ethical and cultural issues - swanlea school

GCSE OCR Computer Science J276

Ethical and cultural issues Unit 4 Ethical, legal, cultural and environmental concerns

1

•  Consider the ethical and cultural issues related to computer science technologies

•  Discuss privacy issues related to the collection of electronic data by government and commercial organisations

Objectives

Ethical and cultural concerns Unit 4 Ethical, legal, cultural and environmental concerns

Growth of computer technology •  In the 1980s, a few people began using a PC on

their desk


The 1990s •  When people began surfing the web, they were

using three or four computers at once •  one to look at the web page

•  one to retrieve the web page

•  and a couple more to pass information over the Internet


And today… •  Today, you probably routinely use 20 or more

computers simultaneously without even being aware of most of them!

•  What computers are you using when you are •  At home

•  At school

•  In town

•  In a car


Our world is built on computers!


Will robots replace humans? •  The game of Go is an ancient game invented in

China, played on a 19 x 19 grid

•  There are about 10170 possible combinations of moves

•  Recently, the world champion Go player was beaten by a program called AlphaGo •  The program taught itself to play by

splitting itself in half and play itself millions of times, learning from each victory and loss

•  This technique has broad applications in Artificial Intelligence


Artificial intelligence •  The same techniques used by AlphaGo can be used

to teach computers to: •  recognise faces

•  translate between languages

•  show relevant advertisements to Internet users

•  drive cars


What jobs can robots do? •  Accountants, cashiers, sports referees, legal

secretaries and cleaners are already being replaced by robots

•  Maidbot is a company building robots to clean hotel rooms

•  Another company has invented an automated hamburger making machine

•  The UK has lost 31,000 jobs in the legal profession

•  It is estimated that by 2018 there will be 35 million service robots ‘at work’


Computers in healthcare •  There are around 165,000 healthcare apps for

smartphones

•  By 2017 they will have been downloaded an estimated total of 1.7 billion times

•  Wearable technology can offer continuous, long-term monitoring

•  This can lead to improvements in the way that diseases like epilepsy, asthma and diabetes are managed


The healthcare robot •  Mabu, the healthcare robot, was introduced last year

•  Mabu sits on the owner’s bedside table as a “personal healthcare companion”

•  It is intended for patients managing chronic diseases

•  The robot talks to patients and reminds them to take their medication

•  When Mabu was collected from patients after trials, many objected:

•  “She’s like a member of the family”


Robots as carers •  In Japan and South Korea,

childminding robots are being developed

•  Scientists warn of the dangers: •  “We already see the overuse of

robots looking after children – we expect severe attachment disorders that could wreak havoc in our society” – Noel Sharkey, professor of AI


Ethical concerns •  What are the ethical and cultural implications of

using robots as carers and consulting an app instead of visiting the doctor?


Worksheet 1 •  Complete Task 1 on the worksheet


Shopping •  The growth of online shopping has thrown bricks-

and-mortar stores into crisis


The downside of retailing •  Space must be rented, often in an expensive

location

•  Staff are needed to unpack deliveries

•  Shelves must be restocked

•  Think of some other problems of owning a clothing store on the High Street


Clothing stores •  Disadvantages

•  Employees spend time restocking shelves, so less time to attend to customers

•  It is hard to predict which items will sell and which will have to be marked down at the end of the season

•  Advantages •  Customers can try on clothes, shoes, etc. and check the fit

and feel of the item

•  They have the item to wear the same night


Latest trend •  Online retailers are opening stores

on the High Street for customers to try on clothes in different sizes and colours

•  They can then order them online •  What are the advantages and

disadvantages of this model?


Privacy issues •  Every time you log on to a web

site, data about your visit may be collected and stored

•  Every time you use your phone to make a call, data about the number you called, the time and date you called, and the duration of your call, may be collected and stored

•  Is this acceptable?


Data collection •  Does it bother you that every time you use a web

site, one or more organisations may be collecting data about you?

•  Governments and security organisations collect billions of records each month containing metadata about every electronic communication made by its citizens

•  Why do they do this?

•  Do you feel comfortable about the amount of data collected about you?


Cookies Small files called cookies are used by commercial organisations:

•  to recognise your computer when you visit the website

•  to personalise the website for you, including targeting advertisements which may be of particular interest to you

•  to track you as you navigate the website, and to enable e-commerce facilities

•  to improve the website's usability

•  to analyse the use of the website

•  in the administration of the website


Plenary •  Computers are changing our lives at an

astonishing rate

•  Ten years ago Facebook, Twitter and Instagram did not exist

•  Online shopping is becoming more the norm

•  There are ethical and/or cultural issues surrounding the use of computers in many fields such as healthcare, service industries, retailing and social media

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