121-506: Accesso Technology Group PLC (formerly Lo-Q ) is a publicly listed technology company based in Berkshire , England . Accesso has 9 offices across the world, and serves 1000 venues globally, providing ticketing, point of sale, virtual queuing, distribution and guest experience management solutions. Accesso was established around 2000, and had entered bankruptcy almost immediately. The company then reemerged in 2007. In 2012, Lo-Q PLC acquired
242-482: A mixer which helped them to hide their cryptocurrency exchanges, to launder over $ 20.5 million in cryptocurrency, from Axie Infinity , and steal over $ 600 million worth of cryptocurrency from the game's owner. Because of this, the U.S. Treasury Department sanctioned Blender.io, which marked the first time it has taken action against a mixer, to try to crack down on North Korean hackers. The privacy of cryptocurrency has been debated. Although many customers like
363-412: A "tamper-resistant digital ballot box" and the second being an engagement platform for users in voting processes. Horizon State utilizes preferential voting and weighted voting systems to manage candidate selection. Horizon State currently serves a few customer groups, including governments, councils, unions, political parties, corporations, and broadcasters. The company was named a "Technology Pioneer" by
484-429: A client base that included the ski and snow sports market. On 10 November 2014, accesso acquired VisionOne and their ShoWare ticketing product, a customizable cloud-based ticket sales product, expanding the company's client base into entertainment markets such as theaters, sports stadiums and music festivals. On 30 March 2017, accesso acquired Ingresso, a global distribution system for entertainment ticketing. Later in 2017,
605-638: A degree, Trump therefore came across as more consistent an authentic compared to Clinton, [an] image that was strengthened by his position as a newcomer in politics." Digital technology is shaping the new age of electoral politics, rather than "breaking" it; and it is creating a more transparent view and perspective of electoral politics for the voter. Digital technology allows people to publish information that could be faulty and unreliable but could be taken seriously and shift political opinion, thus possibly leading to an unfit politician being elected to office. Furthermore, digital technology can also be used to exploit
726-487: A democratic society. In Jürgen Habermas ' book The Structural Transformation of the Public Sphere – An Inquiry into a Category of Bourgeois Society , he defines the public sphere as "a realm of social life in which public opinion can be formed." In principle, the public sphere should be open to all citizens, and free from influence from governments or private businesses. Habermas goes on to argue that: "A portion of
847-480: A false identity assumed by a member of an Internet community who is pretending to be another person. The term has come to designate other misleading uses of online identities, such as those created to praise, defend or support a person or organization, to manipulate public opinion, to skew online voting results, or to evade blocks. There is significant evidence to indicate that the Internet Research Agency ,
968-466: A filter or fact checking. This is evident from recent US presidential campaigns, where voters were able to connect with Trump, not only as a politician but as a person. Studies show, "The fact that Trump delegated much [less] social media work to professionals than either of the Obama campaigns and the 2016 Clinton campaign meant that his candidate image on social media was much closer to his self-presentation. To
1089-432: A foreign government supporting a politician or a party that would benefit them internationally, therefore directly manipulating political thought within a society. ' Leapfrogging ' originally denoted those societies that—through possibly radical, but even small and incremental, innovation—experience enormous development in the fields of industrial organization and economic growth and "leapfrog" once dominant rivals. It
1210-469: A group of professional Russian trolls, created fake accounts on major networking sites and online newspapers, to promote specific Ukrainian, Middle Eastern, and American political issues, even advocating for Trump as early as December 2015. Citizens involved in politics have experienced a sense of security while engaged in physically attending a polling place or submitting their vote through mail. Such experiences now have digital counterparts. In areas such as
1331-567: A platform for voicing their opinions. The platform is used mainly in the Czech Republic to target corruption within the Czech government. Though it has not yet been used in any general elections, D21 – Janeček method has been used in several participatory budgeting programs around the world, including New York City, in the United States. The Czech government introduced the game Prezident 21 , which
SECTION 10
#17328587581821452-496: A politics and technology scholar, finds that the Internet leads to a more informed and better society. The Internet enables information to be dispersed at an increased rate, compared to traditional means, at little cost. For most users, the amount of information can be helpful to understand various political atmospheres but can also overwhelm users. The digital public sphere thus has the potential to enliven democratic culture and enhance
1573-436: A public. Virtual spaces may overlap or interact with offline spaces as well, forming what has been called "hybrid networks". Scholars argue that social media affords increasing opportunities for political discourse and mobilization within the digital public sphere. Research has shown that increased use of social media correlates with increases in certain types of political engagement and participation . Rabia Karakaya Polat,
1694-488: A reported 44% of Estonia citizens use them. Electronic voting in Estonia has been in place since 2005, and a citizen can cast their vote through an app on their mobile device. Through Estonia's national ID infrastructure, National ID cards have the ability to perform cryptographic functions to authenticate citizens' access to different websites and place legally binding signatures on documents, if needed. These cards work through
1815-410: A rise in extremism, while others see it as an opportunity to usher in a post-scarcity economy . Some segments of the 1960s hippie counterculture grew to dislike urban living and developed a preference for locally autonomous , sustainable , and decentralized technology, termed appropriate technology . This later influenced hacker culture and technopaganism . Technological utopianism refers to
1936-411: A rise in social media's cultural prominence, with potential repercussions on democracy, and economic and social life. Early on, the internet was seen as a "liberation technology" that would democratize knowledge, improve access to education, and promote democracy. Modern research has turned to investigate the internet's downsides, including disinformation, polarization, hate speech, and propaganda. Since
