1.5.2 - Moral and Ethical Issues Flashcards
How has computers positively impacted the workplace?
They improve efficiency for workers. This decreases costs for the company, which improves customer satisfaction by decreasing prices on consumers. Furthermore, they decrease stress on workers, by removing some of the most tedious and repetitive parts of their work.
How has computers negatively impacted the workplace?
Workers have been losing their jobs, mostly in the manufacturing and service industry, where robots and computers are more efficient, more accurate, and has decreased costs. Unlike human workers, in a sudden loss of power, output will be reduced dramatically.
How has computers changed the workforce?
Workers are able to work remotely. Also, the demand for computing-related jobs have increased. Services, such as shopping, can be moved online, reducing the costs on companies, who no longer need physical storefronts.
How has technology affected our work-life balance?
Technology such as phones and laptops means that we are expected to be available for work throughout the day, blurring the lines for work and personal life.
How has AI impacted copyright law?
Only human-made work is given copyright. work created by animals and AI is not given copyright, so they can be used freely. However, as AI may have used training data from copyrighted sources, the content created may break copyright law.
How has automated decision making impacted social media?
It is easier for people to find the content that they are looking for, increasing user retention. However, recommending the same content repeatedly can lead to echo chambers, where opinions can go unchallenged, leading to a closed-minded society.
How has technology changed our right to privacy? Is this good or bad?
smaller cameras and faster image processing means that it is easier to be under surveillance. This data about us can be used by companies and governments to recommend us content and items, to tracking down a local thief. This however, removes our right to privacy, and this information can be used against us, or to make us think a certain way.
What is the digital divide?
The digital divide is the usually referred to the difference between us, in developed nations, to those in developing nations, however it can be used to describe groups of people within nations, and even cities. It shows that there is a difference in the technology we have access to, how we use it, and how we treat it.
How has modern technology affected the digital divide?
The sudden increase in modern technology means that the digital divide is exacerbated, creating greater inequality between these groups. The digital divide also impacts disadvantaged people, as they wont have access to the technology that makes applying for jobs and education, or finding hobbies and friends easier for us.
Exacerbated means “to make a situation worse”
How has this sudden change in the digital divide impact culture?
Although an increased use in technology overall means that culture is easier to preserve and learn about, the digital divide means that bigger, richer cultures are more easily recorded and remembered, whereas smaller, poorer cultures are left behind.
How has technology negatively impacted the environment?
There is a large amount of e-waste that is usually dumped in poorer nations, (furthering the digital divide by wasting the resources reserved for richer nations), that are not being reused or recycled. The increase in demand for technology means that we aren’t reducing our consumption either. The electricity required is expensive and a lot are produced via fossil fuels, furthering the climate crisis, demanding for oil reservoirs to be dug under natural land and ocean, negatively impacting regional fauna and flora.
How has technology positively impacted the environment?
Technology can be used for sharing knowledge between people, on how to live sustainably and ethical to the environment. Laptops and phones means that people aren’t going out every time they want to meet friends or go to work, so they aren’t using cars, so we have cleaner air, and reduce the increase in the climate crisis.
How are layouts and colour schemes of websites and phones etc. impacted with different cultures?
websites can have the ability to change to another language, and for languages such as Arabic or Hebrew, the layout should be flipped, as the language is read from right to left, instead of left to right. They can have enlarged text, or changes in colour contrast, or an audible text reader, which help the visually impaired. Developers should also take in account how colours are seen in different cultures, e.g. white in Arabian culture is for mourning, whereas in the west its for purity. An increase in character sets means that more languages can be shown for people to read. This is all to increase the number of people to go to a website.
Case Study - Remote working.
Remote work can boost productivity and job satisfaction, it can also benefit individuals with social anxiety or neurodivergence, providing a comfortable and productive environment. Virtual meetings can promote equal contribution by eliminating physical and social barriers. However, a 2023 report reveals that 23% of remote workers struggle with loneliness and work-life balance. Furthermore, maintaining focus can be challenging due to personal disruptions such as pets and children.
neurodivergence: someones brain functions differently than “normal”
