5.1 Effects of Computing Innovations - Lesson Notes

  • Machines have fostered progress and creativity in medical field, engineering, communications, and even art However computing innovations can also have downsides:
  • digital divide
  • bias
  • legal/ethical concerns
  • internet safety
  • Dopamine
  • Additionally you could have loss of privacy, replacement of humans for jobs, over dependence on technology, and negative health consequences.
  • Example: AI, machine learning, and data mining have greatly benefitted many fields, but also cause bias and unintended discrimination To be a responsible programmer, it is important to look at the bigger picture, and understand the effects of any computing innovation they create.

5.1 Blog Reflection Questions

  1. Come up with three of your own beneficial and corresponding harmful effects of computing?
    • Computers and AI help assist humans with their everyday jobs, but there may be a point where they suprass human skill and take human jobs.
    • Computers help spread information and can be used for education. A corresponding harm is that it can also spread misinformation and harmful bias, epecially to younger, more impressionable people.
    • Technology can help form communities of like-minded people. A corresponding harm is that technology can also drive wedges, and decrease the amount of face-to-face communication .
  2. Talk about dopamine issues above? Anything that is impacting your personal study and success in High School?
    • Social media, video games, and other forms of interactive technology have proved to become addicting by allowing our brains to release dopamine. This addiction is negative because it forces time away from things such as school and spending time with friends/family. This actually did affect me heavily to the point where I would have to sacrifice my own health and sleep in order to catch up on school work that I could’ve done without the presence of my phone. Because of this I deleted social media off of my phone and since then, I have fixed the issue of my sleep schedule. I think this addiction is truly dangerous and affects many people at Del Norte.

5.2 Digital Divide - Lesson Notes

Causes of digital divide:

  • Digital divide: the gulf between those who have ready access to computers and the internet and those who do not. As technology evoloves the digital divide presents equal participation and oppurtunity in all parts of life, affecting people in certain countries, and households with low income.
  • Poor or rural areas in the world have less access to technology
  • Also some countries have restricted access At Del Norte:
  • Internet blockers
  • Need for personal computers
  • Internet safety

5.2 Blog Reflection Questions

  1. How does someone empower themself in a digital world?
  • In the Digital World, people get access to more opportunities which could lead to self learning, self sustainability, and allowing to empower themselves.
    1. How does someone that is empowered help someone that is not empowered? Describe something you could do at Del Norte HS?
  • Empowered people can provide unempowered people by providing with a platform to empower themselves. Del Norte high school for example, provides many of their students with chromebooks.
    1. Is paper or red tape blocking digital empowerment? Are there barriers like this at Del Norte?
  • There are many barriers in our world that prevent the digital empowerment of certain people. One barrier at Del Norte is a financial barrier. Many aren’t able to be digitally empowered because they lack access to proper technology.