Advantages & Limitations of The Digital World
Modern Context
It seems that every day a new piece of revolutionary technology is being made. Technology that gets closer and closer to producing what we perceive to be almost indistinguishable from reality. This is fantastic for advancements in research, efficiency, and education in the sense that we can develop things in a fraction of the time it would’ve taken 100 years ago.
However, this also poses some limitations and problems that we will have to navigate as these technologies continue to grow. There are limitations that have already been set on how this technology can be used. Have you ever tried to look yourself up on a limited language model (LLM), such as ChatGPT, Gemini, or Copilot? If you have, then you have likely been met with a response similar to “I do not have access to this information” (Gemini Flash 2.0 on 4/2/25). Have you ever looked up how to conduct an illegal activity on one of these LLM’s? You will be met with a similar result, and even some of the legal reasons why the model can’t get you this information.
Though there are some of the limitations in place, the technologies are only going to improve. This means new limitations will have to be set. Especially considering the ease of what are now called deep fakes where you can make a video of someone doing absolutely anything, without them actually doing it which poses major risks.
Historical Context
In a historical sense, these LLM technologies simply didn’t exist. Even when they eventually came out, it was relatively easy to detect their use. Which I perceive to be a benefit of historical technologies. It was far easier to differentiate between reality and what was being manufactured. AI videos simply lacked understanding and context thus they couldn’t fill in any gaps. Such as what a background looked like when an object moved, so it would simply leave a blurred space in the video. However, prior to LLM, older technologies lacked the general realism of our modern equipment.
This is evident when comparing photos taken in 1890 on a Kodak box to photos taken today on the average cell phone. The limitations of such old technology are clear. There is a lack of color, detail, and quality. On top of this you can easily distribute an infinite amount of copies of a phone picture with no loss of quality, however older technology either had no copy ability or the quality severely diminished with every copy. This is a great example of the differences between digital and analog. A photo from you Iphone is infinite and every copy indistinguishable, and a photo taken from an instant camera is singular and every copy easily distinguished from the original.