2057-517: A role. The invention of writing led to the spread of cultural knowledge and became the basis for history, libraries , schools, and scientific research. Continuing improvements led to the furnace and bellows and provided, for the first time, the ability to smelt and forge gold, copper, silver, and lead – native metals found in relatively pure form in nature. The advantages of copper tools over stone, bone and wooden tools were quickly apparent to early humans, and native copper
2178-459: A social issue that they believe the whole world should be aware about. D21 is a platform that allows people to participate in voting on issues through a form of "modern democracy". It is also known as the D21 – Janeček method , which allows people to cast both a negative and a positive vote. D21 wishes to accurately inform users about different issues happening within their community and provide them with
2299-509: A source of ideas. Futures research methodologies include survey research , modeling, statistical analysis , and computer simulations . Existential risk researchers analyze risks that could lead to human extinction or civilizational collapse, and look for ways to build resilience against them. Relevant research centers include the Cambridge Center for the Study of Existential Risk , and
2420-432: A way to monitor, detect, respond and recover. It's clear that mobile apps are not ready for prime time, but thankfully Iowa has paper records of their vote totals and will be able to release results from those records." Studies show that social media allows politicians to easily engage with the general public without the use of mainstream media. This allows them to express and present themselves however they deem fit, without
2541-447: A wide variety of applications . Mobile devices are one of the important reasons for the rise of political participation and are now portrayed as a voting agent in the least developed countries . Increased availability of mobile phones, and subsequent access to the public sphere, has enhanced individuals' and groups' ability to bring attention to and organize around specialized issues. More recently, social media has emerged as one of
SECTION 20
#17328587581822662-417: Is a digital ledger, which relies on a network of nodes that encrypt and protect information from being corrupted by a single party. Platforms in the blockchain voting market aim to increase efficiency and transparency in voting systems where casting and counting votes are simplified and verifiable. Some example platforms include Democracy Earth , Polyas, Votem, Boulé, and Horizon State. Democracy Earth
2783-441: Is a nonprofit startup with the goal of improving voting systems by utilizing the blockchain . Founded by Santiago Siri, whose vision is to create "political cryptocurrency" by utilizing blockchain-generated tokens from Democracy Earth's processes, with which users cast their votes. With blockchain voting technology, the need for a centralized government authority is removed, along with possible bias, censorship, or corruption affecting
2904-466: Is always beneficial, that scientific openness is always preferable, or that they can afford to wait until a dangerous technology has been invented before they prepare mitigations. Emerging technologies are novel technologies whose development or practical applications are still largely unrealized. They include nanotechnology , biotechnology , robotics , 3D printing , blockchains , and artificial intelligence . In 2005, futurist Ray Kurzweil claimed
3025-566: Is an interactive website created to aid people in familiarizing themselves with the D21 system. Verified Voting is a website that uses its online presence to discourage the movement of voting towards a more digital age. In a section about Internet Voting, they speak about the dangers and information leaks that come with using the Internet, or anything digital, to cast votes, even with blockchain . Verified Voting defines Internet voting to include email, fax voting, or any voting through an online portal. This
3146-499: Is an interdisciplinary subfield of ethics that analyzes technology's ethical implications and explores ways to mitigate the potential negative impacts of new technologies. There is a broad range of ethical issues revolving around technology, from specific areas of focus affecting professionals working with technology to broader social, ethical, and legal issues concerning the role of technology in society and everyday life. Prominent debates have surrounded genetically modified organisms ,
3267-731: Is creating both new opportunities and new obligations for us, opportunity for greater productivity and progress; obligation to be sure that no workingman, no family must pay an unjust price for progress." upon signing the National Commission on Technology, Automation, and Economic Progress bill. With the growing reliance of technology, there have been security and privacy concerns along with it. Billions of people use different online payment methods, such as WeChat Pay , PayPal , Alipay , and much more to help transfer money. Although security measures are placed, some criminals are able to bypass them. In March 2022, North Korea used Blender.io ,
3388-470: Is due to the fact that any form of electronic voting can leave the vote susceptible to a large number of security threats, including cyber-attacks that can skew voting results. According to NIST , it is difficult to make sure that votes are coming from verified and registered voters and have not been changed in transit. This is difficult to verify over the Internet and thus makes casting votes in person and through paper ballots more effective and safe, even with
3509-427: Is founded upon the "continued evolution of human life beyond its current human form" through science and technology, informed by "life-promoting principles and values." The movement gained wider popularity in the early 21st century. Politics and technology Politics and technology encompasses concepts, mechanisms, personalities, efforts, and social movements that include, but are not necessarily limited to,
3630-1214: Is in theory. For example, Feminist scholars like Nancy Fraser have argued that the public sphere has historically not been as open or accessible to disadvantaged or marginalized groups in a society, such as women or people of color; therefore, such groups are forced to form their own separate public spheres, which she refers to as a counter-public or subaltern counter public (see Public sphere § Counterpublics, feminist critiques and expansions ). Some scholars contend that online spaces are more open and thus may help to increase inclusive political participation from marginalized groups. In particular, anonymous online spaces should allow all individuals to speak with an equal voice to others. However, others have pointed out that many contemporary online spaces are not anonymous, such as Facebook . Avatars and social media profiles often portray an individual's offline identity, which can lead to practices of online discrimination and exclusion which mirror offline inequalities. Now, more and more historically disadvantaged or marginalized groups are also using Internet technology to carve out new online spaces for their own "networked counterpublics", such as through
