Posts Categorized: Ethical Issues

Facebook’s Race-Targeted Ads Aren’t as Racist As You Think

Posted by & filed under Artificial intelligence, Big Data, Business Intelligence, Competitive advantage, Ethical Issues, ethics.

IN LATE OCTOBER ProPublica released a scathing investigation showing how Facebook allows digital advertisers to narrow their target audience based on ethnic affinities like “African-American” or “Hispanic.” The report suggested that Facebook may be in violation of federal civil rights statutes and drew parallels to Jim Crow Era “whites only” housing ads. Source: Wired Magazine Date: November… Read more »

Canadian grandmother accused of pirating zombie game

Posted by & filed under Consumer Technology, Ethical Issues, ethics, fraud, Gaming, IT and the law.

Canadian grandmother Christine McMillan does not include killing zombies among her hobbies, neither does she play the games that would allow her to do so. So when she received a letter accusing her of illegally downloading first-person shooter Metro 2033, she was surprised. Source: BBC Technology News Date: November 1st, 2016 Link: http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-37834766 Discussion 1) “It is now… Read more »

German Chancellor Merkel says Facebook, Google ‘distort perception,’

Posted by & filed under Civil Liberties, Ethical Issues, ethics, IS ethics, IT and Politics, IT Trends.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel launched a broadside at internet media giants, accusing them of “narrowing perspective,” and demanding they disclose their privately-developed algorithms. Merkel previously blamed social media for anti-immigrant sentiment and the rise of the far right. Source: RT News Date: November 1st, 2016 Link: https://www.rt.com/news/364235-merkel-facebook-google-algorithms/ Discussion 1) Is it possible that Facebook and Google algorithms could… Read more »

German Chancellor Merkel says Facebook, Google ‘distort perception,’

Posted by & filed under Civil Liberties, Ethical Issues, ethics, IT and Politics, IT and the law.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel launched a broadside at internet media giants, accusing them of “narrowing perspective,” and demanding they disclose their privately-developed algorithms. Merkel previously blamed social media for anti-immigrant sentiment and the rise of the far right. Source: RT News Date: November 1st, 2016 Link: https://www.rt.com/news/364235-merkel-facebook-google-algorithms/ Discussion 1) Is it possible that Facebook and Google algorithms could… Read more »

Big ambitions for Japanese ‘digital daughter’

Posted by & filed under Augmented Reality, Competitive advantage, Consumer Technology, Ethical Issues, ethics.

Last year a new Japanese celebrity burst onto the scene. But “Saya” was a different kind of star, because she is the product of a Tokyo computer lab. And like all “parents”, her creators have big ambitions for her. Source: BBC Asia Date: October 25th, 2016 Link: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-37548733 Discussion 1) Why is the development of completely a realistic… Read more »

“No, the presidential election can’t be hacked”

Posted by & filed under Cybersecurity, election, Ethical Issues, fraud, IT and Politics.

The Obama administration is accusing Russia of hacking US political organizations. States are reporting attempts — in one case successful — to breach voter registration databases. And the final days of the campaign are dominated by talk of whether the race is “rigged.” Source: CNN Date: October 27th, 2016 Link: http://www.cnn.com/2016/10/19/politics/election-day-russia-hacking-explained/index.html Discussion 1) “Nobody is going to be able to change the outcome of… Read more »

Is that app you’re using for work a security threat?

Posted by & filed under App Economy, Civil Liberties, Cybersecurity, Ethical Issues.

When cybersecurity firm Imperva asked one of its banking clients how many apps it thought its staff were using, the firm estimated between 75 and 100 in total. The figure was actually closer to 800.  Why does this matter? Source: BBC Technology News Date: October 18th, 2016 Link: http://www.bbc.com/news/business-37541594 Discussion 1) “Cloud-based apps often gain access to the… Read more »

Humans need new skills for post-AI world

Posted by & filed under Artificial intelligence, Emerging Technologies, Ethical Issues, IS ethics, IT and the law.

Robotics and AI have “huge potential” to reshape the way people work and live, but the government needs to do more to address the issues raised by such technology, including careful scrutiny of the probable ethical, legal and societal impact. Source: BBC Technology News Date: October 18th, 2016 Link: http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-37618579 Discussion 1) What might be some probable ethical issues… Read more »

Is the world wide web a waste of water?

Posted by & filed under Cloud Computing, cloud services, Ethical Issues, Green Computing, Green Tech.

Researchers at Imperial College London made headlines last year when they claimed that up to 200 litres of water could be involved in the download of a single gigabyte (GB) of data. Source: BBC News Date: October 18th, 2016 Link: http://www.bbc.com/news/business-37471911 Discussion 1) “Whenever you check social media, send an email, or stream a video, you will be… Read more »

Yahoo scanned millions of its users’ emails on behalf of the US government.

Posted by & filed under Cybersecurity, Ethical Issues, IS ethics, IT and the law.

Yahoo has downplayed a report that said it had scanned millions of its users’ emails on behalf of the US government.  Reuters made the allegation recently, saying Yahoo had created special software to comply with a classified directive. Source: BBC Technology News Date: October 11th, 2016 Link: http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-37568106 Discussion 1) Every email was scanned.  “Sources had told said… Read more »