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amphtaminedreams · 6 years ago

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Mental Health Awareness Week: My Story

Hi to anyone who’s reading this!

My name is Lauren and this is my first personal post on my Tumblr (which I’m using because I am a granny who can’t be arsed to work out the basics of Wordpress). My intention in making this blog was ultimately to talk about mental health and fashion and things that interest me and I suppose I knew that ultimately I was going to make a post like this but I just didn’t realise it would be so soon. But then Theresa May lit up Downing Street and it was Mental Health Awareness week and Borderline Personality Disorder Awareness month and I realised, best to just get this out of the way before I can start making excuses to put it off until the end of time. It’s a hard post to make because I don’t exactly know who the audience will be; I’m writing it for the mental health community and anybody who’s interested in what Borderline Personality Disorder is/looks like but I’m also conscious of the fact that one day my family and friends and even potential employers could be reading this. How much detail am I supposed to go into? A lot of people still feel uncomfortable discussing topics like this; they start seeing you a different way when they know you suffer from a mental illness, even though you’re the same person you’ve always been. It’s also hard to know where to start when I’m talking about my mental health. I feel like other posts of a similar nature tend to have a clear start, beginning, and end. A clear cause or inciting incident, one self-explanatory, well-understood diagnosis, and a clear pathway to recovery. I don’t have a single, defining trauma I can pinpoint anything to, and I don’t think I have complex PTSD (which is often conflated with BPD but as I understand it, not always the same thing). I have a family history of mental illness and a series of less significant events that in hindsight might have affected me more than I originally thought, but until I became able to think about concepts such as “mental health” and self-image and relationships in the abstract, I believed that I generally had a pretty happy childhood. My family did their very best and they loved me and we always had a roof over our heads and food on our plates. When I did start to conceptualise my mental health, I kind of thought of it as a wave of depression and insecurities and anxieties that hit me when I was in my early teens. I think this is the same for a lot of people. Only when I got a diagnosis of Borderline Personality Disorder (which I will shorten to BPD for the purpose of making this easier to read, lol!) in October 2018 did I question that.

I’ve done a lot of questioning since I got the diagnosis, the same kind of questions that make this post hard to write. Am I really that ill? Am I not just being dramatic? Do I have any right to feel like this given the privilege I have? When in reality, this deep-rooted gut instinct to doubt who you are and what you have a right to feel is an intrinsic part of BPD.

There are 9 key symptoms involved in the disorder, 5 of which must be experienced to a degree that is severe enough to affect your day to day functioning in order to receive a diagnosis. My formal assessment which took place during my stay at an inpatient psychiatric ward in October 2018 revealed I was just on the cusp of receiving a diagnosis; in 5 of the 9 categories I scored highly enough that the symptom was impairing my ability to function, thus I only just qualified (lucky me!). That’s what mental illness is really, a collection of ingrained and/or inherited behaviours that are inhibiting one’s day to day life. With regards to BPD, these 9 behaviours or symptoms are as follows:

1. Fear of abandonment (check).

2. Unstable relationships.

3. Unclear or shifting self-image (check).

4. Impulsive, self-destructive behaviours (check).

5. Self-harm (check).

6. Extreme emotional swings (check).

7. Explosive anger.

8. Dissociative experiences (check).

9. Chronic feelings of emptiness (check, check, CHECK).

See, when the diagnosis was first suggested to me informally by a community mental health nurse in June of 2018, I was a bit like…what?! That can’t be me! I don’t have outbursts (it’s okay if you do and you’re working on it)! I don’t scream and throw things (again, okay if you do and are working on it)! And I’m definitely not manipulative (any person can be manipulative so I don’t even know where this one comes from)! That was, like, all I knew about BPD. Stereotypes. Think Glenn Close in Fatal Attraction type bullshit, we’re talking the woman that coined the phrase bunny boiler. I didn’t know that BPD can present in a million different ways, based on the person who’s suffering with it, because I thought BPD was the person. The widespread consensus on BPD isn’t the most humanising. So I hope me explaining how it’s affected my life and the way its presented itself over the years helps in turning the tide, which so many amazing people have already begun to do by sharing their stories. My aim is to do the same.

I’ve had a lot of time to think about the areas in which BPD has affected my life since my formal assessment, in which I felt I learnt a lot more about the disorder. In particular, the idea that I was always this happy child that got hit by a wave of inexplicable, crippling depression once I hit my teenage years. I remember during the assessment, the doctor asking me to talk about my early relationships and it kind of struck me at that moment that I’d been going through this pattern of switching between extreme attachment towards versus extreme devaluation of my relationships with the closest people in my life for as long as I could remember. My first real best friend of several years basically stopped speaking to me (and in hindsight, I do not blame her, lmao!) when we were about 12 because I can only imagine she was sick of me either picking a fight or desperately seeking her reassurance every time she dared to hang out with another friend. I remembered how it felt when she did choose to spend time with somebody else rather than me: “oh my god, she likes them more, she finds me boring, she hates me and she doesn’t want to be friends with me anymore! Everything’s over! I’ll never find anyone who loves me like she does because why would they? I can’t go on with my life until I know that she isn’t going to leave me!”. I think at that age, everyone has that shrill inner voice that doesn’t exactly consider logic or react in the most sensible way, but instead of my shrill inner voice going away, it just faded to more of a constantly niggling monotone that continued to affect the way I behaved around other people for years to come. This was just one of the signs that things weren’t as they should be from an early age. I think I was around 13 when the Child Adolescent Mental Health Services (otherwise known as the dreaded CAMHS), whom my parents had initially got me referred to for sleeping problems, diagnosed me with generalised anxiety and social phobia. Social phobia, despite this being its DSM name, is more commonly known as social anxiety. This came about after I had undergone successful CBT for said sleeping problems and thought I’d just drop it in, as you do, that basically, every social interaction felt like I was putting on a desperate show to keep the few remaining people left in the theatre from walking out. I told them that school was emotionally exhausting me. Whilst after the first couple of rocky years of transitioning from primary to secondary school I had developed a close group of friends, I still felt like aside from the closet few of them, absolutely nobody liked me. That was definitely true of some people, but likely not to the extent I envisioned it. I had come to feel, I suspect due to a combination of genes and a few environmental factors, like I was inherently unloveable and annoying, and even though I’m in a good place right now, these are things I continue to struggle with. When you’ve believed these things for so long, to act according to them is second nature.

The thing about BPD is that it’s hard to determine what is a co-morbidity and what is part of The Disorder™. I’m still not quite sure whether my social anxiety was in and of its own issue or if it was driven by the borderline symptom of fearing abandonment. Even recently, during a period of relative stability, I went back to my GP about dysmorphic thoughts concerning my body and appearance as I believe they go beyond the threshold of what is to be expected as part the unstable self-image facet of BPD. Whilst I can accept, for example, that the self-harming and binge eating I began indulging in around the same time I received my anxiety diagnoses were my way of coping with the mood swings and chronic feelings of emptiness I was also experiencing (get me working in the checklist of symptoms here, I imagine this is how film writers feel when they namedrop the movie in the characters’ dialogue), I have a feeling the image issues I have would exist regardless of the influence of the unstable self-image part of BPD. I mean, would perfectionism alone take me to the extremes of punishing myself for missing out on all A*s by an A or two at GCSE and A-level, forcing myself to do a degree I had no particular interest in just because the university was in the single digits in the international league tables, or at one point eating only apples for 10 days until I could barely stand up because I wanted to look like those girls on 2013 emo black and white Tumblr? Probably not. But you don’t need to have an unstable self-image to latch onto the idea that only the very best will do in today’s world, lol (typed with a totally straight face)! Yeah, if the niche that is socialist twitter has taught me anything it’s that, that’s like, late-stage capitalism for you. It’s hard to look at myself and know what is a good quality, or just a character trait, and what is disordered. I think when you call a mental illness a personality disorder, the people who are labelled with it are inevitably going to have that problem.

Surprising absolutely no-one, trying to fit into these ideals I had created and emotionally detaching myself from my friends and family didn’t do any good for my wellbeing. I gave into self-destructive impulses with increased frequency and as I went into sixth form and drifted even further away from the few people I did feel close to, I began to experience derealisation (not depersonalisation, though this is something a lot of people with BPD do experience). This would come under the dissociative experiences symptom of the BPD. It was like my eyes were glass windows and I was just watching life unfold in front of me from the other side. It’s not as if I didn’t have control of my actions, I did, I threw myself into revision, but it all just felt slightly unreal, like I was going through the motions, almost robotically, detached from everyone around me. Everything was muted. Generally, I find that my mood swings between 5 different states: lethargic depression, extreme distress, anxious irritability, an almost mania like sense of confidence and purpose, and a more pleasant calmness. The best way to explain how I experience this switch is that I can almost physically feel the gear of my brain shift, with this change of energy then flowing down to the rest of my body. My thoughts take on a different tone of voice, my body feels heavier, or if I’m going up, it’s like I can feel electricity running and crackling through me. It can happen in a split second, and it can be random, though often it’s triggered by something as small as a phone call or how much I’ve eaten. If multiple plans fall apart at the same time, it can be enough to make me angry at the world and distrustful of everyone in my life, closed off and weighed down. However, back when I was experiencing this derealisation, I remember only really switching back and forth between feeling numb and feeling passively suicidal; I feel like I lost my teenage years to this big, grey cloud of meh-ness that fogged up my brain and obfuscated my ability to regularly feel any positive emotion. To use a cliche, there was this void inside of me that nothing would fill and I had learnt that trying to use relationships to do this was dangerous for me because without sounding melodramatic, it hurt too much when I felt they weren’t reciprocating my love (what a John Green line, lmao).

My fear that people didn’t like me morphed into paranoia that even the people I was supposed to be friends with were ridiculing me the second I left the room; please don’t laugh when I say my greatest pleasure during this time was to go home at lunchtime to avoid having to spend an hour sat with them so I could eat Dairy Milk Oreo, nap and listen to The Neighbourhood (careful, don’t cut yourself on that edge!). I put on a lot of weight due to binge eating, would often leave sixth form early or skip it altogether, and saw my GP, who reestablished my anxiety diagnoses now with an exotic side order of depression. When it comes to NHS services where I live, I’ve kind of won the postcode lottery. There’s a large, conservative elderly population which I’m assuming is the reason our area receives a lot more funding than other, debatably more deserving other areas, and this meant that along with prescribing me the first of many SSRIs I was to try, I was also referred back to CAMHS. I’d been discharged from them about 2 years prior, and what had back then been about a 1 or 2-month waiting list to be seen had doubled in longevity since. I say I won the postcode lottery because, in a lot of places, it’s not uncommon for people to still be waiting to be seen by their local mental health team over a year after they’re first referred. Even so, the help I was offered was very minimal; I met a counsellor once every couple of months that didn’t really specialise in any particular kind of therapy and would kind of just talk at me for the hour I saw her. This was in spite of me expressing suicidal feelings and regularly self-harming.

That being said, by the time I left sixth form, I had finally found an SSRI that worked to blunt the intensity of my social anxiety. I was attending my “perfect” university with my “perfect” grades and (prepare yourself for the twist of the century) I finally managed to get my lazy arse to the gym, and get to that “perfect” weight. I was forming emotional connections with people for the first time in years. On a shallow level, in my first year of uni, things were finally beginning to look up, and yet I was experiencing worse mood swings than ever, becoming more dependent on drugs and alcohol to function through these, and throwing myself into intense friendships where anything less than utmost enthusiasm on the other end of the relationship would send me back into that “oh my god, I’ll never make another friend in my life, I’ll always be alone, I can’t deal with this, the only way to deal with this pain is to end it!” mode. I don’t know why things got so drastic so suddenly. Maybe it was being away from my parents, or maybe it’s just that late teens/early twenties are a time when negative emotions do tend to get more serious after being repressed for years and consequently accumulating. The whole having to be the smartest person in the room to maintain a sense of self shtick was also taking a bit of a hit because university is bloody hard and everyone’s bloody smart and bloody passionate and here I was not even understanding what the assigned reading was trying to say let alone having any brilliant ideas about it to contribute; I was so quiet in one of my seminar groups the lecturer forgot I existed in a class with a grand total of 9 students. Big fish in a little pond to little fish in a big pond syndrome or maybe just more simply put, imposter syndrome, is a real thing and when you struggle with your identity anyway, it’s enough to throw you off completely. I finished that year with a first but I told myself it probably wouldn’t happen again. A couple of days later, feeling shit and overwhelmed, I did what I’d taken to doing to manage my emotions, and got high. The delusional episode ended me up in A&E for self-harm, and when they let me go the next day, I travelled back to my family home and pretended nothing was wrong.

