Social Context of Computing

1. Social Context of Computing CSCI102 - Systems ITCS905 - Systems MCS9102 - 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? • Access to knowledge is limited • Ability to participate in politics and receive important info is restricted • 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

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” • Email 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.