3751-577: Is powered through the blockchain platform of Ethereum , the second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization. Boulé has its own form of voting currency, referred to as Boulé tokens (BOU), and launched a pre-sale in August 2017 that was distributed until hitting a ceiling of 10,000. Boulé specializes in using biometric facial recognition, alongside other mobile identification methods, and encryption to identify and provide voter anonymity. Horizon State, led by CEO Tim Goggin, offers two main products, one being
Accesso - Misplaced Pages Continue
3872-415: Is progressing rapidly to making a significant impact on future campaigns. A comparison of civic technology platforms highlights the similarities and differences between different online tools used for political participation. iSideWith is an application that seeks to provide voters with an educated guess of who they would politically side with. They have an in-depth survey on their website that asks about
3993-545: Is the sailing ship ; the earliest record of a ship under sail is that of a Nile boat dating to around 7,000 BCE. From prehistoric times, Egyptians likely used the power of the annual flooding of the Nile to irrigate their lands, gradually learning to regulate much of it through purposely built irrigation channels and "catch" basins. The ancient Sumerians in Mesopotamia used a complex system of canals and levees to divert water from
4114-502: Is the stone tool , used during prehistory , followed by the control of fire —which in turn contributed to the growth of the human brain and the development of language during the Ice Age , according to the cooking hypothesis . The invention of the wheel in the Bronze Age allowed greater travel and the creation of more complex machines. More recent technological inventions, including
4235-483: Is the application of conceptual knowledge to achieve practical goals , especially in a reproducible way. The word technology can also mean the products resulting from such efforts, including both tangible tools such as utensils or machines , and intangible ones such as software . Technology plays a critical role in science , engineering , and everyday life . Technological advancements have led to significant changes in society. The earliest known technology
4356-481: Is the largest cause of long-term economic growth. Throughout human history, energy production was the main constraint on economic development , and new technologies allowed humans to significantly increase the amount of available energy . First came fire, which made edible a wider variety of foods, and made it less physically demanding to digest them. Fire also enabled smelting , and the use of tin , copper, and iron tools, used for hunting or tradesmanship . Then came
4477-562: The Ancient Greek word [[[τέχνη|tékhnē]]] Error: {{Transliteration}}: transliteration text not Latin script ( help ) , used to mean 'knowledge of how to make things', which encompassed activities like architecture. Starting in the 19th century, continental Europeans started using the terms Technik (German) or technique (French) to refer to a 'way of doing', which included all technical arts, such as dancing, navigation, or printing, whether or not they required tools or instruments. At
4598-588: The Information Age and the birth of the Internet . The Space Age began with the launch of Sputnik 1 in 1957, and later the launch of crewed missions to the moon in the 1960s. Organized efforts to search for extraterrestrial intelligence have used radio telescopes to detect signs of technology use, or technosignatures , given off by alien civilizations. In medicine, new technologies were developed for diagnosis ( CT , PET , and MRI scanning), treatment (like
4719-440: The Internet and other information and communication technologies (ICTs). Scholars have begun to explore how internet technologies influence political communication and participation , especially in terms of what is known as the public sphere . The smartphone is a transformational communication technology that has features that include talk, text messaging, Internet access, electronic mail , faxing , pictures, video, and
4840-411: The Internet and related information and communications technologies have led to the emergence of a new type of digital public sphere. Some scholars have conceptualized this alternately as a virtual public sphere or a networked public sphere, while still others have similarly described what they call a networked society or networked publics. Essentially, these new virtual spaces can be used in much
4961-518: The Lake Mary, Florida -based company, Accesso LLC, for US$ 22 million . At the time, Lo-Q focused on developing ride-reservation systems for theme parks , while accesso focused on online and mobile ticket sales software and the management of online ticket stores. The merger was seen as a joining of synergistic capabilities and complementary customer sets. Tom Burnet was the CEO of Lo-Q and retained this role after
Accesso - Misplaced Pages Continue
5082-545: The Minoans on the Greek island of Crete built a 50 km road leading from the palace of Gortyn on the south side of the island, through the mountains, to the palace of Knossos on the north side of the island. Unlike the earlier road, the Minoan road was completely paved. Ancient Minoan private homes had running water . A bathtub virtually identical to modern ones was unearthed at
5203-464: The Shadow Inc. application for their state's primaries. Marian Schneider, the president of Verified Voting , released a statement that says, "The situation with Iowa's caucus reveals the risks associated with technology, in this case with a mobile app, but more importantly that there needs to be a low-tech solution in order to recover from technological failures -- no matter the cause, There needs to be
5324-600: The Tigris and Euphrates rivers for irrigation. Archaeologists estimate that the wheel was invented independently and concurrently in Mesopotamia (in present-day Iraq ), the Northern Caucasus ( Maykop culture ), and Central Europe. Time estimates range from 5,500 to 3,000 BCE with most experts putting it closer to 4,000 BCE. The oldest artifacts with drawings depicting wheeled carts date from about 3,500 BCE. More recently,
5445-644: The U.S Election Assistance Commission 's voting systems testing and certification program. With partnerships including the Blockchain Research Institute and the National Association of the Secretary of State, Votem looks to target a range of elections, ranging from small, private elections to government elections. Boulé was founded in 2017 and is a blockchain voting system that focuses on campaign integrity through security and transparency. Boulé
5566-661: The United Arab Emirates , and Indonesia . Change.org is a website that allows people to take a stance on something they agree or disagree with and actually petition for others to rally behind their cause. People can search for existing petitions concerning a cause that they feel strongly about, or they have the option of starting their own. The website displays past successful petitions that have made an impact. The petition does not necessarily have to be related to politics. There are many surveys that could be targeting different issues within their neighborhood but can range up to
