impact of computers in society

• (AI) artificial intelligence

  the ability of a computer to perform complex tasks without autonomy and adapt as more data is collected
• communication: +ve social impact

  1. enables diverse cultures to interact & share ideas w/ one another
  2. social networking sites have allowed users to remain connected with friends, family & colleagues over long distances
  3. artificial intelligence automatically transcribes & translates speech into different languages
• communication: -ve social impact

  1. use internet to reinforce own opinions or spread rumours & misinformation
  2. use of AI and social networking sites to promote content based on views and engagement rather than level of accuracy
• communication: economic impact

  1. rise of social media led to increase use of social media for marketing and helped businesses understand buying habits and consumer needs through analysing social media posts
  2. reduce business costs through use of cheap and effective video conferencing calls in place of face-to-face meetings
• education: +ve social impact

  1. technology has provided better videos (eg Youtube), simulation (eg Phet) and collaboration tools (eg Google slides) to make lessons more interesting
  2. education is made more accessible to all, especially those from disadvantage backgrounds
  3. AI made it possible to provide personalised learning and testing
• education: -ve social impact

  1. students' attention spans are getting shorter due to technology and social media that they use today
• education: economic impact

  1. open courseware resulted in for-profit & non-profit organisations offering customized lessons for online self-study
  2. huge investments were made in materials & infrastructure to allow lessons to be conducted online
• finance: +ve social impact

  1. consumers can spend, borrow, invest & save money through low cost and easy-to-use mobile and web applications and not in person
  2. better financial literacy as personal finance information are available online for free
  3. payments are more convenient with the use of biometric authentication
• finance: -ve social impact

  1. increased threats to privacy and security of personal data
  2. increased vulnerability to financial scams and get-rich-guide schemes due to ease of obtaining false information on internet
• finance: economic impact

  1. growth of financial technology to reduce time, cost and effort for payments, investments, fundraising, trading and/or data analytics for both businesses and individuals
  2. rise in algorithmic trading reduces the time needed to perform a financial trade from seconds down to microseconds
  3. banks use AI to analyse transaction data and automatically identify unusual spending patterns and money transfers to help them detect and prevent instances of financial fraud
• healthcare: +ve social impact

  1. technology enabled telemedicine which gives patients located in remote areas or with limited mobility healthcare access
  2. AI can automatically identify warning signs of possible health problems and provide more accurate diagnoses
• healthcare: -ve social impact

  1. use of robots and technology may be impersonal
  2. patient trust on ability of machines to provide proper healthcare is not there yet
  3. data privacy issues with the use of medical data to improve performance of healthcare-related AI
• healthcare: economic impact

  1. new areas of growth such as provision of telemedicine solutions to existing healthcare businesses e.g. secure ways to transfer sensitive medical information online
  2. improved automation of healthcare processes through use of robots e.g. dispensing medicine & other menial tasks
  3. 3D-printing makes building and customization of prosthetic limbs, hearing aids and dental fixtures possible
• transportation: +ve social impact

  1. improved predictability and ease due to availability of maps and real-time information (e.g. bus frequency, traffic congestion levels) around the world
  2. AI uses location data to improve accuracy and relevance of many or traffic data displayed
• transportation: -ve social impact

  1. data privacy not respected for people whose pictures or information about their homes may be used for mapping without their permission (e.g. location data from mobile devices)
• transportation: economic impact

  1. rise of self-driving vehicles with the use of AI will open areas of growth in travelling and motor vehicle industry
  2. on-demand rides via mobile applications lead to sweeping changes in the taxi service industry
  3. growth in mapping technology has lead to increase focus on making 3D-models and geospatial data more accessible to travelers
• entertainment: +ve social impact

  1. enabled more exciting and engaging forms of entertainment (e.g. games have active online communities which bring participants together in the real world through in-game incentives to meet up)
  2. AI makes it possible to provide accurate recommendations for consumers based on collected data of their previous choices of entertainment
• entertainment: -ve social impact

  1. gaming and social networking site addiction is a big problem
  2. concern that such technologies cause people to become deficient in social skills
  3. AI enables the creation of doctored image or video (e.g. Deep fake), causing public alarm and allowing the spreading of falsehoods
• entertainment: economic impact

  1. games, animation & media are strong growth areas as a result of rise of high quality virtual reality, augmented reality & motion-tracking technology
  2. businesses use monitoring technology and strategies from game design to provide rewards and incentives for work-related achievements