1.2.3
Discuss the social and ethical issues associated with a networked world.
Teaching Note:
AIM 8, AIM 9 Develop an appreciation of the social and ethical issues associated with continued developments in computer systems.
Sample Question:
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JSR Notes:
Summary of Topic 1 "Moral/Ethical etc. IT Issues" Assessment Statements:
1.2.3 - how IT in a "networked world" adversely affects us
1.2.11 - the affects of new IT systems on stakeholders
1.2.16 - the affect of robots and AI
This is the first Social and Ethical assessment statement of the curriculum, and the IB is very keen to have you explore and be conscious of these kinds of issues. There are huge negative implications we are in the middle of grappling with that have resulted from the spread of information technology. And there are other issues on the horizon, which will demand a lot of thought and dealing with by our societies.
Some of the issues listed below can come from IT/computers alone. To take one specific example, the repetitive stress injuries (RSIs) that result from improper and over use of keyboards and mice etc. can occur outside the context of a networked world; they can happen with a disconnected stand-along computer. But over the past few decades, as IT has become more and more inter-connected through networks and the Internet, the use of all IT devices has skyrocketed, so all the former IT issues have been exacerbated. And the uber-connected networked world of today has brought other issues with it.
Social Issues of the network world:
Social issues are those which affect our society in general. Ethical questions are involved often as well, but it's the affect on society, regardless of something being seen as right or wrong, which is the issue.
- English is even more so the one dominant language for the networked world
- The good and bad of English being the "international language of the Internet". Good: ease communication with a common language, Bad: lack of diversity, potential loss of rare languages.
- Over-connectedness can curtail and even ruin real-life interactions between people
- Cyber bullying is easier and more widespread
- The ease of piracy; companies in particular have the most to lose with this.
- The ease of identity theft; it was possible before, but now, with so much financial business in particular being done on line, the implications of identity theft are more immediate and potentially far-reaching
- The ease of other cyber-crimes such as fraud (tricking people into handing money over to a fake website, for example)
- The ease of hacking; without networks and the Internet hacking could be done, but the hacker physically had to be there - no more.
- Loss of jobs as certain sectors are taken over by digital equivalents (for example the recording industry)
- Students being distracted at school
(Again, this is a good example of how "un-plugged" computers were still a bit of a distraction in years gone by, but with students now being permanently connected to so much, with their IT devices, the temptations and distractions have jumped to another level altogether.)
- People do not experience quiet "mindfulness moments" because they are always distracted by their technology, whether it be their cellphone notifications, or their Netfix at home
- Health issues related to computer use (back, eyes, hands) are be exacerbated with the increase use of technology allowed by networks
Ethical Issues of the network world:
An issue is an ethical one if you have to stand back and ask yourself "is this right, or is it wrong?", and/or where is the line between right and wrong? Note that most of the above social issues also have an ethical component to them.
- Copyright violation
- When does copyright infringement become stealing, and when is it more borrowing, and are there times that it can be justified? To take the downloading of a song example, is one to try out an artist ok, and downloading the whole album not? Is it ok if the artist is a multi-millionaire versus a new singer?
- And then there is "fair use". Fair use doctrine in some countries allows for the use of digital material in an educational setting, and for the critique of movies etc. Just the fact alone that fair doctrine does not even exist in some countries suggests it is not a black and white issue.
- Plagiarism
- what constitutes plagiarism in the digital, networked age? Does it now being a networked age influence at all the ethics of plagiarism?
- Privacy Invasion
- when and to what degree, is privacy invasion acceptable and/or necessary, with technologies now in use in the networked world?
- Take cookies for example; is it ok for most of the websites you use to track what you do on the Internet, and store that information on your computer.
- Anonymity
- Should privacy and the ability to remain anonymous be a right? Or is it to the greater good for modern networks to be used in the collection of data on all people?
- Criminal Activities like Hacking etc.
- For example, is hacking ever justified, as with the case of it being done by law enforcement officials themselves to protect society?
Jaime: Trying to teach in 2017 with cell phones and laptops!!!!!!!
trying to keep life simple and focused is impossible with
the smarter phones and computers get, the dumber we get
artificial intelligence is artificial.
And at some point double check to make sure the following list - incidental from 1.2.11 - are all included...
- Internet addiction/overuse of computers
- Health issues such as Repetitive Stress Injuries
- Environmental issues, for example "Cloud" server farms consumption of electricity for processing and cooling
- Ease of copyright infractions
- Fraud & identity theft
- Ease of copyright infractions
- Cyber bullying
- The potential for cyber warfare
- Hacking
- Spyware and other malware
- Surveillance
- Globalization and diminishing cultural diversity - the dominance of English, and smothering of minority languages