5687-770: The World Economic Forum as well as being a finalist in Blockchain Australia's Government Project of the Year. GovTech denotes the concept of utilizing technologies such as blockchain and artificial intelligence to increase accessibility to and efficiency in government and public policy. GovTech is a growing industry around the world, with an estimated worth of $ 400 billion in total market value. Different subcategories of GovTech exist: for example, LegisTech, which regards legislative innovation to enhance cooperation between citizens, public servants, and corporations. The growth in
5808-540: The World Economic Forum 's "The Future of Jobs Report 2020", AI is predicted to replace 85 million jobs worldwide, and create 97 million new jobs by 2025. From 1990 to 2007, a study in the U.S. by MIT economist Daron Acemoglu showed that an addition of one robot for every 1,000 workers decreased the employment-to-population ratio by 0.2%, or about 3.3 workers, and lowered wages by 0.42%. Concerns about technology replacing human labor however are long-lasting. As US president Lyndon Johnson said in 1964, "Technology
5929-864: The dialysis machine , defibrillator , pacemaker , and a wide array of new pharmaceutical drugs ), and research (like interferon cloning and DNA microarrays ). Complex manufacturing and construction techniques and organizations are needed to make and maintain more modern technologies, and entire industries have arisen to develop succeeding generations of increasingly more complex tools. Modern technology increasingly relies on training and education – their designers, builders, maintainers, and users often require sophisticated general and specific training. Moreover, these technologies have become so complex that entire fields have developed to support them, including engineering, medicine, and computer science ; and other fields have become more complex, such as construction, transportation, and architecture. Technological change
6050-402: The lever , the screw , and the pulley ) were combined into more complicated tools, such as the wheelbarrow , windmills , and clocks . A system of universities developed and spread scientific ideas and practices, including Oxford and Cambridge . The Renaissance era produced many innovations, including the introduction of the movable type printing press to Europe, which facilitated
6171-445: The printing press , telephone, and the Internet , have lowered barriers to communication and ushered in the knowledge economy . While technology contributes to economic development and improves human prosperity , it can also have negative impacts like pollution and resource depletion , and can cause social harms like technological unemployment resulting from automation . As a result, philosophical and political debates about
SECTION 50
#17328587581826292-399: The smelting of ores, along with the use of a wind-drafted clay kiln , which released lead into the atmosphere and the sediment of rivers. Philosophy of technology is a branch of philosophy that studies the "practice of designing and creating artifacts", and the "nature of the things so created." It emerged as a discipline over the past two centuries, and has grown "considerably" since
6413-406: The 1970s, technology's impact on the environment has been criticized , leading to a surge in investment in solar , wind , and other forms of clean energy . Since the invention of the wheel, technologies have helped increase humans' economic output. Past automation has both substituted and complemented labor; machines replaced humans at some lower-paying jobs (for example in agriculture), but this
6534-429: The 1970s. The humanities philosophy of technology is concerned with the "meaning of technology for, and its impact on, society and culture". Initially, technology was seen as an extension of the human organism that replicated or amplified bodily and mental faculties. Marx framed it as a tool used by capitalists to oppress the proletariat, but believed that technology would be a fundamentally liberating force once it
6655-533: The GovTech industry has spurred innovation within the private sector; however, there is also a rising number of concerns surrounding private corporations providing software for government use. An example of LegisTech is LabHacker, which is a laboratory that uses data analysis to track hotly debated topics in the Brazilian parliament and publicly presents the data to keep citizens and other government officials informed. It
6776-605: The Neolithic but was originally used in the preceding Mesolithic in some areas such as Ireland. Agriculture fed larger populations, and the transition to sedentism allowed for the simultaneous raising of more children, as infants no longer needed to be carried around by nomads . Additionally, children could contribute labor to the raising of crops more readily than they could participate in hunter-gatherer activities. With this increase in population and availability of labor came an increase in labor specialization . What triggered
6897-662: The Palace of Knossos. Several Minoan private homes also had toilets, which could be flushed by pouring water down the drain. The ancient Romans had many public flush toilets, which emptied into an extensive sewage system . The primary sewer in Rome was the Cloaca Maxima ; construction began on it in the sixth century BCE and it is still in use today. The ancient Romans also had a complex system of aqueducts , which were used to transport water across long distances. The first Roman aqueduct
7018-465: The Paleolithic era include clothing and shelter. No consensus exists on the approximate time of adoption of either technology, but archaeologists have found archaeological evidence of clothing 90-120 kya and shelter 450 kya. As the Paleolithic era progressed, dwellings became more sophisticated and more elaborate; as early as 380 kya, humans were constructing temporary wood huts. Clothing, adapted from
7139-488: The Stanford Existential Risk Initiative. Future technologies may contribute to the risks of artificial general intelligence , biological warfare , nuclear warfare , nanotechnology , anthropogenic climate change , global warming , or stable global totalitarianism , though technologies may also help us mitigate asteroid impacts and gamma-ray bursts . In 2019 philosopher Nick Bostrom introduced
7260-475: The United States' government does not guarantee its citizens. Tunisia has set the stage for many other countries to follow in their footsteps, including Egypt, Libya, Yemen, and Syria. Although these countries' attempts at democratic government have not been nearly as successful as Tunisia's. Another example of a leapfrog democracy is Estonia, which became one of the first countries to employ online voting. Nearly 99% of their public services are available online, and
7381-538: The United States, online voting has been developing in the form of smartphone applications or secure websites. Online voting allows more citizens to exercise their right to vote by breaking down the physical barriers that may keep a voter away from the polls. As an unwanted result, online voting is easier to manipulate. Social media apps such as Instagram or Facebook have taken the initiative to get people registered and motivated to go and vote. Despite their efforts, there are social media accounts engineered to misinform
