Hello, if you have any need, please feel free to consult us, this is my wechat: wx91due

Computer-Mediated Communication

Communication 151 • Spring 2025

MWF 4-4:50 p.m., Kaplan 135

https://bruinlearn.ucla.edu/courses/206074

Syllabus (v.250415)

Course Overview

This course is an examination of how computer technology, particularly the Internet, has influenced patterns of human communication. We first examine the history and distinctiveness of computer-mediated communication (CMC). We then turn to CMC's influence on modern economic, political, legal, and social interaction.

Class Schedule

3/31/25

Class 1: Overview (no reading)

4/2/2025

Class 2: NO CLASS MEETING

Prof. Groeling is in Oakland for an all-day Academic Council meeting.

4/4/25

Class 3: CMC History, Before Digital Computers and Networks

Key questions: How did “computing” work before digital computers? How did people envision information networks and data processing before digital computers?

Wright, Alex. 2008. “The Web Time Forgot.” New York Times. June 17, 2008. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/17/science/17mund.html (class link)

Comm 151 Syllabus Updated v. 250415 Spring 2025 • Tim Groeling, UCLA 1"The Idea of a Permanent World Encyclopaedia". Contribution by H. G. Wells to the new Ency clopédie Française, August, 1937. http://sherlock.berkeley.edu/wells/world_brain.html (archived link)

(Optional): Bush, Vannevar. 1945. "As We May Think." The Atlantic Monthly. 176:1. http://www.theatlantic.com/unbound/flashbks/computer/bushf.htm (archival link)

(Optional): Clickspring. 2017. "The Antikythera Mechanism Episode 1 - Greeks, Clocks and Rockets." https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ML4tw_UzqZE which is part of this series: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLZioPDnFPNsHnyxfygxA0to4RXv4_jDU2

4/7/25

Class 4: CMC History, part 2: Digital Computing

Key Questions: What advantages did digital computers have over analog computers? What were major limitations of early digital computers?

Greenfield Village. 2018. "How an 1803 Jacquard Loom Led to Computer Technology." https:// www.youtube.com/watch?v=MQzpLLhN0fY

Williamson, Timothy. 2023. “History of computers: A brief timeline” Science Direct. Dec. 22, 2023. https://www.livescience.com/20718-computer-history.html

Time Magazine Staff. 1978. “The Computer Society: Science: The Numbers Game.” Time. February 1978. http://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,948022,00.html (note: the article is broken up across multiple pages, so be sure to click through and read them all)

(Optional) Time Magazine Staff. 1965. “The Cybernated Generation.” Time. April 1965. http://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,941042,00.html (note: the article is broken up across multiple pages, so be sure to click through and read them all)

(Optional) Bell Laboratories. 1973. “The Holmdel Computer Center, part 1.” https://www.y outube.com/watch?v=HMYiktO0D64

4/9/25

Class 5: CMC History, Part 3: The Rise of Networks

Key Questions: How did networking mainframe computers help make them more useful? How was the national telephone network’s infrastructure organized, and how was it adapted for early computing networks?

Beason, Robert G. 1956. “Your Telephone Of Tomorrow: Future may bring push-button dialing, videophones, direct calls anywhere on earth and pocket-size sets.” Mechanix Illustrated, Sept.

1956. https://bruinlearn.ucla.edu/files/20374107/download?download_frd=1

[In-class Video Excerpts] Cringely, Robert. 1998. Nerds 2.0.1: Networking the Nerds Cascio, Duilio. 1997. "BRUIN ONLINE SETUP." UCLA. October 4, 1997. https://people.mbi.ucla.edu/cascio/F97M253/howtobol.html

4/11/25

Class 6: Guest Speaker: Len Kleinrock

Class will meet at 3420 Boelter Hall for a tour of the Kleinrock Internet Heritage Site and Archive. Because the room is small, we will have to split into two groups. Students whose last names are in the first half of the alphabet (A-L) will arrive at 4 p.m. and tour for 20 minutes; Students with last names starting with letters M-Z will arrive at 4:20 and tour for 20 minutes.

Start of quarter survey DUE at noon.

4/14/25

Class 7: History, Part 4: Computing Gets Personal

Key Questions: How did people conceive of computers before and after the introduction of the personal computer? How has personal computing technology spread in society?

The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. 2024. “Personal Computer.” https://www.britannica.- com/technology/personal-computer

Chen, Brian X. 2008. “The Laptop Celebrates 40 Years.” Wired. November 3. https://www.wired.com/2008/11/museum-celebrat/

(Optional) Time Magazine Staff. 1978. “The Computer Society: Business: Thinking Small.”

Time. February 1978. http://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,948020,00.html (Optional) Reimer, Jeremy. 2012. “From Altair to iPad: 35 years of personal computer market share. Data shows that smartphones and tablets have been adopted far faster than PCs.” Ars

Technica. Aug. 14, 2012. http://arstechnica.com/business/2012/08/from-altair-to-ipad-35-years of-personal-computer-market-share/

[In-class Video Excerpts] Cringely, Robert. 1996. Triumph of the Nerds.

Remote Learning Assessment SURVEY due (optional) at noon

4/16/25

Class 8: Social Psychology of CMC: Overview

Key Questions: How has online communication affected how humans interact with and under stand one another? How can the presence or absence of some information channels change communication? What social problems and social benefits might arise from online communication?

Kroencke, Lara, Gabriella M Harari, Mitja D Back, and Jenny Wagner. 2022. “Well-Being in Social Interactions: Examining Personality-Situation Dynamics in Face-to-Face and Computer-Mediated Communication.” American Psychological Association. https://psycnet.apa.org/doiLanding?doi=10.1037%2Fpspp0000422 READ ONLY THE DISCUSSION & CONCLUSION SECTION (bottom of p.453 - p. 456); rest is optional.

