Sajid Ahmed

CS312

Summery of:

Social Impact Characteristics of Computer Technology

            The article in the book implies that change in technology has a lot of effect on the society; computer technology is no different. Computer technology has allowed people to think of and do things that were previously deemed impossible or very hard to accomplish because of their complex nature, for example: space flight.

            One of the main reasons that computers huge effect on society is the fact that they are everywhere one turns. Computers are in so many devices now that we do not even realize that they are there. Devices like “digital watches, microwave ovens, VCRs” all have computers in them. Many of the transactions that we perform today are handled by computers without requiring our effort. Recording usage data by the utility companies, phone companies, performing credit check by various companies are done by computers.

            Computers can now collect, generate and keep a vast amount of raw data. The negative implication of a single error has also grown vastly, and now it can affect a greater number of people. The accessibility of various types of data has increased. With this greater ability to access information, the ability to reproduce any kinds of information has also gone up. When the music tapes were introduced the music industry expressed great concern over the ability to reproduce this kind of media. With the introduction of computers this can be done even more easily.

            The introduction of computerized system has resulted in a “lack of accountability”. It is hard to blame an employee for a problem when it could be caused by “poor user interface, lack of training, or an error in the software, none of which can be solved by those providing the front-line service”[1].  It is even more difficult to find service representatives who are willing to fix the problem.

            Computer technology has made it easier to have a comprehensive surveillance system. There is a greater amount of data collected about individuals. The government is moving towards having a national identification card. Computers have changed the way people communicate with tools such as emails and instant messengers. They have eliminated a lot of verbal and visual clues from social communication between people. It is possible to deceive the less computer-educated people to think that numerical information generated by computer is errorless.

References:

Social Impact Characteristics of Computer Technology. Blaise W. Liffick, Ph.D.

            3 February 2004. Millersville University.

            <cs.millersville.edu/~liffick/compchar.html>