Introduction to the Social Implications of Computing

1 Introduction to the Social Implications of Computing Ryan W. Andrew [As the scope and impact of information and computing technology has grown, so have the issues that accompany such growth. These issues include the growth of, and access to the Internet, gender related issues, international issues, computer crime, computer crime prevention, and diversity in the workplace, among others. This paper examines specific instances of these issues, in order to give a broader sense of the implications of computing. Included are, the historical perspectives of the social implications and ethics of computing, future projections, as well as their impact on society.] 1 2 Table of Contents 1. 2. 3. 3.1. Figure 1 3.2. 3.3. Figure 2 4. 5. 6. 7. Introduction……………………………………………………………. Page 3 Historical Perspective…………………………………………………. Page 3 Research………………………………………………………………... Page 3 Growth of and Access to the Internet……………………………….. Page 3 Hobbes’ Internet Timeline……………………………………………. Page 4 Computer Crime and Prevention……………………………………. Page 5 Gender Issues…………………………………………………………... Page 6 Stanford BS CS Degrees……………………………………………… Page 7 The Future……………………………………………………………… Page 7 Conclusion……………………………………………………………… Page 8 Bibliography……………………………………………………………. Page 9 About the Author………………………………………………………. Page 10 2 3 1. Introduction In the rush of today‟s consumer driven society to develop the fastest microprocessor, or the biggest hard drive, it often seems that the engineers and computer scientists developing such technology often neglect the ethical and social implications that accompany such innovation. We live in a time of marvelous technical accomplishments in the computing field, but unfortunately these accomplishments are too often rivaled by those of computer criminals, or those who use computers with malicious intent. The issue of gender equality in regards to the dominance of male discourse around gender and technology persists today as well. Also, with the incredible growth of the Internet, there are still many who cannot access this great resource, specifically in low income and urban areas around the world. In these areas, low-connectivity, and low-bandwidth become major obstacles to overcome in accessing the Internet. Additionally, international issues exist as well regarding computing, such as access to the Internet globally, especially in such low-connectivity and low-income areas. 2. Historical Perspective The need for computer ethics dates back to the early 1940‟s and has it roots in the work of an MIT Professor Norbert Weiner, who helped develop an antiaircraft cannon. The engineer foresaw the possible social and ethical consequences that developments in the computing field could lead to. Although the term “computer ethics” was not used until the 1960‟s, Weiner was able to lay down a foundation, which still remains a basis for the computer ethics of today. Although his work was ahead of its time, it was almost completely ignored for decades. It was during the mid 1960‟s that Donn Parker of SRI International examined more closely the unethical and illegal uses of computer professionals. After completing his research he published “Rules of Ethics in Information Processing” in 1968, and headed the development of the first Code of Professional Conduct for the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM). These professional codes of conduct were eventually adopted by the ACM in 1973. Parker‟s continued work re-launched the important field of computer ethics that continues to grow to this day. The ACM Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct, attempts to establish professional ethical behavior by computer professionals. It is broken into four sections of related principles, and the sections are General Moral Imperatives, more specific Professional Responsibilities, Organizational Leadership Imperatives, and finally, Compliance with the Code. Worth noting in relation to this paper is the very first code which reads, “As an ACM member I will contribute to society and human well-being.”1 In 1976, the International Federation for Information Processing (IFIP) General Assembly established its Technical Committee 9 (TC9), which dealt with “Relationships between Computers and Society.” This committee is not concerned with computer developments, which are strictly technical, but rather it aims to “influence the applications of computers with respect to individuals, groups, institutions and society.” 