New Age Technologies: Possibilities and Privacy Issues Essay

Submitted By amiekc
Words: 2126
Pages: 9

Technology today is rapidly advancing before our eyes and scientists and engineers are continuously storming up new ideas that will, in theory, help us in ways never done before and improve our quality of life. Because technology is advancing so quickly, many questions are arising dealing with the ethics behind it all. Some people may wonder whether these new ideas will be safe and healthy for both humans and the environment. Computers are becoming more integrated in classroom settings and the use of social media and other apps is skyrocketing, which is causing privacy issues. Drones are finding their way into our everyday lives just as other artificial intelligences such as smart homes and self-driving vehicles. The field of medicine is in over their heads with new technology just itching to become the way of the future. Many schools recently have made the decision to go one to one. This is a program that grants students access to their own personal laptops in which the teachers can use to interact with them in the classroom. My high school in America recently made this transition and both the students and teachers love the idea of having computers available at all times. Unfortunately the transition is not reasonable for all schools, considering the funding required. The school must provide all students and faculty with their own laptop for the year, as well as repairs and updates for them. The software used to help the students and teachers interact with each other comes with a price as well. Another issue that comes with the idea of one to one is that not all teachers are going to be comfortable using technology as their main focus in the classroom. The teachers may not be confident in their ability to navigate the computer programs which will affect their teaching style and overall confidence in the classroom. When combining a classroom full of students and access to the internet, obviously mischievous behaviour will arise. The school can take preventative measures by all means, but the students will find a way to distract themselves from schoolwork when a computer is set in front of them. They will navigate to online gaming websites, illegally stream movies online, and browse the internet for fun. This is difficult for teachers to monitor because they cannot look at everyone’s screen at one time. With all the extra time people spend on social media sites and other apps, we might be overlooking the fact that these sites often broadcast our private information without our knowledge or consent. Essentially, once we store any information or data into the cloud, it is nearly impossible to control its destiny (Beiter et al. 2014, p. 689-703). With our personal information out there for people to see, it could easily fall into the wrong hands and cause harm to us. It is important for us to keep this in mind, and be cautious when posting information online, as well as checking out privacy settings to help control who can access our information. Recently, the idea of using drones for practical use is becoming more of a reality than ever before. The United States Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) and the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) relaxed the rules and guidelines for the upcoming year. Highway agencies and security systems now use drones to monitor traffic and unguarded building sites (Finn et al. 2014, p.325-336). Even the public can now afford drones for personal use due to the price drop. Wedding photographers have taken advantage by using drones to capture unique wedding footage and some people even use the drones to video record their everyday lives, in the instance that something happens worthy of posting on social media sites. The drones can also be used in sinister ways as well. Those questioning what their neighbours do behind closed walls can use the drones as an instrument to spy on one another. Criminals can monitor police