The internet and social Implications

1. The internet and social Implications Special topics in information systems Jaures N’GUESSAN Jackson HOLLOWELL

2. What’s the Internet? By “Internet” we refer to the electronic network of networks that links people and information through computers and other digital devices allowing person-to-person communication and information retrieval.

3. Democracy and the Internet • What is democracy? • The idea that political power should reside in the citizens of a nation, rather than a single person or small groups. • Is the Internet a democracy? • Allows individuals to be producers and distributors of information • Provides forums that are mediated differently than mass media • Facilitates access to many more sources of information • Facilitates the formation of associations that are independent of geographic space

4. Computer improve our safety! Technology changed our lives in way we see, but also it changed our lives in way we don’t see every day. Here’s the example of a computer crash simulation. Chevrolet Cruze

5. Technology can improve the medicine! Here’s the example of the using of a super intelligent computer in the health field. IBM’s Watson joins Reenssealer • Should we allowed that? • Should we be afraid?

6. Technology as Human Instruments • “When human actions is the focus of ethics, technology is best understood as the “instrumentation of human action.”” • Technology can expand or enhance the instrumentation of our bodies. • Light switch, phone, gun, etc. • Ethical analysis: 2 important advantages • Keeps humans as agents of action • Allows us to focus on the contribution of the instrumentation to the character of human actions

7. Cyborgs? • Some theorists view technology and human activity differently. • Many believe we should refer to ourselves as “cyborgs.” • Cyborg – short for “cybernetic organism,” is a being with both organic and cybernetic parts. • Examples – heart monitors, replacement joints, prosethetics • Real Life Cyborg Example • So are we cyborgs?

8. “A communication system is totally neutral. It has no conscience, no principle, no morality. It has only a history. It will broadcast filth or inspiration with equal facility. It will speak the truth as loudly as it will speak a falsehood. It is, in sum, no more or no less than the men and women who use it” Edward R. Murrow • Do you agree with that? Why? • Are there some aspects of different kinds of communication systems that influence the quality of the content?

9. Should we trust what we see?

10. Should we trust what we see? • Is “TIME” doing something wrong here? Why? • What’s can be some ethical issues with this kind of actions? Are journalist HAVE TO more moral than us?

11. Benefits from the introduction of technology in the workplace? Frees us from repetitious tasks, more time for creativity Internet- quick, reliable information, work smarter and efficiently What is going to be in 10, 20 years? Will computers eventually be doing all the work?

12. Telecommuting • Working at a distance from traditional company office, connected in cyberspace: • “The Ethisphere Institute is a think tank "dedicated to the creation, advancement and sharing of best practices in business ethics, corporate social responsibility, anti-corruption and sustainability." And Ethisphere has recently concluded that open workspaces and telecommuting can measurably reduce ethics violations among employees in the workplace.”

13. Telecommuting • Ethisphere realized a survey among 200 companies and assessed the behavior of employees and found: • Among regular telecommuters, 11% of companies reported ethics violations in the last year • In contrast, the rate of ethics violations was 36% among employees with offices. Do you agree with this study? Or is it more about the types of employees who telework?

14. IT-Configured Domains of Life • Virtual Environments • Avatars • Role Playing Games

15. Friendship and Social Networking • Friendship building on the Internet • Social Networking Sites – Facebook, Twitter • Build new friendships or just used to maintain old ones?

16. Job destruction or creation? • People once feared computing technology and the internet would cause mass unemployment. • Do you consider this a valid fear? • Would it be ethical to stop the growing of technology in some industries to prevent possible threats?

17. Job Creation • Efficiency-reduce hours worked, resources needed • Google docs, web cams, translators, software, mobile devices • Increase in productivity and standard of living • Eliminates some jobs, creates others

18. Yes, we’re losing some jobs…but • Are robots taking our jobs? • Yes they are but focusing on that fact misses the point entirely. • Now we are freed up to do other things • Reduce poverty, labor time, live more efficiently • Is it ethical to let robots take over factory jobs? Would we feel the same with other jobs in other fields (education)? • Is it ethical to state that the jobs created are more important than the jobs that were destroyed?

19. Actor-Network Theory • Sociotechnical systems are represented as networks of things and people. • Each node has an influence on what happens, called an “actant,” can be both human and non. • Human remain as “actors” in this theory • Fear of IT one day becoming autonomous • Grant the status of moral agents? • If so, can we turn them off?

20. Ethics & IT-Configured Activities • Ethical issues arise around 3 features: • Global, Many-to-Many Scope • Internet-instrumented communications has a global scope, expands our reaches along with TV and radio. • Distinctive Identity Conditions • Internet communication is mediated through a vast sociotechnical system • Certain degrees of anonymity, traces everywhere • Reproducibility • Expansion of communication • Also expands disconnection