This document contains a summary of Socio-informatics 114 notes for semester 1, including the following topics:
-second machine age
-the numbering system
-scientific revolution
-economic revolution
-industrial revolution
-second industrial revolution
-the spread of economic prosperity
2nd Machine Age
Measuring progress: Turning point:
When do we start measuring from? Industrial revolution - First machine age
Around 14 000 BC • The development of the Watt steam engine
• Led to factories and mass production, to railways and mass
What are some truly significant developments? transportation
• Domestication of animals in 14 000 BC • Led to ‘modern life’
• Work animals 8000-6000 BC
• Agriculture, where food produce was reliable Allowed:
• City developments • Harness massive energies (mass production, transport)
• Wars and empires started
• Roman law New machine age - replace mental ideas with machines
• Religion shaped society
Some challenges people faced:
• Job loss
Ian Morris: social development index: • People left behind
• "a group’s ability to master its physical and intellectual environment
to get things done"
What will the 2nd machine age look like?
Measure these aspects of group:
1. Energy capture - types of energy one can capture from their Developments surpassing what predicted?
environment for example the number of calories they 1. New division labour - levy & Murnane
consumed everyday according to the type of agriculture they 2. 2nd machine age - Brynjolfsson & McAfee
did.
2. Organisation (largest city) - look at the largest city during THE NEW DIVISION OF LABOUR
that time and how difficult it was to manage and how (Levy & Murnane, 2004)
organized the society was in order to get things done.
• The division focused on humans and digital labour
3. War-making capacity - number of troops, logistical
capabilities and machines used for war making.
How will computers affect this?
4. Information technology - transferability of knowledge / how
sophisticated the tools are available and how available is it to
1. Computers are GOOD at following rules (algorithms)
society.
What are algorithms?
• This measurement should be relevant, culture-independent,
independent, documented (well enough) and reliable.
, They are simplifications, a process or set of rules to be followed in
calculations or other problem-solving operations
2. BAD at recognizing patterns 3 laws of robotics
(DARPA's debacle in desert) = Defence Advanced Research Projects 1. May not injure human being
Agency 2. Robot must obey the orders given by human beings
3. Robot must protect its own existence as long as it does not
cause conflict with the 1 and 2 law
HOWEVER NEW DEVELOPMENTS SURPASS THESE PREDICITIONS
Automation industry 4.0:
Complex communications: • Integrated supply chain and logics
→ Computers are still bad at COMPLEX COMMUNICATION; they • Negative aspect - job loss
require transfers and imitation of broad range of information and • May also create new jobs
often times new information/ answers/ context
Ethical issues: fake calls & spam
Google duplex: computer calling machines
SIRI – apple
Natural language processing:
→ Turning test created by Alan turning in 1950's
Depths VS breath
Pattern recognition
Watson (jeopardy)
Carry a womb = gestate
=> means to gradually develop in mind or carry in pregnancy
Perception and mobility:
→ Moravec's paradox
• “Reasoning (high-level for humans) requires relatively little
computation, but sensorimotor skills (which is relatively low-
level in humans) requires enormous computational resources”
=> ASIMO - 2006
- 2014 he kicked a soccer ball and jumped on 1 foot
=>DARPA 2012
- Autonomous cars
- self-driving cars (4 way stops)
- (DRC) DARPAS Robotic Challenge
, Both lacked the concept of zero (0) in the Greek numbering system
The numbering system - Scientific revolution
1.2. Hindu-Arabic numbering system
1.Evolution of the numbering system (500AD, Europe: 1000-1200 AD)
→ This numbering system was used across different cultures &
languages around the world • This system is SO DIFFERENT to all the others because its based
on the idea of ZERO
Zero (what makes it different from the others)
1.1.1 Ishango bone (18 000 BC) 1. Use only 10 digits to write and perform calculations
• Earliest recording of tally marks for every conceivable number
1.1.2 Shang dynasty (1300 BC) 2. Simplifies the numbering structure
• Numbering system - 1, 10, 100, ??? VS I, X, C ??
1.1 The Greek numbering system Positional decimal numeral system.
(450BC)
• Alphanumeric system - uses letters of the alphabet to represent
different numbers
- Useful for recording results, but difficult for performing
calculations/ tasks
• Abacus - counting frame (beads) which was a dominant way to do
math's
Insistence on Proof
• Euclidean geometry:
• Euclid Alexandria
- 300 BC wrote the book on elements
- He tried to prove Pythagoras statement was true
• Diophantus (250 AD)
- Proposed a system of true numbers (rather than letters)
- Introduce variables in equations like algebra
- Largely ignored until after 1600s until the Greek book Arsmitica
in Latin
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