SECTION 60
#17328587581827502-489: The ability of citizens to challenge the political and economic power of governments and corporations, such as through online protests , activism campaigns, and social movements . Other scholars have highlighted, alongside economic globalization , the role of Internet technologies in reaching across national borders to contribute to a growing transnational public sphere. The traditional, offline public sphere has been criticized for not being as inclusive in practice as it
7623-603: The academic discipline, as in the Massachusetts Institute of Technology . In the 20th century, as a result of scientific progress and the Second Industrial Revolution , technology stopped being considered a distinct academic discipline and took on the meaning: the systemic use of knowledge to practical ends. Tools were initially developed by hominids through observation and trial and error . Around 2 Mya (million years ago), they learned to make
7744-493: The agricultural revolution: humans no longer needed to hunt or gather to survive, and began to settle in towns and cities, forming more complex societies, with militaries and more organized forms of religion. Technologies have contributed to human welfare through increased prosperity, improved comfort and quality of life, and medical progress , but they can also disrupt existing social hierarchies, cause pollution, and harm individuals or groups. Recent years have brought about
7865-460: The alteration of matter at the atomic and molecular level in various disciplines including computer science, engineering, and biology. And engineering ethics deals with the professional standards of engineers, including software engineers and their moral responsibilities to the public. A wide branch of technology ethics is concerned with the ethics of artificial intelligence : it includes robot ethics , which deals with ethical issues involved in
7986-461: The atmosphere, causing the greenhouse effect . This continues to gradually heat the earth, causing global warming and climate change . Measures of technological innovation correlates with a rise in greenhouse gas emissions. Pollution, the presence of contaminants in an environment that causes adverse effects, could have been present as early as the Inca Empire . They used a lead sulfide flux in
8107-490: The belief that technological development is a moral good , which can and should bring about a utopia , that is, a society in which laws, governments, and social conditions serve the needs of all its citizens. Examples of techno-utopian goals include post-scarcity economics , life extension , mind uploading , cryonics , and the creation of artificial superintelligence . Major techno-utopian movements include transhumanism and singularitarianism . The transhumanism movement
8228-557: The city-state of Ur dates to around 3,429 BCE, and even older fragments of wheel-thrown pottery have been found in the same area. Fast (rotary) potters' wheels enabled early mass production of pottery, but it was the use of the wheel as a transformer of energy (through water wheels , windmills, and even treadmills) that revolutionized the application of nonhuman power sources. The first two-wheeled carts were derived from travois and were first used in Mesopotamia and Iran in around 3,000 BCE. The oldest known constructed roadways are
8349-519: The communication of knowledge. Technology became increasingly influenced by science, beginning a cycle of mutual advancement. Starting in the United Kingdom in the 18th century, the discovery of steam power set off the Industrial Revolution , which saw wide-ranging technological discoveries, particularly in the areas of agriculture , manufacturing, mining, metallurgy , and transport, and
8470-557: The company acquired The Experience Engine (TE2), a guest experience management company, which included customers in venues such as theme parks, ski resorts, hotels, quick service food, healthcare and other hospitality-focused operations. In 2014, penetration of the South Korean market began via a three-year partnership with an in-country consulting firm. Accesso offers products for ticketing, virtual queuing, distribution, guest experience and point of sale. Technology Technology
8591-536: The company is looking to optimize its "universal verifiability" feature through the reduction of slow communication times while ensuring ballots are counted accurately. Votem is a mobile voting platform that was created in 2014 by Pete Martin with a goal of having 1 billion voters on their platform by 2025. Through blockchain technology, Votem offers a variety of services such as online voter registration, accessible voting for those with disabilities, and electronic ballot marking. In August 2017, Votem had been inducted into
8712-471: The computer manipulation of voting machines. In the 2020 Iowa caucuses , the Iowa Democratic Party used a new mobile app to count and transmit primary election results live in real-time. Official users of the application suffered from reporting issues, leading to incomplete data, and a bottleneck during transmission. Since the 2020 Iowa caucuses, other state's Democratic parties have declined to use
8833-444: The design, construction, use, and treatment of robots, as well as machine ethics , which is concerned with ensuring the ethical behavior of artificially intelligent agents . Within the field of AI ethics, significant yet-unsolved research problems include AI alignment (ensuring that AI behaviors are aligned with their creators' intended goals and interests) and the reduction of algorithmic bias . Some researchers have warned against
8954-623: The first online election in Finland, involving 30,000 votes and 3 languages. Started by Wolfgang Jung, the company and its software was eventually passed on to a company called Micromata, which created a new spin-off corporation in 2012 called POLYAS GmbH. Polyas uses private, local blockchains to run its voting procedures, which differs from the general decentralized blockchains. The current services Polyas provide are online voting, on-site live voting, and resolution and amendment voting to customers that range from youth parliaments to corporations. Currently,
9075-553: The first stone tools by hammering flakes off a pebble, forming a sharp hand axe . This practice was refined 75 kya (thousand years ago) into pressure flaking , enabling much finer work. The discovery of fire was described by Charles Darwin as "possibly the greatest ever made by man". Archaeological, dietary, and social evidence point to "continuous [human] fire-use" at least 1.5 Mya. Fire, fueled with wood and charcoal , allowed early humans to cook their food to increase its digestibility, improving its nutrient value and broadening
