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Read CC Chapt. 4	Before next lecture.

Current Affairs Project

Technology News

Topic: System Theory, Socio-Technical Analysis and Social Issues

Responses to Technology and Technical Change

• Luddites -- 1700's

  Leicestershire (1779) -- Ned Ludd broke into a house and in a "fit of insane rage" destroyed two machines used for knitting hosery.

                      NY Times - Dec 6, 1998 - P34 - Wm. Safire
  

  • some historians claim this (and similar acts) were protesting horrible conditions for workers at the beginning of the Industrial Revolution

  • Factory owners referred to these protesters as Luddites and claimed that they were against progress
    "The word Luddite continues to be applied with contempt to anyone with doubts about technology, especially the nuclear kind."

                       Thomas Pynchon, NY Times (1984) (from Safire article)  
  

  Here is a link to an index of articles about Luddism

• the Unibomber

  more modern angry response -- here is a link to the Unibomber Manifesto

Does society/culture shape technology or does technology shape society/culture?

• it is tempting to blame the ills of society/culture on the scapegoat of technology

• yet - technology is created by, and used/misused by, people

  Bottom line -- People need to understand technology and work to influence its growth, use and development toward desired social and ecological goals!

Social effects of information technology

We will revisit these issues when we discuss information technology policy and law.

• Economic effects

  Technology change can have dire effects on the economy and the people who must live in it?

  • Since the late 1960's there has been a major employment shift from manufacturing to service and information jobs.

    but retraining efforts have been unsuccessful for many

  • closing of steel mills in 1970's is an example

    many communities are still suffering the effects (Allentown, Alliquippa, Homestead, etc.)

  • today it is accepted that skill in use of computer technology is essential to most careers

    still, the majority of the US population remains computer illiterate and the situation is worse in poorer countries.

  • how do we prevent the formation of a large segment of society forever isolated from information access and opportunity? (technical elitism)

    Paradigm for the 21'st century:

    • worker as 'human resource'
    • lifelong learning (continual training)

• Privacy
  "Liberty has never come from government. Liberty has always come
  from the subjects of government. The history of liberty is the
  history of resistance." (T. Woodrow Wilson)
  • A few examples:
    • example 1 - lab control system
    • example 2 - email i received recently
    • Every person is represented by thousands of pieces of data collected in databases

      phone calls, checks, grades, medical records, library books, credit-card transactions, videos rented, magazine subscriptions, etc.

    • The Internet provides unprecidented opportunities for snooping on private citizens

      an individuals activity on the Internet could be intercepted and recorded

      Examples:
      • RealPlayer tracking user preferences
      • Use of cookies and log files

    • How do we protect the privacy rights of individuals when the technology makes it increasingly easy to violate those rights?

    • Workplace monitoring
      • the US Justice Dept has ruled that companies may legally snoop the e-mail and telephone conversations of employees

      • many companies are monitoring employee web usage

    • What happens when information in databases is incorrect?
      • Example: citizens incorrectly arrested due to errors in law-enforcement databases

      • incorrect information in credit records

  • Censorship

    censorship has always been an issue -- check out this site about banned music

    the Internet is making it a bigger issue

    • Communications Decency Act

      part of the Telecommunications Act of 1996

      • would have imposed $250,000 fine and/or 2 years federal prison sentence for transmission of 'indecent communication'

        note - obscene material is already illegal

      • declared unconstitutional by US Supreme Court in 1997

      • many states are preparing their own legislation

        COPA (CDA-II) has already been passe by Congress and signed into law. It would impose federal penalties against information 'harmful to minors'. An injunction has been filed against it by a Federal Judge so ACLU, ALA, EFF and others may pepare to fight its constitutionality.

        For more information on federal legislation see the Thomas Legislative Database.

        for more information about censorship at all levels see the Electronic Frontier Foundation web site.

  Other Social Issues related to Technology

  • Telecommuting

    Business Week magazine estimates that 13-20 million US workers telecommute at least part-time.

    Advantages:

    • greater lifestyle freedom
    • less commuting expense
    • less dependence on living near workplace
    • less clothing expense

    Disadvantages:

    • loss of workplace socialization
    • potential for workers to be unfairly burdened
    • some workers cannot handle self-paced work

    Here is a resource page on telecommuting

  • Computer crime

    Our increasing dependence on computer technology makes us vulnerable to computer-based crime.

    • database fraud

    • computer viruses and nasty software

    For more information see the Penn State Anti-Virus Resources page.

  • Internet Addiction Disorder

    Whether this is a true 'addiction' or not can be debated, however it is clearly possible to develop behavioral disorders through misuse of technology.

    Here is a list of IAD symptoms.

  • Children and the Internet

    Many issues surround access by children to the Internet. Among them are issues related to pedophiles and unwanted external influences.

    Here is a list of tips for parents on how to protect your children online.