Bradshaw, Tim. 2023. "Study finds no 'smoking gun' for mental health issues due to Internet usage." Ars Technica. November 28, 2023. Article originally published in the Financial Times.

https://arstechnica.com/health/2023/11/study-finds-no-smoking-gun-for-mental-health-issues-due-to-internet-usage

OPTIONAL: Ho, S. S., & McLeod, D. M. 2008. "Social-Psychological Influences on Opinion

Expression in Face-to-Face and Computer-Mediated Communication." Communication Research. 35:2. 190-207. https://doi.org/10.1177/0093650207313159

Discuss Screen Time projects

4/18/25

Class 9: Social Psychology of CMC: Education

Key Question: How do educational outcomes in CMC learning compare to in-person?What characteristics affect these outcomes? How does education change with the addition of CMC technology? What is the record and future of online education at the University of California?

Horvath, Jared Cooney. 2024. “The EdTech Revolution Has Failed: The case against student useof computers, tablets, and smartphones in the classroom.” Nov. 12, 2024. https://www.afterba bel.com/p/the-edtech-revolution-has-failed

Cellini, Stephanie Riegg. 2021. "How does virtual learning impact students in higher education?"

Brookings Institution. https://www.brookings.edu/blog/brown-center-chalkboard/2021/08/13/ how-does-virtual-learning-impact-students-in-higher-education/

“University of California System Bans Fully Online Degrees.” https://www.insidehighered.com/ news/tech-innovation/digital-teaching-learning/2023/02/26/university-california-system-bansfully “University of California Lifts Ban on Online Degree Programs.” https://www.insidehighered.- com/news/tech-innovation/teaching-learning/2024/02/27/university-california-lifts-ban-onlinedegree

Optional: Thompson, Derek. 2023. "It sure looks like phones are making students dumber." The Atlantic. December 19, 2023. https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2023/12/cell-phones-student-test-scores-dropping/676889/ [Archived version]

Optional: Mervosh, Sarah. 2022. “Pandemic Learning Loss: The role remote education played.”

The New York Times. November 28, 2022. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/28/briefing/pan demic-learning-loss.html

(Optional) University of California-specific readings:

• (Optional): UC Task Force on Instructional Modalities Report (prepared for Regents meeting of September 18, 2024). https://regents.universityofcalifornia.edu/regmeet/sept24/a2.pdf

• (Optional): UC Regents meeting discussing instructional modalities: https://www.youtube.com/ live/iDp22A39u1k?si=f5XJNMaAQeugxW6J&t=5100 (only 1:25:00 - 2:21:41)

• (Optional): Fulfilling the Academic Mission: Academic Senate Survey of UC Faculty and In structors About Their Experiences During the Pandemic, March 2020-May 2021.https://regents.universityofcalifornia.edu/regmeet/july21/a1.pdf

• (Optional):"UCLA Undergraduate Student Experiences During the COVID-19 Pandemic." https://sairo.ucla.edu/file/44970011-23ea-4adc-8ca1-375eba872881

Discuss Remote Learning Assessment project.

4/21/25

Class 10: Exam #1, In-class

4/23/25 [Prof. Groeling in Systemwide Academic Assembly Meeting; Je Hoon will give the lecture]

Class 11: AI and the Future of CMC

Key Question:How will AI change the future of cmc?

Cassidy, John. 2025. “How to Survive the A.I. Revolution.” The New Yorker. April 14, 2025.

https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2025/04/21/how-to-survive-the-ai-revolution (Archive link here).

Edwards, Benj. 2024. "OpenAI CEO: We may have AI superintelligence in “a few thousand days: Altman says 'deep learning worked' and will lead to 'massive prosperity.'" Ars Technica.

September 23, 2024. https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2024/09/ai-superintelligence-looms-in-sam-altmans-new-essay-on-the-intelligence-age/

Krywko, Jacek. 2024. "The more sophisticated AI models get, the more likely they are to lie.

Human feedback training may incentivize providing any answer—even wrong ones." Ars Technica. October 4, 2024. https://arstechnica.com/science/2024/10/the-more-sophisticated-ai-models-get-the-more-likely-they-are-to-lie/

(Optional) Orland, Kyle. 2024. "Are we on the verge of a self-improving AI explosion? An AI that makes better AI could be 'the last invention that man need ever make.'" Ars Technica. October 28, 2024. https://arstechnica.com/ai/2024/10/the-quest-to-use-ai-to-build-better-ai/

(Optional): Criddle, Christina. 2023. "AI-created “virtual influencers” are stealing business from humans: Brands are turning to hyper-realistic, AI-generated influencers for promotions." Ars

Technica. December 29, 2023. Article originally published in the Financial Times. https://arstechnica.com/ai/2023/12/ai-created-virtual-influencers-are-stealing-business-from-humans/

(Optional): Ratliff, Evan. 2024. "Shell Game: One man secretly hands off more and more of his life to an AI voice clone." Radiolab. September 6, 2024. https://radiolab.org/podcast/shell-game

(Optional): Kelly, Philippa. 2023. “’Why Would We Employ People?’ Experts on Five Ways AI Will Change Work." The Guardian. May 12, 2023. https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2023/may/12/why-would-we-employ-people-experts-on-five-ways-ai-will-change-work

(Optional): Augenstein, I., Baldwin, T., Cha, M. et al. Factuality challenges in the era of large language models and opportunities for fact-checking. Nature Machine Intelligence 6, 852–863 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s42256-024-00881-z (free version at https://arxiv.org/pdf/ 2310.05189 )

(Optional): Edwards, Benj. 2023. "AI now generates music with CD-quality audio from text, and it’s only getting better." Ars Technica. September 13, 2023. https://arstechnica.com/information technology/2023/09/ai-can-now-generate-cd-quality-music-from-text-and-its-only-getting-better/

4/25/25

Class 12: Collective Action Online

Key Questions: What is collective action and how has technology systematically changed the ability of humans to work together to achieve their common goals?

Lupia, Arthur and Gisela Sin. 2003. “ Which public goods are endangered?: How evolving com munication technologies affect The logic of collective action.” Public Choice 117: 315–331.

http://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1023/B:PUCH.0000003735.07840.c7.pdf

(Optional): Cardoso, Ana, Marie-Claude Boudreau, and João Álvaro Carvalho. 2019. “Organizing Collective Action: Does Information and Communication Technology Matter?” Information and Organization 29(3). https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1471772717302828 .