2 The six major scopes of TC9 are Communicating Social Consequences, Promoting Social Accountability, Facilitating Research, Humanizing Information Systems, Enhancing the Quality of Life, and Encouraging Responsible Long-Range Planning. Each of these scopes deals with the specific social consequences of the work of computer professionals, the effects of the uses of computers on society, and how to promote healthy uses of computing for society as a whole. Since 1976, eight working groups of TC9 have been added, and each group focuses on a more specific subject within the world of computing and its impacts. These working groups are Computers and Work (est. 1977), Social Accountability (est. 1977), Home-Oriented Informatics and Telematics (est. 1988), Social Implications of Computers in Developing Countries (est. 1989), Applications and Social Implications of Virtual Worlds (est. 1989), Information Technology Mis-Use and the Law (est. 1990), History of Computing (est. 1992), and Women and Information Technology (est. 2001). Just as with TC9 as a whole, each of these working groups has their own aim and specific scopes, and serve to hold forums, discussions or conferences, integrate perspectives, propose or evaluate possible courses of action, identify worthy individuals, and promote a healthier or more equal environment within their specific field. 3. Research 3.1. Growth of, and Access to the Internet 1 Association for Computing Machinery, Bylaws of the ACM, 1 June 1998, (18 October 2004). 2 International Federation for Information Processing, TC9 – Aims and Scopes, (18 October, 2004). 3 4 The Internet is a very powerful tool that can provide an almost endless amount of information and services to the fingertips of the user. Over the past decades, the Internet has grown incredibly, but more specifically, since 1994 the number of hosts on the Internet has grown almost exponentially. Figure 13 As shown in Figure 1, the Internet began in 1969 with a total of four hosts, and grew to 159, 000 over the next 20 years. From 1990 to 2002, and exponential-like growth took place and by October 2002, over 160,000,000 hosts existed on the Internet. In January 2004, almost 250,000,000 hosts existed on the Internet. With the ability to communicate and share knowledge and wisdom almost instantaneously comes a factorial increase in the collective knowledge set of the global community. This ability can have major impacts on societies around the world, but only those societies or areas with the means to access the Internet can directly benefit from this great resource. Obviously communities with no access to computers or phone lines will have no way of accessing the Internet. But even some communities with these two assets still cannot feasibly use the Internet. Bandwidth is a major obstacle that must be overcome. For many of these communities the bandwidth is so narrow that finding information on the web can take hours, due to the load time of each webpage. This limited amount of bandwidth can be seen in the following examples 4:  “In 1998, the country of Ethiopia had a 256Kbps connection to the rest of the Internet.”  “In 2000, India had a total international bandwidth of 350 Mbps for 1 billion people.”  “Eight Arab countries (Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Jordan, Morocco, Oman, Syria, and the UAE) have, combined, the same bandwidth as 518 cable modem subscribers in the U.S.” However, low bandwidth is not the only obstacle to overcome in accessing the Internet. As a result, this longer time spent online will mean higher telephone and Internet Service Provider (ISP) charges. In areas where low income is a factor, these costs can make using the Internet economically unfeasible. For example, “one ISP in 3 Hobbes’ Internet Timeline, Hobbes’ Internet Timeline v7.0, 1 January 2004, (20 October 2004). 4 Examples taken from: Amarasinghe, S., Levison, L. & Thies, W. (2002). Providing Web Search Capability for Low-Connectivity Communities. In 2002 International Symposium on Technology and Society (ISTAS’02): Social Implications of Information and Communication Technology (pp. 87-92). Raleigh: IEEE Society on Social Implications of Technology. 4 5 Ghana is faced with the fact that Internet bandwidth that would cost less than $1,000 in the US must be beamed to Ghana through a satellite link to Canada, at about $40,000 a month.” 5 Furthermore, if an area has an unreliable network, and access to technical support, software patches, and hardware upgrades are very limited; then productive access to the Internet is pushed further out of reach. These problems present the need for a different kind of web application. Downloading upgrades and anti-virus updates is virtually impossible given the bandwidth situations identified above. Also, many web pages are now more image-intensive and may even require certain plug-ins. Thus, although a web page may be considered as having more useful features, it is those very features that can sometimes make using that web page impossible. Very few sites exist that are designed for low-bandwidth users as well as they are designed for their high-bandwidth counterparts. This is just one general example of the need for the field of Appropriate Information Technology (AIT). AIT is the development of Information Technology applications, which are suited to the limits of their environment. In this field, people are taught to identify technical problems that exist in environments they are unfamiliar with, and most likely even unaware of. One AIT solution to the low-bandwidth problem is the TEK Search Engine, which is an email based search engine designed specifically for these low-connectivity communities. The following are characteristics, which make the TEK system, and probably many other systems, very useful in situations like this 6:  “Low-connectivity, in that it does not rely on end-to-end connection at any point in time.”  “Low-bandwidth, in that it maximizes „information density‟ and only sends attachments that can be downloaded over slow connections.”  “User friendly, in that it does not overwhelm users from information-poor environments with more results than they can manage.”  “Similar to standard search engine tools, so that the skills the user acquires can be transferred to other Web tools in the future.” These characteristics can be generalized to apply to many more technical tools, not only Web tools, in order to alleviate the technological divide between areas with superior technology and network infrastructure, and those lacking such resources. This divide between these areas should be address according to the ACM moral imperative of being fair and not discriminating against these types of areas. As well as, contributing to society and human well being as a whole, and not just for specific peoples or regions. Also, TC9‟s “Social Implications of Computers in Developing Countries” working group would directly study such issues and their possible solutions. For example, this working group would collect information and experiences from developing nations, assess the social implications of computers in such nations, and finally develop guidelines for design and implementation of culturally adapted information and computing systems. 3.2. Computer Crime and Prevention It‟s obvious that the Internet provides a wealth of information that can be accessed with great ease. Thus, computer crime can become very easy, and can present itself in many forms, such as plagiarism, and software piracy. However, I would like to take this chance to focus on a different type of crime, namely the sexual exploitation of children through the use of the Internet. The Internet provides a virtual playground for children by offering online games, chat rooms, and websites geared to this demographic. As more and more children become regular users of the Internet, the chance of online predators to contact these children increases dramatically. In fact, “the very same offenders that once combed the playgrounds seeking victims now lurk into cyberspace” 7 to find their new prey. As the price of technology drops, more pedophiles looking to victimize children can have, unfortunately, a better opportunity to do so. Sexual exploitation on children through the Internet can happen in different ways. “The online pedophile may choose to engage in explicit sexual conversation or even expose their vulnerable targets to pornographic images, material or information.”8 The goal of the pedophile may be to engage in conversation, eventually talk on the phone, or even meet in person. In some cases the predator may be attempting to fulfill sexual fantasies with the children they target. Often these children are teenagers who are looking for answers or searching to learn more about this sexual material, which can lead them right into the hands of a pedophile. “Most pedophiles 5 6 Amarasinghe, S., Levison, L. & Thies, W., 89. Characteristics taken from: Amarasinghe, S., Levison, L. & Thies, W., 90. 7 Kopelev, Sergio D. “Cyber Sex Offenders: How to Proactively Investigate Internet Crimes against Children.” Law Enforcement Technology, Vol. 26, No. 11, November 1999, pp. 46-50. 8 Fried, Robert B. “The Internet: A Breeding Ground for Online Pedophiles.” 6 October 2004, (20 October 2004). 5 6 are attracted to the fact that there are many dark corners of the Internet that are not being regulated.”9 These dark corners make it very easy for a pedophile to exploit an innocent child without even having to leave his or her home. Fortunately, however, measures are being taken to track and identify these criminals in order to prevent further harm to any child. Lawmakers have taken notice of such crimes and are doing their part to prevent them. On October 30, 1998, members of the Senate and House of Representatives of America in Congress enacted the “Protection of Children From Sexual Predators Act of 1998”. Within this act are nine titles, which deal with protecting children from online predators. For example, Title I discusses ways to prevent predators from gaining information about children in an attempt to transport them for the purposes of illegal sexual activities. Others discuss methods of protecting children from sexual abuse and child pornography at the hands of online pedophiles. Specifically, Title III states that it, “doubles the maximum term of imprisonment for abusive sexual contact with an individual who has not attained age 12.