Journal #4: TED Talk- Harris Program

Marywilla

September 29, 2016

Harris's program that claims to "collect" images and phrases from blog posts on various social media accounts using targeted words does not bother me mostly because I feel that if a person posts something online they are aware that anyone or search engine can view it. Although I understand why Harris's program makes others uneasy who know less about how the program functions. This software seems to do what all search engines do, only Jonathan put graphics to it--giving the words a sort of a face but the matrix seems to be the same as any search engine. I believe Harris’s program is not unethical because the collection of people's publicized feelings is exactly that, public and could be treated as public information. People post their opinions and feelings on the internet for many reasons. One reason is to inform their friends, family, social network, even unknown viewers who read their blogs and use this as a way to tell others how they're feeling. Jonathan Harris has simply taken publicized statements and placed them into a safe, well designed program. Those who are offended or do not approve of this system of collecting data do not understand that the internet is a portal of public information which is accessible by millions of people. If our actions are powered by our thought and our reality is shaped by our actions, why not take catalog that data.

Jonathan Harris TED Talk:  https://www.ted.com/talks/jonathan_harris_tells_the_web_s_secret_stories#t-195825