9196-553: The flaws of that process. Verified Voting has a "verifier" visualizer to provide detail on election equipment used by localities in all the states. Blockchain voting is the concept of traditional paper voting becoming digitized through a voting-token format where voting information is decentralized and data is easily accounted for. With the rise of technology in the current political environment, blockchain voting, to combat voter fraud and increase democratic participation, has become an increasingly discussed topic. Blockchain voting
9317-517: The fur and hides of hunted animals, helped humanity expand into colder regions; humans began to migrate out of Africa around 200 kya, initially moving to Eurasia . The Neolithic Revolution (or First Agricultural Revolution ) brought about an acceleration of technological innovation, and a consequent increase in social complexity. The invention of the polished stone axe was a major advance that allowed large-scale forest clearance and farming. This use of polished stone axes increased greatly in
9438-419: The guarantee that they may assemble and unite freely, and express and publicize their opinions freely." Howard Rheingold states that, "There is an intimate connection between informal conversations, the kind that take place in communities... and the ability of large social groups to govern themselves without monarchs or dictators." Rheingold and others have gone on to argue that virtual spaces created through
9559-441: The hypothetical risk of an AI takeover , and have advocated for the use of AI capability control in addition to AI alignment methods. Other fields of ethics have had to contend with technology-related issues, including military ethics , media ethics , and educational ethics . Futures studies is the systematic and interdisciplinary study of social and technological progress. It aims to quantitatively and qualitatively explore
9680-471: The increasing use of technology in the political sphere, many new platforms and apps have emerged in an attempt to provide unbiased information to the general public in a manner that is accessible to all. Many of these apps hope to be able to spread this information so that voters may be more informed about politics and make more of an informed decisions when voting. Some examples are Liquid.us, Countable, Capitol Bells, Fiscalnote, and Councilmatic. Technology
9801-403: The intention of “[creating] a worldwide virtual business environment, where people from both the developed and developing countries can easily become entrepreneurs and start doing business anywhere in the world.” This program allows individuals from across the globe to digitally apply for Estonian citizenship by simply filling out an online application form and passing a background check. With
9922-482: The introduction of skyscrapers accompanied by rapid urbanization. Communication improved with the invention of the telegraph , the telephone, the radio, and television. The 20th century brought a host of innovations. In physics, the discovery of nuclear fission in the Atomic Age led to both nuclear weapons and nuclear power . Analog computers were invented and asserted dominance in processing complex data. While
10043-504: The invention of vacuum tubes allowed for digital computing with computers like the ENIAC , their sheer size precluded widespread use until innovations in quantum physics allowed for the invention of the transistor in 1947, which significantly compacted computers and led the digital transition. Information technology, particularly optical fiber and optical amplifiers , allowed for simple and fast long-distance communication, which ushered in
10164-404: The issue more thoroughly; others fear that directed evolution could lead to eugenics or extreme social inequality. Nanotechnology will grant us the ability to manipulate matter "at the molecular and atomic scale", which could allow us to reshape ourselves and our environment in fundamental ways. Nanobots could be used within the human body to destroy cancer cells or form new body parts, blurring
10285-495: The knowledge of how to put that technology to use in meaningful ways. Internet bots, also known as web robots, robots or simply bots, are software applications that run automated tasks (scripts) over the Internet. Typically, bots perform tasks that are both simple and repetitive, at a much higher rate than would be possible for a human alone. The largest use of bots is in web spidering, in which an automated script fetches, analyzes, and files information from web servers at many times
10406-857: The lack of quality journalism, as it can be used for political manipulation through the use of "trolls and bots, disguised as ordinary citizens, [have become] a weapon of choice for governments and political leaders to shape online conversations. Governments in Turkey, China, Israel, Russia and the United Kingdom are known to have deployed thousands of hired social media operatives who run multiple accounts to shift or control public opinion." These political manipulation may also come in another form, in which they are facilitated by said platforms due to financial support from advertisers, this can create false or targeted advertising campaigns that aim to manipulate voter thinking. These tactics may be used by officials up for election to boost campaign support, or by an outside actor such as
10527-690: The line between biology and technology. Autonomous robots have undergone rapid progress, and are expected to replace humans at many dangerous tasks, including search and rescue , bomb disposal , firefighting , and war. Estimates on the advent of artificial general intelligence vary, but half of machine learning experts surveyed in 2018 believe that AI will "accomplish every task better and more cheaply" than humans by 2063, and automate all human jobs by 2140. This expected technological unemployment has led to calls for increased emphasis on computer science education and debates about universal basic income . Political science experts predict that this could lead to
10648-414: The main platforms for politics . Millions of users can learn about politicians' policies and statements, interact with political leaders, organize, and voice their own opinions on political matters. Political campaigns are also using social media sites to reach voters using political advertising . There are also a wide variety of online tools that are meant to promote political participation and combat
10769-574: The merger. At the time of the merger, accesso's CEO and owner was former Disney executive Steve Brown; after the merger, Brown joined the board of the new company and became the COO of North American operations. In November 2013, Lo-Q was renamed as accesso to reflect the company's operations. In December 2013, accesso acquired for US$ 12 million the Taos, New Mexico -based ticketing and point-of-sale software provider Siriusware. The acquisition provided accesso with
10890-530: The most developed regions of the world, such as North America and Western Europe, have the highest Internet penetration rates at over 80% each, while the least developed countries such as in Africa and South Asia have less than 30% each. On the other hand, the reduced cost and increasing availability of mobile devices such as smartphones throughout less developed regions is helping to reduce this disparity at an exponential rate. In just two years, between 2013 and 2015,
