Vorschlag B2

Augmentation

Der vorliegende Vorschlag enthält in Aufgabe 3 alternative Arbeitanweisungen.

Outline the information on the technology used in the narrator's world. (Material)

(30 BE)

Analyze how the narrator's attitude towards technology is conveyed.

(30 BE)

Choose one of the following tasks:

3.1

"Millions of people, some my age but most younger, have been keeping lifelogs for years, wearing personal cams that capture continuous video of their entire lives." (Material)

Taking Ted Chiang's vision of the future as a starting point, discuss benefits and risks of recording, storing and sharing one's personal data.

(40 BE)

3.2

For the European Youth Event on digital media, write a speech in which you assess the potential of using technology in education.

(40 BE)

Material

Ted Chiang: The Truth of Fact, The Truth of Feeling (excerpt from the short story, 2019)

The story is set in the near future.

When my daughter Nicole was an infant, I read an essay suggesting that it might no longer be

necessary to teach children how to read or write, because speech recognition and synthesis would soon

render those abilities superfluous. My wife and I were horrified by the idea, and we resolved that, no

matter how sophisticated technology became, our daughter’s skills would always rest on the bedrock

of traditional literacy.

It turned out that we and the essayist were both half correct: now that she’s an adult, Nicole can read

as well as I can. But there is a sense in which she has lost the ability to write. She doesn’t dictate her

messages and ask a virtual secretary to read back to her what she last said, the way that essayist

predicted; Nicole subvocalizes, her retinal projector displays the words in her field of vision, and she

makes revisions using a combination of gestures and eye movements. For all practical purposes, she

can write. But take away the assistive software and give her nothing but a keyboard like the one I

remain faithful to, and she’d have difficulty spelling out many of the words in this very sentence.

Under those specific circumstances, English becomes a bit like a second language to her, one that she

can speak fluently but can only barely write.

It may sound like I’m disappointed in Nicole’s intellectual achievements, but that’s absolutely not the

case. She’s smart and dedicated to her job at an art museum when she could be earning more money

elsewhere, and I’ve always been proud of her accomplishments. But there is still the past me who

would have been appalled to see his daughter lose her ability to spell, and I can’t deny that I am

continuous with him.

It’s been more [than] thirty years since I read that essay, and in that period our lives have undergone

countless changes that I couldn’t have predicted. The most catastrophic one was when Nicole’s

mother, Angela, declared that she deserved a more interesting life than the one we were giving her and

spent the next decade crisscrossing the globe. But the changes leading to Nicole’s current form of

literacy were more ordinary and gradual: a succession of software gadgets that not only promised but

in fact delivered utility and convenience, and I didn’t object to any of them at the times of their

introduction.

So it hasn’t been my habit to engage in doomsaying whenever a new product is announced; I’ve

welcomed new technology as much as anyone. But when Whetstone released its new search tool

Remem, it raised concerns for me in a way none of its predecessors did.

Millions of people, some my age but most younger, have been keeping lifelogs for years, wearing

personal cams that capture continuous video of their entire lives. People consult their lifelogs for a

variety of reasons – everything from reliving favorite moments to tracking down the cause of allergic

reactions – but only intermittently; no one wants to spend all their time formulating queries and sifting

through the results. Lifelogs are the most complete photo album imaginable, but like most photo

albums, they lie dormant except on special occasions. Now Whetstone aims to change all of that; they

claim Remem’s algorithms can search the haystack by the time you’ve finished saying “needle.”

Remem monitors your conversation for references to past events and then displays video of that event

in the lower-left corner of your field of vision. If you say “Remember dancing the conga at that

wedding?” Remem will bring up the video. If the person you’re talking to says “The last time we were

at the beach,” Remem will bring up the video. And it’s not only for use when speaking with someone

else; Remem also monitors your subvocalizations. If you read the words “the first Szechuan restaurant

I ate at,” your vocal cords will move as if you’re reading aloud, and Remem will bring up the relevant

video.

There’s no denying the usefulness of software that can actually answer the question “Where did I put

my keys?” But Whetstone is positioning Remem as more than a handy virtual assistant: they want it to

take the place of your natural memory. [...]

How will it change a person’s conception of herself when she’s only seen her past through the

unblinking eye of a video camera? Just as there’s a feedback loop in softening harsh memories, there’s

also one at work in the romanticization of childhood memories, and disrupting that process will have

consequences.

The earliest birthday I remember is my fourth; I remember blowing out the candles on my cake, the

thrill of tearing the wrapping paper off the presents. There’s no video of the event, but there are

snapshots in the family album, and they are consistent with what I remember. In fact, I suspect I no

longer remember the day itself. It’s more likely that I manufactured the memory when I was first

shown the snapshots, and over time, I’ve imbued it with the emotion I imagine I felt that day. Little by

little, over repeated instances of recall, I’ve created a happy memory for myself.