4/28/25

Class 13: Collective Action Online: Managing Discussion

Key Questions: How can people maximize the benefits of online deliberation? What are the goals of online moderation policies, and in what ways are they successful or unsuccessful?

Reimer, Jeremy. 2024. "First post: A history of online public messaging." Ars Technica. April 24, 2024. https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2024/04/first-post-a-history-of-online-public-messaging/Bense, Kiley. 2018. “Civil Discourse Exists in This Small Corner of the Internet.” The Atlantic.

https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2018/12/change-my-view-does-not-allow-rudeness-or-hostility/578566/ (archival link)

Gorwa, R., Binns, R., & Katzenbach, C. 2020. “Algorithmic content moderation: Technical and political challenges in the automation of platform governance” Big Data & Society. https:// doi.org/10.1177/2053951719897945

4/30/25

Class 14: Collective Action Online: Wikipedia Case Study

Key Questions: Is Wikipedia a trustworthy and credible source of information, especially in academic settings, and will it be able to sustain itself over time?

Giles, Jim. 2005. “Internet Encyclopaedias Go Head to Head.” Nature. 14 December 2005.

https://www.nature.com/articles/438900a (in addition, skim the response to this article from Britannica, and then Nature’s response to the response).

“Reliability of Wikipedia.” 2023. Wikipedia. (October 11, 2023 version: Read ONLY the “Introduction”, “Wikipedia Editing Model”, ”Expert Opinion” under Assessments, and “Removal of False Information” sections) https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Reliability_of_Wikipedia&oldid=1179685966

Discuss Be the Mod and WikiWayback projects.

Class 15: Social Networking Online: Theory

Key Questions: How are online social networking platforms affecting our lives?

Dunbar, Robin. 2016. "Do online social media cut through the constraints that limit the size of offline social networks?" Royal Society of Open Science. 20 January 2016. http://rsos.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/3/1/150292.full.pdf

Goldenberg, Amit and James J. Gross. 2020. "Digital Emotion Contagion." Trends in Cognitive Sciences. 24:4. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tics.2020.01.009 (https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1364661320300279 )

Burnell, K., George, M. J., Vollet, J. W., Ehrenreich, S. E., & Underwood, M. K. 2019. "Passive social networking site use and well being: The mediating roles of social comparison and the fear of missing out.” Cyberpsychology: Journal of Psychosocial Research on Cyberspace. https:// doi.org/10.5817/CP2019-3-5

(Optional): Dubner, Steven J. 2024. "Are You Caught in a Social Media Trap?" Freakonomics.-com. https://freakonomics.com/podcast/are-you-caught-in-a-social-media-trap/

(Optional): Chen, Annie Y, Brendan Nyhan, Jason Reifler, Ronald E. Robertson, and Christo Wilson. 2023. "Subscriptions and external links help drive resentful users to alternative and extremist YouTube channels." Science Advances. August 30, 2023. https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.add8080

5/5/25

Class 16: Social Networking: Platforms

Key Questions: Why do people segment their social media identity onto multiple platforms?

What conclusions can we draw from how new social media sites emerge? Why do users adopt new platforms? How has platform use (particularly among people your age) changed over time?

Vogels, Emily A., Gelles-Watnick, Risa, and Massarat, Navid. 2022. “Teens, Social Media, and Technology” Pew Research Center. https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2022/08/10/teens-social-media-and-technology-2022/ (also see updated factsheet for 2024 at https://www.pewre search.org/internet/fact-sheet/teens-and-social-media-fact-sheet/ )

Alhabash, S., & Ma, M. 2017. “A Tale of Four Platforms: Motivations and Uses of Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat Among College Students?” Social Media + Society, 3(1).

https://doi.org/10.1177/2056305117691544

5/7/25

Class 17: Online Journalism

Key Questions: What are the shifts that have taken place in journalism and how will journalism continue to change? How have new technologies as well as greater audience participation and control affected people’s creation and consumption of the news?

McArdle, Megan. 2018. "A farewell to free journalism." Washington Post. April 26. https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-partisan/wp/2018/04/26/a-farewell-to-freejournalism/ (archived)

Liedke, Jacob and Katerina Eva Matsa. 2024. "Social Media and News Fact Sheet." Pew Re search Center. https://www.pewresearch.org/journalism/fact-sheet/social-media-and-news-fact-sheet/

5/9/25

Class 18: Finish Online Journalism; discuss projects.

Edwards, Benj. 2024. "Due to AI fakes, the “deep doubt” era is here: As AI deepfakes sow doubt in legitimate media, anyone can claim something didn't happen." Ars Technica. Sept. 19, 2024.

https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2024/09/due-to-ai-fakes-the-deep-doubt-era-is-here/

Discuss Cut It Out, Fake (Image) or Not, and Fake or Not projects.

5/12/25

Class 19: In-Class Exam #2

5/14/25

Class 20: Economics of the New Economy

Key Questions: How have computers and the Internet changed the economy? How can new pro duction systems transform the current economic system?

Blank, Steve. 2013. "Why the Lean Start-Up Changes Everything." Harvard Business Review.

Harvard Business Review. May 2013. https://hbr.org/2013/05/why-the-lean-start-up-changeseverything

Klenow, Pete. 2019. “How valuable is e-commerce?” Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Re search (SIEPR). Stanford University. https://siepr.stanford.edu/publications/policy-brief/how-valuable-e-commerce

Kerr, Dara. 2023. "Amazon sellers say they made a good living — until Amazon figured it out."

National Public Radio. October 11, 2023. https://www.npr.org/2023/10/11/1204264632/amazon-sellers-prices-monopoly-lawsuit

5/16/25

Class 21: Advertising Online

Key Questions: How does online advertising work? How has online advertising changed the advertising market?