The whole “act like everything’s fine” approach doesn’t work in the long term. 10/10 would not recommend. Without my parents around, when I went back to uni in September, everything fell apart again. I was using drugs every day, either not eating at all or binge eating, self-harming, binge drinking regularly, skipping all my lectures. Honestly, when I think back to that time it’s like I’m watching myself from outside my body. I was feeling very done with the dumpster fire (how very American of me) that was my brain. I was done with the constant 100mph up and down internal monologue. I was done with trying to cope and to hold myself together. I intentionally overdosed multiple times and after one sent me to A&E, my dad brought me home from university. It was a horrible shock for my parents: they knew I was a worrier that could be a little closed off and miserable sometimes, and they were the ones who’d first taken me to CAMHS when I was younger, but they’d struggled with that, and so from then on I’d tried to keep my issues to myself. To be honest, I don’t blame them at all for not realising anything was drastically wrong. I did a pretty good job of hiding my problems; everyone had their own things to deal with and so I became quite adept at internalising my feelings and acting “inwards” rather than outwards. It was also definitely a case of things escalating whilst I was away. With all this in mind, the overdose kind of came out of nowhere for them, but I was so detached from reality I didn’t even consider this at the time. Thankfully, I can’t really remember how they actually reacted either. Benzodiazepines do that to you, a little tidbit of information that all these teen rappers and social media personalities hyping up Xanax fail to mention. I think my dad made the decision to bring me home rather than have me stay in hospital in London, as was offered, because he thought that would be better for me. However, a few days later, after numerous, distressing visits from the crisis team (another name that will be regrettably familiar to anyone who has experienced severe mental health problems before), where I can only assume a lack of time and recourses on their part forced me to repeat what had happened over and over again to the revolving door of staff members, I took another overdose. I had become paranoid that they were out to get me and falsely believed that I was too much of a burden on my family, who were having to take time off work to look after me. This time from A&E, I went on to stay in a psychiatric ward where I was given the formal diagnosis of Borderline Personality Disorder I mentioned earlier. And it’s here that my life changed forever, I believe for the better.

It changed my life for many reasons. Firstly, it was incredibly validating. To learn that I didn’t have a plethora of different problems but rather one problem, the different facets of which can present themselves in many different ways and affect multiple areas of your life, was so, so reassuring. It not only gave me a clear treatment path but helped me to understand that there was a reason all this was happening. Additionally, the events forced me to open up to my parents and for them to grasp the severity of the situation. After all these years, I finally felt like I had a support system. My parents had always been there before but I had emotionally distanced myself from everyone, and being a “typical teenager” I believed they didn’t understand me (get that angst). I think in retrospect they didn’t understand me because I wasn’t using the right words. I didn’t want to sound dramatic so whenever I spoke to either of my parents about how I felt, I downplayed it a lot. My mum, who works so incredibly hard and has a lot on her plate herself, had a tough upbringing so her approach to me being miserable was pretty much telling me to be grateful for what I had. Had she known what I was really getting at, I know that she wouldn’t have reacted like this to what I was saying. The minute I got my diagnosis, she went out and bought every (mildly offensively titled) book on how to support someone with BPD out there and I learnt today has even been trying to bring an emphasis on mental health into her workplace! She is a wonderful person.

With all this being said, my main piece of advice for other people who are newly diagnosed with BPD or just suffering from any kind of mental health condition is to be brutally honest with the trusted people around you about what you’re dealing with. It will be uncomfortable but I can promise it’ll be worth it. With something like BPD, having a support system who know exactly what you’re dealing with, minus the vagueness and the bullshit, is so, so important. I say this because, despite Theresa’s green lights, neither she nor her party are doing much in the way of providing the funding for professional help. When I first came out of hospital, I had a lot of nights where I felt incredibly depressed, almost as depressed as I did before I went in. Prior to my family knowing about my BPD diagnosis, I would have dealt with these feelings in unhealthy ways but this time, I could go to my mum and stay with her and just cry it out until the feeling passed. That is also a useful sentiment to remember, that the feelings will pass. It’s in the nature of BPD to swing around, when I’m not experiencing a period of depression, and that’s something I find it helpful to remember. I personally really like the Youper app to track my moods because when I do get suicidal, feel anxious or wired, I have something to look at objectively to remind myself that I did feel like this before, in fact, I felt like this yesterday, but a few hours later I told the app I felt okay again. It also helps you to dissect your irrational thought processes and identify “thinking traps”. Meditation, ASMR and CBD are big parts of my life and stability, though I would recommend doing some research into the latter before trying it yourself.

On a less subjective, more physiological level, I notice that my medication really aids my emotional stability; when I have been off it, my mood swings are a lot more intense. So whilst medication isn’t for everyone, it can be something to consider talking to your GP about to see if it could be beneficial for you. Another help is the DBT skills course I completed in March, DBT being the abbreviation of dialectical behavioural therapy, the treatment specifically developed for BPD by Marsha Linehan. If you have time, she’s a great person to do some research into. She herself was diagnosed with what doctors called an “incurable” case of BPD yet she’s gone on to do the most incredible things and help so many people also suffering from the disorder. Not only did DBT provide me with a skill set of more functional coping mechanisms for both interpersonal insecurities and individual struggles, but I liked the fact that once a week I got to be with a group of people who really understood what I’m dealing with and didn’t judge. Even if you can’t find a DBT group, it’s worth checking to see if there are any mental health peer support groups in your area for this reason. I found that being around people who are dealing with similar issues helped me to see my own struggles more objectively; it reminds you that what you’re experiencing is not about you personally and that whilst you may feel isolated, you’re not. The world hasn’t got it out for you. It’s a condition that many people experience. In terms of the feelings of emptiness BPD causes, I have found that since my diagnosis, I’ve actually had more of a sense of purpose in life. On a practical level, having therapy along with a year out of uni and the presence of a constant support system has had me time to get back into writing properly. What I’ve found to be even more rewarding, however, is my participation in the online mental health community.

Something I wasn’t made aware of prior to my diagnosis was the amount of stigma there is still towards mental health issues, Borderline Personality Disorder especially. It really is one of the most demonised mental health issues in and outside of the healthcare system and that’s a hard fact to learn, because it’s a difficult enough condition to learn to manage already without knowing that there are people out there who think you’re a monster for it and are going to judge everything you do through a certain lens. Whilst we are a lot more accepting as a society of conditions like depression and anxiety, conditions such as bipolar, schizophrenia and personality disorders are still greatly misunderstood by wider society who have largely taken their understandings of these illnesses from ill-informed media portrayals and shallow, surface-level observations of a sufferer’s behaviour. I doubt the name “personality disorder” helps matters; it’s hardly the most flattering description of what we’re dealing with I’ve ever heard. I’ve found that even mental health professionals and other mental illness sufferers have a negative bias towards BPD. There’s a widespread view that we are dangerous, manipulative individuals who choose to be difficult and act erratically, that our behaviour is not “organic” like that produced by other mental health problems. I have no idea where the latter assumption comes from. Most experts on the condition tend to agree that the mood swings, impulsive, destructive behaviour, and irrational thinking originate in the hypothalamus and come from a faulty fight-flight response or other atypical brain structures; in other words, BPD has a biological basis. Whilst I agree that we can learn to change our coping mechanisms, the idea that they are as a result of anything other than pure desperation and mental anguish is incredibly puzzling and dehumanising. Simply looking the causes of the condition up online or doing a small amount of research from a credible source debunks all the common BPD stereotypes, yet people like to speak about it as if they know everything about the condition just because they’ve heard a few horror stories. There are nasty people in the world. Some of them have BPD, but that doesn’t mean everyone with BPD is a nasty person, and the bottom line is that most people suffering from Borderline Personality Disorder will hurt themselves before they hurt anyone else. We are so hypersensitive to any changes in our relationships in the first place that the last thing we want to do is damage them. When we say something feels like the end of the world, that’s because the emotional dysregulation part of BPD really makes it feel like it is. We’re not being dramatic or trying to get your attention. In fact, I can say for certain that despite feeling this way on a daily basis for about 7 years, I rarely actually voiced the sentiment. I still don’t. But I should be able to. To give the example of one person suffering from physical illness and one suffering from a mental illness, where both publicly talk about the pain they’re experiencing, why is only the latter of the two called an attention seeker? If the former tweeted about how much pain they were in, nobody would bat an eyelid. Why is this? When so many people experience mental health problems? When the gender who are typically expected by society to repress their feelings accounted for over 70% of suicide victims in the UK last year? It’s clear that keeping our feelings to ourselves and suffering in silence doesn’t do us any good, so why are so many so eager for us to continue doing so? I think being open about mental health simply needs to be normalised, and that once it is, hopefully, this sentiment will die out. I find that by being open about my mental health on social media (still quite selectively, I must admit! I can’t see myself making a post about BPD on Facebook any time soon!) has given me a sense of purpose because I do feel like I’m helping to normalise this kind of honesty. With regards to the stigma that surrounds BPD specifically, I feel that my presence online and my support of others helps to show that we’re just human beings who are struggling, not the awful mythos that surrounds us.

To finish, one of my main goals in my recovery is to be more compassionate to myself. BPD is a hard enough diagnosis to have without constantly internally doubting and questioning it. I find that as the months go by, I am feeling more and more stable, and this leads me to question if I was ever sick, especially since I only displayed 5/9 of the borderline traits in the first place, which meant that I only just met the diagnostic criteria. I don’t have psychotic rage or complete blackouts and tend to act inwards rather than outwards. I am what is considered within the mental health community to be a “quiet” borderline. I know theoretically that this doesn’t make my condition any less valid, but for this reason, part of me fears moving towards being “well”. Because if I’m well, then I feel like I’ve lost part of an already fragile identity. Of course, I’d rather not have BPD. But because I’ve been expressing symptoms for so long, I worry what’s left of me without it. At the same time, I fear going back to a place where my BPD is so severe that I have to go back to hospital. So really, it’s like you’re stuck between a rock and a hard place. It’s a double-edged sword. Is that enough cliches? The thing that I wish more people could understand is that mental illness in itself is traumatic and that even when you’ve moved on, what you experienced will always be a part of you. You still need that support. I’m not going to lie, resisting the urge to indulge in old coping mechanisms and habits is hard, and whilst the sense of pride I feel every time I don’t, or every time I use responsibly something I’m used to abusing is rewarding, there are days where waiting for the need to use them to pass is very long and very hard. I need to stop telling myself that just because I am feeling better than I did, I don’t deserve that support anymore. I do. I still deserve compassion. I still deserve a safety net. I still deserve a sense of understanding from the people around me. I deserve all of it, as does everyone else. I also deserve to be proud of how far I’ve come already instead of berating myself for not having come far enough. As I write this I haven’t self-harmed in 169 days, have been at my current job for coming up to 6 months, have an interview for a psychology course at the uni I came to love in a week’s time. I’m finally somewhat healthily managing my weight for the first time in years! I have also decided that once I do return to university, my reason for being there is not contingent on me maintaining firsts; my mental health, and what I do with the degree is much more important. I would ultimately like to go into clinical psychology and do as much as I can in that area to help people going through similar issues. With the current state of the mental health (and healthcare, in general) system in the UK, it’s definitely easy to get disheartened that the services it provides will never be adequate due to funding issues. However, in the meantime, I think the more of us with lived experience that can get into mental health care, the better the service that eventually is provided can be. Every week I’m thinking of new things I’d like to research once I have the footing, epigenetic and intergenerational trauma and the use of psychedelics and the benefit of peer support groups. There’s always a way to turn the negative into a positive, even if it takes time to learn how to do so and I think after all these years, I’m finally getting the hang of it. If my brain has been a “dumpster fire” for the last however many years, then I don’t want to let the ashes go to waste. I’m going to make them into some really morbid confetti! As I sit here writing this, I can firmly say I am happier than I’ve ever been. Game of Thrones is pissing me off (might do a post how identity and attachment issues lead to a correlation between BPD and obsessive character fixations at some point because BOY has that been driven home to me this week!) but tomorrow I’m going to an ABBA party with uni friends, Yvie Oddly is smashing drag race, and my cat is lying next to me purring. It gets better. The hard days become less frequent and they get easier to cope with too; you can learn to ride the waves and find reasons to continue doing so, regardless of how tiring it might be sometimes.

