2.3 Identity Questionbank

Algorithmic recommendation systems

Algorithmic recommendation systems are used across a wide range of digital platforms, including YouTube, Spotify, Amazon, and dating applications. These systems analyze large volumes of user data such as viewing history, clicks, likes, and purchases in order to suggest content, products, or connections that are predicted to be relevant. Recommendations are continuously updated as users interact with the platform.

These systems consist of interconnected components, including users, algorithms, data inputs, and content providers. Changes in one part of the system can affect other parts, creating feedback loops that influence both individual behaviour and wider cultural trends. While recommendation systems are designed to improve user experience and engagement, they can also produce unintended consequences such as filter bubbles, bias amplification, and reduced diversity of content. This case highlights how algorithmic systems operate as complex and interdependent digital systems.

Case study: Virtual worlds and the construction of digital space

Virtual world platforms such as Minecraft, Second Life, and emerging metaverse environments allow users to create, organize, and inhabit digital spaces. These environments are often built using user-generated content and governed by social norms, community rules, and platform design choices. Virtual spaces serve a wide range of purposes, including education, business meetings, creative expression, and social interaction.

Unlike physical spaces, virtual environments are not constrained by geography, distance, or physical laws. Users can move instantly between locations, interact across global networks, and design spaces that reflect cultural values or social structures. However, access to virtual spaces depends on factors such as technology, cost, and digital literacy. As virtual worlds expand, questions arise about how space is organized, who controls access and movement, and how virtual environments operate at different scales from small communities to global platforms.

Roblox is a digital platform with over 200 million monthly users, most of whom are aged between 9 and 16. It has become a key space for youth identity exploration through avatar creation and participation in virtual worlds. Users design personalised avatars using clothing, accessories, body shapes, and animations, often purchasing virtual items to express aspects of their identity. These avatars are used in social spaces, role-play games, and virtual events where young people interact with others.

The platform allows users to experiment with different identities, including gender expression, social roles, and personality traits. However, research suggests that avatar choices often reflect real-world pressures such as gender stereotypes, consumerism, and popularity hierarchies. In addition, digital identity traces on Roblox are persistent, meaning past avatar choices, purchases, and interactions remain visible over time, which may influence long-term identity development.

Source A

Source B

It is a paradox to brand a technological innovation as tainted goods by its very name. ‘Deepfake’ is a victim of its own capabilities. Negative connotations and recent incidents have pigeonholed this innovation in the taboo zone. The rise of deepfake technology has ushered in very interesting possibilities and challenges. This synthetic media, created through sophisticated artificial intelligence algorithms, has begun to infiltrate various sectors, raising intriguing questions about its potential impact on education and employability.

The dawn of deepfake technology introduces a realm of possibilities in education. Imagine medical students engaging in lifelike surgical simulations or language learners participating in authentic conversations. The potential for deepfake to revolutionise training scenarios is vast and could significantly enhance the educational experience. Beyond simulations, deepfake can transport students to historical events through realistic reenactments or facilitate virtual field trips, transcending the boundaries of traditional education. The immersive nature of deepfake content holds the promise of making learning more engaging and memorable.

Source C

However, while these potential abuses of the technology are real and concerning that doesn't mean we should turn a blind eye to the technology’s potential when using it responsibly, says Jaime Donally, a well-known immersive learning expert.

“Typically, when we're hearing about it, it's in terms of the negative – impersonation and giving false claims,” Donally says. “But really, the technology has the power of bringing people from history alive through old images that we have using AI.”

Donally, a former math teacher and instructional technologist, has written about how a type of deep fake technology called deep nostalgia technology that went viral in 2021 can allow students to form a stronger connection with the past and their personal family heritage. The technology, available on the MyHeritage app, allows images to uploaded that are then turned into short animations thanks to AI technology.

Here are some of the ways in which teachers can utilize deep fake technology in the classroom utilizing the MyHeritage app. Teachers have used the deep fake technology in the My Heritage app to bring historical figures such as Amelia Earhart and Albert Einstein to life. One teacher Donally has communicated with used an animation of Frederick Douglass (above) to help students connect with Douglass’ famous 1852 speech about the meaning of the Fourth of July to Black enslaved Americans. Another teacher has plans to use the app to have students interview a historical figure and create dialogue for them, then match the dialogue to the animation.