Kumar, Subodha. 2016. “Chapter 1: Evolution of Web Advertising.” in Optimization Issues in

Web and Mobile Advertising: Past and Future Trends. SpringerLink. https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-319-18645-0_1#Abs1

Huang, Kalley, Isabella Simonetti, and Tiffany Hsu. 2022. "TikTok Builds Itself Into an Ads Jug-gernaut." New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/14/technology/tiktok-ads-social-media.html (cached version)

(Optional): Faife, Corin. 2022. "Firefox and Chrome are squaring off over ad-blocker extensions." The Verge. Jun 10, 2022.

https://www.theverge.com/2022/6/10/23131029/mozillaad-blocking-firefox-google-chrome-privacy-manifest-v3-web-request

Discuss Your Tracked and Personalized Social Media Ads

5/19/25

Class 22: Privacy Online

Key Questions: What is privacy, and what happens when CMC threatens it?

Molla, Rani. 2019. "Privacy policies: How websites track you, explained." Vox.com. https://www.vox.com/recode/2019/12/10/20962868/vox-media-privacy-policy-explained-what-we

know-about-you

Hoanca, Bogdan. 2017. “If Privacy Is Dead, What Can We Do Instead?”. IEEE Technology and

Society. https://technologyandsociety.org/if-privacy-is-dead-what-can-we-do-instead/Liao, Matthew and Ferreira, Claudia. 2023. “Kids Deserve Privacy Online. They’re Not Getting

It”. The Atlantic. https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2023/09/kids-online-data-privacy-tracking-apps/675320/ (archived)

Discuss TikTok Oversharing, Have I Been Pwned projects.

5/21/25

Class 23: Hacking and Malware

Key Questions: What are the different ways computers can be harmed (e.g. hacking, malware, spyware, adware, viruses, trojans, etc.)? How do we best protect ourselves from them?

Lutkevich, Ben. “What Is Malware? Definition, Types, Prevention - Techtarget.” Security, Tech

Target, 13 June 2022, www.techtarget.com/searchsecurity/definition/malware

Ellison, Keith. “Internet Safety: How to Protect Yourself Against Hackers.” The Office of the Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison. https://www.ag.state.mn.us/consumer/publications/HowtoProtectYourselfAgainstHackers.asp

(Optional): UCLA Office of the Chief Information Security Officer. ND. "I want to… AVOID PHISHING SCAMS." https://ociso.ucla.edu/phishing-scams (Note: See the sections under "Additional Support" and also look the first page of the most recent UCLA-targeted phishing emails at https://ociso.ucla.edu/phish-bowl ).

(Optional): Solis, Nathan. 2023. “UCLA confirms it was hit by wide-ranging cyberattack but offers few details.” Los Angeles Times. https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2023-06-29/uclaconfirms-it-was-hit-by-ransomware-attack-feds-offer-10-million-reward

Class 24: Hacking, National Security-Style

Key Questions: What monitoring capabilities and technologies has the U.S. government used over time? What kinds of information does it collect? What are the implications of this monitoring for the United States, its citizens, and the tension between privacy and national security?

Stobing, Chris. 2022. “A Brief History of Government Surveillance: The NSA, FBI, CIA and GCHQ.” Comparitech, 7 June 2022, https://www.comparitech.com/vpn/a-brief-history-of-government-surveillance-spying/ Aaronson, Trevor. 2019. “Court Ruling Shows How FBI Abused NSA Mass Surveillance.” The

Intercept. https://theintercept.com/2019/10/10/fbi-nsa-mass-surveillance-abuse/Menn, Joseph. 2020. “Spy agency ducks questions about ‘back doors’ in tech products.” Reuters.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-security-congress-insight/spy-agency-ducks-questions about-back-doors-in-tech-products-idUSKBN27D1CS

(Optional) White, April. 2018. “A Brief History of Surveillance in America.” Smithsonian Magazine, Smithsonian Institution, 1 Apr. 2018, https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/brief-history-surveillance-america-180968399/

Discuss Transparency Reports project

5/26/25

Class 25: Memorial Day Holiday: No class meeting

5/28/25

Class 26: U.S. Law and the Internet

Key Questions: What rules exist to regulate online activity in the U.S.? To what extent have such rules been shaped by the unique features of the Internet? What role will recent developments play in the drafting of new regulations?

Liptak, Adam. 2023 “Supreme Court Won’t Hold Tech Companies Liable for User Posts.” The New York Times, 18 May 2023. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/05/18/us/politics/supreme-court-google-twitter-230.html .

Thomson, Iain. 2024. “Trump's pick to run the FCC has told us what he plans: TikTok ban, space broadband, and Section 230 reform: Loathes Big Tech and is not at all keen on net neutrality.”

November 19. The Register. https://www.theregister.com/2024/11/19/brendan_carr_fcc/

(Optional): Volokh, Eugene. 2021. "TREATING SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS LIKE COMMON CARRIERS?" Journal of Free Speech Law. https://www.journaloffreespeechlaw.org/

volokh.pdf

Discuss TOS;DR projects

5/30/25

Class 27: IP: Copyright and Fair Use

Key Questions: What are the fundamental issues regarding digital "intellectual property and copyright?" What are some of the current controversies and legal decisions in this area? NYU School of Law. 2020. “How Explaining Copyright Broke the YouTube Copyright System.”

Engelberg Center NYU School of Law. Jan. 15, 2020. https://www.law.nyu.edu/centers/engelberg/news/2020-03-04-youtube-takedown.

Jenkins, Jennifer. 2024. "Mickey, Disney, and the Public Domain: a 95-year Love Triangle."

Duke Law School Center for the Study of the Public Domain. https://web.law.duke.edu/cspd/ mickey/

(Optional): Matalon, Lee J. 2019. “Modern Problems Require Modern Solutions: Internet Memes and Copyright.” Texas Law Review, 21 Dec. 2019, https://texaslawreview.org/modern-problems-require-modern-solutions-internet-memes-and-copyright/ (Only read Introduction, I.A. (“The

Economic-Incentives Argument for Copyright”) , I.B.2. (Principles of Internet Memes: Internet Memes), II.A. (“Protected Memes?”), III.B (“A More Consistent Fair-Use Standard.”), and Conclusion.).

