Ethical, legal, cultural and environmental impacts of digital technology Flashcards
What are the main issues created by technology?
Cultural, ethical, environmental, legal, privacy
What does cultural issues refer to?
Refers to society and how different parts of the world vary in computer + internet usage
What is the digital divide and what issue does it refer to?
The gap between people who have access to modern digital technology and those with limited access
Cultural
What are some examples of digital divide?
Young vs Elderly people
People in cities vs people in rural
Developed countries vs developing countries
How may there be a digital divide for people in cities and rural areas?
Faster broadband speed in cities
How may there be a digital divide for young people and the elderly?
Exclusion
Uncomfortable about sharing personal life
How may there be a digital divide for developed and developing countries?
Can’t afford new technology
Cultural pro’s of technology:
People can work outside of work
Jobs moved abroad - cheaper, people happy to be payed less
More jobs - installing + maintaining machines
Cultural con’s of technology:
Loss of jobs - replaced by machines
What does environmental issues refer to?
Concerning the natural world and the negative effects of producing, using + discarding computer systems and devices
What are the issues of energy and material consumption?
Thousands of devices produced daily
Web servers and data centres must be powered all the time
What is the issue of thousands of devices being produced daily and what issue does it refer to?
Uses a range of materials - plastic, metals and rarer elements which requires electrical power to run
Environmental
What is the issue of web servers and data centres being powered all the time being produced daily and what issue does it refer to?
It requires a lot of energy to do so
Environmental
How does waste and pollution occur due to technology?
Generating power creates pollution
Difficult to recycle
Smart phones
What is the issue of smart phones and what issue does it refer to?
New phones being produced yearly
Environmental
What is the issue of technology being difficult to recycle and what issue does it refer to?
Leads to air, water and land pollution due to harmful materials like lead + mercury
Environmental
What does ethical issues refer to?
Ethics relates to whats right and wrong. Often subjective - people may have differing opinions
What is a drone?
It’s an unmanned aerial vehicle which is remotely controlled?
What are some of the purposes of drones?
Filming + photography
Tracking + monitoring wildlife
Disaster zone response - earthquake survivors
Used by military for surveillance
What are the pro’s of self driving cars?
Safer - can’t get distracted or tired
Fuel efficient - finds most direct route
Automated delivery - drive overnight
What are the con’s of self driving cars?
Can still crash
Still in development + expensive
Replace jobs
What are the pro’s of AI?
Sped up processes - analysing data
Used when human not available
Time consuming tasks done by computer
What is Artificial Intelligence (AI)?
Computers replacing humans to analyse data and make decisions
What are the con’s of AI?
Stores + processes personal data - could be hacked
Mistakes in code - detrimental for important decisions
AI GPT (Chat GPT) incorrect results
What does legal + privacy issues refer to?
Laws introduced by the UK to protect data, systems and networks from unauthorised access
What has occurred due to loss of privacy + hacking?
Internet companies use personal data - invade privacy + track civilians
Attackers crack poorly secured systems and phish individuals
What has led to the rise in online crime?
The popularity of the internet and rising numbers
Examples of online crime:
Unlawfully obtaining personal information
Harassing + threatening others
Cyber attacks
Sharing copyrighted material
What are the six principles of the Data Protection Act (2018)?
Data must be:
Fairly + lawfully processed
Only used for specific purpose
Adequate, relevant and not excessive
Accurate + up to date
Not kept longer than necessary
Kept safe + secure
What is the Data Protection Act (2018)?
Gives rights to data subjects (users that have data stored on computer systems)
What is the Copyright Designs + Patents Act (1988)?
Criminal offence to copy work that’s not your own without the permission of the creator
What does the Copyright Designs + Patents Act (1988) prohibit?
Copies of copyrighted material to sell to others
Import + download illegally copied material
Distribute copied material which has a noticeable effect on the owner
Possess equipment used to copy copyright material
What is the Computer Misuse Act (1990)?
Introduced to stop hacking + cyber crime
What are the 3 offences of the Computer Misuse Act (1990)?
Unauthorised modification of computer material
No unauthorised access to data
No unauthorised access to a device/ network to commit a crime
What does software licences refer to?
How a user can legally use software
Characteristics of open source:
Written by programmers
Users can view + modify source code
Characteristics of proprietary software:
Closed source - code is restricted
Users can’t view or edit source code
Have to by right to use software
What are pro’s of open source?
Usually free
Can be adapted by users
Unwanted features can be removed to make software run faster
Popular software is often reliable + secure
What are the con’s of open source?
Security risks - malicious code in program
Code may be have errors
No customer support
What are the pro’s of proprietary software?
Well tested + secure updates
Company will be held account
Most have help/ support
What are the con’s of proprietary software?
Must rely on company for updates
Often not free
Users can’t modify, debug + improve code