Donally herself has paired animations she's created with other types of immersive technology. “I layered it on top in augmented reality,” she says. “When you scan the photo of my grandfather, it all came to life. And it became something that was much more relevant to see in your real-world space.”

With proper supervision, students can use the technology to animate images of family members or local historical figures, and can experiment with augmented reality (AR) in the process. “It makes you want to learn more,” Donally says of animations created using deep fake technology. “It drives you into kind of the history and understanding a bit more, and I think it also helps you identify who you are in that process.”

Source D

Education platforms are harnessing deepfake technology to create AI tutors that provide customised support to students. Rather than a generic video lecture, each learner can get tailored instruction and feedback from a virtual tutor who speaks their language and adjusts to their level.

For example, Anthropic built Claude, an AI assistant designed specifically for education. Claude can answer students’ natural language questions, explain concepts clearly, and identify knowledge gaps.

Such AI tutors make learning more effective, accessible, and inclusive. Students feel like they have an expert guide helping them master new skills and material.

AI and deepfake technology have enormous potential to enhance workforce training and education in immersive new ways too. As Drew Rose, CSO and founder of cybersecurity firm Living Security, explains, “educators can leverage deepfakes to create immersive learning experiences. For instance, a history lesson might feature a ‘guest appearance’ by a historical figure, or a science lesson might have a renowned scientist explaining complex concepts.” Ivana Bartoletti, privacy and data protection expert at Wipro and author of An Artificial Revolution – On Power, Politics and AI envisions similar applications.

“Deepfake technologies could provide an easier and less expensive way to train and visualise,” she says. “Students of medicine and nursing currently train with animatronic robots. They are expensive and require special control rooms. Generative AI and augmented or virtual reality headsets or practice rooms will be cheaper and allow for the generalisation, if not the gamification, of simulation.”

Medical students could gain experience diagnosing and treating simulated patients, while business students could practice high-stakes scenarios like negotiations without real-world consequences. These immersive, gamified environments enabled by AI and deepfakes also have vast potential for corporate training.

Bartoletti notes, “A similar use case could be made for other types of learning that require risky and skill-based experiences. The Air Force uses AI as adversaries in flight simulators, and humans have not beaten the best AIs since 2015.

The Role of Firewalls in Network Security

Firewalls are critical for network security, acting as barriers between internal networks and external threats. They control incoming and outgoing traffic, protecting against unauthorized access and cyber attacks. However, configuring firewalls effectively can be challenging, especially in large organizations.

Online learning

TailorEd is a free online learning system that personalizes students’ learning by providing teachers with data about how students are progressing in their courses. Students create a personal profile and work through the assignments at their own pace. Teachers can log in to the learning system to see how the students are progressing. However, concerns have been expressed about the amount of data that is being collected.

The school has found that when students access the course platform, some content is being blocked. The network administrator has been asked to investigate the situation. Teachers believe that it would be more appropriate to train the students to use the platform responsibly, rather than use technology to block their access to certain websites.

In criminal justice, "black box" algorithms are increasingly used to make decisions about bail, parole, and sentencing. However, the lack of transparency and potential for bias raise serious ethical concerns about fairness and accountability.

Gaming and digital identity formation

Online gaming platforms such as Discord, Roblox, and multiplayer online games have become important spaces where young people explore and construct their identities. Through avatars, usernames, voice chat, and in-game behaviour, players can present different aspects of themselves and experiment with alternative personas. Gaming environments also allow users to join communities based on shared interests, skill levels, or play styles, which can influence how identity is performed and recognised.

For many players, gaming identities are shaped through interaction with others, including collaboration, competition, and social norms within specific communities. These identities are not fixed and may change over time as players develop new skills, move between games, or participate in different social groups. In some cases, relationships formed in gaming environments extend into offline friendships, further influencing how young people understand and express their identities.

Facial recognition algorithms, used for security in airports, rely on large datasets and are sometimes criticized for algorithmic bias. For instance, these algorithms have been known to misidentify individuals of certain racial backgrounds, raising fairness and transparency issues.