11011-417: The next technological revolution would rest upon advances in genetics , nanotechnology , and robotics , with robotics being the most impactful of the three technologies. Genetic engineering will allow far greater control over human biological nature through a process called directed evolution . Some thinkers believe that this may shatter our sense of self, and have urged for renewed public debate exploring
11132-419: The notion of a vulnerable world , "one in which there is some level of technological development at which civilization almost certainly gets devastated by default", citing the risks of a pandemic caused by bioterrorists , or an arms race triggered by the development of novel armaments and the loss of mutual assured destruction . He invites policymakers to question the assumptions that technological progress
11253-507: The number of Internet users in developing nations has risen by 9%, according to the Pew Research Center . Other research has shown, though, that even within more developed countries like the United States, the digital divide continues to persist between upper and lower socioeconomic classes and between different education levels. Furthermore, scholars like Mark Warschauer argue that it is not just access to technology that matters, but
11374-443: The number of foods that could be eaten. The cooking hypothesis proposes that the ability to cook promoted an increase in hominid brain size , though some researchers find the evidence inconclusive. Archaeological evidence of hearths was dated to 790 kya; researchers believe this is likely to have intensified human socialization and may have contributed to the emergence of language . Other technological advances made during
11495-500: The oldest-known wooden wheel in the world as of 2024 was found in the Ljubljana Marsh of Slovenia ; Austrian experts have established that the wheel is between 5,100 and 5,350 years old. The invention of the wheel revolutionized trade and war. It did not take long to discover that wheeled wagons could be used to carry heavy loads. The ancient Sumerians used a potter's wheel and may have invented it. A stone pottery wheel found in
11616-553: The privacy of cryptocurrency, many also argue that it needs more transparency and stability. Technology can have both positive and negative effects on the environment. Environmental technology , describes an array of technologies which seek to reverse, mitigate or halt environmental damage to the environment. This can include measures to halt pollution through environmental regulations, capture and storage of pollution, or using pollutant byproducts in other industries. Other examples of environmental technology include deforestation and
11737-417: The progression from early Neolithic villages to the first cities, such as Uruk , and the first civilizations, such as Sumer , is not specifically known; however, the emergence of increasingly hierarchical social structures and specialized labor, of trade and war among adjacent cultures, and the need for collective action to overcome environmental challenges such as irrigation , are all thought to have played
11858-436: The public sphere is constituted in every conversation in which private persons come together to form a public. They are then acting neither as business or professional people conducting their private affairs, nor as legal consociates subject to the legal regulations of a state bureaucracy and obligated to obedience. Citizens act as a public when they deal with matters of general interest without being subject to coercion; thus with
11979-568: The public, causing a jaded perspective toward electable candidates or understanding policies. Another way users are manipulated is by directly interfering with the vote. In the 2016 U.S. election, J. Alex Halderman , a computer scientist and director of computer security at the University of Michigan , advocated for the Clinton campaign to request a recount in the states of Wisconsin, Michigan, and Pennsylvania, which were thought to be lost by her through
12100-409: The range of plausible futures and to incorporate human values in the development of new technologies. More generally, futures researchers are interested in improving "the freedom and welfare of humankind". It relies on a thorough quantitative and qualitative analysis of past and present technological trends, and attempts to rigorously extrapolate them into the future. Science fiction is often used as
12221-401: The reversing of deforestation. Emerging technologies in the fields of climate engineering may be able to halt or reverse global warming and its environmental impacts, although this remains highly controversial. As technology has advanced, so too has the negative environmental impact, with increased release of greenhouse gases , including methane , nitrous oxide and carbon dioxide , into
12342-450: The role and use of technology, the ethics of technology , and ways to mitigate its downsides are ongoing. Technology is a term dating back to the early 17th century that meant 'systematic treatment' (from Greek Τεχνολογία , from the Greek : τέχνη , romanized : tékhnē , lit. 'craft, art' and -λογία , 'study, knowledge'). It is predated in use by
12463-429: The same way as traditional, offline spaces: that is, as a "free space" to discuss and debate ideas of public importance. Just as the public sphere is a combination of "every conversation in which private persons come together to form a public", the digital public sphere also comprises all forms of new media —such as chat rooms , website comment sections, and social media —in which private citizens engage in discourse as
12584-484: The speed of a human. More than half of all web traffic is generated by bots. Software can detect and confirm the presence of bots through qualitative coding. An example would be the Bot-a-meter, developed by Indiana University, which evaluates 7 different factors to determine whether or not a request is generated by a bot. A Sock Puppet is an online identity used for purposes of deception. The term originally referred to
12705-611: The spread of misinformation. A comparison of civic technology platforms can be useful in differentiating the different services offered by each platform. The idea of the public sphere has generally come to be understood as the open social spaces and public spaces in which private citizens interact and share information and ideas relevant to the society. These can include, for example, town halls, public squares, markets, coffee shops, or what ancient Greeks called agoras . Scholars have argued that these spaces are vitally important for creating and maintaining an active and informed public in
12826-523: The stone-paved streets of the city-state of Ur, dating to c. 4,000 BCE , and timber roads leading through the swamps of Glastonbury , England, dating to around the same period. The first long-distance road, which came into use around 3,500 BCE, spanned 2,400 km from the Persian Gulf to the Mediterranean Sea , but was not paved and was only partially maintained. In around 2,000 BCE,
