Date: Tuesday, 07/28/2026 Thursday, 07/30/2026
Class: Concepts, Cultures, and Communications (IMALR-GT 101)
Section: 001
Name: Janice Vuong
Week: Week 3
Most Interesting Thing: Mines
To me, Mines was an clear option as the most interesting thing and also because how the reading (Anatomy of an AI System), started about the extraction of materials. As someone who never lived less than 2 mines in her vicinity growing up. Copper mining in general is big industry in Arizona. “71% of the nation’s copper” is produced by Arizona (source: Federal Reserve ↗️).
The summer of my sophomore year, I was shortlisted for an internship at a mining company. It really gave me insight into the operations, of the day-to-day of an open-pit copper mine. Interns also went through the same safety trainings as anyone else working in the mine (still watching the same gruesome safety videos). Learning to drive on the left side of the road, because the massive off-highway haul trucks have priority to drive on the right side of the road (and will crush you, in said safety video). Listening to safety reports at 5 AM. That sort of thing.
It’s kind of wild looking back, and I appreciate the perspective I gained from my time then. Whether it was fixing shop radios, hauling the ultra wide curved monitors up control/dispatch towers, calculating blast radii (and to optimize, to build better blasts).
The Most Surprising Thing: How Borders were represented
The most surprising thing to me on the Anatomy of an AI System diagram was how borders were represented. Each border was marked with the microchip / biometric symbol (a small rectangle with a circle inside)
For reference, it reminded me how on US passports (maybe most countries Passports as well), have microchip / biometric symbol on the front cover of the passport.
Surprising because passports are needed when traveling internationally (because you are crossing another country’s border).
The most confusing thing: Quantification of human-made products
The most confusing thing on the the Anatomy of an AI System diagram was the Quantification of human-made products. I think having the wheel and a lot of spokes was a bit too dense and made it hard to read.