The Bigger Picture
Technology shapes every aspect of modern life. Understand the environmental, ethical and legal impacts of computing, and be aware of emerging technologies transforming our world.
Students should recognise that computing has an impact on nearly every aspect of the world in which they live — from energy consumption and privacy rights to intellectual property and artificial intelligence.
Topic 6 covers only section 6.1 (Emerging trends, issues and impact) with four sub-sections: environmental impact (6.1.1), ethical impact (6.1.2), legal impact (6.1.3), and current and emerging trends (6.1.4). All are assessed in both Paper 1 and Paper 2.
Environmental Impact
The effect of technology on health, energy use and resources on society.
Ethical Impact
The effect of technology on privacy, inclusion and professionalism in society.
Legal Impact
Issues around intellectual property, patents, licensing and cyber-security law.
Impact on Health
- Eye strain and poor posture — prolonged screen use causes digital eye strain (headaches, dry eyes, blurred vision). Poor posture at computers leads to back and neck problems.
- Disrupted sleep — blue light from screens at night suppresses melatonin, making it harder to sleep. Heavy device use before bed is linked to insomnia.
- Sedentary lifestyles — desk jobs and screen-based entertainment reduce physical activity, contributing to obesity, cardiovascular problems and type 2 diabetes.
- Mental health — social media use linked to anxiety, depression, body image issues, cyberbullying and loneliness, particularly in young people.
- Positive health impacts — telemedicine enables remote consultations. Medical imaging technology (MRI, CT scans) improves diagnostics. Wearable health monitors track vital signs. Computer-aided drug discovery.
Energy Use
- Data centres — consume enormous amounts of electricity worldwide. A single large data centre uses as much electricity as a small town. Cooling systems alone can use 40% of a data centre’s energy.
- Device manufacturing — producing electronic devices requires significant energy, particularly for semiconductor fabrication, which involves high-temperature processes.
- Standby power — devices left on standby still consume electricity. Billions of idle devices worldwide represent significant wasted energy.
- Cryptocurrency mining — proof-of-work cryptocurrencies consume vast amounts of energy for computation.
- Positive steps — renewable energy data centres, more energy-efficient chips, server virtualisation reducing physical hardware needed.
Resource Use and E-Waste
- Rare earth metals — smartphones, batteries and electronics require mining of rare earth elements (lithium, cobalt, neodymium, tantalum). Mining is environmentally destructive and concentrated in specific regions.
- E-waste (electronic waste) — discarded devices contain hazardous materials (lead, mercury, cadmium) that leach into soil and water in landfill. Global e-waste is one of the fastest-growing waste streams.
- Planned obsolescence — manufacturers design devices to become outdated or fail after a few years, encouraging replacement. Increases resource consumption and waste.
- Non-biodegradable components — plastics, circuit boards and batteries do not biodegrade in landfill for hundreds of years.
- Positive steps — right-to-repair legislation, recycling programmes, refurbishment initiatives, more modular device design.
Privacy
- Data collection — companies collect vast amounts of personal data: browsing history, location, purchases, social connections, health data. Often without full informed consent.
- Online tracking — cookies, fingerprinting and tracking pixels follow users across websites. Targeted advertising uses this data to profile individuals.
- Social media data sharing — platforms share user data with third parties. The Cambridge Analytica scandal showed how data can be used to influence elections.
- Surveillance technology — CCTV networks, facial recognition, licence plate recognition. Governments can track citizens’ movements. Raises concerns about mass surveillance and civil liberties.
- Right to be forgotten — the expectation that individuals can request their data be deleted from systems. Legally recognised in GDPR (EU regulation).
- Data breaches — when personal data is exposed due to poor security. Can lead to identity theft and financial loss for millions of people simultaneously.
Inclusion
- Digital divide — unequal access to technology between wealthy and developing nations, and between rich and poor within countries. Those without access are increasingly excluded from education, employment and services.
- Accessibility — technology must be designed for users with disabilities (visual impairment, motor difficulties, cognitive differences). Screen readers, voice control, high-contrast modes, captions.
- Language barriers — most internet content and software is in English. Non-English speakers face significant barriers to participation.
- Age gap — older generations may lack skills to use digital services, which are increasingly replacing physical alternatives (bank branches, government offices).
- Gender gap — women are significantly underrepresented in technology careers and higher education in computing. Unconscious bias in hiring and culture contributes to this.
Professionalism
- Responsibility of developers — software bugs can cause harm (medical devices, autonomous vehicles, financial systems). Developers have a professional duty to write reliable, tested code.
- Honest communication — professionals must be transparent about what software can and cannot do, its limitations and risks.
- Codes of conduct — professional bodies like the BCS (British Computer Society) set ethical standards for computer science professionals.
