup of 911 cars, with improved laser headlights, a lightbar tail light that looks amazing at night, along with that carbon fiber wing that I was talking about earlier. Overall, this is one of the best supercars in its price category, which explains why it is very hard to get an allocation. This is definitely a dream car and something on my bucket list that I hope to achieve.

Links used:

https://www.carwow.co.uk/porsche/911/news/4884/new-porsche-911-992-gt3-rs-price-specs-release-date#gref

My first civic issues blog was more of an overview of how all the big tech companies are collecting tons of data on us and that there is a need for privacy rights. This blog will address a more specific issue within privacy rights: location tracking. We use apps on a daily basis like Apple and Google Maps, Snapchat and Instagram ask us for our location whenever we post something, and even shopping websites ask us for our location just to shop for goods. Do we ever wonder why they do it? We all mindlessly press accept terms and conditions and allow location services whenever we download an app without psychologically acknowledging that we are constantly being watched.

I always wondered how services like Google Maps were free to use because I never saw ads, yet they help me get to my destination and even provide traffic updates. I started to see that certain places would be at the top of the list for search suggestions, meaning a business would pay Google to promote it on their platforms, but that still did not justify all of the costs Google put in to make Google Maps what it is today. Then, after coming home from an amusement park, I got a notification from Google Maps asking to review my experience at the amusement park. I didn’t use the app the entire day, yet it knew I went there. That is when I learned that Google Maps uses the app to track your location at all times and sell that data to third parties. No wonder why I got so many ads for sporting goods after visiting Dick’s for only 15 minutes.

Not only does Google use your location to sell to third parties, they also use it for detecting traffic. All Android phones are constantly sending Google Maps their location whether or not they like it. Google uses that information to update traffic information, provide their users with alternative routes, along with updating their data logs of where each person has been going. 

Apple, on the other hand, claims that they don’t sell user data at all. While many of us get a suggested location whenever we get in the car and connect to Bluetooth, Apple only provides that as a service for our convenience, which we can turn off at any time. Apple is smart by doing this to show users they can be trusted with their information and data. Besides, they make enough money out of us anyways.

Social media companies are also tracking our location. On Facebook, you can check-in at a location to post to your feed and let everyone know you are there. On Instagram, you can post to your story or feed that you are at a nice restaurant or ballroom. On Snapchat, everyone I know posts to their story whenever they are on vacation or at a nice spot. Not only has it become a norm to post your location to your feed or story whenever you go somewhere nice, but these large social media companies are able to take full advantage of it. Once you check in or post your location, the companies are able to bombard you with location-based advertisements. 

If you go to a vacation spot, you’ll get advertisements for restaurants and excursions. Once you come back from vacation, you’ll get ads on package vacation deals to similar locations. There are two ways to look at this scenario. One is that we are getting all of these services for free, and all the companies are doing is providing us with personal and relevant advertisements. Similar to watching television, except the commercials are based on our interests and what we like to do. On the flip side, which is what many of us are scared of, is what happens with the data once it goes into the wrong hands. What if there is a data breach and someone is able to track my ip from my Instagram story post and then has access to all of my personal information? The possibilities are endless.

This is why we need the help of our government and legislation to ensure our data is safe and not placed in the wrong hands. Similar to how we need to have our cars inspected, companies’ cybersecurity measures need to be looked over so that they are in shape and run smoothly at all times and avoid the risk of data breaches. If our data stops getting in the wrong hands, we should be safe. For example, think of Tiktok and their link to the Chinese government. While everyone knows about the risk of using the app, many still use it. The U.S. government hasn’t done enough to certify that all Chinese government traces on the app have been removed. Else the app will be banned from the United States because, in reality, it isn’t benefiting any of us but moreover just another way for us to waste our time. 

In conclusion, we need to protect our privacy and be aware of how our personal data is used. We must decide whether giving up our security and privacy for the convenience of location-based services is actually worth it given all of the potential risks associated. While some businesses, like Apple, are transparent and say they don’t sell user data, there are others that might sell user data to other parties (or have connections with the Chinese government). It’s crucial that we carefully read the terms and conditions of any apps or websites we use before deciding what information to give them. Additionally, we must demand openness from these businesses regarding how they use our data and hold them accountable for any misuse of that data. The government must regulate and verify that companies are taking the necessary steps to protect user data, and consumers must become aware of privacy issues and take steps to protect their data. In the end, it is our responsibility to protect our privacy and take steps to keep our personal information safe and secure.

Links Used: