The Top 3 Threats to the Survival of Civilization

By: Juquetta Reynolds

An example of a civilization ending is the Mayans and Aztecs.

Climate change is the number one threat to civilization. Efforts to slow the Earth heating up have not been successful enough at this point to make the difference we need. Scientists predict that global temperatures will continue to rise and cause even major problems by 2030.

Nuclear war is the second threat to civilization. Among the best states to be in for a chance of survival during a nuclear attack, Georgia did not make the list. The 4 states are Maine, Oregon, Northern California and Western Texas.

Pandemics is the third threat to civilization.

Statesboro, GA could be susceptible to a pandemic. It is a small town, but has a variety of residents because it is home to a university. Students come from all over the world to attend. Those that travel could help the spread 

AI Voice and it's new popularity

By: Nakya Harris

Artificial Intelligence (AI) voice changer has gained popularity over the past year, creating ways to mimic human speech. 

Conversations involving Chat GPT and AI voice have taken over social media. You might have seen students utilizing an online server to write their essays. All it takes is a simple explanation of what is needed and an essay is constructed in seconds. Or,  you might have come across the funny viral videos of President Joe Biden saying the funniest phrases. Phrases that he probably should not be saying as president. In reality, that is not “him” saying it. However, it sounds exactly like him. Lastly, scammers have taken advantage of AI voice by tricking individuals into thinking a loved one is asking for money. How? It is the magic of artificial intelligence.

Artificial Intelligence
Hayden Wimmer, an information technology professor at Georgia Southern University, says AI is used to mimic nature or biology on a computer.

When it comes to artificial intelligence, it is a broad term. There are many types of AI. 

Wimmer adds that the popular type of AI that we are most familiar with is deep learning. It involves image recognition, image generation, voice changing, and more. This is done in variations of neural networks.

An artificial neural or deep neural network allows computers to shoot for better accuracy. This started with the advancement of hardware and software within the last 10 years.  Being able to process images and use math, was a huge step forward for neural networks. Because of the popularity this has gained, more investments have been made in advanced technology.

It is important to note that all types of AI involve trained software to produce specific outcomes.

Artificial Voice Changer
When computers are trained on certain data, it is able to create new data. Since this is brand-new data, it is hard to differentiate whether the output is real or fake. When a computer is trained to recreate an image, it is a totally different image that mimics the original. A couple of years ago, individuals used Photoshop to edit pictures. This does not create a completely new image. Therefore, it is easier to determine the validity. This also applies to AI voice.

“If it’s trying to mimic someone else’s voice, it’s been trained on examples of their voice,” Wimmer says. “So, it’s actually recreating their voice, not changing it.”

There has been worry about this causing future problems, whether on social media, in Hollywood, or everyday life.

Joshua Kennedy, a political science professor, says that even though there are ways to debunk whether audio is AI generated, it will definitely affect politics. Especially when it comes to social media.

"It can have an effect on people's perception of candidates," Kennedy says. "Once that information is out there, it's out there. You can try to prove that it wasn't you, but for some people, it may be too late."

When asked Wimmer what the future holds for AI, he responded, "If I knew where it was going, I'd be rich."

Glaciers Melting: How will It Impact Global Sea Level Rise?

 By: Jacob Zari

Scientists have found that glaciers in different parts of the world are warming and melting at a faster rate than they had expected. 

With this, scientists fear that these glaciers melting at an accelerated rate, along with many other factors will lead to a rapid increase in sea level rise. 

According to NASA, Glaciers melt both from the heat above and the water below at the same time. 

NASA explains, “When warm summer air melts the surface of a glacier, the meltwater bores holes down through the ice. It makes its way all the way down to the bottom of the glacier where it runs between the ice and the glacier bed, and eventually shoots out in a plume at the glacier base and into the surrounding ocean.”

That water that shoots out from the bottom of the glacier is what the scientists call a plume. This water interacts with the warmer water below the sea surface, which then melts the ice from the bottom, leading to large chunks breaking off of the glacier. Scientists refer to this as calving. 

In Antarctica, the Thwaites Glacier, also known as the “Doomsday Glacier,” which is just about the size of Florida, has enough ice to raise the global sea level by 2 feet, while also adding billions of tons of ice into the ocean every year. 

However, just ice melting is not the only thing causing sea levels to rise. 

James Reichard is a Professor of Geology at Georgia Southern. Reichard explains that glacier melting is not the only reason that the sea level can rise. 

“Climate change is also a main factor in sea level rise,” Reichard says. “As our planet heats up, the water expands, so that is one reason why sea level is projected to rise.”

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says that by 2100, the sea level can rise by 3-7 feet, if there is nothing done about future emissions. 

As far as Statesboro is concerned, the only impact that sea level rise will have on the city is migration. There are already multiple coastal cities around the world already experiencing the effects of forced relocation due to sea level rise. 

However, as Reichard explains, basic moving costs will be expensive, but that is only part of the entire issue.

“There is a huge cost to it, think of relocation costs and insurance,” Reichard says. “All of those buildings in Savannah, Augusta, Jacksonville, Miami, and other coastal cities have to have some kind of insurance in case those buildings get serious damage to them. So then you gotta think about the businesses too when it comes to this.”

In terms of stopping this, Reichard says there are two options. The first one is to reduce carbon emissions to prevent this from getting worse or adapt to what is going on, like previously mentioned with relocation. 

Reichard ends with what people need to understand now about sea level rise and all the factors that go into it. 

“What we need to take away is that climate change is happening, it’s not an if, it’s a when, and right now it is just the beginning,” Reichard explains. “The younger generation is gonna take the brunt of all the impacts, but these things will affect everybody, and we need to do our part”

Smith, E. (2020, November 3). The Anatomy of Glacial Ice Loss. NASA. Retrieved May 4, 2023, from https://www.nasa.gov/feature/esnt/2020/the-anatomy-of-glacial-ice-loss 

The Art Gallery May Leave You Feeling Some Type of Way: Recent studies show art can evoke emotion

 The Art Gallery May Leave You Feeling Some Type of Way: Recent studies show art can evoke emotion

By: Isabella Kicklighter, Multimedia Journalist

A recent study conducted by a Professor at the University of Turku suggests that looking at art can affect human emotions. 

Lauri Nummenmaa, the professor behind this study, wanted to find a way to continue the work of his lab even during the restrictions the world faced during COVID-19 back in 2020. “Our laboratories were closed and we wanted to keep on pushing research nevertheless,” said Nummenmaa.

He always had seen emotions worked through in science but never a deep dive into the idea of art evoking emotion. Nummenmaa wanted to find a way to further understand the connection between humans and art.

He explained that he and his team found a way to conduct their experiment while following CDC guidelines through online surveys. Participants volunteered to take online surveys with images of various art works,  both well known and lesser known pieces. The images were followed by a series of questions about what they saw. 

“We then complemented the questionnaire data with eye movement recordings done in the lab,“ said Nummenmaa.

The eye movement recordings allowed the researchers to study the viewing patterns between participants. 

                        Images used in the survey, provided by Lauri Nummenmaa

His  findings suggest that people can be drawn to art based on the feeling they get when viewing it but it also showed that there is no one-to-one correlation between the content of the artwork and the emotion it evokes in the viewer. Meaning the reactions to the art were predominantly positive regardless if the artwork was scary, sad or happy in nature.

“Art evokes feelings in the body, and such stimulation of the body’s pleasure centers feels pleasant to the viewer,” said Nummenmaa. 

The pleasure center of the human brain sends signals in reaction to what the body experiences. These signals use neurochemical dopamine which is directly associated with the body's reward center, making the viewer feel pleasure, for example, when they view artwork. 

This is not the arts’ first debut in science. Art in science comes in various forms from microscope images to art therapy. 

“Art has the ability to tap into thoughts, feelings, and emotions that are beyond what words can describe,” said Lauren Chapman, art therapist at South Carolina University's Hospital.

Chapman’s work supports the idea that art can help the human body, in this case, through therapy to help with mental health. 

Although there is very limited research on the topic of art and its various effects on the human body, Chapman added, “Through the lens of neuroscience, we are learning more about the connections between psychological processes with biological indicators such as heart rate, breathing, and muscle tension that are reflected in art through color, symbolism, metaphor, etc.”

In other words, as science of the brain, neuroscience develops, all science related to the connections of the body and mind, biological and psychological, are being studied further in comparison to art because art is a direct representation of humans.

“Unlike other emotion-evoking situations such as mating, feeding or physical threats, art does not seem to pertain with any clear biological survival function,” said Lauri Nummenmaa. 

 The more that we understand about these connections the more science grows to understand why the human body reacts to art. 

“I am fine with science researching the world of art. This research can confirm the impact art has on us,” said Tony Phillips, Art Administrator for Averitt Center in Statesboro, Georgia.

Phillips is surrounded by art daily, working at the Averitt center. Artists like himself relate to the research conducted by Nummenmaa and appreciate the work put into understanding their world of art.

To Phillips the idea that art evokes emotion is something of a norm for him and he expressed art as being an outlet for himself and others at the Averitt Center both artist as well as viewers.

Phillips summed up his idea on the scientific exploration of art, “Art is the expression of life in an explorable format.” 

Nummenmaa, Chapman and Lauri all share a connection with art in their lives. From curiosity to an appreciation to the form of expression. Hopefully with further experiments, the mysterious connection between humans and art can be understood further on a scientific level.

Resources 

Lauri Nummenmaa latanu@utu.fi 

Tony Phillips tphillips@averittcenterforthearts.org 

Lauren Chapman chapmala@musc.edu 

Descience. (2015, July 10). What is scientific art? descientists. Retrieved May 4, 2023, from https://www.fashiondescience.com/single-post/2015/07/10/what-is-scientific-art#:~:text=For%20example%2C%20many%20microscope%20images,out%20emotional%20responses%20from%20viewers. 

Art evokes feelings in the body -- ScienceDaily. (n.d.). Retrieved May 4, 2023, from https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/03/230327114828.htm