More Social Issues Impact and Control 1 Questions to Ponder How - PDF document

More Social Issues Impact and Control 1 Questions to Ponder � How are computers affecting the structure and definition of communities? � What is the effect of the digital divide? � Are we losing necessary skills? � Spelling � Simple math � Library research � Decision making 2 Computers and Community � Internet Use: � May create isolation from family, in-person friends, and neighbors. � Creates long-distance associations focused on special interests. � Reduces or eliminates direct contact with customers and clients. � Contributes to the formation of electronic relationships. � Allows for teleworking from almost any location. � May lead to Internet “addiction.” 3

Computers and Community � E-commerce vs. Downtown and Community � Market Dynamics Issues: • What do consumers want? • How much are consumers willing to pay? • What is the competition? � E-commerce: • What draws consumers to purchase products and services online? � Local Business: • What draws customers to purchase products and services at traditional stores and businesses? 4 Information Haves and Have-Nots � The Digital Divide � Factors contributing to access (or lack thereof) to computers and information systems: • Developed country. • Individual wealth. • Age. • Gender. • Ethnic background. • Politics. 5 Information Haves and Have-Nots � Universal Service Guarantee � Universal Access to the Telephone • In the 1930s, access to the telephone was deemed necessary in order to function in society. • The Communications Act of 1934 requires telephone companies to provide telephone service to the poor. � Universal Access to the Net • Advocates stress that access to the Net is necessary in order to function in today’s society. • Critics argue that the cost to supply universal access to the Net for the poor is an unfair and unnecessary burden. 6

Information Haves and Have-Nots � Trends In Computer Access • Declining costs for hardware, software, and connectivity contribute to greater access. • Easier to use and understand. • Gender gap has vanished. • Age gap is narrowing. • Families perceive Web access to be important. • Non-white households trail in access. • Rural, isolated, or remote regions often have limited access. • Some businesses offer home access as a benefit. • Public-access becoming more common. 7 Loss of Skills and Judgment � Writing, Thinking, and Memory � Computers Affect the Way We: • Write in the form of spell- and grammar- checkers and desktop publishing. • Research due to online archives, periodicals, and search tools. • Think because a vast amount of data is available, quickly, from all parts of the globe. • Communicate using text, graphics, audio, and video. 8 Loss of Skills and Judgment � Abdicating Responsibility � People may rely too much on computers for decisions about: • Approval of loans or insurance coverage. • Assessment of student, teacher, and school administrator progress. • The arrest of certain individuals. • How to make a particular business decision. • The treatment of a disease with a particular medicine. 9

Evaluations of the Impact of Computer Technology � The Neo-Luddite View � Criticisms of Computer Technology: • Causes massive unemployment and deskilling of jobs. • We use them because they are there. • Causes social inequality. • Source of social disintegration; they are dehumanizing. • Separates humans from nature and destroys the environment. • Benefits big business and big government. • Thwarts development of social skills in children. • Solves no real human problems. 10 Evaluations of the Impact of Computer Technology � Accomplishments of Technology � Some Benefits: • Food prices have dropped worldwide. • Raw materials are more abundant and prices of natural resources have declined. • Wages and salaries have risen in both rich and poor countries. • New substitutes for natural resources have been created. • New forms of crop management. • Improved transportation of food from field to table. • More diseases now treatable or eradicated. • Improved, safety-minded products for home, school, and work. 11 Prohibiting Bad Technologies Q : Is it possible for society to prohibit certain technologies? 12

Prohibiting Bad Technologies � Choice of Values � Technology Advocates • People can choose to use a technology for good or ill. • Influenced by society, technology does more than it was designed to do. • People adopt technologies that give us more choices for action and relationships. � Technology Critics • Technology is not “neutral.” • Big business and governments make decisions about technology. • Once created, technology drives itself. 13 Prohibiting Bad Technologies � The Difficulty of Prediction � Guessing the Consequences of Technology • How will people use the new technology? • How will people benefit from the new technology? • Will people like the new technology? • How much will people pay for the new technology? • What problems will the technology cause? 14 Prohibiting Bad Technologies � The Difficulty of Prediction (cont’d) � Example Objections to Speech-Recognition Systems • “The problem is so enormous that only the largest computers will ever be able to manage it.” • “…a speech-recognition machine is bound to be enormously expensive,…” • “What can it possibly be used for?” • “…a long step toward a fully automated battlefield.” • Governments can use speech recognition to increase wiretap efficiency and effectiveness. 15

Prohibiting Bad Technologies � The Difficulty of Prediction (cont’d) � The Decision-Making Process About Introducing New Technologies Should: • Be decentralized and noncoercive. • Produce what people want. • Work well. • Respect the diversity of personal opinions. • Be relatively free of political manipulation. 16 The Future??? � “The telephone is so important, every city will need one!” — Anonymous � “My personal desire would be to prohibit entirely the use of alternating currents. They are unnecessary as they are dangerous.” — Thomas Edison, 1899 � “I think there is a world market for maybe five computers.” — Thomas J. Watson, chairman of IBM, 1943 � “Computers in the future may... only weigh 1.5 tons.” — Popular Mechanics, 1949 � “There is no reason for any individual to have a computer in their home.” — Ken Olson, president of Digital Equipment Corp., 1977 � “The U.S. will have 220,000 computers by the year 2000.” — Official forecast by RCA Corporation, 1966. (The actual number was close to 100 million.) 17