Chapter 1:

Unwrapping the Gift

Based on slides prepared by Cyndi Chie,

Sarah Frye and Sharon Gray.
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Fifth edition updated by Timothy Henry
 The Pace of Change
 Change and Unexpected Developments
 Themes of Technology Challenges
 Ethics  

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Reserved
 1940s: First computer was built.
 1956: First hard-drive disk weighed a ton and
stored five megabytes.
 1991: Space shuttle had a one-megahertz
computer. Ten years later, some automobiles
had 100-megahertz computers. Speeds of
several gigahertz are now common.

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Cell Phones
 Relatively few in 1990s. Approximately five billion
worldwide in 2011.
 Used for conversations and messaging, but also for:
 taking and sharing pictures
 downloading music and watching videos
 checking email and playing games
 banking and managing investments
 finding maps
 Smartphone apps for many tasks, including:
 monitoring diabetes
 locating water in remote areas
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New Developments (cont.)
Cell Phones:
 Can now be used for travel, last minute planning,
taking pictures and downloading music
 A phone for Muslims indicated the direction of
Mecca and reminds the owner when it is time for
prayers. A Christian can buy ringtone with
prayers.
 There are mobile phones without cameras and
entertainment services
Cell Phones:
 Location tracking raises privacy concerns.
 Cameras in cell phones affect privacy in public
and non-public places.
 Cell phones can interfere with solitude, quiet and
concentration.
 Talking on cell phones while driving is dangerous.
 Other unanticipated negative applications:
teenagers sexting, terrorists detonating bombs.

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Kill switches
 Allow a remote entity to disable applications and
delete files.
 Are in operating systems for smartphones,
tablets and some computers.
 Used mainly for security, but raise concerns
about user autonomy.

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Social Networking:
 First online social networking site was
www.classmates.com in 1995.
 Founded in 2003, Myspace had roughly 100
million member profiles by 2006.
 Facebook was started at Harvard as an online
version of student directories
 Social networking is popular with hundreds of
millions of people because of the ease with
which they can share aspects of their lives.
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Social Networking:
 Businesses connect with customers.
 Organizations seek donations.
 Groups organize volunteers.
 Protesters organize demonstrations and
revolutions.
 Individuals pool resources through “crowd
funding”.

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Social Networking:
 Stalkers and bullies stalk and bully.
 Judges tweet about court cases during trials.
 Socialbots : A socialbot is an artificial intelligence
program that simulates a human being in social
media.

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Communication and the Web
 In the 1980s, email messages were short and
contained only text.
 People worldwide still use email, but texting,
tweeting , and other social media are now
preferred.

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Telemedicine
 Remote performance of medical exams and
procedures, including surgery.

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Collaboration
 Wikipedia: The online, collaborative encyclopedia
written by volunteers.
 Watch-dogs on the Web: Informal, decentralized
groups of people help investigate crimes.

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E-commerce
 Amazon.com started in 1994 selling books on the
Web. It has grown to be one of the most popular,
reliable, and user-friendly commercial sites.
 eBay.com facilitates online auctions.

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E-commerce and trust concerns
 People were reluctant to provide credit card
information to make online purchases, so
PayPal.com grew out of need for trusted
intermediary to handle payments.
 Encryption and secure servers made payments
safer.
 Auction sites implemented rating systems.

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Free stuff
 Email programs and email accounts, browsers,
filters, firewalls, encryption software, word
processors, spreadsheets, software for viewing
documents, software to manipulate photos and
video, and much more
 Phone services using VOIP such as Skype
 Craigslist classified ad site
 University lectures

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Free stuff
 In order for companies to earn ad revenue to
fund multimillion-dollar services, many free
sites collect information about our online
activities and sell it to advertisers.

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Artificial intelligence
 A branch of computer science that makes
computers perform tasks normally requiring
human intelligence.

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Artificial intelligence
 Turing Test: If the computer convinces the
human subject that the computer is human, the
computer is said to “pass”.

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Robots
 Mechanical devices that perform physical tasks
traditionally done by humans.
 Can operate in environments that are hazardous
for people.

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Smart sensors, motion, and control
 Motion sensing devices are used to give robots
the ability to walk.
 Sensors can detect leaks, acceleration, position,
temperature, and moisture.

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Tools for disabled people
 Assistive technology devices help restore
productivity and independence to people with
disabilities.
 Researchers are experimenting with chips that
convert brain signals to controls for leg and arm
muscles.

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 New Developments (cont.)
Tools for Disabled People:
 Wheel chairs climb stairs and support and
transport a person in a upright position
 Sensors and microprocessors control artificial
limbs
 For deaf people text messaging devices like
blackberry
 For blind people, Speech synthesizers read aloud
what a sighted person sees on the screen
Themes of Technology Challenges
 Old problems in a new context: crime,
pornography, violent fiction
 Adapting to new technology: thinking in a new
way
 Global reach of Net: ease of communication with
distant countries

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Themes of Technology Challenges
 Trade-offs and controversy: Increasing security
means reducing convenience.
 Perfection is a direction, not an option.
 There is a difference between personal choices,
business policies, and law.

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What is Ethics:
 Study of what it means to “do the right thing”.
 Assumes people are rational and make free
choices.
 Rules to follow in our interactions and our
actions that affect others.

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A variety of ethical views:
 Deontological theories
 Utilitarianism
 Natural rights

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Ethical views
 Deontology
 The deontological theory states that people
should adhere to their obligations and duties.
 Does not consider the consequences.
 Example: “do not lie”
Ethical views
 Utilitarianism
 The utilitarian ethical theory is founded on the
ability to predict the consequences of an action.
 It might be difficult to determine all the
consequences of an act
 We should choose the act or let the other
choose that make them happy?
 An action might decrease utility for some for
some people and increase it for others
Ethical views
Natural rights
 Let people make their own decisions.
 This approach views ethical behaviour as acting
in such a way that respects set of fundamental
rights of others, including the rights to life,
liberty, and property.
A variety of ethical views:
Negative rights (liberties)
 Negative rights, or liberties, are rights to act without
interference. The only obligation
 they impose on others is not to prevent you from
acting.
Positive rights (claim-rights)
 Claim rights, or positive rights, impose an obligation
on some people to provide certain things for others.

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A variety of ethical views:
 Golden rules
 Treat others as you would want them to treat you.
 Contributing to society
 Doing one’s work honestly, responsibly, ethically,
creatively, and well is righteous.

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A variety of ethical views:
 Do organizations have ethics?
 Ultimately, it is individuals who are making decisions
and taking actions. We can hold both the individuals
and the organization responsible for their acts.

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