However, some people are less thrilled about this access than Butler is. The authors of "the ethics of Google Earth" made some good points about the darker side of Google Earth. The problem that can arise stems from "apparent realism." Google Earth is not perfect, and sometimes distortions of images can occur. Since virtual globes can trigger "emotional and intuitive responses," these distortions can be potentially dangerous. A bad mix of people's general belief in maps as fact + distortion of an image on the map + "emotional and intuitive responses" and you can get a large group of people fired up over something that may not even be an issue.
Thursday, November 21, 2013
Walruses, Ethics, and Google Earth
Google Earth is so much more amazing to me after reading "The web-wide world" and "The ethics of Google Earth: Crossing thresholds from spacial data to landscape visualisation." The potential it has to make a difference in people's perceptions of places and issues is limitless, and all this time I thought it was just a cool tool to look up my house so I could see an aerial view of it. In "The web-wide world," Declan Butler writes, "by offering researchers an easy way into GIS software, Google Earth and other visual globes are set to go beyond representing the world, and start changing it." One such researcher, biologist Erik Born, is using the technology to track walruses. The fact that we can also see the walruses' movement is incredible. Just a decade or so ago this sort of wide-spread access to GIS software was unheard of, and now it is an everyday thing.
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I think that the fact that Google Earth uses photos makes it harder for people to realize that Google Earth is not completely accurate. Photos are not exactly the most accurate depiction of real life but people in general got use to seeing them that way. I wasn't aware of any those distortions in Google Earth before.
ReplyDeleteI share the same feeling about Google Earth after reading these articles: it's an amazing tool! I've also just used it for fun before and although I realized then that it was a pretty incredible technology, I did not understand the full benefits of it until reading this week's articles. I love that scientists are using this kind of advanced GIS software in beneficial ways such as, as you mentioned, to track walruses. I also feel that the negative aspects of such an advanced technology are important to point out. Since human beings are hardwired to experience a wide range emotions and especially fear, it is understandable that we could potentially see something on Google Earth through its "apparent realism" that sparks an angry response. However, people should understand that technology is not perfect and that things like image distortion which you mentioned are a possibility, and so more research should be done before a person allows their emotions to take over when looking at something potentially misleading.
ReplyDeleteI used to think Google Earth is just a fun toy to just look around what the world looks like. But after reading all the articles I just realized that such a "toy" can also be a very useful tool for scientific research as well! With Google Earth scientists can conduct surveys on different landscapes, study animal's behaviors and so on. We can consider Google Earth as a huge resource for scientific study!
ReplyDeleteThe "dark side" of Google Earth has also come to my mind. Even since the bird eyes view maps, the security of a location has already become a concern. Nowadays with this technology, everyone can see the same thing, which may not even be completely accurate.
After reading these articles, I too have recognized the full ability of Google Earth. I still use it as a toy at times, but I also realize how truly useful it is for scientific and other forms of research. I will definitely be using Google Earth in future research projects, if it is necessary. However, I too have thought about the "dark side" of Google Earth, in particular the dark side of Street View. I had never heard of Street View before attending the lecture, and the more I think about it, the more uneasy I feel. I do not feel entirely comfortable with the fact that people from Google go around and take pictures of my house and neighborhood.
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