Going into this class, I was surprised to find out how writing intensive this class was with the material I looked at. Honestly, I hated writing many papers, but I realized I wouldn’t have gained knowledge about these philosophical topics prior if I hadn’t written documents about them. Every topic taught me something about the world of cyberspace and the impact that it has had on us and the broader society. However, I most enjoyed three topics: information warfare, cyber conflict, and corporate social responsibility.
Out of all the topics we learned about Information Warfare, it interested me the most. It being the last module, I was exhausted from writing papers, but this topic made me a lot more interested compared to the other ones. One is that it is something anyone can notice if you disconnect from the world around you and look at the world as if you’re an alien. You see people arguing against other people about concepts and symbols that people will take to the grave, and people will kill and die over these concepts. Although, as humans, to make sense of the world around us, we create numerous concepts to make this chaotic world less chaotic, we put these ideas and concepts on a pedestal that makes us less human- disconnecting ourselves from anyone. Information Warfare is a real thing that is very easy to notice, but at the same time, it isn’t because it’s so distracting from the real world. So many media outlets are trying to fuel us with their ideas and concepts, and many of us fall prey to this, whether trying to find a community of like-minded people or be a part of something bigger than you. However, with these media outlets, we are all just pawns in a bigger game that creates more profit and which the individual gets nothing from- but outrage and the sort, especially with the international interference of other countries such as Russia and China that are fueling the dumpster information overload that rots our brain with hate and the inability to think as rational human beings.
Cyber conflict was also interesting, as was the evolution of human conflict. Before, we had to face our enemies with aggression and murderous intent, but now, we can do these actions with our devices. It has all made us pacifist-like for the greater good, but the internet nowadays is like the tribal conflict our ancestors engaged in years ago. Apart from all the complex intricacies of cyber conflict, it is very cool to look at how we have evolved as human beings. Cyber conflict is also the most pressing matter because it is, without a doubt, the next step of international conflict that will have everybody involved to some extent. It’s essential to theorize and talk about the many avenues through which cyber conflict can happen, but if it happens, we will see how it unfolds. This event will teach us many things about how we use the internet and how it has impacted us as a society- and we will need this to grow as people.
Corporate Social Responsibility was also a topic that I enjoyed talking about because it made me think from a CEO perspective. If I was trying to raise profit for my company by any means necessary, would I care about the harm I would cause? The realistic answer is No. It’s hard to look at us as people and see if we could have a responsibility like that and still be ethical. We will always be selfish people, which will also bleed into business. The only thing that could change about this is the money we use. A story that I thought about this topic was the Vince McMahon scandal, which is still ongoing. As a wrestling fan, I considered whether I was in McMahon’s position. In no way am I excusing what he did, but reading about the articles- especially the article about corporate responsibility in the CSR module made me think from a CEO-like position, which made me understand a lot of the McMahon scandals throughout the years.
In conclusion, these three topics have significantly deepened my understanding of the cyber world. As a psychology major and an IT minor, this class has been instrumental in bridging the gap between my two fields of study. The insights gained here have not only broadened my perspective but also opened up new avenues for exploration. This course, despite my initial reservations, has been a crucial stepping stone in my academic journey, providing me with a deeper understanding of the material I want to study and the potential applications of this knowledge.