6/2/25

Class 28: IP: AI; Patents

Key Questions: What are the fundamental issues regarding digital "intellectual property and patents?" How will AI affect the future of IP?

Appel, Gil, Juliana Neelbauer, and David A. Schweidel. 2023. “Generative AI Has an Intellectual

Property Problem.” Harvard Business Review. 07 Apr. 2023. https://hbr.org/2023/04/generative-ai-has-an-intellectual-property-problem

Shepard, Wade. 2018. “The U.S. Patent System Is Broken, Says The Inventor Of The Hover board.: Forbes. February 01, 2018. https://www.forbes.com/sites/wadeshepard/2018/01/31/meet-the-inventor-of-the-hoverboard-who-lost-millions-to-chinese-counterfeiters.

(Optional): U.S. Copyright Office, Library of Congress. 2023. "Notice of inquiry and request for comments. Artificial Intelligence and Copyright." https://public-inspection.federalregister.gov/ 2023-18624.pdf

(Optional): Edwards, Benj. 2024. "Early Mickey Mouse is now in the public domain—and AI is already on the case: Experimental AI image generator trained on Disney's 1928 cartoons can make eldritch horrors." Ars Technica. January 2, 2024. https://arstechnica.com/information-tech nology/2024/01/early-mickey-mouse-is-now-in-the-public-domain-and-ai-is-already-on-the-case/

6/4/25

Class 29: Government Repression and CMC

Key Questions: Does the Internet increase the power of citizens to hold governments accountable? Or does it increase the power of governments in controlling and repressing their populations? How and for what ends are oppressive governments–and their opponents–taking advantage of the Internet?

Chen, Sarah. 2020. “Molly Roberts on Censored: Distraction and Diversion Inside China’s Great Firewall.” Asia Experts Forum. October 7. http://asiaexpertsforum.org/molly-roberts-censored-distraction-diversion-inside-chinas-great-firewall/

(Optional) Roberts, Margaret. 2018. Censored: distraction and diversion inside China's Great Firewall. Princeton University Press. Chapter 2. (Chapter is downloadable for free at https:// www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctvc77b21 )

(Optional): Freedom House. 2024. “The Struggle for Trust Online." https://freedomhouse.org/ report/freedom-net/2024/struggle-trust-online

(Optional): Freedom on the Net 2024. "United States." Freedom House https://freedomhouse.org/ country/united-states/freedom-net/2024 (pay particular attention to section B)

Discuss Don’t Blame Me projects.

6/6/25

Class 30: Government Repression and CMC, continued. Case study.

Key Questions: What are the purposes and consequences of government censorship on social media in China? How does online censorship affect the country’s citizen power and economic outcomes?

Roberts, Margaret. 2018. Censored: distraction and diversion inside China's Great Firewall.

Princeton University Press. Chapter 3. (Chapter is downloadable for free at https://www.jstor.org/ stable/j.ctvc77b21 )

Xu, Xu, Genia Kostka, and Xun Cao. 2022. “Information Control and Public Support for Social Credit Systems in China.” The Journal of Politics. https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/718358

(Optional): Cook, Sarah. 2023. “No Bears Allowed: China’s Latest Round of Economic Censorship.” The Diplomat. July 17. https://thediplomat.com/2023/07/no-bears-allowed-chinas-latestround-of-economic-censorship .

(Optional): Freedom on the Net 2024. "China." Freedom House https://freedomhouse.org/country/china/freedom-net/2024 (Read only Overview and Key Developments; rest is less essential)

Discuss Google VS Baidu Search projects.

Final Exam: Monday June 9 @ 9:30 AM (Not 8 a.m.)

Note: I also intend to offer an early makeup final exam Friday of 10th week aer class (subject to de mand, room availability, and scheduling constraints).

General Project Options and Procedures

Each project below is worth between 1-5 points. Pay careful attention to the due date and requirementsof each assignment. Assignments will generally be turned in to the class website by noon the DAY BEFORE they are scheduled to be discussed (unless otherwise noted). Failure to follow instructions accurately and completely will result in reduced points. Students may complete as many projects as they like; however, project points are capped and are worth no more than 22% of your final grade.

Menu of Projects

1. Class survey: Take the Start of Quarter Class Survey (https://forms.gle/Ed3YZeTG6PQL5Syg6 ).

Due by Noon on April 11. 2 points.

2. Remote Learning Assessment SURVEY: By no later than noon on April 14, fill out this survey: https://forms.gle/F4HvzJZobYue3XMRA (participants will receive a quiz makeup, even if they do not complete the rest of the Remote Learning Assessment project based on the results).

3. Screen Time: Analyze your peers’ and your habits towards communicating on phones. Note: Before starting this assignment, if you do not already have Screen Time turned on (for iPhone: Must be activated: Settings → Screen Time → See All Activity → Click Week and/or Day) or by using Digital Wellbeing (on Android), please make sure you do so for several days. Find at least one person in each of these age groups: 15-25, 26-40, and over 40, in addition to yourself, who have a device that actively records their screen time.. Before looking at each individuals’ screen time percentages, ask them to predict:

A. how much time they think they spent on their phone per day,

B. how many times they picked up their phone (this is one of the metrics),

C. what three applications they used the most, and for how long they used those three applications.

D. How much time they think they spend on communications apps per day (text, call, social media, etc.)

Next, compare their predictions to the actual data shown on their phone. Repeat these are steps for yourself—predicting and reviewing your own app usage. Use this information and the questions below to write a summary analyzing your participants’ and your own predictions com pared to the actual results. Consider these questions in your response:

• How accurately did people predict their own behavior (in terms of pickups, time spent and their most used apps)?

• What were the most-used applications and did they serve a communicative function? Were these applications being used actively and with purpose or mindlessly (just scrolling)?

• Did the person’s age have an impact on which applications were used, how long they were used, and the level of communicative value?

Make sure you include the full breakdown of the data you gathered to contextualize your analyses. Discuss in Class 8. 3 points.

