Social, legal and
AQA cultural issues
AS Level Unit 6
Computer Science Communication:
Paper 2 Technology and
consequences
6
Objectives
• Understand the current capacity to distribute, publish,
communicate and disseminate personal information
• Understand that software and their algorithms embed
moral and cultural values
• Understand that computer scientists and software
engineers have power, as well as the responsibility
that goes with it, in the algorithms that they devise
and the code that they deploy
Social, legal and cultural issues
Unit 6: Communication: Technology and consequences
Private information and the web
• How has our connected, online world enabled us to
publish and distribute personal information?
• Do you post personal
information about
yourself online?
• Do you post
personal information
about other people
online?
• Is this ethical?
Social, legal and cultural issues
Unit 6: Communication: Technology and consequences
Social media sites – good or
bad?
• How many people in different countries use social
networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter,
Instagram, Snapchat, WhatsApp, Tumblr?
• Who are they? What do they use these sites for?
• What are some of the negative aspects of social media sites?
Social, legal and cultural issues
Unit 6: Communication: Technology and consequences
Negative aspects
• Internet trolling
• Cyberbullying
• Anonymous blogs
• Hate sites
Social, legal and cultural issues
Unit 6: Communication: Technology and consequences
Freedom of information
• Should all information be easily and freely
accessible to all online?
• Should access to some material be restricted or
monitored by governments?
• Where would you draw the line?
Social, legal and cultural issues
Unit 6: Communication: Technology and consequences
Worksheet 6
• Try Task 1
Social, legal and cultural issues
Unit 6: Communication: Technology and consequences
Software serving humanity
• Tim Berners-Lee invented the World Wide Web in
1989 and made it freely available to all
• He is a Founding Director of the World Wide Web
Foundation, which seeks to ensure the Web serves
humanity by establishing it as a global public good
and a basic right.
Social, legal and cultural issues
Unit 6: Communication: Technology and consequences
Software and morality
• Technology is a formidable force which can be used
to make the world a better place
• However, it can also do great harm
• Should moral and ethical considerations should be a part of
technological design, research and development?
• How can this work in practice?
Social, legal and cultural issues
Unit 6: Communication: Technology and consequences
The effect of ICT applications
• ICT has come to influence the way we do things
• The ICT applications that software designers and
engineers develop will partially determine what
health care, public administration, education,
science and transport will be within twenty years
• Our ICT systems must be just, fair and safe and
morally desirable
Social, legal and cultural issues
Unit 6: Communication: Technology and consequences
A double-edged sword
• Any product, however useful or benign
its original purpose, can also cause
harm in the wrong hands
• A razor blade, syringe, pillow, car or
aeroplane can all be used to kill
• Can the inventor be blamed?
• Can a software engineer be blamed
for the manner in which his software
is used?
Social, legal and cultural issues
Unit 6: Communication: Technology and consequences
Strong encryption
• Encryption algorithms are a vital tool for keeping
data safe from hackers
• Any website which has an address starting with
https:// and which displays the padlock symbol uses
encryption to keep data secure
Social, legal and cultural issues
Unit 6: Communication: Technology and consequences
Public key cryptography
• This method of encrypting communication is based
on two separate keys, a public key and a private key
• It provides very strong encryption – typically it would
take current computers 0.65 billion years to crack a
private key!
• Although it can be used to protect law abiding
citizens’ communications, it can equally be used by
criminals
Social, legal and cultural issues
Unit 6: Communication: Technology and consequences
Downside of strong encryption
• Why would some governments not allow the use of
strong encryption to keep private communications
secure?
Recipient’s public key
(made publicly available)
Plaintext Message
Ciphertext sent
Message to recipient Message
encoded deciphered
Recipient’s own
private key
Social, legal and cultural issues
Unit 6: Communication: Technology and consequences
Bitcoins
• What are they?
• What are the issues and
implications of a totally
virtual, online currency?
• Bitcoins are not produced,
managed or owned by any
central government, royal
mint or federal reserve
which exist today!
Social, legal and cultural issues
Unit 6: Communication: Technology and consequences
Worksheet 6
• Research and answer the questions in Task 2
Social, legal and cultural issues
Unit 6: Communication: Technology and consequences
The Tor onions browser
Social, legal and cultural issues
Unit 6: Communication: Technology and consequences
The Tor onions browser
• Tor makes some wonderful claims about the benefits
of its software
• Encouraging and supporting, safe, secure, private
and untraceable communications and activities for:
• Family & Friends
• Businesses
• Activists groups
• Journalists operating in dangerous locations
• Military
• Law enforcement
Social, legal and cultural issues
Unit 6: Communication: Technology and consequences
The Tor onions browser
• What is the flip side to this picture?
• Who else do you think uses Tor software?
• For what purposes?
• What problems does this pose for law enforcement?
Social, legal and cultural issues
Unit 6: Communication: Technology and consequences
The ‘Dark Web’ – Narcotics
• Illegal sites can operate for years before being closed
Social, legal and cultural issues
Unit 6: Communication: Technology and consequences
Worksheet 6
• Research and answer the questions in Task 3
Social, legal and cultural issues
Unit 6: Communication: Technology and consequences
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