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In the July 1945 issue of The Atlantic, Vannevar Bush wrote about how rapidly expanding technology will help society make knowledge more accessible and discusses the future of technology like cameras, recording devices, and calculators. In the beginning, Bush argues that there is a “growing mountain of research” with some findings that can not currently be applied practically. I agree with this notion and it drives his point that technology should be used to store and organize this research for the future, when we have the resources and power to apply this research. For example, although time travel seems lightyears away the research we have that can pertain to the subject should be stored. Bush also briefly touches upon the significance of technology that enables collaboration. He writes about a device in which a person can build off the analysis of another person and build a trail by adding his own analysis. This reminded me of text editing applications that are stored in the cloud like Google Drive. We are able to add comments and edit simultaneously with our peers easily!

In this 2010 article for the Scientific American, inventor of the World Wide Web Tim Berners-Lee writes about the importance of the Web and why it should be protected. Berners-Lee notes the Web is a “public resource” that essentially belongs to its users. This is a powerful tool that many people, including businesses and the government, depend on. He also highlights that the Web runs on the principle of universality and it is decentralized. Some social media sites on the Web have ignored these two principles and have “walled off from the others.” There is danger in this because users who are on platforms that are isolated can find themselves in “filter bubbles”, in which they have a limited scope of information to digest. Berners-Lee also argues that sacrificing openness to maintain control can delay the growth of the Web as communication is stifled. Most importantly, he writes that the Web enables people to practice their First Amendment rights to freedom of speech. Therefore, some government interference of restricting the web to its constituents can be seen as limiting the freedom of speech. Recently, President Trump has called for the ban of the Chinese apps TikTok and WeChat citing them as a threat to national security. This has sparked controversy as its users are calling this executive order a violation of the First Amendment. Notably, the messenger app WeChat is widely used by Chinese Americans to communicate with their family in Mainland China. This ban is sparking fears because WeChat is the only bridge between overseas Chinese people and Mainland Chinese people due to the Chinese government’s restriction on apps like Facebook, Twitter, and Google.