My pipe dream for this time next year is that we have people in government who really care about the invisibly ill of this country. That Downing Street can do more than turn green. I hope that we get to see more realistic and sympathetic portrayals of BPD in the media that draw attention to the issue without glamourising or romanticising it and that we get more portrayals of queer, disabled and POC experiences of mental illness too as it’s not just skinny caucasian girls that deal with this shit! Most importantly, I also hope that I continue to flourish, and wish the same for everyone struggling with mental illness/any kind of turmoil. Anybody who reads this ’til the end, wow! Thank you! It was a bit of an essay but what do you expect coming from an ex-history student and wannabe author, lol! Please let me know if there is something you’d like to see me post about on this Tumblr, such as any specific BPD symptoms and how they might present, how I deal with social anxiety and body image, or even anything completed unrelated to mental health! God knows I love the sound of my own…prose? Is that the right word to use?

I hope you enjoyed reading!

Lauren x

#mentalhealthawareness #mentalhealth #borderline personality disorder #borderlne #bpd #bpdrecovery #social anxiety #socialphobia #bpdprobz #body dysmorphia #recovery #addiction

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carlosebanegas-blog · 3 years ago

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“Through the looking glass: envisioning new library technologies”

Drones The word “drone” is the common term for an unmanned aerial vehicle – a robot that combines flight with sensors (usually cameras) to allow for unprecedented freedom in observing and interacting with the world. This column will explore the technology that makes modern drones possible, what makes drones useful and the role of libraries in making drones accessible to their patrons, now and in the future. Common uses for drones Perhaps the best way to understand the potential of drones is to survey some of the most common applications for this technology:

● The agriculture industry is using drones to monitor and manipulate crops with increasing precision.

● News agencies use them to take pictures and investigate situations that are too dangerous or expensive for a human reporter.

● Law enforcement agencies are exploring their capabilities in a number of areas such as monitoring traffic, locating poachers and searching for missing people using thermal cameras.

● Filmmakers are now able to take shots that would have previously required either expensive cranes or helicopters.

● After disasters, drones can provide a high-level overview of the damaged area and safely explore debris.

● Drones are being used to create high-resolution images of objects to produce three-dimensional (3D) maps and models.

Many of these applications are equally appealing to hobbyists and professionals. For some small-scale gardeners, drones can be used to scare away pests, such as deer, or take aerial photographs that provide a new perspective of their garden. For the agriculture industry, drones already account for $864.4 million in spending per year and are expected to grow to account for over $4 billion by 2022, as they are used not only to monitor and plan crops but also to plant seeds and provide accurate pesticide control (Wood, 2016). Although a small flying robot with a sensor is a seemingly simple idea, drones have a tremendous number of potential applications they are posed to break through to become a transformative technology in many areas. In the future, as they become smaller (potentially microscopic), faster and more autonomous (able to make independent decisions and respond dynamically to new situations), they are only going to become more useful and more significant. In this context, it is worth examining the component technologies that make drones possible. Navigation and sensory developments When considering an emerging technology such as drones, it is worth noting that no individual component of the drone is particularly new. The concepts and technology that enable aircraft have been around for a while, as have cameras and other sensory equipment. However, it is only recently that it has become cheap and easy enough for small flying robots to be equipped with sensors of sufficient power that, together, they can create something greater than the sum of their parts. The list of related technologies is much longer, of course. Most modern innovations are dependent on the host of other developments that make up our technological infrastructure. A variety of advances in robotics and aerial design underpin the drones’ flight capabilities. Drones are dependent on computers and wireless technologies for their programming and for communicating. Digital cameras are dependent on cheap storage to be useful. Looking forward, artificial intelligence and advanced sensors will further transform what a single drone is capable of. But ultimately, it is the key combination of the global positioning system (GPS) and inertial-measurement unit (IMU) devices that provide the orientation and location information that enables the drone to maneuver through space, and the sensors that make that navigation meaningful to its human pilot that define drones. GPS units, like drones, were first developed by the military and the underlying infrastructure is still maintained by the US Government. Anyone with a GPS receiver can now access a network of satellites to receive near-instantaneous location and time information. Widespread access to this technology was not available until recently, and when the first commercial GPS unit was sold in the late (able to make independent decisions and respond dynamically to new situations), they are only going to become more useful and more significant. In this context, it is worth examining the component technologies that make drones possible.

Navigation and sensory developments

When considering an emerging technology such as drones, it is worth noting that no individual component of the drone is particularly new. The concepts and technology that enable aircraft have been around for a while, as have cameras and other sensory equipment. However, it is only recently that it has become cheap and easy enough for small flying robots to be equipped with sensors of sufficient power that, together, they can create something greater than the sum of their parts. The list of related technologies is much longer, of course. Most modern innovations are dependent on the host of other developments that make up our technological infrastructure. A variety of advances in robotics and aerial design underpin the drones’ flight capabilities. Drones are dependent on computers and wireless technologies for their programming and for communicating. Digital cameras are dependent on cheap storage to be useful. Looking forward, artificial intelligence and advanced sensors will further transform what a single drone is capable of. But ultimately, it is the key combination of the global positioning system (GPS) and inertial-measurement unit (IMU) devices that provide the orientation and location information that enables the drone to maneuver through space, and the sensors that make that navigation meaningful to its human pilot that define drones. GPS units, like drones, were first developed by the military and the underlying infrastructure is still maintained by the US Government. Anyone with a GPS receiver can now access a network of satellites to receive near-instantaneous location and time information. Widespread access to this technology was not available until recently, and when the first commercial GPS unit was sold in the late 1980s, it weighed 1.5 pounds and cost $3,000 (Wolpin, 2014). It was not until the year 2000 that the Department of Defense stopped purposefully interfering with GPS signals, which improved the accuracy of this technology overnight (Sullivan, 2012). IMU devices are less well-known than GPS units, but equally important for ensuring that drones can successfully and easily navigate. They use a combination of accelerometers and gyroscopes to measure the drone’s movement, orientation and acceleration, which are crucial for unmanned flight. Similar to GPS units, this technology was, until recently, prohibitively expensive and cumbersome, but now can be easily and cheaply integrated with GPS units to function as key components of drones’ internal navigation systems. Depending on their application, drones can use a wide variety of sensory tools, such as digital cameras and other sensory inputs. They can collect temperature information, detect infrared light, measure pressure fluctuations and so on – any sensor that can be made portable can be attached to a drone. But the most common device so far has been the camera. Unlike audio information, visual data are relatively easy to collect without being distorted by the movement of the drone itself, and the data are instantly understandable and engaging for most people. Comparatively light, high-quality cameras capable of taking (and storing) images in a wide variety of situations have become progressively cheap and ubiquitous. This has made it possible to create drones that are easy to use, and, more importantly, create drones that have applications that many people can easily understand.

“Dull, dirty or dangerous” and beyond.

Drones have their history in military applications. They were valued because they enabled robots to complete jobs that were too dull, dirty or dangerous for humans to accomplish. Should a documentary filmmaker use a drone to attempt a dangerous shot of an active volcano? Should an activist organization use a drone to spy on a company they suspect of ethical violations? Should individuals use drones to monitor the perimeter of their homes? Few people want to spend their time continuously monitoring an agricultural field on the off-chance they observe something new about the crop health. If such people could be found, it would be expensive to pay them for their time. Yet a sufficiently inexpensive drone can circle the crop endlessly, alerting humans when it detects something out of the ordinary. Additionally, drones can be sent into situations that would be hazardous for humans. These hazards can be something as benign as agricultural chemicals, or something more dangerous, such as battlefields. As drones have developed, they have moved beyond the simple “dull, dirty or dangerous” duties. Increasingly, they have been able to take on tasks that leverage their unique capabilities. Due to their shape, and the fact that they can fly, they can easily travel to places that are inaccessible to humans. They are also capable of carrying cameras and other specific sensory equipment that have capacities no unassisted human possesses.

Cost

Undoubtedly, it is the development of a host of technologies that has enabled drones to become mainstream technology. But, as much as the advance in technology has been essential, so too has been the reduction in the cost of that technology. Financially, as the drone becomes cheaper, both to build and to maintain, it can be used in more situations. For example, in risky situations – such as sending a drone into a dangerous area from which it may not return – the potential downside is reduced when the drone is cheaper. But this is equally true when considering “dull” applications, such as monitoring crops. In each case, the value the drones bring must be weighed against the cost of the drone. There are ethical dimensions to these questions, but there are practical ones, as well. When drones were expensive, they had to be developed by the military, where questions of life and death are customary. Now that drones are inexpensive, the stakes are lower, and the potential uses are exponentially more numerous. As the technology continues to develop, this trend is likely to continue.

Drones in libraries

Libraries are already beginning to engage with drones to benefit their patrons. At the most basic level, libraries can offer relevant information about drones to help support patrons who are interested in this technology. A library’s offerings can be tailored to meet the needs of a given library’s target population. The support at an agricultural library may be considerably different than at an art library, or a public library. Even public libraries might focus on different sub-populations, using drones to attract teenagers or focus on engaging adult hobbyists. The underlying technology is the same, but the applications and relevant challenges can differ significantly as libraries develop the resources necessary to help their patrons determine how the technology can be useful to them. For almost all drone users, one common issue is local regulations. For instance, in the USA, the Federal Aviation Agency recently released new regulations about drones, including new definitions for what counts as a “commercial” versus a “recreational” drone. As these definitions are dependent upon the weight of the drone, the interpretation of “commercial” comprises many drones that might otherwise be assumed (and even marketed) as recreational. Additionally, under the new rules, all drones need to be registered, even if they are being used exclusively on personal property (Harris, 2015). Around the world, governments are developing regulations to deal with the complex set of issues raised by drones. More and more, technology that is aimed at a general consumer audience has the capacity to violate privacy, or otherwise run afoul of regulations. Libraries can play a crucial role in their communities simply by providing resources to make relevant regulations understandable.

Checking out drones

Already, many libraries are beginning to experiment with providing drones for their patrons to check out. When considering the value of initiating a lending program, it is worth reiterating that drones come with a wide variety of capabilities and price points. Offering drones for check-out invariably provides access to this exciting technology to people who would otherwise be unable to use it, but the question becomes, what does this access enable? In some places, such as the University of South Florida, libraries have been loaning out drones for years. In this case, the library is providing access to mid-range, $1,500 drones that are inexpensive enough to be accessible to a resource-rich library, but are prohibitively expensive for many of their students. They envision students using the technology for activities ranging from multi-media art projects, to researching and mapping out energy use on campus (Imam, 2014). Other libraries are providing more inexpensive drones to give members of the public access to the technology for the first time. After all, as with other technology, the cheaper the device, the more a given library can afford, and the less distressing it is when one is inadvertently damaged.

Library uses: current

Even libraries that cannot offer drones for check-out have found ways to expose their patrons to the technology. For example, the public library system in Chattanooga, Tennessee, Library offers a hands-on experience flying inexpensive ($50) drones through an obstacle course (Phillips, 2016). Engaging activities such as these can be designed without ever having to loan a drone. Of course, one of the most exciting applications of drones is content creation. Libraries with robust technology centers will want to find ways not only to provide drones but also to consider how this technology can work in conjunction with their existing offerings. If the library already offers access to a 3D printer, or even photo-editing software, then the images produced by drones can be used by these technologies in ways that may not be immediately obvious to patrons. By creating custom programs, libraries can tailor their offerings to take advantage of a full suite of services. Drones do not have to be used by the public to be useful to libraries. After all, libraries are frequently in the business of creating their own marketing materials to promote services. Drones can be used to take videos of the library’s physical space, making use of angles and types of photography that would otherwise be very difficult or even impossible. For example, the New York Public Library, already an impressive building, can be seen in a whole new light when viewed from a drone after hours (Holzer, 2013).

Library uses: [. . .] and in the future

Not only can drones deliver sensory equipment easily to new spaces, they can also bring along a wide variety of other objects as well. In 2013, Amazon announced an ambitious plan to use drones to deliver packages. This would enable them to quickly and efficiently move items from their warehouses to people’s homes. Now, regulatory barriers notwithstanding, some experts posit this dream could be a reality in the next five years (Lee, 2016). One of the challenges Amazon faces is that many of their items are large and highly variable in size, which complicates door-to-door delivery. On the other hand, while libraries may check out a wide variety of items, most books come within a fairly standard range of sizes and shapes. It is easy to imagine a future in which a library patron requests a book, and it is delivered hours later by a drone directly to that person’s doorstep. Drones could even be used to return the book. This kind of ease-of-use could revolutionize libraries by making them accessible to whole new populations. If speed is not a priority, drones could also increase accessibility to remote areas, becoming a modern-day bookmobile.

