Aiden Jacob - WRT 205

In the Endless Thread episode "Turning Hate On The Internet Into Humor," the artifacts I focused on include the takeover of offensive subreddits, the transformation of r/faggots, Reddit's moderator and upvote system, and the real-world consequences moderators face. Together, these show how Reddit is not just a platform for content, but something constantly reshaped by its users. One of the most important quotes comes from moderator u/drewiepoodle, who explains that there is "a small window where there's a chance for you to actually step in and… use your troll power for good and not evil" (Endless Thread, 2018). This quote matters because it redefines trolling. Instead of being purely harmful, it becomes a strategy for disrupting hate. When users take over offensive subreddits and turn them into harmless or absurd spaces, like pages filled with cat pictures, they remove the original meaning and weaken the purpose of those communities. This shows how quickly c...

Unit 2 Reflection For my Unit 2 project, I focused on artificial intelligence in sports, specifically the balance between data and human decision-making. When choosing an audience, I immediately thought about sports fans, especially people who actually follow teams closely and care about decisions like trades, draft picks, and roster moves. That’s where this topic actually matters. I also based this on real conversations I have with my friends, like Jack Wilkos and Ian Cohen, because we constantly talk about these types of decisions. That made them a strong audience for both my pitch and my project. Because of this audience, I made specific choices in how I wrote the piece. I avoided overly technical explanations of AI and instead focused on how it impacts the experience of sports. For example, I wrote, “Sports are not just about efficiency or perfect decisions. They are about emotion, risk, and human error.” That line was intentional because I wanted to connect with how fans actually...

Is AI Making Sports Smarter… or Less Real? Sports have always depended on human judgment. Coaches rely on experience, scouts trust their instincts, and fans connect with the personalities and emotions of players. That unpredictability is part of what makes sports feel real. Recently, though, artificial intelligence has started to change how decisions are made. Teams now collect massive amounts of data on player movement, injuries, and performance, and AI can analyze all of it faster than any human ever could. At first, this seems like a clear upgrade. If teams can make smarter decisions, avoid injuries, and improve performance, why wouldn’t they use it? But the more AI becomes involved, the more it raises a bigger question. If artificial intelligence can evaluate players and predict outcomes better than humans, does that actually improve sports, or does it start to take away what makes sports meaningful in the first place? For fans, this matters more than it might seem. Sports are not...

Unit 2 Draft Sports have always depended heavily on human judgment. Coaches rely on experience, scouts trust their instincts when evaluating talent, and fans connect with the personalities and emotions of players. However, artificial intelligence is beginning to change how decisions are made in modern sports. Teams now collect massive amounts of data about player performance, movement, injuries, and strategy. Artificial intelligence systems can analyze this information much faster than humans and identify patterns that might otherwise go unnoticed. Because of this, many teams are beginning to rely on data scientists and analytics departments to help guide decisions that were once based almost entirely on instinct. This shift raises an interesting question about the future of sports. If artificial intelligence can evaluate players and predict outcomes more accurately than humans, does that actually improve sports, or does it start to take away part of what makes sports feel real? Sports...

Unit 2 Library For this project, I visited Bird Library here on campus and checked out the book Why We Photograph Animals. I did not pick it because I am particularly interested in animals. What caught my attention was the bigger idea behind the title. It made me think about why people feel the need to photograph everything today. That idea felt relevant to me because so much of my life happens through a screen. My relationship with libraries has definitely changed over time. When I was younger, going to the library was actually more fun than academic. We would go to pick out books for school, but it wasn’t really about assignments yet. There were always little activities, displays, or things to explore, so it felt more like a place to hang out and discover things. Now in college, Bird Library feels very different. It has become one of the places I go when I really need to focus. The picture of my computer at my usual desk shows that. That spot has kind of become my place to study. It...

Audience For this pitch, I reached out to a few people who follow sports closely: Jack Wilkos and Ian Cohen.  We often talk about trades, draft picks, and team decisions, so they are a good audience for this topic. I also asked them if they would be willing to participate in my primary research by sharing their opinions about AI in sports.  Because they actively follow sports and care about team decisions, they represent the type of audience my project is aimed at. Pitch Imagine your favorite team is about to make a huge draft pick. Normally, that decision comes from coaches, scouts, and general managers who rely on experience and instinct. But what if the decision was made by artificial intelligence instead ? AI can analyze thousands of statistics, injury histories, and performance patterns much faster than any human. Some professional teams are already using algorithms to help evaluate talent and predict outcomes. In theory, this could make sports more efficient and lea...