Beckner ITGS: Social and Ethical Questions

Thursday, October 8, 2009

Social and Ethical Questions - IT Developments

Social issues

What are the social issues associated with a particular IT development?

Some IT developments can be too selective like the “smile measurement” and could affect a person’s job and wellness. An employee’s job, who knows their every movement is constantly being monitored, will be affected by the stress they will feel because they are worried about keeping their job. In turn they will be more focused on doing the right thing and make more mistakes.

2. How did the IT development emerge?

IT developments have emerged due to the increasing competition between businesses. The method companies use to get ahead of the competition is finding fast cheap ways to increase revenue and business value.

3. Who are the stakeholders—individuals, institutions, societies who initiate and control the IT developments and are affected by them?

Omron Corporation, Venu Govindaraju - University of Buffalo in New York, Unilever, Tabanar, Fujitaka, Toronto Rehabilitation Technologies

4. What are the advantages and disadvantages for the stakeholders?

Advantages - Quicker than humans, environmentally friendly, cheaper, more accurate than humans, safer, can boost sales and revenue
Disadvantages - Takes jobs away from people, hurt the economy, technology breaks, need qualified people on call 24/7 to fix. expensive

5. What feasible solutions can be applied to overcome problems?

Provide training to maintain the new technologies to maintain the amount of jobs available. A company could make sure to keep their technology updated and maintained.

6. What is the social impact of the IT development on human life? This may include some or all of the following areas: economic, political, cultural, legal, environmental, ergonomic, health and psychological.

IT Development takes away jobs in a company. In a bar for instance, a computerized vision system to detect underage customers eliminates the need to hire a bouncer. Companies that constantly monitor how happy and excited their employees are can cause stress for the employee and not only make them worried about job security, but also cause them to be stressed on the job; they will have less patience with customers and will be more worried about doing/saying the right thing than just being friendly.

Ethical issues

What are the ethical issues associated with a particular IT development?

IT development such as the computer-vision system in cars will cause the cost of cars to increase even higher than they already are. Those people with these systems in their cars can be tracked for their whole life; wherever they go, whatever they do can be monitored by those with the technical capabilities.

2. Who is responsible?

The makers of the IT developments and the people using the products are both equally responsible.

3. Who is accountable?

Again the makers of the It developments and the people using the products.

4. What policies, rules or laws apply to the situation?

The fourth amendment - no unreasonable searches or seizures without a warrant.

5. What are the alternative ethical decisions?

People can decide not to use these products. Developers and companies can not abuse the ability to track people.

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Essential 11

1.1 Reliability - Reliability refers to the operation of hardware, the design of software, the accuracy of data or the correspondence of data with the real world. Data may be unreliable if it is entered incorrectly or if it becomes outdated. For example, a medical record that becomes dissociated from the patient it refers to becomes unreliable. The reliability of machines, software and data determines our confidence in their value.
1.2 Integrity - Integrity refers to correspondence of data with itself, at its creation. Data lacks integrity when it has been changed accidentally or tampered with. For example, a hacker might change driver licence data resulting in arrests of innocent people.
1.3 Security - Security refers to the protection of hardware, software, machines and networks from unauthorized access, alteration or destruction. Security measures include restricted access to machines and networks and encryption of information. The degree of security of information systems determines society’s confidence in the information contained in the systems.
1.4 Privacy and Anonymity - Privacy is the ability of individuals and groups to determine for themselves when, how and to what extent information about themselves is shared with others. At its extreme, privacy becomes anonymity, which might be called for in some contexts but is dangerous in others. For example, discussion of a delicate subject might require anonymity, or at least privacy. On the other hand, anonymity could also conceal the perpetrators of criminal, terrorist or computer hacking acts.
1.5 Authenticity - Authenticity means establishing the user’s identity beyond reasonable doubt. Authenticating the user is crucial in many situations, particularly in business and legal matters. A simple example of authentication is user login onto a network. A more advanced example would be the use of encrypted digital signatures in a business transaction.
1.6 Intellectual property - Intellectual property includes ideas, discoveries, writings, works of art, software, collections and presentations of data. Copyrights, trademarks and patents legally protect intellectual property, but easy and accurate duplication methods made available by IT can undermine such protections. On the other hand, the same methods create opportunity for inexpensive dissemination of information.
1.7 Equality of access - IT has the potential to offer universal access to information, regardless of distance, age, race, gender or other personal characteristics. However, the above characteristics, and cost, can also bar individuals or groups from access. For example, while telelearning brings previously unavailable opportunities to everyone’s doorstep, the cost of hardware, software or course fees might place the learning beyond the reach of an average person.
1.8 Control - As an instrument of control, IT improves reliability, accuracy and speed of systems. However, it can also be used to control people. An automatic aircraft landing system provides an example of increased reliability resulting from IT control. Employer surveillance of employees represents a new kind of control imposed on people.
1.9 Globalization and cultural diversity - Globalization means the diminishing importance of geographic, political, economic and cultural boundaries. IT has played a major role in reducing these boundaries. For example, any dramatic event anywhere in the world can be broadcast almost instantly by television or on the Internet. However, there is a fear that easier communication can become a source of cultural homogeneity. The new global village provides a worldwide cultural awareness, but may lead to less diversity.
1.10 Policies and standards - Policies are enforceable measures intended to promote appropriate use. They can be developed by governments, businesses, and private groups or individuals. They normally consist of rules governing access to, or use of, information, hardware and software. For example, a national policy on IT security would need to define what constitutes unlawful access to networks and how to treat transgression. Policies also affect the exchange of information, for example, by making it subject to copyright laws. In general, policies can promote or restrict access, modify behaviour or require the fulfillment of certain conditions prior to or during use. Standards are social or technical rules and conventions that enable compatibility and therefore facilitate communication or interoperability between different IT systems and their components. They might govern the design and use of hardware, software and information. For example, communication protocols used on the Internet, the ASCII representation for characters, or the design of the printer port on a personal computer are all governed by standards.
1.11 People and machines - The interaction of humans with IT hardware raises all the issues encountered in this section, as well as additional ones such as the following. • Who controls the design of technology and the pace of its introduction? • How safe and effective is the design? • Is technology going to extend human faculties and make work easier and more pleasant, or are machines going to displace humans and lead to mass unemployment? • Is technology used appropriately, or should a better, possibly non-technological alternative be found? • Which areas of human endeavour are best served by IT systems? • Which social and ethical issues arise from a comparison of people and machines in the following areas: stamina, memory, accuracy, speed, analysis, synthesis, judgment, innovation, creativity?

Beckner ITGS

Thursday, October 8, 2009

Social and Ethical Questions - IT Developments

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