12947-471: The time, Technologie (German and French) referred either to the academic discipline studying the "methods of arts and crafts", or to the political discipline "intended to legislate on the functions of the arts and crafts." The distinction between Technik and Technologie is absent in English, and so both were translated as technology . The term was previously uncommon in English and mostly referred to
13068-441: The use of hashtags like #Ferguson and #BlackLivesMatter . Another example of social exclusion happens when users homogenize their information by finding information that reinforces their own opinions or websites that have the most content or are promoted consistently. This can lead users to ignore sites that are less frequently promoted. Evidence of this was discovered by Steven M. Schneider, who found that although participation
13189-527: The use of robotic soldiers, algorithmic bias , and the issue of aligning AI behavior with human values. Technology ethics encompasses several key fields. Bioethics looks at ethical issues surrounding biotechnologies and modern medicine, including cloning, human genetic engineering, and stem cell research. Computer ethics focuses on issues related to computing. Cyberethics explores internet-related issues like intellectual property rights , privacy , and censorship . Nanoethics examines issues surrounding
13310-431: The use of two different RSA key pairs. However, there are still some drawbacks to this voting process, as there are inadequate procedural controls that are inexplicably changed or are not followed, lax operational security, and insufficient transparency. These weaknesses can allow for client-side attacks on the voting system. Additionally, in 2014, Estonia became the first country to introduce an e-Residency program, with
13431-477: The users' political opinion on common issues currently discussed within the government, to give the voter a ranking of which politician best aligns with their political stance. The more time the voters spend filling out the survey, the more accurate the results will align with their political stance. The application is available in multiple countries, such as the United States , Canada , India , Brazil , Japan ,
13552-506: The value judgments that shape technology. Cultural critic Neil Postman distinguished tool-using societies from technological societies and from what he called "technopolies", societies that are dominated by an ideology of technological and scientific progress to the detriment of other cultural practices, values, and world views. Herbert Marcuse and John Zerzan suggest that technological society will inevitably deprive us of our freedom and psychological health. The ethics of technology
13673-513: The voting and tabulation process. When faced with criticisms and concerns about the financial aspects of the vote token, Siri explains that Democracy Earth plans to mint a maximum of 500 million tokens, each priced at 12 cents, therefore spawning a $ 60 million market. Current plans within Democracy Earth call for employees to be compensated in the form of these vote tokens. Polyas was established in 1996 with its technology being used to organize
13794-527: The widespread application of the factory system . This was followed a century later by the Second Industrial Revolution which led to rapid scientific discovery, standardization, and mass production. New technologies were developed, including sewage systems , electricity, light bulbs , electric motors , railroads, automobiles , and airplanes. These technological advances led to significant developments in medicine, chemistry , physics , and engineering. They were accompanied by consequential social change, with
13915-529: Was "freed from societal deformations". Second-wave philosophers like Ortega later shifted their focus from economics and politics to "daily life and living in a techno-material culture", arguing that technology could oppress "even the members of the bourgeoisie who were its ostensible masters and possessors." Third-stage philosophers like Don Ihde and Albert Borgmann represent a turn toward de-generalization and empiricism, and considered how humans can learn to live with technology. Early scholarship on technology
14036-561: Was a term first used at the Personal Democracy Forum in 2014. The term can be applied to a country's governmental institutions, the country thus becoming a "leapfrog democracy". An example of this is the new Tunisian constitution . Learning from America and other countries, Tunisia developed a constitution that provides more rights than typical constitutions with regard to issues concerning climate change, healthcare, women's rights, and workers' rights. They have provided rights that
14157-560: Was built in 312 BCE. The eleventh and final ancient Roman aqueduct was built in 226 CE. Put together, the Roman aqueducts extended over 450 km, but less than 70 km of this was above ground and supported by arches. Innovations continued through the Middle Ages with the introduction of silk production (in Asia and later Europe), the horse collar , and horseshoes . Simple machines (such as
14278-513: Was compensated by the creation of new, higher-paying jobs. Studies have found that computers did not create significant net technological unemployment . Due to artificial intelligence being far more capable than computers, and still being in its infancy, it is not known whether it will follow the same trend; the question has been debated at length among economists and policymakers. A 2017 survey found no clear consensus among economists on whether AI would increase long-term unemployment. According to
14399-587: Was overwhelmingly large on internet chat rooms discussing politics of abortion , the chat log was influenced and controlled by users that contributed the most content, with those who responded less frequently typically agreeing or adjusting their opinions based on the users who contributed more. Another factor that affects access to the digital public sphere is the digital divide , which refers to how people from less developed countries tend to have less access to information and communications technologies compared to those from more developed countries . For example,
14520-536: Was probably used from near the beginning of Neolithic times (about 10 kya). Native copper does not naturally occur in large amounts, but copper ores are quite common and some of them produce metal easily when burned in wood or charcoal fires. Eventually, the working of metals led to the discovery of alloys such as bronze and brass (about 4,000 BCE). The first use of iron alloys such as steel dates to around 1,800 BCE. After harnessing fire, humans discovered other forms of energy. The earliest known use of wind power
14641-649: Was split between two arguments: technological determinism , and social construction . Technological determinism is the idea that technologies cause unavoidable social changes. It usually encompasses a related argument, technological autonomy, which asserts that technological progress follows a natural progression and cannot be prevented. Social constructivists argue that technologies follow no natural progression, and are shaped by cultural values, laws, politics, and economic incentives. Modern scholarship has shifted towards an analysis of sociotechnical systems , "assemblages of things, people, practices, and meanings", looking at
#181818