Conclusion

Drones comprise a number of existing technologies that, when combined, can yield powerful and often unexpected results. Drones are poised to become even more influential as associated technology develops and people find ever-more creative ways to use them. As artificial intelligence develops, drones will be able to interpret the world and make independent decisions, allowing them to navigate obstacles independent of humans. Over time, they will have the potential to become smaller, faster and cheaper. As the internet develops, humans will be able to connect drones to other physical objects in their lives, facilitating their utility even further. All of this innovation comes with a number of challenges that libraries are well-situated to help their patrons overcome. Libraries can offer information on ethical dilemmas relating to privacy – as a technology that facilitates new forms of surveillance becomes prevalent and legal – as governments attempt to balance those concerns with the benefits that drones provide. Finally, libraries can give practical information for operating a drone, or provide access to drones directly. By developing this expertise, not only can libraries serve their patrons but they can also be prepared to use drones themselves.

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jacobsmith321 · 4 years ago

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Contextual Studies: Hyper Connected World and Design

The world as we know it today is full of technology and the internet, in fact it’s become so wide spread, that in 2012, 566% of people had internet access (this was within 12 years and this is the third of the world). But in 2020, there are now 4.6 billion online (which is over half the world’s population).

Nicholas Mirzoeff said that ‘this is not just another form of mass media. This is the first universal medium’. This quote implies that this goes beyond the normal reaches of the earth, as shown by the fact we have satellites around the earth and we were able to create devices that can take interstellar photographs.

As to why this matters towards visual communication, it’s helps to promote content and help spread your brand. This also helps to provide inspiration, as well as receiving feedback.

In 2015 there were 100 hours of YT content uploaded every minute, which is immense and 6billion hours were watched of youtube, which was only 5 years ago, which may be a lot higher right now. However, there are way too many ads, even for songs.

2015 also shows that every 2 minutes, more photos have been taken, than in the whole of the 1800s. 1 country, the USA, took more photos in 2 minutes, than within 100 years.

1800s become for accessible and wide spread. In 2014, 1 trillion photos have been taken, which is 1000 billion. This shows how large and accessible it is.

This is because back then, you’d have to destroy a single lightbulb to take 1 photo but now and tech wasn’t as advanced, you can have 1 smaller lightbulb and take a million photos.

The blue marble, is actually the first, most clean picture taken of the earth, all the way from space, showing how beautiful and big the planet is (this was 40 years ago). But in 2012, the world’s very first selfie was taken in space by an astronaut, from Japan (ignoring the planet and wanting him to be seen instead).

Nasa wanted to create an anniversary image of the Earth called “Blue Marble 2012″ and the 3 man Apollo 13 crew are the only ones to have seen the Earth in all it’s beauty and 2012 blue marble, was false and was made using digital composites.

With a film camera, you’re a lot more careful as you have limited ammo, but phones make work less worth it, because you have unlimited chances.

How did the advent of the internet differ from other mediums? Simple, it’s easier and simple, more room for expansion; unlike a camera or a printing press, it’s less work and doesn’t require as much labour. It’s easier to store images and pieces. This also creates the shrinking world theory, where we’re “becoming more connected but also more distance”.

Lev Manovich makes a point about how nowadays, this new form of digital media, changes the way we communicate. It effects all stages of communication as well.

People watch TV but it’s considered to be hard to put their work on TV, radio or books. It’s not as easy to communicate with and share.

Digital media differs from broadcast, as broadcast media has more receivers but less distributors. Where as the internet is very active and has more receivers with an equal amount of distributors, with the ability to answer back.

John Barlow and many others used to the think the internet would revolutionise and change society and life, making it engaging and amazing. Utopian like and such.

However Vince Miller says ‘it’s no longer its novelty, uniqueness, or potential to transform life, but its mundane nature and pervasiveness that now gives the internet its significance’. Which is sad and the opposing to what we all think. It’s now all around us and we can’t escape it. We can’t live without it now. The internet can be beneficial but also harmful.

What does privacy mean to us? It’s to have our own information and lives to ourselves and not to be spread around, but with spyware and such, it’s become a lot harder to know if we’re safe. As the internet makes it harder to consider things more sacred or fair.

Marshall McLuhan says ‘Once we have surrendered our senses and nervous systems to the private manipulation of those who would try to benefit by taking a lease on our eyes and ears and nerves, we don't really have any rights left’, which essentially means that what we once saw or thought to be something for us, basically becomes useful and easily manipulative to others.

When we were asked how the internet changes the way we do things, we talked about how we take photos everywhere, make life easier and learn anything we want/need to know.

There have bene graphics pieces to represent the internet, such as “all these windows but no air’ which has images of windows tabs showing us we need to get some fresh air and get off our laptops, ‘Tabagothci’ to eat up any tabs we don’t need, which also helps reduce our anxiety when it comes to tabs or there’s photography of people who have become so distant but are still together, thanks to the web.

There are also ‘Algorithms’ which are decided by what you want to see and what things don’t want you yo see.

It’s also believed that social media is killing art and that it’s no longer what it used to be, because of the internet.

Design

When asked if design is harmful or helpful, it’s considered both. This is because you’re able to connect more, see a lot of cool things and learn new experiences, as well as gaining advice, but there are dangerous and subliminal places you don’t want to go to and some people may not be very open to criticism and can’t handle it. However, thanks to it, it even made the pandemic easier, we could work, manage our lives so much better and when we need something, we can get it next day.

Online copyrighting can also be a pain because people may try or do steal you work and because of how some terms of service works, it’s almost aggravatingly impossible to get it back or report them. Mozilla & Moniker even created a poster to #fixcopyright.

The internet is also considered to be “f##ked” to a lot of people, such as with the piece ‘Unfck The Internet’ made by Mozilla again.

Nesta created a website about taking control “using the CTRL” key on the keyboard as an idea for it’s look and how to control what you do on the web. It’s called ‘Finding CTRL’.

Over on Finding CTRL, there are drawings by kids to describe the internet and some are in the forms of webs/mind maps.

Hello Velocity created a typeface where letters are replaced with the significant letters of brands and there’s Martin Grasser which made type based off coloured dots on his pieces and websites.

When asked about things from the past that were weird on the web, we mentioned a lot of things like numa numa, addicting games, the signing hamster, even that annoying paper clip no one liked. And there have even been pieces made on them.

Conclusion?

Overall, the internet is an easy, fun accessible place everyone can go into and enjoy, but at the same time it can be hard and you need a break from it from time to time, to for your own health.

But even despite it’s faults, it has a lot of good features and helps in today’s times and has allowed us to discover new information and expand upon creative practices.

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dipulb3 · 4 years ago

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New Photoshop tool could help fight fake images

New Post has been published on https://appradab.com/new-photoshop-tool-could-help-fight-fake-images/

New Photoshop tool could help fight fake images

The company is trying to do something to fix this problem, which its software didn’t originate but helped propagate for decades (such as with this popular faked image of a shark swimming on a flooded freeway). On Tuesday, Adobe announced the release of a “beta” version of an attribution tool for Photoshop, with the hope it will encourage people to trust that the images they see are truthful (or at least make more informed judgments).

The feature, which is optional and will be available initially just to select users, lets photo editors append images with detailed information known as metadata that, in essence, travels around with it online. This information will go far beyond the basic details that can currently be added to pictures and may include who created the image and where, a thumbnail of the original image, and data about how it has been altered — as well as whether AI tools were used to change the picture. This data will be secure and it will be clear if it has been tampered with, Adobe (ADBE) said.

“If you have something that you want people to believe is true, then this is a tool to help you get people to believe in it,” Dana Rao, Adobe’s general counsel, told Appradab Business.

The release is part of the company’s Content Authenticity Initiative to fight against dis- and misinformation, which Adobe launched a year ago with Twitter and The New York Times. Initially, the content attribution tool will be for publishing still images to Behance, an Adobe-owned social network for sharing creative work. Over time, the company hopes this kind of authenticating information will be added to different types of content, and be shared widely on social media platforms and through media companies.

“The public is going to have to understand they should expect to see this metadata if they want to trust these things,” Rao said. “And if they don’t see metadata, they should be skeptical.”

Adobe’s effort will be limited by the fact that those editing images need to use it voluntarily. And the company won’t be the first to attempt to popularize a method for making media trustworthy. However, it may have a better chance at success than others due to its reach. Adobe claims that more than 90% of “creative professionals” use Photoshop, and 23 million people use Behance. The company also has experience in popularizing digital content standards such as the PDF.

Hany Farid, a UC Berkeley professor who specializes in digital forensics and is an unpaid adviser to Adobe for the authenticity initiative, thinks the company’s approach makes sense because it makes the content producer responsible for making the image trustworthy, rather than leaving it to each individual viewer to sort out.

Siwei Lyu, a professor at the University at Buffalo, SUNY, who also studies digital forensics, believes the tool will be more effective than the limited metadata that may be connected to images today, which he said is easy to manipulate.

“This should have happened a long time ago,” said Lyu, who was advised by Farid while completing his graduate studies at Dartmouth College.

Yet, as Farid pointed out, Adobe’s content-attribution tool can’t confirm the veracity of an image before it is edited in Photoshop. To address this problem, photo- and video-verification startup TruePic, which is part of the Content Authenticity Initiative and for which Farid is a paid adviser, recently announced it partnered with chip-maker Qualcomm to create a way to securely snap pictures via a smartphone’s the built-in camera app.

“It’s taken us years to get to this problem and it will take us years to get out of it,” Farid said.

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wesleybates · 4 years ago

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Five Design Tools for the Non-Designer Marketer

Whether you are a recently graduated marketer or a well-seasoned marketing director, there are some essential design tools that every non-designing marketer should have on hand to mock-up an idea, manipulate a photograph, or create an image. You might need to design occasionally in your position or to do some quick edits, or you might just like to dabble in design. These are my top five tools:

GET INKED

Printers are inexpensive, and even if your work is not print based, it’s good to have the option to print should you need to. Also, a physical printout provides a different perspective and can sometimes act as a second set of eyes, allowing one to see things that may have been missed on screen. I like Epson printers and find they work well with Macs, but it is a personal preference.

THE RESOURCE CLOSET

Have a “room” (i.e., a digital folder) that houses essential resources that may be needed in a pinch, like a template or a favourite website for creative motivation. Adobe’s Behance is a good place to start. It is a virtual art gallery where designers can exhibit their work. You don’t have to subscribe to Adobe Creative Cloud to peruse the site and be inspired. The following are helpful sites that provide PowerPoint templates and presentation resources:

You Exec

Templates Office

Prezi

Creative Market

Canva

THE LIBRARY

Having an image library is essential because, for example, a message accompanied by an image is more memorable than a message communicated by text alone. Thus, it’s beneficial to have a bookmarked list of stock photography sites to quickly access images. The two image libraries that I use are:

Burst, a free stock photo platform put forth by Shopify, and Pixabay. Both libraries offer thousands of high-resolution, royalty-free images.

The Noun Project is an app that provides users with millions of icons for a nominal yearly fee and that works with Microsoft Office and Adobe Creative Suite.

4.THE ALPHABET: KNOW YOUR Ps and Qs

It’s good to have typographic options beyond the standard set of system fonts installed on a computer. These are two sites that I use; font squirrel and Google fonts.

5. IDEATION

Photo editing and other image-based software are key items. For many, free mobile and online apps will suffice. However, for those who want a more robust professional platform and who have the budget, the Adobe Creative Cloud provides both Illustrator and Photoshop as well as many other applications for a monthly fee. (Note that there may be an investment of time required to learn the applications.) Much of your choice for software comes down to personal preference and the visual outcome that you are trying to achieve. Here are my recommendations for lower-cost options:

Pixlr – This is great for mobile device photo editing, but it can also be used as a web app. There’s a complimentary and a pro version, and it offers free fonts, graphics and vector editing.

Easel.ly – As the name implies, this software easily allows the user to design and share infographics. It also includes templates and tips for creating infographics.

Sketchbook – This is a free digital sketchbook app that can be used across multiple platforms, and it comes with unlimited brushes for endless drawing and painting ideas.

By utilizing our services at Advanced Digital Media Services, one of the best Website Designers in Steamboat Springs, CO you’ll receive this type of website. It will load fast, look trustworthy and run smoothly on all types of browsers.

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vrvisioninc · 5 years ago

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VR & AR Application Development Costs Explained

Just how much does it cost to develop an XR application? The XR (Extended Reality) market, which encompasses both virtual and augmented reality applications, is set to hit $150 billion by 2020, definitely an exciting time for immersive technology. Microsoft is set to launch the Hololens 2, Snapchat is upgrading its Spectacles 3 to 3D, and RealWear, the creators of a ruggedized AR headset, closed over $100 million in funding and have rolled out an impressive device and platform for industrial applications.

