Jason Thacker's Blog, page 23
November 7, 2019
Two things to remember before you share about your kids online
Kids are the latest trend in internet celebrities. From Ryan Kaji of Ryan ToysReview, which has millions of subscribers, to Greta Thunberg, the teenage environmental activist who recently commanded the public’s attention at the U.N., today’s kids are digital natives and are increasingly putting their lives on display online. While your kids might not be Instagram influencers or YouTube stars (yet), the public, including many companies, know more about your kids than you might think.
As parents, we...
November 4, 2019
WeeklyTech #19- How to think about screen time and our kids
A new survey about tweens and teenagers confirms what most of us already knew: our kids are spending a lot of time online and watching video content. Common Sense Media released a survey about online video consumption and children last week that reveals that the percentage of those watching online content has doubled in the last four years, with the average child spending four to seven hours engaged in entertainment media every day. These figures do not include time spent online for homework, reading,...
October 28, 2019
WeeklyTech #18- Why big tech struggles with ethics
In April, Google made news yet again with the controversy surrounding the formation of an ethics board focused on artificial intelligence (AI). The board, tasked with the “responsible development of AI,” was to have eight members and meet four times over the course of 2019 to evaluate the ethical implications of AI development and to make recommendations to executives.
October 21, 2019
WeeklyTech #17 – How the Internet is Weakening our Language
By Tim Scheiderer
The statistics are truly astounding. American adults are now spending more than 11 hours a day consuming media. This includes reading, watching, listening to, and interacting with media. Four of the 11 hours are spent with their digital best friend, a sma...
October 14, 2019
WeeklyTech #16 – AI and the Christian’s Call to Engage
With today’s edition of WeeklyTech, we have officially been live for four months! Thank you for your continued support and space in your inbox. I would love to hear any feedback you have on the newsletter in order to make it better for you to begin each week. Is there an issue or aspect of technology that is of particular interest to you? Something that you are wondering about? Feel free to send any feedback, requests, or recommendations to Jason at weeklytech@erlc.com.
In ear...
October 7, 2019
WeeklyTech #15 – California and Privacy
On Jan. 1, 2020, the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) will take affect in the Golden State, but its reach will go much further than you might expect. Signed into law by Gov. Jerry Brown on June 28, 2018, the CCPA is a groundbreaking piece of legislation that will forever change how each of us use technology products and how U.S. companies use our consumer and business data. Regardless of your political views on privacy and data issues, this California law will likely become the de facto...
September 30, 2019
WeeklyTech #14 – Kids and Privacy
Kids are the latest trend in internet celebrities. From Ryan Kaji of Ryan ToysReview, which has millions of subscribers, to Greta Thunberg, the teenage environmental activist who recently commanded the public’s attention at the U.N., today’s kids are digital natives and are increasingly putting their lives on display online. While your kids might not be Instagram influencers or YouTube stars (yet), the public, including many companies, know more about your kids than you might think.
As paren...
September 23, 2019
WeeklyTech #13 – The value of our bodies
Imagine a future where we have convinced ourselves that everything we know and experience can be reduced down to some chemical process or explained away as ultimately insignificant. In this world, there is nothing truly unique about us, our families, or the world around us. We are merely highly-evolved sets of matter, and everything including our emotions, spirituality, and desires can be explained away as a chemical reaction in our brains. Our minds and bodies are not intricately connected;...
September 17, 2019
WeeklyTech #12 – China and technology
The rise of the new Chinese state under the leadership of President Xi Jinping has been a predominant force in the conversation surrounding technological innovation, economic development, and basic human freedoms. As China has sought to emerge as the leading tech superpower alongside the U.S., it has often done so at the expense of basic human rights such as freedom of religion and speech. As we have seen in recent pro-democracy protests, the Chinese people do not enjoy most of the basic free...
September 15, 2019
Xi Jinping and the Power of Technology in China
The rise of the new Chinese state under the leadership of President Xi Jinping has been a predominant force in the conversation surrounding technological innovation, economic development, and basic human freedoms. As China has sought to emerge as the leading tech superpower alongside the U.S., it has often done so at the expense of basic human rights such as freedom of religion and speech. As we have seen in recent pro-democracy protests, the Chinese people do not enjoy most of the basic free...