4. Remote Learning Assessment PROJECT: As noted above, students will (optionally) fill out the Re mote Learning Assessment survey by noon on April 14: https://forms.gle/F4HvzJZobYue3XMRA (participants will receive a quiz makeup, even if they do not complete the rest of this assignment). Be fore Class 8, I will distribute the anonymized results of the survey to the class, which will serve as the basis for this project. In this project, you will analyze the results of the survey to:

A. Assess what your classmates view as the strengths and weaknesses of remote education.

B. Understand and discuss what works well and poorly during remote and in-person education.

C. Discuss the implications of the project for proposals that the University of California system offer fully-online BA degrees.

Discuss in Class 9. 3 points.

5. AI-U: For this assignment, you will use the newest version of ChatGPT you have access to (chat.openai.com : You can log in using your g.ucla.edu account if you do not have an account already) to perform FOUR of the following FIVE tasks:

1. Have ChatGPT create a summary of this video (here is a transcript). Evaluate how well it sum marizes the positions of each of the debaters.

2. Ask it to suggest a detailed plot for a sequel of your favorite movie.

3. Brainstorm a comedy sketch or monologue in the style of your favorite comedian based on a topic or example from our class and have it write the opening four paragraphs/jokes.

4. Produce five multiple-choice questions for one of our course readings.

5. Take Pew’s Political Typology quiz (https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/quiz/political-ty-pology/ ), then ask ChatGPT and also X.com's Grok each of the questions and fill out the survey to find their political typology. Next, find a question where you and ChatGPT disagreed and ask it to generate a short essay arguing against your position (repeat this for Grok, as well).

Then find a question where you both agreed and ask ChatGPT to generate a short essay arguing against your position (repeat with Grok).

For each of these items, evaluate the overall quality and usefulness of the LLM-generated responses. Analyze each response for accuracy, coherence, and relevance to those specific tasks or goals, noting any inconsistencies, factual errors, or hallucinated information. en, write a paragraph summarizing the benefits and risks of using LLMs for important work. Include an appendix with the transcripts of or working links to all of your prompts and each LLMs’ responses.

Discuss in Class 10. 5 points.

6. Be the Mod: Select TWO of the below community guidelines violations:

• Threatening violence/terrorism

• Graphic violence

• Adult content

• Hateful speech and conduct

• Promotion of online gambling/illegal goods

• Self injury/suicide ideation

• Misinformation and inauthenticity

Go to the following links from Tiktok, Reddit, and Instagram. Read through the moderation policies and community guidelines for your selected two types of violations. In a three

paragraph response:

• Explain the similarities and differences in how each platform handles your selected violations.

• Do a brief Google search for each violation and platform. Have there been specific instances —since January 2025—where content moderation revolving around your violations

have led to controversies or unintended consequences? See if you can find an instance in which someone was punished for a content violation and then changed their behavior afterward. If possible (and appropriate), provide screenshots of online deliberations that may have been wrongfully flagged by content moderation systems.

• Discuss how you predict these moderation policies, as a whole, would affect deliberation amongst online users and promote a better or worse digital environment.

Discuss in Class 14. 3 points.

6. WikiWayback: Using the Wayback Machine (web.archive.org), visit the Wikipedia pages for two major breaking events from 2025 (i.e. ones that happened with little warning at a specific time and place, such as an earthquake, battle, plane crash, assassination, celebrity divorce, etc). Using the “Changes” feature on the Wayback site, observe the changes to the articles from shortly aer the event (around 24 hours or so) to the current article. What changes do you see between the arti cles? Did you find any inconsistent facts? If so, how important or significant are the differences?

For the specific articles you examined, what would be the implications if people only had access to the information in the original version of the article? Are there any potential consequences or benefits to reporting right away? 3 points. Discuss in Class 14.

7. Cut It Out: Delete all social media applications off of your devices for five days. (or completely ignore these apps for five days by silencing notifications.) On your laptop/computer, use software like Block Site in order to block social media sites like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and all other

social media that you use. Attempt to move all necessary communications to text or phone calls only. (Exceptions are only granted for five minutes per day to check social media for necessary notifications that pertain to school and work. Note and discuss any and all exceptions you make).

Over the course of these five days, keep a journal tracking the way that disconnecting from social media makes you feel (at least one paragraph per day). Do you have an increased or decreased sense of FOMO (fear of missing out)? Does abstaining on a weekday feel different than on the weekend? How does your screen time change overall? Do you feel more productive? How do you fill the spare time for which you would normally have used social media? Do some of the sites or apps you spent more time on during this project resemble or serve a similar function as social media? Do you feel like you’re missing out on connections with your friends? How often do you find yourself picking up your phone before putting it back down when you realize you are doing this assignment and can’t access your socials?

Then, after completing your five days of disconnection, return to your normal social media usage and then write a final journal entry answering the equivalent of these same questions.

Finally, answer these final questions: Is social media a necessity in your life? Why or why not?

Moving forward, do you see yourself disconnecting from social media more often? Why or why not? Make sure your project includes the following components: (1) daily diary entries, (2) a final journal entry, and (3) your responses to the final prompts. Discuss in Class 18. 5 points.

8. Fake or Not: Do you think you can detect what fake news looks like online? First, read this article from Syracuse University in order to learn how to identify false news (https://ischool.syr.edu/5- ways-to-spot-misinformation-and-disinformation-online/ ). then complete Cambridge University’s two-minute MIST-20 quiz here: https://yourmist.streamlit.app/ (You can take the quiz without sharing your personal information with Cambridge by selecting 'No, I don't consent' at the bottom of the form, if you prefer). Record your score. then read the summary of the study’s findings here: https://today.yougov.com/politics/articles/45855-americans-distinguish real-fake-news-headline-poll and compare your results to other Americans in your age group.

After completing this game, open the Bad News Game (https://www.getbadnews.com/en/play). In this game, you will assume the job of a fake news journalist. Give up any appearance of morality and take a course that will help you establish your reputation as an unethical media mogul. The objective of your campaign is to gain as many followers as possible while gradually establishing a false reputation as a news source. However, take caution: lying openly or disappointing your followers will cost you credibility.

