positive oportunities from computers
- monitoring vegetation wildlife and pollution
- energy monitoring
- transport
upgrade culture
the cycle that sees most of us replacing our most trusted devices every few years with the latest products
planned obsolence
process that some device manufacturers have used to make their devices unfashionable or no longer usable.
rare materials
- Some components of smartphones cannot be created without rare chemical elements, such as europium and dysprosium.
- Upgrade culture means that there is high demand for these materials, and deposits are becoming more and more depleted.
- There are currently no alternative renewable materials that are as effective
mining problems
- Device manufacturers often buy materials from the companies that offer the lowest prices
This can lead to unethical mining practices such as:
* landscapes reformed
* wildlife habitats destroyed
* child labour
* mining work is hazardous
* little protective equipment
* lung conditions and breathing issues caused by the dust
energy use
- The process of manufacturing devices consumes large amounts of fossil fuels.
- contributes to climate change
pollution
- manufacturing facilities emit harmful chemicals and pollutants into the atmosphere.
- Components are often manufactured and shipped internationally (using fuel to transport them) in plastic packaging (which is not always recycled).
energy consumption in data centres
- It was reported that in 2015, data centres that provide cloud storage consumed 3% of the world’s energy
- Huge amounts of energy are required in data centres for operating cooling systems for server rooms.
- Cooling systems are using large amounts of cooling fluid per year.
- Some companies are now building data centres in colder regions to reduce the need for cooling.
energy waste
- Computers make a significant contribution to energy waste
- large amount of energy lost from people not turning off their PCs at the end of the workday
- Energy waste translates into greenhouse gases that contribute to pollution and global climate change.
disposal
electrical waste is a big problems and most of it isnt recycled and put in landfils which pollutes the area
privacy
- Business and commerce have access to increasing amounts of data. Many people are concerned about how their activity is being monitored by companies and also governments
- cookie law requires websites to get consent from visitors lo retrieve any of their information
digital inclusion
about providing everyone with affordable access to computing technology and the skills to use it
digital divide
The gap between those who are ‘technology-empowered’ and those who are ‘technology-excluded
professionalism
computer scientists should always respect the wellbeing, privacy and security of the environment and people, never stop learning and gaining skills and professional knowledge
intellectual property
- a unique creative product of a human mind
examples:
* software
* computer game
* design for a new processor
* digital image
copyright
- protects the expression of an idea, not the idea itself.
- So if you were to develop an original piece of software, its source code would be protected but there’s nothing to stop someone else from copying the idea and writing a program that essentially perform the same task.
patent
- offers more protection than copyright
- It protects the idea or design of an invention, rather than a particular form of it
- In order to get a patent you have to be able to demonstrate that what you have invented is distinct from anything else that already exists.
- A patent holder has the exclusive right for 20 years to make, use and sell their invention.
artificial intelligence
- The ability of a digital computer or computer-controlled robot to perform tasks commonly associated with intelligent beings. Intelligent beings are those that can adapt to changing circumstances
examples:
* self driving cars
* robots that impersonate humans
traditional algorithms
- user writes instructions, computer follows
- we provide intelligence
machine learning
- computer learns new things (based on unexpected outcome) without having programs rewritten by humans
fields that rely on AI today
- Medical use
- Shopping app recommendations
- Virtual assistants
- Auto pilot
- Financial algorithms making trading decision
nanotechnology
Manipulation of matter with a size from 1 to 100 nm (atomic or molecular scale)
quantom computing
Quantum computers are based on quantum mechanics which is the branch of physics describe the behaviour of subatomic particles (photons and quarks)
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3.1: binary28
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3.2: data representation37
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3.3: data storage and compressions18
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3.4: encryption25
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4.1: machines and computational modeling6
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4.2: hardware87
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4.3: logic2
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4.4: software28
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4.5: programming languages7
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5.1: networks37
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5.2: network security28
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5.3: the internet and the world wide web12
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6.1: emerging trends, issues, and impact23
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past paper questions27
