08 Ethical, legal and environment issues

GCSE Computer Science 1CP2

Algorithmic bias

behaviours in computer programs that create unfair outcomes.

Artificial intelligence (AI)

the ability of a digital computer or computer-controlled robot to perform tasks commonly associated with intelligent beings. Intelligent beings are those that can adapt to changing circumstances.

Autonomous

a system's ability to make its own decisions.

Built-in

subprograms that are provided in most high-level programming languages to perform very specific common tasks.

Carbon footprint

the amount of carbon dioxide an individual or organisation produces as a result of the energy they consume.

Copyright

this is a law protecting the rights of the person who created their work to only use it themselves.

Cryptocurrency

a digital currency in which encryption techniques are used to regulate the generation of units of currency and verify the transfer of funds.

Data breach

a breach of security leading to the accidental or unlawful destruction, loss, alteration, unauthorised disclosure of, or access to, personal data.

Data subject

a person whose data is being collected and processed.

e-waste

any form of discarded electronic equipment including digital devices.

Embedded system

a small computer that performs a specific function often within a bigger system.

Ethics

a system of moral principles, often shown by doing things that society recognises as being good or by acting in ways that individuals and societies think of as reflecting good values.

Flash memory

non-volatile memory that can be read from and written to, used in microcontrollers to store program instructions, enabling software patches and upgrades to be installed.

Intellectual property (IP)

a creation of the human mind that is unique and has a commercial value.

Internet

the world’s largest public WAN, It is a global system of interconnected networks, linking together billions of digital devices worldwide.

Internet of Things (IoT)

a network of physical objects that use sensors, actuators, embedded systems and wireless technology, such as Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and Zigbee, to collect and exchange data, with minimal or no human interaction.

Lawful

abiding by the laws and rules of a particular country or jurisdiction.

Lethal autonomous weapons (LAWs)

military weapons and robots that can independently search for and engage targets based on programmed constraints and descriptions.

Machine learning

the ability of machines to learn on their own without being programmed. For example, pictures of dogs labelled ‘dog’ will help the algorithm identify the rules to classify pictures of dogs.

Microcontroller

a self-contained computer system consisting of a CPU, a small amount of RAM and some input/ output circuitry.all on a single chip.

Mnemonic

a short, simple, memorable word that represents each of the instructions in a CPU's instruction set, e.g. LDA (load accumulator), STA (store contents of the accumulator in memory).

Patent

a form of intellectual property that gives its owner the legal right to exclude others from making, using, selling and importing an invention for a limited period of years.

Personal data

any information relating to an identified or identifiable living person.

Power harvesting

the process of extracting power from low levels of ambient energy in the environment such as vibrations or light.

Precious metals

very rare, naturally occurring, metallic elements of high economic value.

Predictive policing

using artificial intelligence and machine learning to guide decision making to prevent and solve crime.

Privacy

the right to be left alone and free from unwanted scrutiny and intrusion.

Replacement cycle

the period of time between the purchase of a product and its replacement with an equivalent product.

Sensor

measures a physical quantity, such as temperature or light levels, to monitor changes in the environment.

Social engineering

an attack that exploits how people behave and respond to certain situations in order to trick them into revealing personal information.

Software licence

a document that provides legally binding guidelines for the use and distribution of the software.