5.1 Ethical and cultural issues

Question 1

Give an example of people using more modern technology

Answer 1

It can make process much quicker, for example, the police can use live facial recognition.

Question 2

Why is there controversy over modern equipment that take in biometrics?

Answer 2

They might not want to consent to having other people have their data. These systems may alter public behaviour and people could no longer wish to take part in peaceful public protests

Question 3

Give some issues of ethics of CS technologies

Answer 3

One issue is whether social networks should limit free speech
Internet addiction

Question 4

What is internet addiction and why is it caused?

Answer 4

People (especially teenagers) are addicted to the internet and mostly social media because software is often designed with features that make people want to use it more

Question 5

Give some examples that robots can do

Answer 5

Build cars
Fast food restaurants
Maidbots

Question 6

How can groups be affected by bots?

Answer 6

Computers in healthcare
Healthcare robot
Robot carers

Question 7

Computers in healthcare

Answer 7

There are more than 300,000 healthcare apps for smartphones
By 2020 more than 50% of smartphone users have downloaded a health app
Wearable technology can offer continuous, long-term monitoring

Question 8

What can wearables do?

Answer 8

Improve the way that diseases like epilepsy, asthma and diabetes are managed

Question 9

Healthcare robot

Answer 9

Mabu (a healthcare robot) was released in 2018 which sits on the owner’s bedside table as a ‘personal healthcare companion’ which is intended with patients with chronic disease.
The robot talks to patients and reminds them to take their medication

Question 10

The dangers of robot carers

Answer 10

They can create severe attachment orders that could wreak havoc in our society
These robots are usually found in Japan and South Korea

Question 11

What is digital divide?

Answer 11

The difference between those who have and don’t have access to technology such as internet connection speed, mobile phone signal, 4g or 5g signal for mobile internet
There is also an additional divide between other groups of people such as elderly and people in poverty

Question 12

In York what is the average mobile speed?

Answer 12

0.14 Mb/s

Question 13

In Livingston what is the average mobile speed?

Answer 13

183 Mb/s

Question 14

What information and services will slow networks struggle to keep up with

Answer 14

Video services such as Youtube
Communication services such as Skype
Video games and cloud services

Question 15

How can slow networks affect someone starting a network?

Answer 15

They may find it harder to set up a website
Sharing photos or videos of products will be harder
It may be slower to respond to customer queries
They may not have access to newer cloud services

Question 16

In the UK of 2020, how much of the population are allowed to work remotely?

Answer 16

More than two-thirds

Question 17

What are benefits of remote working?

Answer 17

Time and money saved commuting
Less commuting can be better for the environment
Saves the company cost of the building more office space
Companies have a wider pool of people to choose from, and employees don’t need to relocate
Work-life balance can be improved
Allows virtual meetings to take place where face to face conversations is not possible (a good example is covid 19)

Question 18

What are some disadvantages to remote working

Answer 18

Remote workers can feel isolated
There is less face to face contact which make is harder to build relationships with colleagues or participate in meetings
Difficult for companies to monitor employee performance
It can be difficult to stop focusing on work, which disrupts work-life balance
It can be hard to avoid distractions when working at home from children, spouses, pets and doorbells

Question 19

Social networks are able to remove users who post or say things go against their policies. They can do this even if the user hasn’t broken any laws. Give reasons why this can considered ethical

Answer 19

The companies are private so should be able to decide who uses their service
Removing certain users can make the environment more safer or more pleasant for other users
Anti-social people can be removed from public spaces in real life - e.g. with ASBOs

Question 20

Social networks are able to remove users who post or say things go against their policies. They can do this even if the user hasn’t broken any laws. Give reasons why this can considered unethical

Answer 20

A few people can control the views of billions of others
With very few social media channels, removal from just a few denies any ability to participate in social media
It denies freedom of speech