If this were not an assignment there is NO way I would have done it. As my husband would say… I am very impatient. If a website has too many pop ups, and honestly that’s 2 or more for me, then I would just exit out of it and find an alternative. While the instructions were clear, the way information was presented made it challenging to decipher where to channel our attention.

I found this week’s videos and readings interesting. I recently had a conversation with my grade 8 robotics class surrounding their action participation in AI online. Regardless of whether we want to be or not, we are deeply engrained in the media systems we use simply by being digitally present. I think because, generally, algorithms make things simple for us, we don’t question them. Ads that cater to our likes? Great. ‘Buy it now’ buttons that make shopping easy? Perfect.

Harris (2017) discusses how controlled our lives our due to algorithms. Companies are competing for our attention online and whichever once is more successful in getting our attention translates directly into profit. After watching Harris’ TedTalk I found myself reflecting on how algorithms have impacted me. There are apps such as H&M or Aerie that offer in app only deals, and a lot of the time you have to open the app to see what savings you could get. What a smart marketing ploy. Also by shopping on the app, you can share items directly through any other social media platform.

I enjoyed watching The Social Dilemma (you can watch it on Netflix). What I enjoyed most about it was how the creators represented the effects of relying on affirmation through likes/media feedback. I also found it really interested when the algorithm was ‘discussing’ how to try and ploy teenagers back online. I often question some of the things created…. what the purpose is other than to make people feel bad. Some examples of this would be read receipts, top snap chatters (you can see who other people snapchat with the most), askfm, and more. These things suck in audiences but do little to bring joy to their lives. It’s challenging to think about how we can combat this because I truly don’t think that we can. We need to be aware of it and go from there.

References

Harris, T. (2017). How a handful of tech companies control billions of minds every day. [Video]. TED.

The social dilemma. (2022, October 6). In Wikipedia.

I found this week’s assignment really interesting as it took me some time to wrap my head around. I wasn’t sure how to approach it at first and found the data really overwhelming. When I hunkered down to try and analyze the connections within the data I decided to focus on the facet that I was grouped in and draw lines to those I connected too (or at least those that the algorithm connected me to). I drew lines to show how I was connected with my peers through the grouping I was given.

This type of representation in grouping is superficial. The linking created between the nodes it based solely on a choice and nothing else, nothing deeper. I don’t think that choices, on a surface level, can be used to represent similarities among people. Context is imperative to understanding and should be the bases for grouping. Some feedback that Ernesto gave me on my curated list was that he could not tell if I had a background in music due to my objective reasons for choosing each piece of music. I believe that objectivity in the assignment for curating a record to represent earth is imperative. BUT, objectivity grouping people is near impossible. Perhaps this network narrows down to who we could possibly have these conversations with as it shows commonalities in choices, but beyond that, the information is vague and ambiguous.

I have an extensive music background having studied for many decades and obtaining my theory and practical teaching level through the London College of Music at the age of 15. I found it, perhaps, easier to be objective with more background knowledge since I could appreciate each piece as individuals and not rely on which music I enjoyed the most (not that there is anything wrong with this strategy). I think it would be a more accurate depiction of our group if we were categorized using the WHY. Why did we choose which music to include? Why did we choose which music to exclude? Was it based on enjoyment? History? Alien research?

I appreciated the question regarding political implications of the groupings created. Systems Innovation (2015) brought up the point that many people see being connected as a positive, but it can just as easily be labelled as negative. I think this is, while minor, a reflection of how society groups based on intersectionality as a tool for oppression. Racism, sexism, religion, sexuality – all of these traits are used to categorize people without focusing on the important question of why. Why are these groups more at risk? Why have these groups historically faced discrimination? Why are we still using these traits to label people? These groupings are made on surface level assumptions to create societal so engrained in society that we stopped questioning them.

References

Systems Innovation. (2015, April 19). Network connections. [Video]. YouTube.

I tried to pick the most varied music I could. I think variety, if we are talking extraterrestrial, would be the most likely to get a response or gain a connection. For this reason I tried to select a variety of natural and constructed sounds. Language is socially constructed and would have no meaning out of that context, which is why I didn’t want to pick only songs that had words or some sort of spoken language in them.