“10 However, a major challenge is presented to law enforcement agencies in pinpointing the pedophile‟s true identity. Free programs exist that allow potential pedophiles to surf the Internet or use e-mail anonymously. “Pedophiles have always been ahead of the power curve, and law enforcement has trailed, sometimes far behind, in apprehending them. The Internet is merely the latest area in which the pedophiles have captured a huge lead because of their networking and technical expertise.”11 It is these programs where it may seem that the designers have left ethics and the social implications of their innovations out of the picture, at least in this sense. These types of programs do honor ACM imperatives of confidentiality and respecting the privacy of others, however, in this case the pedophiles are the ones being protected. More importantly, the developers of these types of programs should base their development on the ACM moral imperatives of contributing to society and human well being, and avoiding harm to others, specifically in this sense, children. Much of these crimes would possibly fall under the study of TC9‟s “Information Technology Mis-Use and the Law” working group, and its scope. This working group would examine the legal and social consequences of the development and use of such computing systems, and possible solutions to this problem. 3.3. Gender Related Issues Around the world today there is a new global knowledge economy among developed nations. Governments around the world see technology as a means to gain an edge in this international economy. Thus, the population of a country needs to be trained in a technical field in order to supply a proper workforce. This may suggest that those possessing such knowledge or training will be preferred in one‟s ability to contribute to the wealth creation of that nation. This approach comes at a time of a growing concern of a gender divide, specifically in British Society. The following reflect such a divide in the British society. 12  It is recognized that males dominate the use of technologies in all areas of society.  Fewer girls are taking up Computing at an advanced level, and universities are experiencing a continued lack of interest in applications by women to computing degrees.  In 1996, 19% of computer science students we were reported to be female.  Today, only 21% of computing graduates in the UK are women.  In the workplace, women hardly feature in the innovation and production of technology. Based on the above characteristics on women in computing in British society, it is clear to see how much of a divide exists between men and women in both education and at the workplace. With this push for technical advancement among the population, many women fear that they will have no place in such an economy, considering that men are already ahead in the current one. This divide is evidenced by the domination of male discourse surrounding the use of technology, not just in computing, but in all areas of society as well. A challenging task presents itself in evening out this gender inequity. Gender inequity in the workplace has a specific relation to the ACM code of ethics moral imperative of being fair 9 Fried, Robert B. (20 October 2004). PANdora’s Box, Protection of Children from Sexual Predators Act, 30 October 1998 (20 October 2004). 11 Lesce, Tony. “Pedophiles on the Internet: Law Enforcement Investigates Abuse.” Law and Order, Vol. 47, No. 5, May 1999, pp. 74-78. 12 Examples taken from: French, S. (2002). Gender Equity and the use of Information Communication Technologies in the knowledge economy: taking a feminist poststructuralist approach. In 2002 International Symposium on Technology and Society (ISTAS’02): Social Implications of Information and Communication Technology (pp. 7176). Raleigh: IEEE Society on Social Implications of Technology. 10 6 7 and not discriminating. This code of ethic would apply in situations of hiring females in the technical field, accepting female applicants at universities, and possibly evening the amount of discourse chosen to publish from females to that of males, if possible. TC9 has a specific working group relating to this situation, that being the “Women and Information Technology” working group which serves to eliminate any favoritism, discrimination, and encourage women to choose the computing field. The working group would do this by integrating feminist perspectives directly into computer science, exchanging the experiences of women in the field, and proposing or evaluating any courses of action produced from discussions in workshops or conferences relating to the issue. This problem does not only exist overseas, however. In fact, the very same problem is occurring right in our own universities across the country. As seen in Figure 2 below, based on a recent survey at Stanford University, men clearly dominate the number of BS degrees in Computer Science awarded from Stanford from 1991-2000. It was assumed in this survey, that the disparity in the number of degrees earned by women and men in computer science at Stanford is not particularly different from other universities in the United States. Although there seems to be an increase in the number of degrees awarded to females, it is unclear whether this increase is a sign of continued growth on a long term scale, or merely an indicative of a short term increase. Further surveys will conclude, or at least speculate, what the nature of this increase truly is. Figure 213 4. The Future The transformation of the computing industry over the next 10 years, if anything like the last 10, will be a dramatic one. In the early days, computer science grew out of mathematics, and there were plenty of women working in both the computing industry and in academia. However, in the