Quite the exciting time to be alive as a development studio for XR tech. But where does that leave businesses looking to develop internal applications for a variety of uses? How much does it exactly cost to step into the immersive technology world? And once there what kind of costs are associated with upkeep, maintenance and support down the road?

In this article, we will look to answer some of those questions and provide a first-hand perspective as to what kind of costs are associated with the development of VR & AR applications, so that you the consumer or business executive can get a better grasp on what to expect when quoting your own application development. It’s quite a complicated process to scope out so for the sake of simplicity you can expect a lot of ballparks to keep things short. Costs can vary greatly based on complexity and orders of magnitude which really depend on the specific requirements. Fortunately, if you have an idea or framework for what you are looking to develop, a ballpark development estimate is definitely possible.

Virtual Reality Development Costs? VR application development cost comes down to the kind of content you are looking to create. Sometimes you will need a mobile VR application, other times you are looking for a VR game. Some applications can be built with simple 360 videos, while others will be built in full CG-based environments. The scale and complexity of each obviously will add or subtract to the total cost of development.

360-3D Interactive Video Costs: $10,000 for each minute filmed + post-production.

CG-based Environment Applications: Between $40k and $70k for a non-gaming mobile VR application.

CG-based Gaming Applications: Between $50k and $100k for gaming-based projects.

Which these are simply ballparks, they should provide a good baseline to work from and give you an idea of what to expect when quoting your own specific project. Numbers can obviously increase greatly based on the scope and complexity of projects.

Augmented Reality Development Costs? AR application development is much similar to VR development although requires much less overall development since a lot of the time it is more than likely simply 3D objects being overlaid onto the real world.

Marker-Based Augmented Reality Marker-based AR or Image Recognition based AR provides more information about a scanned object after the user focuses on a pre-defined marker or sticker. An object is detected with a front-facing camera and then proceeds to provide information on the screen regarding the object. This allows the user to view the object in more detail from various angles or potentially rotate the image in 3D as well.

Marker-based AR Costs: $5-10k per 3D modelled object interaction and UI

Pre-Defined Room Scale Augmented Reality A pre-defined room-scale AR application allows the user to walk into a room that has been pre-scanned and overlay a visual aesthetic that showcases various objects laid out in the scene. This is useful for retail stores or large areas with many waypoints or objects that need definition. Pre-defined AR works through reading data from a mobile device’s GPS, digital compass and accelerometer and predicting where the user is looking. This type of augmented reality is all about adding location information on screen about the objects that can be seen from the user’s camera.

Room Scale AR Costs: $40-50k per room dependant of the number of objects.

Plane Projection / Gyroscopic Augmented Reality This type of AR will allow the user to detect if there is a flat surface and scans that surface to use a pivot point or origin for projecting the user’s 3D model or object. Once the plane has been set the user can then manipulate the 3D object in a variety of ways as well as interact with said object.

Plane Projection / Gyroscopic AR Costs: $15-20k per 3D object dependant on interaction complexity.

Wearable Based Augmented Reality This kind of AR requires specific hardware in order to overlay objects in the user’s retina through a wearable device. This allows for much more in-depth visuals with a field of view that will be present wherever the user is looking.

Wearable Based AR Costs: $50-100k range for developing full-scale AR applications.

Along with AR development, many applications will require additional features that are above and beyond the scope mentioned above. These will often include pricing out the following features: Log-in, Payment integration, Support of several languages, Analytics tools, Support & Updates, and Hardware.

Further Factors That Affect Development Costs Research & Development When developing a VR application there is typically an R&D phase during which a creative storyboard is outlined and a variety of the best options for development are laid out. Development teams ofter will need to pause and research the best ways to implement functions and features. Sometimes with new immersive technology, there is no baseline to work from past iteration, which leads to time spent on researching and developing the best ways to make a design work.

During the development process, there is usually a quality assurance and testing period near the completion of the project. In this phase development, teams will need to test all iterations of the experience developed in order to find bugs and issues that may arise.

Agile Project Management Methodology

Most professional development studios that are worth their weight will utilize an Agile methodology for VR or AR development processes. Agile makes certain that all projects are developed with collaborative iteration, flexibility and clarity. This leads to a higher quality development process and inevitably a better quality product or end result. Agile methodology has been proven to reduce costs and less reworking as well as management load.

360 3D Video vs. Interactive Experiences Not every VR application needs to be developed in a truly “virtual” environment crafted from the ground up in CGI. Many times a 3D 360 video is a great medium of choice for a plethora of developments. Many training programs, for example, can be replicated from a live 360 3D video recording and easily played back in virtual reality which provides a unique learning environment and is much more cost-effective than developing that exact same environment in CGI.

Generally speaking, the professional 360 3D video post-production can be done for less than $10k/minute, whereas the same CG-based environment will run costs nearly double that. It is much less time-intensive to produce, record, edit and play 3D video from start to finish than to create an immersive VR experience.

Although it will be an immersive experience, please note that 3D 360 video is not truly VR. However, professional development studios will be able to add overlays and voice-overs to make the 360 video experience interactive and immersive which lends itself well to a VR experience.

Delivery Device & Platform One of the other factors to consider when developing an immersive application is the delivery method by which you will serve up your experience. There are high-end VR systems like the HTC Vive Plus or the Oculus Rift that will provide a much more vivid experience and can utilize the best of high-end GPU cards. Inital development for interactive CG-based applications on these high-end platforms will carry a lower cost because they require less optimization. When scaling however, the costs will increase drastically due to the higher cost of computing and IT infrastructure and management resources required.

Whereas on the other side of the spectrum, developing for devices like the Oculus Quest and Vive Focus Plus will limit the potential for high-end graphics given that lightweight processing power and GPU’s available for your disposal. Given the limitations there is a higher amount of downsampling and optimization required. This makes the initial cost for developing for these platforms higher than high-end platforms, however when scaling, the costs decrease as there is less infrastructure to maintain (as well as hardware costs being less as well).

Developers will be able to develop for these platforms much quicker due to the limitations, but also will potentially have to spend more time on R&D to ensure certain elements can work correctly given the GPU limitation.

Current Virtual Reality Platforms

Keep in mind some feature-rich mobile apps that are built for enterprise can carry costs up to $250k for the full app development process due to complexity will enterprise management systems and IT infrastructure implementation.

Final Thoughts Given all these considerations you should now have a better idea of what costs are associated with developing immersive technologies. When developing you must consider who your target market is as well as which platform is best suited for providing the features and capabilities you want in your application. Once you have a better understanding of these key concepts you will be able to decide what the best route is for your specific needs. In future articles we will dive into more detail around costs associated with building an in-house development team vs. outsourcing.

Do you have a specific project in mind and are looking for a quote for development? Contact us at VR Vision today to see how we can help bring your idea from conceptualization to (virtual) reality!

#vr #ar #virtual reality #augmented reality #virtual reality application #augmented reality application #vr development costs #360 3D interactive application #CG based application #ar development costs #marker based ar #room scale ar #gyroscopic ar #wearable ar #research #development #delivery device #platform #immersive technology

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toldnews-blog · 6 years ago

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New Post has been published on https://toldnews.com/business/greggs-how-its-vegan-sausage-roll-stormed-social-media/

Greggs: How its vegan sausage roll stormed social media

Image copyright Getty Images

Image caption Greggs – getting a taste for vegans

In a week of dismal news for retail, shares in Greggs hit an all-time high on the back of some savvy marketing and solid trading figures.

It’s a turnaround from the spring when it issued a profit warning after freezing weather dented sales.

But it was the launch of a vegan sausage roll that propelled it into the headlines.

It was another example of how Greggs has harnessed social media to boost profits.

The marketing campaign – helped by a debate over whether the vegan product could be called a sausage roll at all – has been called “a master class in public relations” by the industry magazine PR Week.

The campaign was, crucially, delivered with a sense of humour and made no attempt to preach a vegan message.

Its Youtube advert parodied the tone of an iPhone commercial and garnered five million views. But the marketing went far beyond a single video.

Image copyright Greggs/PA

Mock packaging

Journalists were sent vegan rolls in mock iPhone packaging and stores sold Greggs Christmas jumpers and sausage roll phone cases.

One journalist in particular supplied rocket fuel for the campaign.

In a tweet Piers Morgan, presenter of ITV’s Good Morning Britain, said: “Nobody was waiting for a vegan bloody sausage, you PC-ravaged clowns.”

Other celebrities reacted, there was an apparent demonstration against the rolls by Brexit supporters, which turned out to be nothing of the sort and there was an article in the Guardian suggesting a vegan sausage represented “a chance for a divided country to heal itself”.

Then conspiracy theories emerged that Greggs had orchestrated everything.

Neil Knowles, the company’s Digital Brand Communications Manager, denied any such manipulation: “You can never plan how the public will react.

“Whilst we always anticipated it to be huge news we never expected the reaction to gain as much momentum as it has done. And while we love a good conspiracy theory, we don’t have any relationship with Piers Morgan.”

Mr Knowles responded to Piers Morgan’s outrage with the tweet: ��Oh hello Piers, we’ve been expecting you”.

John Brown, founder of the communications agency Don’t Cry Wolf calls the campaign a “blueprint” for anyone in marketing, particularly the clever way that Greggs “stirred the pot”.

“A lot of companies would be terrified of offending the vegan lobby so it takes a bit of guts to treat the whole thing as a bit of fun – for instance with the iPhone theme. A lot of vegans do own Apple products – that’s a neat touch,” he said.

Another crafty marketing trick also won admiration.

In May it launched a video of a Greggs team (masquerading as “Gregory & Gregory”) successfully convincing foodies at a summer food fair that its Oriental Chicken Sticky Rice Salad was haute cuisine. It attracted a modest 50,000 views but got enthusiastic coverage in national and industry media.

Image copyright Greggs

The firm’s marketing efforts struck a different chord at Christmas 2017 when its advent calendar put a sausage roll in a manger in pride of place.

Greggs apologised for putting the pastry in place of baby Jesus, with the three wise men gathered around it.

Christian Twitter users said the advert was disrespectful to their religion.

Weathering storms

The success of the vegan roll comes too late to appear in the company’s latest trading update, which shows how Greggs has been weathering the worst storm to hit the retail industry in living memory.

The company has a history of doing well when others are struggling. Immediately after the financial crisis Greggs thrived as squeezed household budgets forced consumers to look for the lowest prices. The same is true now.

Image copyright Greggs

Image caption Gregg’s upgraded decor still feels comfortable to older customers

Diane Wherle, Marketing and Insights Director at consultancy Springboard said: “The store does two things well – it’s prices are really good, and the quality is reliable. There’s no where else you can get a good sandwich at that price.”

Greggs was not always so dynamic. It started as a family business on the eve of the World War Two with John Gregg selling yeast and eggs and sweets on his bicycle to homes around Newcastle and it stayed small for a long time.

By 1964, and the death of the founder, it still only employed 15 people.

But the founder’s sons and managing director Sir Michael Darrington started a rapid expansion buying out local competition and floating the company on the London stock market at 135p-a-share in 1984.

This week, after the trading figures were announced, the shares rose to 1,443p.

Ms Wherle said: “It has managed to cater to new markets without being overly ambitious. The builder can still come off the building site and get a hot pasty, but there are also salads – you’d never have got a salad in Greggs in the past. The decor is still recognisable even if it has been upgraded and the older traditional customers still feel comfortable.”

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thinkaboutnetwork-blog · 8 years ago

Text

Photoshop Master Reveals Why You Should Never Trust Photos You See On Social Media

It’s becoming increasingly difficult to know just what is real and what isn’t when browsing the internet. We’re not just talking about fake news either, but the millions of images that may or may not have been digitally manipulated beyond recognition.

Take a look at these incredible before and after pictures to see what we mean. They were Photoshopped by a Weibo user who goes by the name of…

View On WordPress

#" apparently provides Photoshopping services to people who want to look better on their online profiles. "Don&039;t believe the p #000 followers. Whether she&039;s altering guys or girls #according to MSN #although Chinese social media prefers to call her "Photoshop Holy." Why? Because her skills are nothing short of Godlike #and let them act as a cautionary reminder that #but the millions of images that may or may not have been digitally manipulated beyond recognition. Take a look at these incredible before an #I don&039;t even see the point here anymore - could have just created a whole digitized person to begin with. 37 Reply View More Replies...#is to make people look "shiny #It&039;s becoming increasingly difficult to know just what is real and what isn&039;t when browsing the internet. We&039;re not just talk #or even turning guys into girls #Photoshop Master Reveals Why You Should Never Trust Photos You See On Social Media #she&039;s cute 12 Reply View More Replies... View more comments 9 Photoshop Sorcery kanahoooo Report 17points Add a comment... POST Vela L #then see them in real life." Check out some of her best images below #there seems to be nothing that the skilled image editor can&039;t do. Kanahoooo #there&039;s a very thin line between fact and fiction. More info: Weibo (h/t: msn) 1 Photoshop Sorcery kanahoooo Report 26points Add a com #when it comes to the internet #which is why she has over 430 #whose day job

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spirit-science-blog · 4 years ago

Video

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The Disclosure of You - what all of these conspiracies have in common- and how it relates to your ascension - is now available inside of Spirit Conspiracies. Get Free Access to the complete workshop using the link below, and enjoy the episode.