After completing both activities, write an analysis that discusses what you learned from being on both sides of fake news–as the consumer and as the producer. If you were trying to more effectively create fake news that would fool you or your friends, what would you recommend doing? Discuss in Class 18. 3 points.

9. Fake (Image) or Not? Complete the Detect Fakes survey at Northwestern here: https://detectfakes.kellogg.northwestern.edu/ and record your score on 25 different images (note: you do not need to do all 100 images; you might need to move the "slide the dot" slider before you can submit

your answer, although you can slide it back to the middle if you are only somewhat confident in

your assessment). How well did you do in detecting the fakes compared to the average user? Did

you tend to misidentify real images as fake or fake images as real? What aspects of the picture were most helpful in identifying whether the images were fake or not? How well did you do on cases where they only showed the image briefly compared to where you had more time to examine the image? Were there cases where you were confidently wrong? Compare your results to the findings of their study here: https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2110013119 e images in the sur vey are now outdated: discuss what fake-identifying strategies you might use in the future. Discuss in Class 18. 3 points.

10. Your Tracked and Personalized Social Media Ads.

Write a few sentences predicting how accurate you believe Google, TikTok, and Facebook/Instagram are in their selection of targeted advertisements towards you as a consumer. Next follow the instructions for Google, TikTok, and either Facebook or Instagram.

* For Facebook, log into your Facebook account and go to www.facebook.com/ads/preferences and look through the information that Facebook has collected on you.

* For TikTok, follow these instructions: https://support.tiktok.com/en/account-and-privacy/personalized-ads-and-data/how-your-ads-are-personalized

* For Instagram, Log on to your Instagram account and go to your profile tab.

- Hit the three bars in the corner, and click Settings, then Ads, then Ad Interests.

* For Google, go to https://myactivity.google.com/myactivity and review the information that Google has collected on you, and https://adssettings.google.com to see the settings Google has for the ads they target at you.

* Summarize in a paragraph or two what your activity on Google, TikTok and Facebook/Instagram revealed and how their ad personalization compared. How do the ads differ across the two social media platforms (e.g. types of content)? Do you think your ad topics are representative of the main audience on the social media platform they’re displayed on or are targeted more specifi-cally at you? Did the ad topics appear to target you based on your behavior, demographics, location, interest, and/or lifestyle? Summarize your thoughts on how you think targeted online advertisements affect your online experience. If each platform could each be given a letter grade for their accuracy in predicting your advertisement preferences, what letter grade would each platform receive and why? Were your initial predictions accurate? Based on the information that you have shared on each platform, do they know categories of information that might allow an outside observer to learn things about you that you’d rather not reveal? Based on this investigation, has your feeling about advertising and privacy changed? Why or why not? Indicate whether you think tracking your online behavior for the purposes of advertising and creating a better user experience are reasonable tradeoffs for the services they offer. What kind of methods or strategies can/do you use to attempt to prevent those companies from tracking you, and do they actually work?

Discuss in Class 21. 5 points.

11. TikTok Oversharing: First, answer the following questions:

* What do you know about TikTok’s Privacy Policy?

* How much information do you think they collect about you and how does it make you feel? then, read…

* https://time.com/6071773/tiktok-faceprints-voiceprints-privacy/

* https://time.com/6265651/tiktok-security-us/

* https://www.forbes.com/sites/emilybaker-white/2022/10/20/tiktok-bytedance-surveillance american-user-data/?sh=195544796c2d

* https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2023/12/tiktok-requires-users-to-forever-waive-rights-to-sue-over-past-harms/

* https://www.tiktok.com/legal/page/us/privacy-policy/en

Now, based on this information, answer the following questions:

1. Is there anything in the privacy policy that you are not comfortable with TikTok knowing, storing, and/or sharing? What surprised you the most?

2. How does the information gathered by TikTok differ from the privacy policy of a U.S.-based social media platform such as Instagram by Meta Platforms?

3. In their privacy policy, TikTok admits to selling and sharing data with third party companies. What third parties do they share your information with? Why?

4. TikTok’s privacy policy admits to obtaining “face prints” and “voice prints” from their users. However, they do not discuss these vague terms in detail. What information do you think this stores? Why do you think TikTok collects this information?

5. What do you feel would be an appropriate level of data collection by TikTok, given its business model? How has TikTok’s increasing push toward online shopping changed this? Next, read this article about American government efforts to restrict or ban TikTok: Why Countries Are Trying to Ban TikTok - e New York Times (nytimes.com) and discuss the following questions: Discuss whether attempts by government actors to ban or restrict TikTok specifically are justified. Would TikTok’s data collection practices be more acceptable to you if it was controlled by an American company (like Meta)? Why or why not? What effects do you think a hypothetical federal ban on TikTok would have on the cause of digital privacy? If you regularly use Tik-Tok, will you change any of your behavior in response to the this project? Discuss in Class 22. 4 points.

12. Have I Been Pwned? Before you start working on this project, write down any hacked accounts or site/app breaches you know about that affected you personally, and how serious you think those breaches were. Go to https://www.haveibeenpwned.com and enter your various emails, site-specific usernames, and phone numbers. e site will reveal whether that particular account has been “pwned” (having its security and privacy breached by some malware). Also, use the Google pass word checkup extension or the Safari password security recommendations to check for other compromised passwords.

Then, write down the following:

● Did you find any breaches associated with your accounts? What were they?

● If none of your accounts have been “pwned,” you could try some of your friends’ and families’ accounts; typically, one of the many you’ve tried will be involved in some breaches.

● How many of the breaches were on your original list?

● Research how each breach occurred and what specific information was leaked.

● Investigate how each breach occurred and what features or lack of security measures made the website vulnerable to a breach. How does this affect you personally?

● What are some implications of having your information leaked? How do you imagine this affects your personal life?

● What actions should you take once you realize your information has gotten leaked/ hacked? What precautions did you employ or mitigation strategies you will employ now?

Discuss in Class 22. 3 points.