mid 1980‟s things changed with the advent of the personal computer. This is the story according to Professor Wendy Hall, computer scientist, advisor to the government, and president of the British Computer Society. According to Hall, IT departments became very male dominated as women were turned off of the field as computer science became about, “playing and coding war games,”14 after the introduction of the PC. Hall sees a future world where everything is smaller and smarter, and women will possess the skills required to work with such technology, as well as possess more of an interest in the subject of computing. Hall predicts that, “in the next five years, there will be computer science courses that require applicants to have a biology A-Level…and traditionally women-dominated subjects, such as psychology and 13 Women in Computer Science: The College Experience, Statistics, (20 October 2004). 14 Sherrif, L., “Women and the Future of IT” The Register, 22 September 2004 (20 October 2004). 7 8 sociology, will grow in importance too, as the industry becomes more about personal support than systems support.”15 5. Conclusion After researching some specific, as well as general, social implications of computing, it is clear to see what an impact computing has on the world today. I found how such clever innovations and inventions can be used for purposes other than their original intention. The great resource known as the Internet has millions of pages of information, and is still growing. However, there are many in this world who have no access whatsoever to this incredible resource because there is a general lack of interest in providing reasonable access to these areas. Also, the Internet is a very educational tool for children of all ages. But there are those out there that use it to exploit and even harm such children. Also in this world of equality movements, women are still far outnumbered in the computing field, both in the workplace and in academia. These instances give a broader view of the great possibilities, and unfortunate inequities and misuses of these possibilities. It is refreshing however, to see technical societies, such as the ACM and IFIP, produce a set of standards or codes that they expect their members to work and live by. It is these standards that will live long beyond the work that is done under them and hopefully they can continue to influence professionals to work fairly and for the good of the world. Even further, hopefully then can influence the current situations across the world, and help to find a feasible solution, as IFIP‟s TC9 has attempted to do since its inception. I realize that with any invention comes the possibility for further misuse, however, it is the responsibility of professionals in the computing world to understand what their technology could possibly be used for. That may be a start to preventing some of the negative social implications of their work, and could lead to the solutions of the current negative situations around the world. 15 Sherrif, L., 8 9 Bibliography Amarasinghe, S., Levison, L. & Thies, W. (2002). Providing Web Search Capability for Low-Connectivity Communities. In 2002 International Symposium on Technology and Society (ISTAS’02): Social Implications of Information and Communication Technology (pp. 87-92). Raleigh: IEEE Society on Social Implications of Technology. Association for Computing Machinery, Bylaws of the ACM, 1 June 1998, (18 October 2004). French, S. (2002). Gender Equity and the use of Information Communication Technologies in the knowledge economy: taking a feminist poststructuralist approach. In 2002 International Symposium on Technology and Society (ISTAS’02): Social Implications of Information and Communication Technology (pp. 71-76). Raleigh: IEEE Society on Social Implications of Technology. Fried, Robert B. “The Internet: A Breeding Ground for Online Pedophiles.” 6 October 2004, (20 October 2004). Hobbes’ Internet Timeline, Hobbes’ Internet Timeline v7.0, 1 January 2004, (20 October 2004). International Federation for Information Processing, TC9 – Aims and Scopes, (18 October, 2004). Kopelev, Sergio D. “Cyber Sex Offenders: How to Proactively Investigate Internet Crimes against Children.” Law Enforcement Technology, Vol. 26, No. 11, November 1999, pp. 46-50. Lesce, Tony. “Pedophiles on the Internet: Law Enforcement Investigates Abuse.” Law and Order, Vol. 47, No. 5, May 1999, pp. 74-78. PANdora’s Box, Protection of Children from Sexual Predators Act, 30 October 1998 (20 October 2004). Sherrif, L., “Women and the Future of IT” The Register, 22 September 2004 (20 October 2004). Women in Computer Science: The College Experience, Statistics, (20 October 2004). 9 10 About the Author Ryan W. Andrew was born on January 17, 1983 in Binghamton, New York. He is currently a senior at Binghamton University, and is completing his Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science. He is a member of the Upsilon Pi Epsilon National Honor Society, the Golden Key International Honor Society, and the Phi Eta Sigma National Honor Society. His expertise or experience on the subject of this paper only comes from the research done to complete it. 10