CS200 AI and Society

Bit

A binary digit. The smallest unit of data that a computer can process and store.

Byte

8 bits

1st Amendment

Freedom of Religion, Speech, Press, Assembly, and Petition

4th Amendment

Protection against Unreasonable Search and Seizure

Privacy Act

U.S. law limiting federal agencies' collection, use, and disclosure of personal data.

Digital Footprint

Trace of online activity, like posts and searches.

Digital Fingerprint

Unique identifiers from devices/browsers that allow tracking.

NSA

National Security Agency

First Party Cookies

Cookies created by the website you are visiting and are used mainly to enhance your user experience by remembering preferences and login details.

Third Party Cookies

Used by advertisers/marketers/data aggregators to track your browsing habits across various websites for targeted advertising.

Net Neutrality

Principle that ISPs must treat all internet traffic equally.

Encryption

Method of scrambling info so only authorized users can access it.

Three Types of Gatekeepers

Links (ISPs), Search (search engines), Social (social media).

Cryptography

The art and science of using mathematical techniques to protect information so that it can be sent securely, even if others intercept it.

Plaintext

The original message is called the plaintext.

Ciphertext

the encoded message is called the ciphertext.

PGP

described as software that allowed ordinary computer users to encrypt their email using strong, public-key cryptography, sparking major political and legal controversy.

Diffie-Hellman

A method of secure key exchange that lets two people who have never met create a shared secret key over an insecure channel — the foundational idea that led to modern public-key cryptography.

HTTP

The standard protocol used to transfer web pages in plaintext without encryption.

HTTPS

HTTP layered on top of SSL/TLS to provide encryption and security for web communication.

Symmetric Encryption

A form of encryption where the same key is used to encrypt and decrypt the message. The book contrasts it with public-key systems.

Asymmetric Encryption

Encryption that uses two keys — a public key for encrypting and a private key for decrypting — allowing secure communication without sharing a secret key first.

Key

A secret value (number) used in an encryption algorithm to transform plaintext into ciphertext and back.

Private Key

The secret half of a key pair that must be kept hidden and is used to decrypt messages encrypted with the matching public key.

Public Key

A key that can be shared with anyone and used by others to encrypt messages that only the corresponding private key can decrypt.

SSL

A cryptographic protocol used to secure communications over the web; the foundation of HTTPS.

Cipher

A mathematical transformation or algorithm used to convert plaintext to ciphertext and back. (Described throughout the crypto chapter.)

Digital Signature

A cryptographic technique using public-key systems to verify that a message truly came from its sender and was not altered.

Certificate

A digitally signed statement that binds a public key to the identity of its owner.

Certificate Authority

A trusted organization that issues digital certificates verifying identities on the internet.

Copyright

ownership of the expression of an idea.

Patent

A government-granted exclusive right to an invention, contrasted with copyright in the book.

Trademark

A legally protected word, phrase, or symbol that identifies a source of goods or services.

Copyright Infringement

Using copyrighted work without permission in a way not allowed by law (e.g., copying or distributing without rights). Discussed repeatedly in the file-sharing chapter.

DRM

Technological restrictions used by copyright holders to control access, copying, and use of digital content.

Creative Commons

A set of licenses that authors can use to allow sharing or reuse of their creative works under specific conditions.

Piracy

Unauthorized copying and distribution of copyrighted digital material, especially over the internet (file sharing, P2P, etc.).

Digital Piracy

Unauthorized copying and distribution of copyrighted digital material, especially over the internet (file sharing, P2P, etc.).

Online Piracy

Unauthorized copying and distribution of copyrighted digital material, especially over the internet (file sharing, P2P, etc.).

Peer to Peer

A networking model where computers share files directly with each other rather than through a central server.

BitTorrent

A P2P protocol that breaks files into pieces and distributes downloading across many peers simultaneously for efficiency.

Centralized vs Decentralized File Sharing

Centralized: one main server indexes or distributes files (e.g., early Napster).•

Decentralized: no single server controls sharing; users connect directly (e.g., BitTorrent).

Fair Use

A legal doctrine that allows limited use of copyrighted works without permission under certain conditions.

The 4 factors of fair use

The purpose and character of the use

The nature of the copyrighted work

The amount and substantiality used

The effect on the market

Digital Millenium Copyright Act

A law that prohibits circumventing DRM and creates "safe harbor" protections for online service providers.

VPN

tool that creates a secure, encrypted connection between your device and the internet, helping protect your privacy and hide your online activity.

Napster

File-sharing services/platforms involved in major copyright lawsuits for enabling users to share copyrighted music, movies, and software without permission.

LimeWire

File-sharing services/platforms involved in major copyright lawsuits for enabling users to share copyrighted music, movies, and software without permission.

Grokster

File-sharing services/platforms involved in major copyright lawsuits for enabling users to share copyrighted music, movies, and software without permission.

RapidShare

File-sharing services/platforms involved in major copyright lawsuits for enabling users to share copyrighted music, movies, and software without permission.

Megaupload

File-sharing services/platforms involved in major copyright lawsuits for enabling users to share copyrighted music, movies, and software without permission.

Artificial Intelligence

The field of creating computer systems that perform tasks normally requiring human intelligence — learning, reasoning, recognizing patterns, making decisions.

Machine Learning

A subset of AI where systems improve their performance by learning from data rather than following explicit instructions.

Deep Learning

A type of machine learning using multi-layered neural networks to automatically extract features and make predictions.

Algorithmic Decision System

Systems that make or support decisions using algorithmic or statistical models, often affecting credit, policing, employment, and more.

Differences and Similarities between AI, ML, DL, and ADS

AI - broad goal of intelligent behavior.

ML - techniques where systems learn from data (subset of AI).

DL - ML using deep neural networks (subset of ML).

ADS - systems that apply these methods to real-world decision-making.

Rationality

A rational agent is one that takes actions expected to achieve the best outcome according to its goals and information.

Rational Agent

A rational agent is one that takes actions expected to achieve the best outcome according to its goals and information.

Turing Test

The Turing test... asks whether a machine can fool a human into thinking it is human.

Features

Measurable properties or inputs used by machine-learning systems to make predictions or decisions.

Examples of Systems that use AI, ML, DL, and ADS

Facial recognition, spam filtering, credit scoring, predictive policing, recommendation systems, speech recognition, and autonomous vehicles.

Black Box AI

AI systems whose internal logic is hidden or too complex to interpret, making their decisions difficult to explain.

Freedom of Speech

The constitutional protection limiting government restrictions on expression.

Incitement

Speech intended and likely to provoke imminent lawless action

Hate Speech

Hostile or prejudiced expression about protected groups; noted in the book as not a legally recognized exception to First Amendment protection.

Defamation

False statements that harm someone's reputation; treated separately from protected speech.

Obscenity

Unprotected speech defined using the Miller test, including sexual material lacking serious value.

Offensive

Sexually explicit but not obscene content, which the government may restrict in certain contexts (broadcast, children).

Indecent

Sexually explicit but not obscene content, which the government may restrict in certain contexts (broadcast, children).

The Miller Test

Appeals to prurient interests

Depicts sexual conduct offensively

Lacks serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value

Community Standards

Local norms used to judge whether material is obscene under the Miller test.

Communications Decency Act

A law attempting to restrict indecent online material, parts of which were struck down as unconstitutional.

Censorship

Government action suppressing speech or restricting access to information; discussed throughout the chapter.