“Know your customer.” Its the de-facto business mantra of our modern era - collect enough information on everyone’s web browsing and social media habits, listen to what they talk about when they believe they’re alone, and feed the data into a network of computers so complex that computer scientists aren’t even sure how it works anymore.

This complex neural network of computers, data, and programs are then linked to nearly all of us through the apps and web services we all use daily, spitting out products, content, and suggestions catered to individuals desires better than anything that has been done before, keeping the masses glued and engaged on their phones, tablets, and desktops like nobodies business, and have been specifically designed to manipulate our thoughts and feelings to keep us using the apps longer, get our friends and family engagement, and spend more money in the process.

This... is our current reality, and what’s more interesting, the business model is wildly successful, and most people don’t even know they’re a part of it. Where does humanity go from here? A cyberpunk dystopia?

As technology continues to advance, there is a concern growing in the minds of those who have freed themselves from the matrix long enough to recognize that there is an issue. As technology advances and humans become more integrated with technology, the line seems to blur between what is real and what is not… Then again, if all of reality is an illusion anyway… does it even matter?

Let us begin our exploration with software that currently exists today, that begins to blur the lines between reality and illusion—deep Fakes. Technology is just now reaching a point where we can produce videos of just about anyone saying or doing things they wouldn’t otherwise say. *PLAY CLIP - OBAMA - “PRESIDENT TRUMP IS A DIPSHIP” *

Granted, this technology is still in its infancy. While that clip itself can easily be identified as a DeepFake, it becomes more and more difficult to tell the difference between Deepfake and Reality every day as it improves. It is being used in nefarious ways, including making porn videos of celebrities by taking their faces and applying them to other bodies. As time goes on, we may exist in a world where across the internet could exist countless videos of famous people, celebrities, and politicians saying all kinds of things that they wouldn’t otherwise say, and what happens when it gets so good that nobody can tell the difference. The real and fake versions arguing over which one is authentic?

But of course, this is only the beginning of our technological conspiracies and how we slowly lose touch with our world as we enter into new ones and integrate with technology. One of the biggest growing concerns in the world is the belief that the powers that be are attempting to control everyone through advanced microchip technology - for a while, each of our mobile devices already tracks and monitor us, the microchips could be used to monitor and potentially even manipulate thoughts and emotions on a mass level, just like Facebook and Google are already doing today. The elite wouldn’t just be watching you on the outside; they’d be able to monitor everything inside… everything about you, down to what you think about.

Integration Level With Technology

This technology, combined with an AI that can associate complex combinations of states within your physiology, predicting future behaviors and affecting our perception and decision-making process, a terrifying and possible reality becomes available to us… one where we integrate with technology. As we know, this is already happening on some level right now; with the algorithms actively recording everything you search and serving it back to you on a silver platter, this would be a far more invasive integration. What’s even crazier to consider is that people would do it voluntarily…

You see, very few people will allow this technology to be embedded in their bodies just so that the government can monitor them. Instead, just like with phone technology today, the microchip will be a no-brainer for people who are willing to receive the benefits of this tech….. and the exchange? Intimate access to your personal information, everything you see, think, feel, touch, taste, and so on.

But what kind of benefits would there be? Well, at the earliest level, which Elon Musk has already announced with Neuralink, is that by connecting a few very tiny wires into your brain, they could theoretically overwrite neural patterns of depression, anxiety, and even help heal spinal problems, among other things. But in the grand scheme of things, and with a great deal of innovation, where this technology seems to go is into the realm of having a sort of telepathic link to the internet. When you have a question, instead of pulling out your phone and searching for the answer on the internet, you can access all of the information instantaneously about anything you want. For others with the implant, you may find yourself connecting to others in a pseudo-telepathic kind of way, where your thoughts and feelings could be personally shared with others in real-time, communicating beyond words, but with a language of images, pictures, and even sharing experiences. This would allow you to connect with others, both mentally and empathically, which could bring people closer together. This would fundamentally change the education system; who needs school when you have instant access to every bit of information known to humankind, right there in your mind?

The chip could theoretically support you in downloading information thousands, if not millions of times faster than reading or watching documentaries. Much like Neo in the matrix, downloading a lifetime worth of fighting techniques and being a kungfu master in a single afternoon, this integration level could be possible with this kind of technology. Imagine if you wanted to become a fantastic artist, learn everything, know about programming, master quantum mechanics, or become a professional accountant or lawyer? Why not spend an evening downloading and installing courses directly into your mind in the afternoon? You could theoretically condense six years of intense university studies into a weekend and have the same level of knowledge or even greater understanding than someone who took the time to learn it the old fashioned way.

And as more and more people integrate with technology, it may even lead to a collective hive-mind where everyone’s brains become processors for a collective consciousness shared amongst all integrated people. On the one hand, it’s very much the Borg from Star Trek. Still, on the other, it relates a lot with many Ancient Writings such as the Hermetic texts and ideas that people like Steven Greer have put forward - the idea that there’s only ONE consciousness. While all of our bodies appear separate and perceive disconnection from one another, ultimately, we’re all sharing the same consciousness within the source field.

The advent of this kind of technology would have earth-shattering implications for all of us, and life would never be the same. A sense of personal boundaries and privacy disappears as we become more open and interconnected in mind and body - but again, the conspiracy remains… Who programmed the AI that links into our minds, and much like Facebook and Google operate today, would this mental tech dissolve our personalities, losing our individuality, and making us more like robots. When all of us are connected in this kind of way, the lines of reality blur further, and we are called to ask… who are we?

Yet, the microchip technology is only the beginning of how we might connect through technology because where things could go are into the realms of something straight out of a Sci-Fi movie. Let us start with some rather inconspicuous innovations that could change the world in a big way. Perhaps one day, let’s say scientists and engineers complete a prototype for an artificial eye for blind people. A straightforward surgery, and it’s a miracle - people who have been blind all their lives suddenly have the gift of sight. It won’t stop there, though; suddenly, these people can see wavelengths of light that normal eyes can’t, have an integrated zoom feature giving them binocular eyes, and even an augmented reality display directly in their inner vision. These people could play Pokemon Go anywhere without a phone, literally seeing Pokemon all over the place. When cyborgs can not only see but see BETTER than someone with ordinary eyes, even people with satisfactory eyesight will want this upgrade, and a new generation of upgraded humans begins. Even on a less invasive level, we have the digital contact lens depicted in the new Brave New World series, which is a contact that hooks into receptors in the back of your eye, giving you direct mental and visual link to see through the rest of the eyes of society.

This could happen with prosthetics too, and in a way, it already is - although the tech is still in its infancy. Suppose someone loses or breaks their legs or arms in a terrible accident. In that case, they can one day get bionic limbs that are more powerful and capable than any normal body part, giving them super strength or super speed, at least up to the limits of what the rest of the biological body can handle. When this tech is available, of course, some people will opt to have their arms or legs replaced by bionic body parts. This may even be especially popular in top-secret super-soldier experiments done by the world's militaries if they’re not even doing it. Ideas like this have been popular in pop culture, such as with the Cyborg in Treasure Planet or Ed Elric from Full Metal Alchemist.

But speaking now to integrated experiences, let us shift our focus for a moment to consider VR for a moment. It’s not impossible to think that something like The Oasis from Ready Player One could be right around our doorstep. This massively multiplayer online universe puts you into the experience through VR technology. This could, and likely would lead to a mass exodus from real life, as people begin shifting living their lives into this digital realm. Why go to work in an office when you can work from any conceivable place in the universe? And then, instead of spending time with friends at the bar after work, why not go hunting dragons? Instead of playing racing games on your iPad, why not go and experience a race yourself, completely immersive yet safe from the comfort of your home?

To that end, Facebook is already showing off technology that projects users' actual faces onto their in-world avatars: https://youtu.be/v3XcQtoja_Y This tech is still just beginning, but the levels of immersion are progressing at a rapid pace. It truly is exponential.

With all the world's suffering and the fantastic possibilities offered in VR, some people might seek out a life spent mostly or even in-game, and while everyone is inside the game, what would happen to the real world? If we are not careful, we may end up with a reality like Ready Player One, with massive slums taking over as people spend less and less time in the physical dimension. Why bother fixing the real world when the in-game world is always perfect, beautiful, or at least, exactly as it’s designed to be?

But even this is not the end and the lines around “what is real” begin to blur until you can’t even see the line anymore. One day, it will most certainly become possible to transport your entire consciousness into a game. This concept was demonstrated powerfully by a show called Sword Art Online. A VR Headset allows individuals to leave their bodies behind as they enter into an entirely virtual world. Your body is unconscious, you’re not even aware of it, and you experience reality as if you are physically running around in Azeroth, or Minecraft, Hyrule, or… anywhere you want, as anyone that you want. Recently, this idea was also portrayed by an episode of Black Mirror, with a next-level VR headset that is just a little disc that you put on the side of your head, and it transports your consciousness into a videogame.

As you enter into a world where you can do anything, like a fly, use magic, go on epic quests, or spend an entire summer fishing by a beautiful lake in paradise… The question becomes… Why spend any time in the physical world at all? Do you want to have a super-powerful body or a super sexy one? How do you want your face to look? You can customize it to your liking freely. Since these headsets connect directly to your brains, it could even simulate sensations like getting drunk, taking psychedelics, or rewire your thinking patterns to be however you want. If the only concern of having to unplug is eating and going to the bathroom, then undoubtedly someone will create a technology that makes it so that even that isn’t an issue, and you truly never have to leave. One might also wonder exactly what would happen to your physical body if you were to rewire your consciousness and brain inside the game world. Would it change your body appearance at all?

A mass exodus from the physical world would create massive shifts and rifts within humanity, as part of the human race strives to live in this other world, and another part repels against it or cannot afford to play the game. Further, once brain integration happens, and mass data is collected on people’s reactions to certain stimuli or events, the artificial intelligence could skillfully filter and alter your perception in reality or completely guide your experience in virtual reality so that you rarely, if ever, have a desire to stop using it.

All of this technology, especially putting your consciousness into a game, will at some point give the game creators an awareness of everything about you, your thoughts, your feelings, your choices. It would allow anyone with the know-how to monitor you on a very intimate level. Yet, most people will probably skip past the 50 to 100 pages of “terms of service,” and press accept anyways because the ability to shoot fireballs and fly is waiting for them on the other side of the sign-up page.

And seeing the pinnacle of all of this together, as humanity grows more and more advanced and can create an entire robot body - if we can transfer our consciousness, thoughts, and memories into a machine, then we could exist with a robot body; just like Ultron himself… When this day comes, we will be forced to ask… what constitutes a human after all?

To some people, this already sounds amazing, and I can’t wait for the future. However, the conspiratorial aspect of this comes in the form of a question - As we step into the next 100 years of change and beyond, who is running the show? The foundation of the internet as we know it is rooted in algorithms beyond anyone's understandings, designed almost entirely for-profit and marketing. Who controls these algorithms, who dictates what we see? Currently, our attention is essentially open to the highest bidder, but is it possible that the AI itself could take us all over? If we are integrated into this collective mind, is it possible for someone to decide what we think and feel? Even when the internet was in its infant stages, people fantasized about free and open access to information revolutionizing the world. While that did technically happen, social media has come to the forefront and allowed some of our worst primal instincts like tribalism and manipulation to resurface with greater strength than ever.

To go deeper into this, we must acknowledge that we’re all responsible for our behavior. Still, as far as social media is concerned, we use this technology to account for those who created it. In a recent Netflix documentary called “The Social Dilemma,” several ex-employees of many social media tech giants, like Google, Facebook, Instagram, and more, sat down to reveal what they had inadvertently created with this pioneering technology… a monster. They explained that they had made a world in which billions of lives are affected by the decisions of a small number of programmers, a social reality in which, through the way that the apps and software work, it facilitates minimal and subtle changes in the way that people think and feel.

