KK15 & KK16: Economic Issues in Emerging Technologies & The Impact of Current and Emerging Technologies Flashcards
What are the 5 economic issues involving emerging technologies?
The 5 economic issues involving emerging technologies:
- Access
- Deskilling
- Job loss
- Misuse
- Sustainability
Explain the economic issue of ‘Access’
Access concerns the availability of the emerging technology to everyone. Think of the digital divide; the gap between those who do or don’t have technology. It can also be expensive to ship technology to many places.
Explain the economic issue of ‘Deskilling’
Deskilling occurs when technology simplifies tasks that once required great skills, decreasing the value of certain roles and their pay, as their role becomes less valuable.
Explain the economic issue of ‘Job loss’
Job loss is a greater version of deskilling, as technology no longer decreases the value of certain jobs, but just replaces the workers entirely, leaving workers jobless (eg. a coding AI replaces a programmer, causing the organization to lay him off his job)
Explain the economic issue of ‘Misuse’
When emerging technologies are intentionally (eg. cyber attacks, black hat hacking) or unintentionally (eg. poor handling of sensitive data) causing harm to others in society.
Explain the economic issue of ‘Sustainability’
Sustainability concerns the environmental impact of emerging technologies, whether that would be manufacturing them (eg. some technologies were made with very limited materials and poisonous chemicals) or the implementation of them (eg. people may need to cut trees down to implement a machine)
What are the 4 issues and impacts related to current and emerging technologies?
The 4 issues and impacts:
- Automation
- Cyberbullying
- Human interaction
- Interpersonal skills
Explain the issue/impact of ‘Automation’
Automation is a term used to describe processes that can be completed without human intervention (eg. machines manufacturing cars), which leads to many employees being replaced and left jobless.
Explain the issue/impact of ‘Cyberbullying’
Cyberbullying refers to the situation when a digital system is used to threaten, harass or intimidate another individual. The increased used of smartphones has caused cyberbullying rates to increase.
Explain the issue/impact of ‘Human interaction’
The increased use of technology (eg. smartphones) and automation (eg. robots in manufacturing jobs making workers collaborating less, as robots do all of the jobs) have lead to a significant decrease in human interaction. Human interactions are important as they help achieve effective collaboration between people, allow deeper conversations and build relationships as well as picking up non-verbal signals and body language more easily.
Explain the issue/impact of ‘Interpersonal skills’
A decrease in human interaction can lead to a reduction in interpersonal skills. Such skills are required for effective communication and interactivity with others, and help people build good relationships with others.