Another of my earliest memories is of playing on the living room rug, pushing toy cars around, while

my grandmother worked at her sewing machine; she would occasionally turn and smile warmly at me.

There are no photos of that moment, so I know the recollection is mine and mine alone. It is a lovely,

idyllic memory. Would I want to be presented with actual footage of that afternoon? No; absolutely

not.

Ted Chiang The Truth of Fact, The Truth of Feeling, in Ted Chiang: Exhalation, New York 2019, S. 185-187, 206-207

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Note:
Our solutions are listed in bullet points. In the examination, full marks can only be achieved by writing a continuous text.

In the 2019 excerpt from the short story "The Truth of Fact, The Truth of Feeling" by Ted Chiang, a futuristic technology is introduced that will be able to turn words in your head into written texts and retrieve videos from memory.

Introduction
Referring to the task and excerpt

the narrator provides insight into the deep effects he and his daughter are experiencing from this new supposedly innovative technology
the technique presented in this excerpt describes communicating via electronic devices using only eye movement and gestures
a software that converts thoughts into speech and writing $\rightarrow$ subvocalizing
these texts can also be edited using gestures and eye movements
according to the author, the supporting software makes conventional handwriting obsolete, leads to the loss of traditional skills, and represents a dependency relationship between assisting software

Main Body
Subvocalization

Lifelogs are further technological developments that record people's daily lives $\rightarrow$ for this purpose cameras are worn on the body
not only do they record favorite moments, but they can also be used for practical purposes, such as finding a lost wallet
another technological development that is introduced is a search tool that is installed on your technical devices and aims to take over the human memory
the technology developed by Whetstone, which is introduced is a search tool that is installed on your technical device will make it possible to search for memories in people's brains through subvocalization and to propose corresponding videos
however, Remem will take over the human memory, which could lead to a way of remembering that is characterized by emotionlessness
this would affect nostalgic and romantic memory to such an extent and change the identity of the human being

Remem

the narrator's attitude towards technology is stressed by language, the type of narration perspective as well as linguistic devices used
moreover, the way he describes his experiences has a fundamental impact on how the reader perceives his attitude and is very different from how he tries to portray himself

Introduction
Referring to the task and thesis

a judgmental tone becomes apparent when he talks about his daughter's limited English grammar and spelling skills
even though he tries to avoid and suppress it by reiterating that he is nevertheless proud of her abilities
thus he aims to stress his pride by listing her successes and abilities but revises these statements by beginning the following sentences with "but" (cf. lines 9-19) he consciously or unconsciously uses anaphoric structures for emphasis
he also admits very clearly his disappointment that his daughter has lost the ability to spell because of sophisticated technology (lines 18/19)

Main Body
judging tone
skepticism towards loss of traditional handwriting

he claims that he "welcomes the new technology as much as anyone" (l. 27/28) although he constantly proves his disagreement by the language and tone he uses and admits that he is "horrified" (l. 3)
especially due to him revising his apparently welcoming attitude again by starting the following sentence with "but" (l. 28)
he constantly distinguishes between his past and his present attitude and illustrates the image of a "past [him] who would have been appalled to see his daughter lose her ability to spell" (l. 17/18) and concedes that he is actually "continuous with him" (l. 19)

subliminal rejection and ambivalent attitude

as the new sophisticated technology is introduced, however, he formulates an obvious concern "it raised concerns for me in a way none of its predecessors did." (l. 28/29)
he explains his concern by emphasizing again and again in anaphoric structures that no matter whether you formulate a statement yourself, the interlocutor, or merely read the words, Remem - the advanced search tool - will find information on the matter and continues that this "will have consequences" (l. 49/50)
he devotes much power to the search tool by using a metaphor "can search the haystack by the time you’ve finished saying “needle.”" (l. 36) and finishes with an exaggeration that Remem aims that "they want it to take the place of your natural memory[.]" for emphasis
dedicates the last paragraph (cf. lines 51 - 61) to personal childhood experiences to underline his attitude that sophisticated technology will destroy the process of "romanticizing childhood memories" (line 49), and stresses his rejection of this technology vis-à-vis
he uses repetition like "mine and mine alone" (l. 59) to illustrate that individuals would lose those "happy memory" (l. 59) and "lovely, idyllic memory" (l. 59/60) through technologies like Remem
he ends his statement with the rhetorical question of whether one would like to be confronted "with actual footage of that afternoon?" (l. 60) and answers this question directly himself with the clear statement "No; absolutely not“. (l. 60/61)

obvious rejection

all in all, it can be summarized that although the narrator tries to present himself as open to new technologies, his statements and examples show that he rather fears its influence

