7 - Ethical, legal and environmental impacts

Question 1

Ethics

Answer 1

This term refers to what is right and what is wrong, although ethical issues are rarely so straightforward that they have a single ‘right’ answer. Often what is right for the individual is wrong for society as a whole and vice-versa

Question 2

Privacy

Answer 2

• Once something is shared online, particularly in the world of Social Media, its next to impossible to delete it completely
• Through SM, ppl unwittingly share details of their purchases, the schools attended by their children, where they go in the evening, etc.

Question 3

Inclusion

Answer 3

• Social stigma around not having the latest tech, especially those of school age
• Not every1 in the country has access to the internet, so not every1 has equal access to info, to job listings or to a society that increasingly exists online
• The government could commit money to solving this inequality, but in doing so, they would be spending money unequally. This is an instance of there being no right answer

Question 4

Professionalism

Answer 4

• There is an increasingly an expectiation of ppl to be available, by email, outside of working hrs; this is a direct impact of tech
• Although you can apply for jobs internationally, employers can recruit internationally, making the process far more competitive
• SM can be seen by any1, including prospective employers, blurring the line between private life and professional life

Question 5

AI

Answer 5

• Driverless cars are now a possibility, but it might be unclear whether the car’s occupant or its programmer would be to blame in the event of a crash
• Computers can read CVs to filter out certain types of job candidate, but the ‘type’ might be ppl from particular postcode areas or ethnic background if an unscrupulous dev decides upon this

Question 6

Environment

Answer 6

A broad term with several meanings relating to the physical world in which we live. Global air pollution is an environmental issue, but so is the distance between where you live and where you work.

Question 7

Health issues

Answer 7

Adv:

• Proliferation of health tracking apps allow ppl to monitor exercise and calorie intake - ppl are better informed
• Medical tech is continually advancing in predicting and diagnosing illness
• Sharing of health-related data across the internet helps research

Dis:

• An increase in comp based jobs is met by an increase in sedentary lifestyles
• Some ppl are addicted to games and SM, and could become withdrawn
• Tech means ppl are never truly away from work, increasing stress levels

Question 8

Energy User

Answer 8

Adv:

• Comp tech can be used to reduce consumption of fossil fuels; they can turn off light in empty offices and cause cars to run more fuel economically
• Smart meters allow ppl to track and control their use of electricity and gas at home and at work
• Ppl can work from home more, so they commute less

Dis:

• Comps, tablets, phones, e-readers, etc. all consume electricity
• The manufacture of such devices also requires electricity
• Many devices that consume electricity are unseen, including vast server farms for hosting cloud storage and online gaming

Question 9

Resources

Answer 9

Adv:

• Less paper needs to be used, so fewer trees cut down
• Some products, such as book and music, can be delivered electronically, with no physical transport needed
• 1 delivery driver, delivering 10 internet ordered products on a single delivery run, requires less fuel than 10 ppl each driving to a shop for 1 item

Dis:

• Ppl often print unnecessarily, so it may not really be true less paper is used
• Comps require resources for their production, such as gold, which are not in infinite supply and have to be mined
• Not all obsolete tech is recycled, and much of it ends its life, irretrievably, in landfill

Question 10

Protection: Copyright

Answer 10

Copyright applies to anything that can be written (such as web pages, books, music and program code) as well as images. Once something has been written, copyright exists immediately, without the need to apply for it

Question 11

Creative Commons License

Answer 11

A copyright holder may issue a CC license to allow others to use, build on or distribute their copyrighted work without fear of being prosecuted. Sometimes, such a license may include limitations, such as permitting free distribution but not sale, of the copyrighted work

Question 12

Protection: A registered design

Answer 12

A registered design (applicable to comp science) would apply to logos, cions or similar. As the name suggests, such images need to be registered, and they need to have been unique prior to being registered

Question 13

Protection: Patents

Answer 13

Patents can be used to protect inventions. This would apply to a piece of hardware or a process (such as a new method of printing), but not to program code

Question 14

Computer misuse act

Answer 14

This law makes hacking a criminal offence.

Question 15

Activities recognised as computer misuse

Answer 15

• Accessing material on a comp that you are not authorised to access (e.g: logging into a system using someone else’s credentials)
• Modifying material on a comp that you are not authorised to modify. You could break this law even if you are allowed to accesss the data

Question 16

Data protection act (DPA)

Answer 16

This law applies to personal data of living individuals.

Question 17

If an organisation stores personal data of living individuals, that data must be…

Answer 17

• Processed fairly and lawfully
• Held for specified purposes
• Adequate, relevant and not excessive
• Kept up to date
• Not kept for longer than necessary
• Processed according to the rights of the individual data subject
• Kept securely
• Not transferred outside the EU unless to a country with a similar law to this one

Question 18

Freedom of Information act

Answer 18

This law gives members of the public the right to access info under the following circumstances:

• The info must relate to either a public body (local council, govern department, police force) or an org that provides a service to a public body
• Providing the data would no cause another law (probs the Data Protect Act) to be breached

Question 19

Cybersecurity

Answer 19

• A government cybersecurity policy may actually weaken your own privacy if it grants the govern access to personal data
• A company may be held liable if it does not protect data from unauthorised access; it can be sued for a data breach
• The issue of cyber security overlaps with many others in this table, including mobile tech, wireless networking and cloud storage

Question 20

Mobile Tech

Answer 20

• The amount that your phone knows about you, in terms of likes, locations, friends, etc. is already a breach of privacy
• Constant replacement of mobile phones and their batteries has a negative impact on the environment
• Illegal copies of MP3s are commonly found on ppl’s phones

Question 21

Wireless networking

Answer 21

• Easier access for unauthorised users than in a wired network
• Wireless network is better in terms of environment as far as production of cables and network hardware are concerned
• Privacy can be breached as others might access personal data

Question 22

Cloud storage

Answer 22

• Other ppl may gain access to your data when stored remotely
• Providers must adhere to the DPA
• Fewer, more centralised data stores are better for the environment as they reduce transport costs associated with distribution

Question 23

Theft of comp code // copyright of algorithms

Answer 23

• Theft of computer code breaches the Comp Misuse Act and the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act
• Stealing code, as well as being illegal, is ethically unsound, as it takes unfair advantage of the work of others
• 1 Company could gain an unfair advantage over another by stealing code that could have taken months or years to write. Unlike physical products, a program can be assembled instantly using stole code

Question 24

Crackin

Answer 24

• Involves gaining access to part of a program that you do not have access to, usually to bypass a payment
• This is a breach of the Comp misuse act
• It is ethically unsound, as it takes advantage of the work of others, and increases costs for ppl who are willing to pay

Question 25

Hacking

Answer 25

• Unauthorised access potentially breaches ppl’s privacy
• It also breaches the Comp misuse act and probs the DPA
• Hacking often results in additional crimes, such as stalking or breach of copyright

Question 26

Wearable tech

Answer 26

• Wearable tech carry the same ethical, legal and environ impacts as mobile tech
• Implants carry the additional complication of replacement; it is not as straightforward as simply buying a new one
• Looking to the future, an implant may be a potential major breach of privacy, as it could contain biometric data, info bout illnesses, etc. and hacking such a device could be dangerous