13. Transparency Reports: Look at Apple’s Transparency Report for the United States: https://www.apple.com/legal/transparency/us.html then look at Google’s Transparency Report for the United States: https://transparencyreport.google.com/user-data/overview?user_requests_report_period=series:requests,accounts;authority:US;time:&lu=user_data_produced&user_- data_produced=authority:US;series:compliance en answer the following questions comparing the two reports:

A. How do the types of requests differ between the two platforms?

B. Select a date range on Apple’s report now look at that same date range on Google’s report. Who has more overall requests for data?

Now roughly compare the percentage of requests where some data/information was provided using a date range spanning from January-June on Apple’s report and Google’s provided chart (can be found closer to the bottom of the webpage). How do they differ in the way they present their data? Are the percentages similar? Is one notably higher than the other? Now click through the date ranges on Apple’s report ascending from the oldest data to the newest data, paying close attention to the number of overall requests and percentage of requests where some data/information was provided. Compare the same data on Google’s re spective tables and the trends between Apple’s data and Google’s data, what do you notice over time? Do changes seem to correspond to any real-world events? In one to two paragraphs compare and contrast the differences in the two transparency reports. In what ways does each one present their data and how does the data shown differ? then analyze and explain what the two transparency reports tell us about government surveillance. Does each report tell us something different with differing trends or do they tell us the same thing with consistent overarching trends? Discuss in Class 24. 4 points.

14. TOS;DR: Go to the Terms of Service; Didn’t Read website (https://tosdr.org) and compare the terms of service of your five most frequently visited websites. What are the most common things the sites allow themselves to do (or prohibit you from doing) across the sites? Which websites seem to have the least customer-friendly terms and which have the most? What were the grades of each site? (Note: be clear how you’re defining what is "customer-friendly") For the sites that seem to be least customer-friendly, how important do the terms seem to be for the operation or business of the site? In other words, are these policies necessary to protect consumers or for the company to make revenue? Did you consent to the terms of service without first reading them? Do you believe your behavior will change at all aer completing this project? Why or why not? Discuss in Class 26. 3 points.

15. Don’t Blame Me: For this project, you will be comparing the news coverage of current events across two news outlets. Begin by choosing an English-language government-affiliated news site from an authoritarian state such as TASS (https://tass.com/), Xinhua News Agency (https://english.news.cn/ or the Tehran Times (www.tehrantimes.com ), and another from a democratic state such as NPR (npr.org ), the BBC (bbc.co.uk ), the CBC (cbc.ca ), etc. Go to the authoritarian site’s search engine and first search for a negative term like "blame" or "criticize" or "fail" etc. Find the most recent 10 search results (stories must be from later than January 2025) that are related to politics, skim through the article text and record the source (i.e. who made the evaluation, like a government official who is quoted or a professor, etc.), topic and target (i.e., who or what the statement was criticizing) of the negative evaluation. then repeat this process for a positive term like "success" or "win" or "best" etc. then do the same process for the news organization from a democratic country. Summarize your results (preferably in a table) in terms of each country’s most common targets for praise and criticism, the sources that are cited, and the most common topics. How do the outlets portray their own country’s government or officials? How do they portray other countries? Who are the sources they cite most othen? How do then do they cite sources who disagree with each other? Compare the outlets regarding the degree to which they hold their own governments accountable, as well as how they portray other countries. If a citizen of each country only had access to the stories you viewed from that country’s media, what would they think of their own government? Discuss in Class 29. 4 Points.

16. Google VS Baidu Search: Baidu, the Chinese version of Google, is known to heavily censor its search results. Please follow these steps and analyze how the search results between Baidu and Google differ for five contentious topics: Philippine vessels collide, Taiwan country, China economy, Russian invasion of Ukraine, and Xi Jinping. Choose a sixth controversial topic of your own, as well.

Step 1: Click on each of the Baidu hyperlinks below. Please open the links using a browser like Google Chrome, which has a built-in translation feature for the entire page.

- Link 1: Philippine vessels collide

- Link 2: Taiwan Country

- Link 3: China Economy

- Link 4: Russian invasion of Ukraine

- Link 5: Xi Jinping

- And finally, do a search for the sixth controversial topic you chose.

Step 2: Go to https://www.google.com/ Search for the same keywords

Step 3: Scroll through the search results for each term and read some of the articles. For each topic, evaluate whether the search results are different within and across each search engine. then, for each topic, write a paragraph comparing the results from Google and Baidu, includ ing (1) Topic of results (2) Types of results (news articles, scholarly journals, tourist sites, etc.) (3) Perspectives presented by these results. Finally, write another paragraph about the patterns of censorship (e.g. what they censor, what they permit, etc.) in China and discuss their impli cations to the political power of Chinese citizens and their economic prospects. Discuss in class 30. 5 points.

Office Hours

Prof. Groeling’s office hours are regularly scheduled for MWF 5-6 in Rolfe 2322. Zoom or inperson appointments are also available by appointment. Je Hoon’s office hours are Weds 2-4 and by appointment using this link: https://calendly.com/chae-g/office-hours.

Course Readings

All readings for this course will be available online through links found in this syllabus or on the course website. Note that you will need to use a VPN connection (https://www.it.ucla.edu/bol/services/virtual-private-network-vpn-clients) to view much of this content from computers outside the campus network. If a reading has gone offline and you are connected through the VPN, please let me know and I will provide an alternative link. If you exceed your maximum number of free articles per month on news sites like washingtonpost.com, you might need to search for the article title in Google on a different browser, or access via archive.org.

Note that further readings may be assigned as the course progresses via course announcements.

We will be using UCLA’s licensed iClicker Cloud this quarter for daily reading quizzes.

Taking Notes: Lecture Outlines and Podcasts

All lecture materials for this class will be available in two electronic formats:

I. PDF files showing the Keynote slides presented in lecture. I strongly encourage students to bring printouts of the slides to assist in their note-taking during lecture. The slides will be available online at least three hours before each class on the course website.

II. Podcasts of course lectures. The class will also have an audio-only Bruincast, which will appear in the UCLA Media Reserves link on the left sidebar of the class website.

文章

Computer-Mediated Communication Communication 151 • Spring 2025