Intro to Tech
A human-made tool or method for solving a problem — not just electronics.
What is technology?
Far more impactful than the wheel, the control of this chemical reaction by early humans provided warmth, protection from predators, and a method for cooking food, fundamentally enabling human evolution.
What is fire?
This is considered the oldest musical "instrument".
What is the human voice?
This documentary exposed the persuasive design of social media platforms.
What is The Social Dilemma?
The meaning of the letters “A I.”
What is artificial intelligence?
This field focuses on understanding how the natural world works, while technology applies that knowledge.
What is science?
This 20th-century invention made global communication instant.
What is the internet?
Invented in the 1400s, this technology let people mass-produce sheet music.
What is the printing press?
Headlines written to make you click, not think, are called this.
What is clickbait?
An AI-powered application that can engage in conversations with users.
What is a chatbot?
This ancient device, discovered underwater, is sometimes called the world’s first computer.
What is the Antikythera Mechanism?
This early innovation allowed stories and laws to be recorded instead of memorized.
What is writing?
This system of symbols allowed monks to preserve and share music across Europe.
What is musical notation?
The trail of information you leave behind when you go online.
What is a digital footprint?
The use of technology to replace human labor, whether physical or cognitive.
What is automation?
This term describes the belief that every new invention makes the world better than before.
What is the linear view of progress?
This technological era was marked by the invention of the heavy plow (Yes, specifically the HEAVY plow!)
What is the Middle Ages?
Before television and the internet, families would gather around this piece of furniture to listen to serialized dramas like The War of the Worlds.
What is the radio?
Spreading false information intended to mislead.
What is disinformation?
A distributed, decentralized digital ledger that records and secures transactions, most famous for its use in cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin.
What is blockchain?
This ancient building material was stronger than ours today and was “lost” for centuries before being rediscovered.
What is Roman concrete?
When machines began replacing human labor, this historical era began. Hint - lots more pollution too.
What is the Industrial Revolution?
These online communities, where individuals share stories and experiences through posts and pictures, have become a dominant form of modern-day storytelling.
What are social media platforms?
Social media algorithms are trained on this vast amount of information, including your clicks and shares, to predict what will interest you most.
What is user data?
The ability of AI to learn from data without being explicitly programmed.