1.  Track 4 Sounds of Earth – Voyager Golden Record

• Even though this was not included on the original music list, I believe this is an extremely important piece to add to this list, and I would argue that it may be one of the most important pieces OF MUSIC. The sounds of nature are cross-cultural and do not rely on any understanding of culture, which is unique to nature. Nature is neutral in all senses, which makes it the most beautiful music of all.

2. Mexico, “El Cascabel,” performed by Lorenzo Barcelata and the Mariachi México. 3:14

• Mariachi music was first introduced by musicians that accompanied Hernan Cortez (who is a terrible person) to Mexico in the 1700s. These musicians collaborated with Indigenous musicians to create the modern day Mariachi music (Clark, 1996). This music tells a story, is unique, and is a mash up of 2 cultures.

3. Bach, The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 2, Prelude and Fugue in C, No.1. Glenn Gould, piano. 4:48

• Math is a cross-cultural subject, which makes Bach a welcome addition to the golden record. Math is ingrained in our every day life and represents a vast amount of cultures vs. 1 culture. Taylor (2019) discusses that math was the primary reason this piece of music was included on the record in the first place. I, personally, love this piece as I find it very pleasing and easy to listen to.

4. Java, court gamelan, “Kinds of Flowers,” recorded by Robert Brown. 4:43

• I found this song interesting as it is a royal song for a prince (Taylor, 2019). The song is comprised of instrumental and also vocals listing off different types of flowers. One of the main reasons I selected this piece is because of how different it was, at least in my opinion.

5. Zaire, Pygmy girls’ initiation song, recorded by Colin Turnbull. 0:56

• Performed by the Indigenous people in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, this song is an example of traditional living and life. The Indigenous populations live primarily in the rainforests and rely on subsistence. The Indigenous people of the DRC are facing a similar story to the Indigenous communities residing in Canada. While they are recognized by the government they have been stripped of their governing bodies and rights. For this song to be included on the Golden Record is to recognize their significance.

6. Navajo Indians, Night Chant, recorded by Willard Rhodes. 0:57

• A representation from an Indigenous community is imperative for understanding Earth. If we are representing North America then the only true way to do this is through Indigenous voice. Indigenous communities rely heavily on knowledge passed down through story and song. Smith (1999) talks about the importance of digitizing text to combat losing information, and while preservation through digitization is debated, it is a start. This is particularly relevant to Indigenous communities as colonialism and discriminatory laws made language preservation impossible (Rice, 2022).

7. Peru, wedding song, recorded by John Cohen. 0:38

• Weddings are traditional ceremonies in many cultures, so this song seems fitting to be cross-culturally representing. Marriage, while socially constructed, is practiced all over the world. The meaning of marriage is what differs between cultures. Some cultures marry for love while others for family alliance. It is interesting that this song is the only song remaining uncredited. Rumor has it that perhaps the singer was so young they did not credit her, but regardless, I have included this in my list of songs to keep in hopes that she is found and credited (Misreader, 2019).

8. China, ch’in, “Flowing Streams,” performed by Kuan P’ing-hu. 7:37

• Like the nature sounds, it is important to incorporate as many sounds from our natural world as possible if the goal is to compile a true representation of who and what we are as species. We can not exist without our natural surroundings, reinforcing the importance of including it within the Golden Record.

9. India, raga, “Jaat Kahan Ho,” sung by Surshri Kesar Bai Kerkar. 3:30

• The transition from Flowing Streams to Jaat Kahan Ho is beautiful. They are both methodical in their own way and I think the transition is quite unique. I found Jaat Kahan Ho to be such a powerful representation of emotion in music. I also love that she resisted recording music for so long, reinforcing her appreciation and respect for the personal connection formed with live music (Sampath, 2019).

10. “Dark Was the Night,” written and performed by Blind Willie Johnson. 3:15

• It’s interesting that Taylor (2019) talks about the music being positive in the Golden Record, and yet we have this song included. It is imperative that there is a variety of emotion represented on the record if we truly want it to be a reflection of life on earth. Willie Johnson grew up in the late 1800s- early 1900s and faced discrimination due to being blind and black (Pinkard, 2016). The raw emotion embodied in his music is a representation of the oppression he faced every day resulting from the very real and unfortunate past in the Southern U.S.A.