Broader Issues on the Impact and Control of Computers

Computers and Community

Information Haves and Have-Nots: The Access Issue

Loss of Skills and Judgment

Evaluations of the Impact Computer Technology

Prohibiting Bad Technologies

Computers and

Community

How do computers and telecommunication affect

human interaction and community?

The Problems• There is a worry that computers have a negative impact

on us, our children, and our society• Hurts local community vibrancy• Causes isolation from neighbors• Erodes family life• On-line commerce affects real stores and community-

based professionals• Face-to-face gathering• Emphasis on individual rather than community• May lead to underdeveloped social skills• May lead to internet addiction

http://www.cnn.com/US/9706/16/briefs.pm/internet.neglect/index.html

The Positives• Allows for new ways of doing old tasks

– Teleworking– Automation– E-Commerce– Research

• Greater range of communication• Online convenience = Real World Freedom• Greater depth in communication

Information Haves and Have-Nots:

The Access Issue

Is having equal opportunity to access information

a far-fetched goal?

Information Access

– Current State of the Digital Divide

– Impact of the Digital Divide

– Possible Remedies

– Future of Information Access

Digital Divide:

Refers to the gap between groups of people with regular, effective access to Digital and Information Technology, and those without.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_divide

Factors contributing to the Digital Divide:

– Status of country (LDC/MDC)

– Individual wealth

– Physical disabilities

– Gender

– Politics

Sara Baase, “A Gift of Fire”, 2003, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_divide

According to Nielsen/Netratings 74.9% of American (US) households had access to the Internet in 2004 (an increase from 57% in 2001).

About half of those Americans had high-speed/broadband connections.

• Internet access (by age):

– 82% of women between the ages of 35 - 54.

– 80% of men between the ages of 35 - 54.

– 77% of women between the ages of 25 - 34.

– 76% of men between the ages of 25 - 34.

– 75% of young adults between the ages of 18 - 24.

http://www.nielsen-netratings.com/pr/pr_040318.pdf , http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_access_in_the_United_States

One Laptop per child (MIT Media Lab), XO-1.

Intel’s World Ahead Program, Classmate PC.

Various efforts are being made to break the hierarchical diffusion pattern.

– Libraries– Internet/Cyber Café s– Public Hotspots– Donations (public/private)– Government / Non-Profit Organizations– Open content, software movement

• AMD’s 50x15 Initiative“The 50x15 mission is to enable affordable, accessible Internet connectivity and computing capabilities for 50 percent of the world's population by the year 2015”

- http://50x15.amd.com

Loss of Skills and

Judgment

What is the impact of computing on the individual?

Skills vs. Automation

– Loss of Skills

– Loss of Judgment

– Loss of Responsibility

Loss of Skills

Writing, Thinking, and MemoryI have a spelling checker.It came with my PC.It plainly marks four my revue,Miss steaks aye can knot sea.Eye ran this poem threw it,I’m sure your pleased too no.It’s letter perfect in it’s weigh,My checker tolled me sew.

-Jarrold H. Zar, “Candidate for a Pullet Surprise”

From the Journal of Irreproducible ResultsJan/Feb 1994, 39:1, p. 13

Loss of Judgment

“The problem isn't that Wikipedia itself is flawed, say supporters; it's that many Net users don't understand how it works. The system allows anyone to post or change an entry. On Monday Wikipedia changed the system so only registered users could post, but registration requires only creating a username and password. Identities are still not verified.”

-USA Today

From USA Today, “It’s Online but is it true?” By Janet Kornblum, 12/6/2005

Loss of Responsibility

– How to make a particular business decision– Treatment of disease with a particular medicine– Application process for a college or job

Evaluations of the

Impact of Computer Technology

Is computer technology overall beneficial to us or harmful?

Luddites

– In England in 1811-1812, people burned factories and mills in efforts to stop the technologies and social changes that were eliminating their jobs.  Many were weavers who worked at home on small machines.  They were called Luddites.

– More recently, Luddite has been used to describe people who oppose technological progress, and has been adopted as an honorable term by critics of technology.

Criticisms

– Causes massive unemployment and deskilling of jobs– We use them because they are there (not because

they satisfy real needs)– 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, human values,

and intellectual skills in children.– Solves no real human problems.

Benefits of Technology– Reduce the effort needed to produce goods and

services. – 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

Technology Benefits Spreading to the Poor

Cox and Alm, Myths of Rich and Poor, Pg. 15

• Singularity Countdown

Courtesy of Ray Kurzweil and Kurzweil Technologies, Inc.

Prohibiting Bad Technologies

How should computing technology be controlled to ensure positive uses and consequences?

Technology Critics

– Technology is not “neutral.”– Big Business and governments make decisions about

technology.– Once created, technology drives itself.

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 adapt technologies that give us more choices

for action and relationships.

"Although a technology does not drive human beings to adopt new practices, it shapes the space of possibilities in which they can act."

-Peter Denning“The Internet After 30 Years,” by Peter J. DenningThe Internet Besieged, Addison-Wesley, 1998, p. 20

The Difficulty of Prediction

– 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, pres. of Digital Equipment Corp. 1977

– The US will have 220,000 computers by the year 2000.-RCA Corporation, 1966 (The actual number was

close to 100 million.)

Discussion1. Should the Internet be something that everyone can

access from everywhere? Is Universal Access a right? Is it even possible?

2. What can we do to prohibit bad technology? How can we make sure that technology is used positively without hindering its progress?

3. How do we prevent our society from being overly dependent on computers and technology? Is this a bad thing?