It’s so subtle that you don’t even know it’s happening. Still, the result is that most of us end up living inside of a delusional bubble, seeing only the content that we are already exposed to seeing - and can even create a negative response to people who believe anything different from us. They explained that the technologies are nearly explicitly designed to get as much engagement out of you to get you to spend more and more time and more money just by browsing these social media sites. Please take a moment to think about that… every single thing that comes up on your social media feed was put there by an algorithm that was trying to get you to keep scrolling, to warm you up to potentially spending your money with an ad or continue to foster engagement by connecting with other people and bringing them back to the app too.

A supposedly leaked document from a marketing presentation for video games shows dozens of pages, plans, and methods to use AI and data collection on the ‘target’ gamer to determine when they were most likely to buy in-game items aggressively market to them by displaying offers at those times. Audio captured by the devices revealed to the A.I. the gender and mood and found that wifi signals tell their location, such as if the player is in a car, in their bedroom laying down. The Ai would also pick up mouse movements and typing speed, revealing engagement levels, determining how best to serve these ads to the individual.

All of this data is fed into the A.I. and analyzed by the marketing team to exploit human psychology for the sake of selling virtual goods. The presentation goes as far as using voice tone analysis to determine when players are slightly, moderately, and severely depressed, then reduces the use of ‘emotion-based advertisements’ and switches to logic-based ads, which were more effective in depression. You can imagine what other tactics they are using - and combined with their ability to manipulate the game to influence your state one where you purchase more from their store… Well, we weren’t kidding when we said the technology could be used to control us - even if this presentation was fake, everything mentioned in it is well within the demonstrated power of AI today. If it hasn’t been integrated yet, you better believe someone is working towards it.

Use Social Media Wisely and Mindfully

One singular and perhaps most critical question we must ask ourselves about this new technology is Truth? How do we define and collectively agree on True? Specifically, if we live in a world where no matter what you believe, you can generally find support or evidence for the argument and perspective that you hold. Want to think the earth is flat, round, or hollow? You can find ample evidence for all 3. Are you left-wing? Right-wing? Extreme Center? It doesn’t matter; on the internet, these thinking ways are both the most incredible and most logical and perfect way of thinking. The most deadly form of thinking that is destroying our beautiful planet, all at the same time, depending on who you ask.

Thus, the question of truth becomes a pertinent one… how do we - collectively as a species, find truth together? This is a question that we will revisit further down our path.

Regarding the current news and entertainment industry, we already know that the masses are manipulated daily to think and feel and respond in specific ways. With the Social Dilemma insights, it seems as though our social media is also encouraging us to begin behaving in a hive-mind mentality. This technology appears to cause us to stop becoming unique individuals and become just a cog in a massive machine. This is where there’s a pending issue with the integration technology… What’s to stop the AI from changing the nature of your being based on whose advertising to you any given day, on a deeper level than ever before?

As people have negative responses to news or events in the world today, this fuels more negativity around the issue. Not to mention, the mainstream media actively uses the information to fuel negative press and stories daily, so that even if there’s a lot of good in the world, the negative stories always get more attention.

Conspiratorially speaking - there is more and more evidence that shows that consciousness actively steers reality, that our focus and what we focus on dictates what kind of life we experience. People with hope for the world are driven to create things, but people who focus on all of the world's negative things generally have more anxiety around things that happen and become stuck in their fear.’

The Coronavirus Quarantine was a great example of this, as we saw mass divisions from people wearing face masks and generally being scared of potentially spreading this thing and those who just relaxed into the quarantine and said, “alright, we’re here, and I’m going to use this as an opportunity to create some meaningful change, at least in my own life,” and they did.

If Facebook and google are steering the mainstream narrative, they ultimately have a massive influence on global consciousness. They could design their systems to create peace and prosperity globally, but their core focus is profit, which is good for the business, so why would they change their business model? This couldn’t have been made more evident by a personal quote from Mark Zuckerberg, founder of Facebook, who said - “What's good for the world isn't necessarily what's good for Facebook.” Yes, he said that… and he owns one of the largest companies in the world, influencing the lives of billions.

Even if humanity was connected digitally with all of this access to information in the futuristic ways we’ve discussed, consciousness integration and all that, unless you were actively looking to download and install books and wisdom into your mind, it’s all too likely that the focus of our mass consciousness could be hijacked by advertisements, entertainment, or other things, the same as how we are constantly distracted by social media today, and this could be used to steer humankind in the direction of whoever or whatever was pulling strings.

At this point, it almost appears as though this kind of technological integration is inevitable, and if you’re conflicted about it, you’re not alone. On the one hand, the ability to read every book you ever wanted to in days and learn more about yourself and the universe in such a short time is very appealing… On the other hand, if your mind can be controlled or subtly or even forcefully steered in any direction by someone else, then is that a paradigm we want to be a part of?

I imagine that there will be some significant turning points for humanity along the journey in the development of this tech, but if we can learn to do this in an open-source way that allows every individual their sovereign right to freedom of thought and feeling, and choose what they share with the collective mind… Well… I don’t know… I’d be curious about the potential outcomes of this.

The silver lining we have going into this is how the process mirrors what the internet of today brought us, good and bad. Suppose we can learn from our mistakes and take that wisdom on a large scale into the new paradigm. In that case, we have hope; even if its temptations still clutch the majority of people, a select few can guard the light and guide others into an enlightened cyberpunk reality.

You can start practicing right now by being mindful of how your relationship with social media truly affects your life and the lives of those it connects you to, and hopefully pass that wisdom and mindfulness to future generations.

If a tremendous positive shift doesn’t occur, we will forever be destined to repeat our mistakes on greater and greater scales until we finally do.

If these conspiracies frighten you, please go and watch The Disclosure of You inside of Spirit Conspiracies. You can get free access in the description and see how all of these conspiracies weave together to tell a story of your ascension.

Sources:

The Social Dilenma, (2020). [Netflix Documentary]: Netflix

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Kietzmann, J. Lee, L. W.; McCarthy, I. P.; Kietzmann, T. C.. 2020. Deepfakes: Trick or treat?. Business Horizons. 63 (2): 135–146.

Schreyer, M. Sattarov, T. Reimer, B. Borth, D. 2019: Adversarial Learning of Deepfakes in Accounting. Eprint: 1910.03810. Available at: https://arxiv.org/abs/1910.03810 [Accessed 10/20]

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Albretch, K. 2007: Microchip-Induced Tumors in Laboratory Rodents and Dogs: A Review of the Literature 1990–2006. [Online] Available at: https://web.archive.org/web/20071223055334/http://www.antichips.com/cancer/ [Accessed 08/20]

Lewan, T. 2007: Chip Implants Linked to Animal Tumors. Washington Post. [Online] Available at: https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/09/08/AR2007090800997_pf.html [Acessed 08/20]

Swedberg, C. 2007: VeriChip Defends the Safety of Implanted RFID Tags. RFID Journal. [Online] Available at: https://www.rfidjournal.com/verichip-defends-the-safety-of-implanted-rfid-tags [Acessed 08/20]

Wainwright, O. 2014: Remote-controlled contraceptive microchip could launch by 2018. The Guardian. [Online] Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/architecture-design-blog/2014/jul/11/design-futures-remote-controlled-contraceptive-microchip-launch-by-2018 [Accessed 09/20]

Baksi, C. 2018: Microchipping workers takes us back to 1984. The Times. [Online] Available at: https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/microchipping-workers-takes-us-back-to-1984-09gxqdx6s [Accessed 08/20]

Ellsworth, B. 2014: COULD MICROCHIP IMPLANTS PRESAGE GEORGE ORWELL'S CHILLING NOVEL '1984'?. IOT News. [Online] Available at: https://www.theinternetofthings.eu/barry-ellsworth-could-microchip-implants-presage-george-orwells-chilling-novel-1984 [Accessed 08/20]

CNET. (2020): Watch Elon Musk's ENTIRE live Neuralink demonstration. [Video] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iOWFXqT5MZ4 [Accessed 10/20]

UploadVR (2019): Facebook's Prototype VR Face Tracking Got Even Better. [Video] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v3XcQtoja_Y&feature=youtu.be [Accessed 09/20]

Lawson, B. D. 2014: Motion sickness symptomatology and origins. Handbook of Virtual Environments: Design, Implementation, and Applications, 531-599.

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khalilhumam · 5 years ago

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A new game plays with ideas about how disinformation works in East Africa

New Post has been published on http://khalilhumam.com/a-new-game-plays-with-ideas-about-how-disinformation-works-in-east-africa/

A new game plays with ideas about how disinformation works in East Africa

How can all internet users become more discerning online?

Aida, a character from the game “Choose Your Own Fake News,” views a video shared by her cousin on WhatsApp. Screenshot from “Choose Your Own Fake News” by Pollicy in Uganda.

< p class="p2">Disinformation — intentionally “fake news” — is a chronic problem everywhere in the world, but the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated information overload. From fake coronavirus cures to misleading information about mandatory vaccinations that have stoked fears worldwide, it has become increasingly difficult to suss out the truth.

All it takes is the click of a “share” or “forward” button for disinformation to become misinformation that spreads like wildfire through personal networks on applications and platforms like WhatsApp and Facebook.

Across Africa, where internet penetration is still relatively low at about 40 percent on average, many users are coming online for the first time. And around the world, many internet users, whether experienced or not, lack the digital literacy tools necessary to distinguish trustworthy news from false news.

How can all internet users become more discerning online?

This is the main idea behind “Choose Your Own Fake News,” a web-based game exploring how disinformation spreads across East Africa, created by Neema Iyer, founder and director of Pollicy, an Uganda-based organization supporting civic technology across the continent.

Iyer explained the motivation behind her game in a Mozilla Foundation press release:

Online misinformation has real implications offline. It can threaten people’s lives, freedom of expression, and prosperity. This is especially true in parts of East Africa, where people are coming online for the first time and don’t yet have the proper context to distinguish what’s trustworthy from what’s not.

‘Did you see that video on WhatsApp?’

“Chose Your Own Fake News” teaches new internet users how to be more discerning about the information they receive and encounter in digital spaces.

Players select one of three characters in East Africa: Flora, a job-seeking student, Jo, a shopkeeper, or Aida, a 62-year-old retired grandmother. Players then scrutinize news headlines, videos and social media posts through the lens of each character.

Flora, a job-seeking student, Jo, a shopkeeper, and Aida, a retired grandmother, are characters in the game “Choose Your Own Fake News” that must make decisions about what to do when they encounter potentially false information online, Screenshot from the game produced by Pollicy.

“Players’ decisions make the difference between correctly debunking disinformation — or falling victim to fraud, hospitalizing a loved one, and even accidentally inciting a mob,” the Mozilla press release explained.

As players follow their character's various decisions, the game provides detailed information about how dis- and misinformation work, highlighting the role that individuals play in intercepting false or unverified information before they spread it.

For example, Aida receives a forwarded message from her cousin with a video of a child crying after receiving a measles vaccine. Should Aida share that video? Measles is vaccine-preventable but cases continue to soar due to false information.

“Platforms like YouTube and Facebook recommend and amplify content that keeps internet users clicking — even if it’s radical or flat-out wrong,” Mozilla Foundation said.

Forward-forward-forward-stop

Neema Iyer created “Choose Your Own Fake News,” and is the founder of Pollicy in Uganda. Photo used with permission.

In Season 2, Episode 3 of “Terms and Conditions,” a new podcast exploring digital rights in Africa, Neema Iyer speaks with digital rights activist Berhane Taye, to look at the history of online disinformation in Africa and how it intersects with bots, trolls and beyond. Iyer and Taye talk about the potentially dangerous consequences of a seemingly simple forward or share. The internet is riddled with bots — a software application that runs automated tasks. Iyer estimates that up to half of all online activity is run by bots designed to influence and shape opinions online. Trolls — real-life people — also disrupt, attack and offend with intention. Deepfakes — radically altered videos — can often make fiction seem real.

This mixture of online agitators contributes to disinformation that ultimately causes chaos, discord and polarizes communities, said Iyer.

To complicate matters, many internet users are “unwitting agents” who amplify false information without realizing it, writes Kate Starbird in Nature.

Mobile phones and SMS text messaging have long been used as tools for organizing mob justice and destabilizing communities, but it wasn't until WhatsApp and other platforms emerged that false information could spread so rapidly and exponentially with the click of a button, Iyer continued. Iyer cites the lynchings in India caused by WhatsApp rumors about child kidnappings and the sectarian violence in Nigeria that erupted after images circulated on WhatsApp showed accused Fulani Muslim people committing acts of violence against Christians. In April 2020, at the height of the pandemic, WhatsApp finally took action to curb the spread of fake news by limiting the number of forwards from five to one. “The move is designed to reduce the speed with which information moves through WhatsApp, putting truth and fiction on a more even footing,” according to The Verge.

