Issues and Impact of Technology

1 State two environmental impacts of the increasing use of computer technology. 2

One mark for each of the following, to a maximum of 2.

• A negative impact such as energy use by data centres, e-waste or resource extraction
• A positive impact such as fewer journeys or less paper

Model answer. One negative impact is the very large amount of electricity consumed by data centres, both to run servers and to cool them, which continues for as long as a service exists. One positive impact is the reduction in travel that video conferencing and remote working allow, which removes carbon that would otherwise have been emitted by commuting and business flights.

2 Explain why an artificial intelligence system used to shortlist job applicants might produce unfair results. 4

One mark for each of the following, to a maximum of 4.

• The system is trained on historic data from the organisation
• That data reflects past decisions which may themselves have been biased
• The system learns the statistical pattern rather than judging fairness
• So the bias is reproduced and applied to every application, at scale

Model answer. A shortlisting system is trained on data about who the organisation has hired and promoted before. If those past decisions favoured one group, then the pattern present in the data is that successful candidates resemble that group, and that is precisely the pattern the system will learn. It has no concept of fairness and no way of knowing that the historic decisions were themselves unfair: it simply identifies the statistical relationship in what it was shown and applies it. The result is that a bias which previously depended on which manager happened to read an application is now applied identically to every single application, which makes it far larger in effect and much harder to detect, because the system produces a consistent and apparently objective output.

3 A council plans to move all its services online, closing most of its physical offices. Evaluate this decision. 8

One mark for each of the following, to a maximum of 8.

• Online services are available at any time without travelling
• The council saves money on buildings and staff, which can be spent elsewhere
• There is an environmental benefit from fewer journeys and less paper
• Some residents have no reliable internet access or device
• Some residents lack the confidence or ability to use online services, including older and disabled people
• The people most affected are often those who depend most on council services
• Personal data held online carries a security and privacy risk
• Reaches a justified conclusion, such as moving online while retaining some access route

Model answer. There is a strong practical case. Online services are available at any hour without anyone having to travel or take time off work, which suits most residents better than an office open between nine and five. Closing buildings removes rent, heating and reception staffing costs, and a council under financial pressure can redirect that money into services rather than premises. There is a genuine environmental benefit too, since thousands of individual journeys and a large volume of printed forms disappear. The case against rests on who is excluded. A significant minority of residents have no reliable internet connection or no suitable device, and cost is the usual reason. A further group has access but not confidence, and that group is disproportionately older residents, people with disabilities affecting sight or dexterity, and people whose first language is not English. The difficulty is that these are frequently the same residents who most depend on council services such as housing, social care and benefits, so a decision framed as efficiency lands hardest on the people least able to absorb it. Concentrating personal data in online systems also creates a single valuable target, and a breach would expose exactly the sensitive information residents had no realistic choice about handing over. Different groups are affected very differently, and that matters to the judgement. The council gains, most residents gain convenience, and a minority loses access to services they are entitled to. On balance the council should move services online, because the benefits to the majority and to its budget are real, but it should not close every route in. It should keep a staffed telephone line and at least one physical office covering the whole area, fund assisted digital support through libraries and community centres, and commit to publishing how many residents use each route so that the decision can be revisited on evidence rather than on assumption.