- Algorithmic bias — AI systems trained on biased data can make discriminatory decisions in hiring, lending, criminal sentencing or healthcare — perpetuating existing inequalities.
- Whistleblowing — ethical obligation to report unethical or illegal use of technology, even when it may harm the organisation you work for.
Intellectual Property & Copyright
Intellectual property (IP) refers to creations of the mind that can be legally owned. Copyright is a form of IP protection that automatically applies to original creative works including software, music, films, books and images. It gives the creator exclusive rights to use, copy and distribute their work.
- Software is protected by copyright by default
- Copying software without permission is illegal
- Copyright typically lasts the creator’s lifetime plus 70 years
- Fair use/fair dealing allows limited use for education or commentary
Patents
A patent grants the inventor exclusive rights to an invention for a limited period (typically 20 years) in exchange for making the invention publicly known. Software algorithms, hardware designs and technical processes can be patented.
- Others cannot use a patented invention without a licence
- Patent trolls — companies that acquire patents purely to sue others
- Software patents are controversial — some argue they hinder innovation
- Must apply for patent in each jurisdiction separately
Software Licensing
- Proprietary (closed-source) — users pay for a licence to use the software. Source code is not available. Cannot be copied or modified without permission. Examples: Microsoft Office, Adobe Photoshop.
- Open-source — source code is publicly available. Usually free to use, modify and distribute. Conditions vary (GPL, MIT, Apache licences). Examples: Linux, Firefox, Python, LibreOffice.
- Freeware — free to use but source code is not available and redistribution rules may apply. Cannot be modified. Examples: many mobile apps, PDF readers.
- Shareware — free trial version available; payment required for full version or continued use. Examples: WinRAR, many games (freemium model).
- SaaS (Software as a Service) — subscription-based access to software hosted in the cloud. No installation needed. Examples: Office 365, Google Workspace, Salesforce.
Cyber-Security Law
- Laws exist to criminalise unauthorised access to computer systems, distribution of malware, and cyber attacks. Key examples (concepts applicable internationally):
- Computer Misuse Act (UK, 1990) — makes it illegal to: access a computer system without authorisation; access with intent to commit a further crime; modify computer material without authorisation (e.g. installing malware).
- Data Protection legislation (e.g. GDPR) — organisations must protect personal data, use it only for stated purposes, not share without consent, and report breaches.
- Consequences of violations — fines, imprisonment, reputational damage. GDPR fines can reach €20 million or 4% of global annual turnover.
Quantum Computing
Uses quantum mechanical phenomena — superposition (a qubit can represent 0 and 1 simultaneously) and entanglement (qubits can be correlated regardless of distance) — to perform certain computations exponentially faster than classical computers. Could break current encryption algorithms but also enable new unbreakable ones. Currently limited by decoherence and error rates.
DNA Computing
Uses DNA molecules as computational elements. DNA can store approximately 1 exabyte (10¹⁸ bytes) per cubic millimetre — millions of times denser than electronic storage. DNA operations happen in massively parallel — trillions simultaneously. Still largely experimental, extremely slow for general computing, and not reprogrammable. Potential applications in massive data archiving and biological computing.
Artificial Intelligence (AI)
Systems that perform tasks normally requiring human intelligence. Machine learning trains systems on data to recognise patterns without explicit programming. Neural networks inspired by the brain’s structure. Applications: voice recognition, image classification, natural language processing, recommendation systems, autonomous vehicles, medical diagnosis. Raises concerns about bias, job displacement and autonomous decision-making.
Nanotechnology
Manipulation and manufacture of materials and devices at the nanoscale (1–100 nanometres — 1 nanometre = one billionth of a metre). Could enable transistors far smaller than current silicon limits (enabling faster, more energy-efficient chips), nanoscale drug delivery in medicine, ultra-strong lightweight materials, and molecular machines. Combined with computing — could lead to nanocomputers embedded in the human body.
Summary — Four Areas of Impact
Environmental (6.1.1) — Health effects of technology use; energy consumption of devices, data centres and manufacturing; resource depletion through mining; e-waste disposal problems.
Ethical (6.1.2) — Privacy and surveillance concerns from mass data collection; the digital divide and inclusion; professional responsibilities of computing professionals including algorithmic bias.
Legal (6.1.3) — Intellectual property and copyright protecting creative works; patents giving inventors exclusive rights; software licensing models (proprietary, open-source, freeware, shareware); cyber-security legislation.
Emerging Trends (6.1.4) — Quantum computing (superposition/entanglement); DNA computing (molecular data storage); Artificial Intelligence (machine learning, neural networks); Nanotechnology (nanoscale devices and materials).