Journal 6: Comparing and Contrasting Presentations.

Mine and Dylan's presentation both focus on AI in a sense, but from different angles and use cases. My presentation focuses on social media feeds, especially the ways algorithms transform user engagement and blur McLuhan’s hot/cold media framework. Dylan extends McLuhan’s ideas to AI more broadly and in the context of newer more advanced models, emphasizing privacy, bias, and how AI redefines human interaction.

My presentation's core subject matter highlights the personalized feed, where algorithms decide what each person sees. I explored how these platforms are sometimes hot and sometimes cold, which fosters a cyclical loop of user engagement: each interaction shapes what appears next, not directly in the user's control which leads to my “lukewarm” argument. I also explored the social media echo chamber in context to McLuhan’s ideas of autoamputation and Narcissus, which I believe are fitting examples when relating to the unconscious restructuring of the mind social media can bring forth. My image content took a more artistic approach in the first half, with stylized illustrations and content to more abstractly visualize some of mine and McLuhan’s concepts. In the latter section I went for more grounded image content to try and connect back to the real effects social media can have, especially through the concert photo and the children on an IPad. These visuals attempt to anchor my arguments about social media’s grip on our behavior, attention, and identity.

Dylan’s presentation deals more broadly with AI: its roles in translation, marketing, and content generation; its capacity to shape how we experience reality and its ethical dimensions. Referencing Dylan characterizes AI as a cold medium, given how users must prompt or steer it, whether for conversation or content. He also addresses data privacy risks and potential biases embedded in AI-driven processes. His slides and script rely on images of humanoid robots and some graphical content, references to data-sharing algorithms, and broader claims about AI’s capacity to alter entire industries on a bit of a larger scale than in my presentation.

Methodologically, we both took a cautionary take stemming from McLuhan’s hot vs cold concept and his caution that technology shapes perceptions more than content alone. I dive more into the hotness and coldness, and psychological aspects of an algorithmic feed, while Dylan highlights some of the impacts AI as a medium has in industries and on individuals, although I do wish his scripted content had gone into some more depth, going into the “how” and “why” AI is changing these fields and our perceptions of reality a little more. On my end I could have further supported my lukewarm argument more, and I maybe focused too much on social media's effects instead of its medium temperature definition.

In terms of imagery, again my selections revolve around artistic symbols of infinite scrolling, digital reflection, and a lukewarm media sphere that merges immersion with forced participation and tailored content. Dylan’s images highlight AI’s potential and impacts, of course combining AI made images with graphical content showcasing a futuristic tone and highlighting the interaction with humans and AI/robots, although I think it could have been interesting to show some real uses of AI in these fields he brings up and maybe talk about some reactions and outcomes the use of it had.

To sum up both of our presentations, mine focuses more so on the micro-level experience of curated feeds and their psychological consequences, while Dylan’s adopts a broader lens on AI’s transformative effect across society. Both tie back to McLuhan’s belief that the structures of media alter human culture, underscoring that how technology connects us, divides us, and overall affects us, often matters more than the content they bring forth.