How to spot disinformation: A screenshot from “Choose Your Own Fake News,” an online game designed by Pollicy in Uganda.

To criminalize or not to criminalize?

People often turn to social media to fill gaps left by mainstream media. But with the democratization of social media, anyone can produce content — with very few guidelines for monitoring, vetting, or fact-checking.

In East Africa, governments have created a range of policies and laws designed to control “fake news” and hate speech — but they end up becoming the rationale for penalizing opposition or dissenting voices.

In March 2020, in South Africa, the government criminalized the sharing of COVID-19 information “intended to deceive citizens or the government’s response to the pandemic” under the 2002 Disaster Management Act — violators may receive fines, imprisonment, or both, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ).

CPJ warned, however, that “passing laws that emphasize criminalizing disinformation over educating the public and encouraging fact-checking present a slippery slope.” In Nigeria, disinformation has sown distrust in institutions that “should ideally be the lighthouse during a pandemic” said ‘Gbenga Sesan, executive director of the Paradigm Initiative in Nigeria, who joined Iyer and Taye on “Terms and Conditions.” “You have a lot of information that should not get into the hands of vulnerable people,” Sesan, referring to the deluge of videos, messages and memes shared to promote fake coronavirus cures. But Nigeria's Protection from Internet Falsehood and Manipulation Bill — known as the “social media bill” — is woefully inadequate and dangerously vague to truly make a dent in the problem.

Making the truth go viral

Research shows that it is very difficult to change a person's mind once an idea gets planted and let's face it — the typical internet user often glances headlines.

AI technology can attempt to intercept fake news or hate speech but this method is often inaccurate and does not capture nuance in terms of language and cultural context, Iyer explained. For example, Facebook's 2020 Transparency report claimed to remove 9.6 million pieces of content that were hateful or deemed hateful in the first four months of 2020, Iyer said. But she cautioned the likelihood of false positives.

Content moderators have immense power to take down anything deemed false or hateful, but Facebook does not hire adequately to handle multiple languages and cultural contexts. Also, many users are unaware of their power to report content.

Fact-checkers also do not have the reach to sway opinion once fake news takes hold — in the United States alone, they are outspent by campaigns 100 to one. Fact-checking also varies greatly depending on a country's laws regarding transparency, data and freedom of information. In Tanzania, for example, the government has essentially prohibited fact-checking, insisting that its statistics are the absolute truth.

How do we discourage the spread of misinformation? Iyer insists on disrupting fake news before you spread it. Instead, make the truth go viral.

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viditure · 5 years ago

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The benefits of a privacy-centric approach – maximising value and mitigating risks

The more consumers trust a brand, the more they inherently value it. As the digital world evolves into a trust economy, a company’s most valuable asset is the confidence customers have in its commitment and ability to protect their online privacy.

The Internet’s trust bubble burst in 2018 with the Cambridge Analytica scandal. When the consulting firm was caught harvesting the Facebook profiles of 87 million users without their consent for political advertising purposes, it thrust the murky online data collection practices of the tech giants to the front and centre of public awareness. People began to understand the sinister implications of mass-surveillance capitalism – with its ubiquitous data tracking processes that have been disguised and engineered to be undecipherable, undetectable, and incomprehensible to users.

The arrival of the GDPR in May 2018 and subsequent privacy storm has exacerbated the lack of faith in online data privacy – user trust in how companies use and manipulate their data is at an all-time low. According to research, 93% of Internet users worry about their privacy online, 45% do not trust companies with their personal information, and 89% avoid doing business with companies they believe don’t protect their data. It is therefore more critical than ever for brands to foster consumer confidence in their data collection practices.

Following the example set by the GDPR, data protection and privacy regulations are being implemented across the globe. However, although they serve as a benchmark for privacy best practices, companies need to move above and beyond compliance, by shifting to a privacy-driven philosophy that proactively forges consumer relationships based on trust. By adopting an ethical and GDPR-compliant approach, they can leverage data privacy as a major value driver.

The benefits of a Privacy-first approach

Companies that implement a comprehensive ethical privacy strategy can considerably raise brand confidence with consumers – providing better customer experiences that inevitably lead to improved customer retention. Improved loyalty also means that customers are more likely to recommend the company by sharing their experiences – leading to increased and more frequent spend on the company’s products and services. Studies have shown that over 80% of companies said a Privacy-driven approach had a positive impact on the organisation’s reputation and brand image with an increase in trust. While over 75% saw a revenue increase, with strong performance driving benefits such as greater customer loyalty and increases in online purchasing.

Privacy-driven ethics and digital sobriety are also opportunities for brands to optimise performance. As well as eliminating the potential breach costs associated with the risk of amassing big data, companies can increase their efficiency by streamlining their collection and gaining a clearer vision of the data they’re working on. This in turn contributes to increased agility and operational efficiency. Fewer requests reduces the processing time and a more efficient API data flow means that it can be sent far more rapidly to the data warehouse for speedier turnaround. This can lead to stronger overall business performance in terms of reduced sales delays, optimised processes for handling and managing personal data and shorter system downtimes. Reduced storage time also provides fresher, more accurate, privacy-friendly and energy-efficient data – all of which can be used to facilitate decision-making.

Mitigating the risks of non-compliance

Committing to a privacy-first approach also ensures that you remove all the risks associated with non-compliant data collection practices. These include the upfront costs of a breach – €20M or 4% of worldwide turnover – and the longer tail costs. Managing a conviction for a data privacy breach takes up a considerable amount of time and resources, not to mention funds. Business disruption can also be considerable with revenue losses as a result of system downtime and reduced customer turnover.

However, the most significant damage from a breach is the lost business caused by damage to a company’s reputation – this applies to customers, investors and the long-term perception of the brand.

By using an independent tool that is privacy-compliant, combined with the minimisation of collected/calculated data, companies can simultaneously reduce risk and create value. By initiating a virtuous circle of trust at the service of digital ecology, they can generate a win-win with privacy-first data that is more accurate, more reliable, and less harmful to the planet.

Why AT Internet is a partner you can trust

For over 20 years, AT Internet has been a leading independent, digital analytics provider. Data Privacy has always been at the heart of our approach and we have long held the protection of user data and the respect for user privacy as a core value and guiding principle. Our Analytics Suite is fully compliant with the GDPR, and we are dedicated to setting the best example for our customers and industry peers, with the highest standards of data protection and privacy. It’s part of our DNA.

We are fully committed to respecting user privacy and promoting the fundamental values of data protection – providing complete transparency on how we collect, process and use data, both on our websites and those of our customers using our digital analytics solution.

Keen to learn how you can gain a competitive advantage through a privacy-first approach? Download our latest guide here and get in touch for a free trial.

Photo credits: Sharon McCutcheon

Article The benefits of a privacy-centric approach – maximising value and mitigating risks first appeared on Digital Analytics Blog.

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asfeedin · 5 years ago

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What Is Cyberwar? The Complete WIRED Guide

Hacking didn’t need to be confined to some tactic on the periphery of war: Cyberattacks could themselves be a weapon of war. It was perhaps that definition of cyberwar that President Bill Clinton had in mind in 2001 when he warned in a speech that “today, our critical systems, from power structures to air traffic control, are connected and run by computers” and that someone can sit at the same computer, hack into a computer system, and potentially paralyze a company, a city, or a government.”

Since then, that definition for cyberwar has been honed into one that was perhaps most clearly laid out in the 2010 book Cyber War, cowritten by Richard Clarke, a national security advisor to Presidents Bush, Clinton, and Bush, and Robert Knake, who would later serve as a cybersecurity advisor to President Obama. Clarke and Knake defined cyberwar as “actions by a nation-state to penetrate another nation’s computers or networks for the purpose of causing damage or disruption.” Put more simply, that definition roughly encompasses the same things we’ve always identified as “acts of war,” only now carried out by digital means. But as the world was learning by the time Clarke and Knake wrote that definition, digital attacks have the potential to reach out beyond mere computers to have real, physical consequences.

Proto-Cyberwars

The first major historical event that could credibly fit Clarke and Knake’s definition—what some have dubbed “Web War I”—had arrived just a few years earlier. It hit one of the world’s most wired countries: Estonia.

In the the spring of 2007, an unprecedented series of so-called distributed denial of service, or DDoS, attacks slammed more than a hundred Estonian websites, taking down the country’s online banking, digital news media, government sites, and practically anything else that had a web presence. The attacks were a response to the Estonian government’s decision to move a Soviet-era statue out of a central location in the capital city of Tallinn, angering the country’s Russian-speaking minority and triggering protests on the city’s streets and the web.

What cyberwar is not

Cyberespionage

Cyberwar is not simply stealing information, neither the global great game of nations spying on each other’s governments nor the more controversial sort of private-sector economic espionage that the US has long accused China of carrying out.

Cybercrime

Cyberwar is not profit-focused hacking like bank fraud or the ransomware attacks that seek to extort millions from victims—that’s cybercrime, no matter how cruel and costly its effects may sometimes be.

Information Warfare

Cyberwar is not—although this point may be the most debated—the “influence operations” that seek to spread disinformation and propaganda, or to hurt an adversary by leaking damaging information about them. And yes, that includes the hack-and-leak operation that Russian government hackers used against Democratic targets in 2016, which ultimately boiled down to dirty politics and kompromat, not the directly coercive, paralytic disruption of true cyberwar.

As the sustained cyberattacks wore on for weeks, however, it became clear that they were no mere cyberriots: The attacks were coming from botnets—collections of PCs around the world hijacked with malware—that belonged to organized Russian cybercriminal groups. Some of the attacks’ sources even overlapped with earlier DDoS attacks that had a clear political focus, including attacks that hit the website of Gary Kasparov, the Russian chess champion and opposition political leader. Today security analysts widely believe that the attacks were condoned by the Kremlin, if not actively coordinated by its leaders.

By the next year, that Russian government link to politically motivated cyberattacks was becoming more apparent. Another, very similar series of DDoS attacks struck dozens of websites in another Russian neighbor, Georgia. This time they accompanied an actual physical invasion—a Russian intervention to “protect” Russia-friendly separatists within Georgia’s borders—complete with tanks rolling toward the Georgian capital and a Russian fleet blockading the country’s coastline on the Black Sea. In some cases, digital attacks would hit web targets associated with specific towns just ahead of military forces’ arrival, another suggestion of coordination.

The 2008 Georgian war was perhaps the first real hybrid war in which conventional military and hacker forces were combined. But given Georgia’s low rate of internet adoption—about 7 percent of Georgians used the internet at the time—and Russia’s relatively simplistic cyberattacks, which merely tore down and defaced websites, it stands as more of a historic harbinger of cyberwar than the real thing.

First Shots

The world’s conception of cyberwar changed forever in 2010. It started when VirusBlokAda, a security firm in Belarus, found a mysterious piece of malware that crashed the computers running its antivirus software. By September of that year, the security research community had come to the shocking conclusion that the specimen of malware, dubbed Stuxnet, was in fact the most sophisticated piece of code ever engineered for a cyberattack, and that it was specifically designed to destroy the centrifuges used in Iran’s nuclear enrichment facilities. (That detective work is best captured in Kim Zetter’s definitive book Countdown to Zero Day.) It would be nearly two more years before The New York Times confirmed that Stuxnet was a creation of the NSA and Israeli intelligence, intended to hamstring Iran’s attempts to build a nuclear bomb.

Over the course of 2009 and 2010, Stuxnet had destroyed more than a thousand of the six-and-a-half-foot-tall aluminum centrifuges installed in Iran’s underground nuclear enrichment facility in Natanz, throwing the facility into confusion and chaos. After spreading through the Iranians’ network, it had injected commands into the so-called programmable logic controllers, or PLCs, that governed the centrifuges, speeding them up or manipulating the pressure inside them until they tore themselves apart. Stuxnet would come to be recognized as the first cyberattack ever designed to directly damage physical equipment, and an act of cyberwar that has yet to be replicated in its virtuosic destructive effects. It would also serve as the starting pistol shot for the global cyber arms race that followed.

Iran soon entered that arms race, this time as aggressor rather than target. In August of 2012, the Saudi Arabian firm Saudi Aramco, one of the world’s largest oil producers, was hit with a piece of malware known as Shamoon that wiped 35,000 of the company’s computers—about three-quarters of them—leaving its operations essentially paralyzed. On the screens of the crippled machines, the malware left an image of a burning American flag. A group calling itself “Cutting Sword of Justice” claimed credit for the attack as an activist statement, but cybersecurity analysts quickly suspected that Iran was ultimately responsible, and had used the Saudis as a proxy target in retaliation for Stuxnet.

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