Conclusion

3.1

in his short story "The Truth of Fact, The Truth of Feeling" (2019), Ted Chiang depicts a futuristic scenario with sophisticated technological developments and illustrates a world in which people film every day of their lives and disseminate these lifelogs
it is undisputed that these technical prerequisites are already in place, but the handling and management of our data on the Internet is already fraught with potential risks and dangers, even before our entire lives are recorded

Introduction
Referring to the text and task

in our already digitized age, where smart home systems Apple Homebots and Alexas control our homes, do our shopping, and robots take over our cleaning and collect data, the benefits seem to outweigh the risks
we don't realize that by using apps on our phones to live healthier, configuring music apps to play our favorite tunes, and storing what feels like endlessly expandable cloud storage for our photos and videos, we are storing all the information of our lives
what is also indispensable in today's world $\rightarrow$ is social media
almost every second person in the world uses it; thousands of influencers generate revenue through social media; companies promote their products through social media
but it is not exclusively about commerce
of course, the focus is also on networking and exchange between people with similar interests
the government also benefits from this wide reach, in addition to surveillance, and can start a direct dialog with citizens - which is especially relevant in times of crisis

Benefits of our life in the digitized era

with all the advantages, however, the disadvantages and the risks must also be considered
Internet giants like Instagram, Facebook WhatsApp (Meta) are a monopoly, but also LinkedIn and Twitter can be mentioned at this point, have with their billions of users and thus an incredible data power - also called big data
however, some of these users have now become aware that this private data is being misused and passed on, which can pose great dangers
because one is not always aware of what data is actively or passively shared

Risks:
abuse of data

one example is Google - with applications such as Google Maps, where users store their home address, their destination address or the address of relatives and acquaintances on a daily basis and possibly pass them on $\rightarrow$ this sensitive data should not fall into the hands of just anyone
Another recent example that caused a big outcry was the tracking of menstruation in the USA
This is sensitive data, the disclosure of which could have serious consequences, considering that abortion laws have just been tightened in many states in the U.S., and in some cases could even result in imprisonment
Experts were to be very careful with the choice of app that records such sensitive data and keep the risks in mind

Examples of applications that could have serious consequences

all in all, it can be said that many applications can be of great benefit and make our lives easier
however, it requires a conscious use and appropriate training for digital skills to sensitize people to not carelessly pass on sensitive data and companies, the government or other groups can become too powerful and control our lives

Conclusion

3.2

thank you for the invitation to be one of the keynote speakers at this years European Youth Event on such an important topic "digitization and education or digitization vs. education"
there have been technological developments that not only turned our world up-side-down but have changed the way we live, communicate, and work furthermore has it also turned education around
but online learning was no longer optional but rather a must $\rightarrow$ driven by the circumstances of the pandemic, we students were suddenly forced to change our way of learning
without much preparation, face-to-face teaching was changed to online teaching and we all faced very big challenges
I think that every single student would have loved the idea of using new technologies for learning, but reality has shown that there are limits, great potential of course, but also limits
especially in times of a pandemic, learning management systems facilitated sharing, tracking, and communicating with each other and enhanced student motivation

Greeting; introduction and own involvement

the potential of the use of technology in education is great, these potentials must be exploited and adapted to our present time
possibility to personalize learning content appropriate to the learning level
opportunities for greater participation and equal and equitable opportunities in education
greater decoupling of social origins, as well as educational biographies, make it possible to focus on individual support
new learning methods through adaptivity, interactivity and networking
a change in the learning culture can be induced
moreover, students no longer have to buy expensive individual textbooks and carry them around
exchanges between students and between students and teachers are facilitated

Main Body
Potential of technology in education

however, the use of new technologies in education also poses challenges for all those involved in the school system
missing digital infrastructures such as unstable Wifi
lack of media concepts, insufficient pedagogical support and adequate equipment
students and teachers who have insufficient media education
problems that became especially clear in the pandemic is the social aspect that is lost in pure online teaching, but is nevertheless essential
in addition, studies have shown that handwritten notes and reading literature on paper increase learning success, create a deeper understanding of what has been learned and consolidate it more

Challenges of technology in education

education should not be linked to social status but should be made accessible to people of all income levels
a structural and political rethinking is needed, from teacher training to the provision of equipment
the expansion of digital infrastructures
education should also adapt to the current world and not be left behind, because the other areas such as society, business and politics will not and we should already start with the next generation and enable them to the possibilities of technology in education

Realizing potentials and overcoming challenges

all in all, the use of technology in education should be supported, in my opinion
there needs to be a balance between learning with new technology and traditional learning in order to take advantage of the potential and benefits
thank you for listening and your attention

Conclusion

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