1.5.2 Moral & Ethical Issues

Increased efficiency & productivity Reduced unit labour costs Lower prices for customers Removes need to work in repetitive/tedious environment Online services reduce rent and labour costs

Contribute to rising structural unemployment Middle income manufacturing jobs main target so shift towards low-income service jobs

Faster reactions to certain scenarios in driverless cars Quick response in application processes

Controlling content displayed on user’s social media can lead to a closed minded society Using algorithms for application processes could result in unfair treatment Who is responsible for decisions made by driverless cars? Who should be prioritised, the pedestrian or passenger? Algorithms must be thoroughly tested to produce software free of bias

Used to replicate the knowledge of experts Used in medicine to draw links between illnesses and form diagnoses Used in neural networks to detect patterns and identify financial fraud Use in voice recoginition systems provides convenience in smart home systems

Use in voice recognition systems such as smart home systems raises privacy concerns Raises questions about accountability

Smart home systems use sensors to determine when heating/lighting should be switched on/off Devices offer “sleep” or “stand-by” features

More technology thrown away as it becomes affordable & accessible Computer components are toxic and contaminate water supplies E-waste is sometimes shipped to third world countries with lower environmental standards for disposal Electricity uses fossil fuels which emit greenhouse gas Impact future generation & harm biodiversity

ISPs block content associated with terrorism & extremist political beliefs Exists on smaller level such as schools/workplaces to maintain productivity & prevent distraction

The act of suppressing the content that people are able to view, publish & access

Concerns about misuse to push a certain ideology Some believe in a “Free Internet”

Employers monitor productivity by tracking websites workers are accessing Surveillance systems used to detect crime Ankle monitors used to track those on house arrest Some argue it to be unethical in violating basic human rights Some argue it essential to defer individuals from committing crimes

Large amounts of data from numerous sources can identify connections between two variables through data mining Ethical concerns about whether companies have a responsiblity to feedback trends they uncover to individuals involved Pressure on larger firms to be more transparent about data collected

The process of extracting knowledge or insights from large amounts of data using various statistical and computational techniques

Unauthorised copying of content is a form of theft Internet provides a seemingly anonymous front for offensive communication The Malicious Communications Act 1998 makes it a criminal offence to send indecent or offensive messages to anyone online

Online harassment Cyber bullying Stalking

Web developers must consider the audience when designing a website The Equality Act 2010 makes it illegal to discriminate when providing a service Websites should have transcripts of audio files Websites should have alt text for images & screen magnifer option

Web designers must consider how colours are interpreted around the world Some cultures regard certain cultures as unlucky

Websites should be accessible to as wide an audience as possible Content needs to be translated into multiple languages Unicode is able to represent over a million characters