Social Context of Computing CSCI102 - Systems ITCS905 - Systems MCS Systems

2 Social Issues How does cybertechnology effect: – Socio-demographic groups Social class Race Gender –Social and political institutions Education Government –Social sectors Workplace

3 The Digital Divide Information haves and have-nots Perceived gap between those with and without access to information tools and the ability to use them –Divide between nations –Divide within nations

4 The Digital Divide Global Digital Divide –6% of the world population is online 68% of these in Nth.America & Europe –2 billion people live without electricity ‘net access in developing countries is subject to low bandwidth, slow access, and prohibitive expenses –Literacy is low in many countries Most material on the ‘net is in English –Former US VP, Al Gore and the GII initiative for universal access No real result

5 The Digital Divide Digital Divide in the USA –Universal Service vs. Universal Access Universal service concept applied to telephony, now to internet access –Public Education and the Analog Divide Access is not only divided on income but on educational levels Monahan: Analog divide refers to inequalities that predated the digital technological revolution but continued through

6 The Digital Divide Digital Divide as an Ethical Issue –People denied access to cyber tech are denied access to resources vital for their well-being? 1.Access to knowledge is limited 2.Ability to participate in politics and receive important info is restricted 3.Economic prospects severely limited –Do we have a moral obligation to bridge the digital divide?

7 Cybertechnology and the Disabled Tim Berners-Lee, director of W3C: –“the power of the web is in its universality. Access by everyone regardless of disability is an essential aspect” Disability as a social-construct Perception of obligation –Telstra and teletypewriters –HREOC 1995 discrimination finding

8 Race and Cybertechnology In USA –51% of homes have  1 computer –41.5% of homes have ‘net access –86.3% of households earning > US$75kpa have access –12.7% earning < $15kpa have access –Internet usage by Racial/Ethnic Group in US WhitesAsian- Americans African- Americans Hispanics 46.1%56.8%23.5%23.1%

9 Race and Cybertechnology Technology, Race & Public Policy –Studies show web-site developers see little benefit in developing content for minorities Since (for example) African-Americans make up a small user percentage, there is little incentive for non-African-Americans to develop material targeted for that audience

10 Race and Cybertechnology Rhetoric & Racism –Exclusion built-in to public policy Thoughtlessness: effect of highways running through low-income and minority areas Blatant racism: civic design for social engineering

11 Gender and Cybertechnology Access Issues –In most societies, women are certainly not actively denied access to cybertechnology but still make up a small and shrinking percentage of industry professionals Early education socialization? –As with racial minorities, lower number of representatives in the owners and creators = lower representation in content and access corridors

12 Gender and Cybertechnology Gender Bias and Educational Software –Studies showed that learning programmes designed for cybertechnology matched to a male- stereotype Gender Bias and Educational Software –Most interactive software favours male-physiology Females better at colour differentiation Males better at depth perception and movement detection Due to physical differences in eyes

13 Employment and Work Job Displacement & Automation –Cybertechnology has created or displaced jobs? Lost in some sectors Created in others = JOB DISPLACEMENT –Linked to automation

14 Employment and Work Robotics & Expert Systems –Robots capable of multiple tasks Low cost High productivity –Expert systems A primitive form of AI Replacement for experience? –Mobile Agents Commercial agents & online auctions Intelligent reactive planners

15 Employment and Work Virtual Organisations & Remote Work –Telecommuting –Office automation –Anywhere connectivity & PAN leads to Virtual organisations Virtual teams Virtual corporations –= virtual work ? ;)

16 Employment and Work Telecommuting may assist the disabled –Or result in new forms of discrimination Restricted to hidden off-site tasks Removed from the work society

17 Quality of Work Life Health and Safety Issues –VDU radiation –RSI –Typists-neck –Stress

18 Quality of Work Life Employee Stress, Workplace Surveillance and Computer Monitoring –The invisible supervisor –Keystroke capture –“PC anywhere” – monitoring –Phone logs –Video surveillance

19 Employee Autonomy and Privacy Proposal 1: (Marx & Sherizen 1991) An Ethics for Employee Monitoring –Job related data collection only –Employers provide advanced notice & mechanisms for appeal –Verification of machine-collected data prior to it being used for employee evaluation –Employee access to the data on themselves –Monetary redress for violation of rights or negative reporting through machine error –“statute of limitations” on data collected

20 Employee Autonomy and Privacy Proposal 2: (Introna 2001) An Alternative Strategy –Employees don’t fear surveillance as such, but the choices their bosses may make based on the data collected –Asymmetry of power, where employer holds all the power – a concern for workplace justice –Total privacy -> employee fraud –Total transparency -> loss of worth, trust & morale –Need a framework that distributes privacy and transparency This is a complex ethical issue

21 CSCI102 Week 2(a) Thank you to Bob Brown who prepared the material for this lecture. Main Reference: –Herman T. Tavani. Ethics & Technology: ethical issues in an Age of Information and Communication Technology. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley, 2004.