Catalysts for Change Chapter 1 Eighth Edition Ethics for the Information Age

Catalysts for Change

Introduction

• Information Age: Characterized by unprecedented access to information.
• Catalysts: Low-cost computers and high-speed communication networks are key drivers.
• Emerging Technologies: Rapid development and adoption of new technologies, including:
  • Smartphones
  • Video streaming services
  • Voice-activated digital assistants
  • Low-cost drones
  • Self-driving cars

Impact of Modern Computing and Communications Systems

• 1950s Reality: Limited number of electronic digital computers; the Internet did not exist.
• Contemporary World: Ubiquitous networked devices with embedded microprocessors are integral to daily life.
• Engagement: Individuals interact with these devices for significant portions of each day.

Our Relationship with Technology

• Dynamic Interaction: A continuous cycle where:
  • People create and adopt technology.
  • Society undergoes changes as a result.
• Technology's Impact on People:
  • Experiences with technology can lead to physical changes in the brain.
  • Information retrieval triggers dopamine release, fostering a desire for more information.
  • Psychological effects can arise from technology use.
• Dual Nature of Technology: Technologies solve existing problems but can also generate new challenges.

Theme: Social-Technological Cycle

• Social Conditions Drive Technology: Societal needs and conditions often spur the creation and adoption of new information technologies.
• Technology Alters Society: The adoption of these technologies, in turn, can reshape social conditions.

Milestones in Computing

Calculations

• Evolution: From manual calculating to early mechanical calculators.
• Social Change: The emergence of a market for calculators during the Gilded Age (late 19th century America), driven by new, larger corporations.
• Calculator Adoption:
  • Led to a competitive market.
  • Contributed to the “deskilling” and feminization of bookkeeping roles.

Tabulators and Data-Processing Systems

• Data-processing System: A system that:
  • Receives input data.
  • Performs calculations.
  • Produces output data.
• Punched Cards: Used for:
  • Storing input data and intermediate results.
  • Storing output.
  • On advanced systems, storing programs.

IBM and the Holocaust

• Historical Context: Hitler's rise to power in Germany in 1933.
• IBM's Actions:
  • CEO Watson disregarded anti-Semitic violence and the establishment of concentration camps.
  • IBM expanded its German subsidiary and pursued contracts with the German government.
• Nazi Use of IBM Technology: Nazis utilized IBM machines to:
  • Conduct censuses.
  • Generate lists of Jews, which facilitated asset seizure and deportation to concentration camps.

Precursors of Commercial Computers

• Atanasoff-Berry Computer: Used vacuum tubes.
• ENIAC: Programmed externally with wires.
• EDVAC: Stored program in memory.
• Small-Scale Experimental Machine: Used CRT memory.
• Historical Note: The ENIAC's first six programmers were women who programmed every instruction via connecting several wires into plugboards.

First Commercial Computers

• Remington-Rand:
  • Completed UNIVAC in 1951.
  • Delivered to the U.S. Bureau of the Census.
  • Correctly predicted the winner of the 1952 Presidential election.
• IBM:
  • Had a larger customer base.
  • Demonstrated superior sales and marketing.
  • Made greater investments in R&D.
  • Dominated the mainframe market by the mid-1960s.

Programming Languages

• Assembly language
• FORTRAN
• COBOL
• BASIC
• Time-Sharing Systems:
  • Divided computer time among multiple users.
  • Users connected via terminals.
  • Distributed the cost of ownership among more people, increasing access to computers.

Transistor

• Replacement: Replaced the vacuum tube.
• Invention: Invented at Bell Labs (1948).
• Material: Semiconductor.
• Advantages:
  • Faster
  • Cheaper
  • More reliable
  • More energy-efficient

Integrated Circuit

• Composition: Semiconductor containing transistors, capacitors, and resistors.
• Invention: Invented at Fairchild Semiconductor and Texas Instruments.
• Advantages:
  • Smaller
  • Faster
  • More reliable
  • Less expensive

IBM System/360

• Significance: IBM dominated the mainframe computer market in the United States during the 1960s with the System/360.

Microprocessor

• Definition: A complete computer on a semiconductor chip.
• Invention: Invented in 1970 at Intel.
• Impact: Made personal computers practical.

Personal Computer

• Antecedents: Altair 8800.
• Popularity: Personal computers gained popularity.
• Business Adoption: Businesses were drawn to personal computers.

Milestones in Networking

Electricity and Electromagnetism

• Volta (1799): Invented the battery.
• Oersted: Discovered that electricity creates a magnetic field.
• Sturgeon: Constructed the electromagnet.
• Henry (1830): Achieved communication using electromagnets.

Telegraph

• Impact: Completion of the U.S. transcontinental telegraph line in 1861 led to the obsolescence of the Pony Express.

Telephone

• Inventor: Alexander Graham Bell.
• Impact: Significant social implications.

Typewriter

• Functionality: Enabled individual production of “type set” documents.
• Adoption: Became common in offices by the 1890s.

Teletype

• Description: A typewriter connected to a telegraph line.
• Uses:
  • Transmitting news stories.
  • Sending records of stock transactions.

Radio

• Application: Initially used in business before entertainment purposes.

Television

• Popularity: Became popular in the 1950s.
• Social Effects: Significant social impact.

Remote Computing

ARPANET

• Sponsor: Department of Defense (DoD).
• Visionary: Licklider
• Function: Message transmission.

Email

Internet

• Pioneers: Cerf and Kahn.
• Protocol: TCP/IP.
• Infrastructure: NSFNet.
• Technology: Broadband.

Wireless Networks

• Cell Phones
• Public access Wireless LAN

Cloud Computing

• Definition: Utilization of remote computing resources over the Internet.
• Enablers: Factors that facilitated the development of cloud computing.
• Advantages: Benefits of using cloud computing.
• Models:
  • Software as a service
  • Infrastructure as a service

Milestones in Information Storage & Retrieval

• Greek Alphabet
• Codex and Paper
• Gutenberg’s Printing Press
• Newspapers
• Hypertext
• Graphical User Interface (GUI)
• Single-Computer Hypertext Systems

World Wide Web

• Nature: Networked Hypertext
• Access: Browsers

Search Engines

• Function: Returns documents most closely matching keywords.

Cloud Storage

• Definition: Storing data remotely on Internet-accessible servers.
• Benefits:
  • Simplifies accessing files from multiple devices.
  • Simplifies file sharing.
  • Provides massive data storage at a relatively low price.
  • Provides automatic backups of data.

Information Technology

Definition: Devices used in the creation, storage, manipulation, exchange, and dissemination of data, including text, sound, and images.
Examples: Tablets, smartphones, laptop computers.
People making greater use of IT:

• Costs keep falling
• Capabilities keep rising

IT Issues

• Pirating copyrighted content
• Cloud storage services
• Credit cards
• Loan applications
• Computers embedded in devices
• Telecommuting
• Improved global communication network
• Social Media

Summary

• Living in Information Age, but information technology has a long history
• Today’s devices are culmination of centuries of incremental progress
• Social conditions give rise to new technologies
• Adoption of technologies can change society
• Computing professionals have a responsibility to be thoughtful about their role in creating the future