“…it is never the computer that errs, but the man who has given it its instructions”
-Isaac Asimov,
“The Computer Revolution”
Computers, even in their very first iterations, have always been viewed as tools for practically limitless possibilities. One such possibility is for the vast improvement of the handling and facilitating of information and communication. In truth, a considerable part of this possibility has already become a reality. This fact can be seen most prominently with the phenomenal virtual world of the internet.
In the internet, one is given access to varying, astonishing and sometimes confusing information. Since it is said and has been in fact proven that knowledge is power, the desire for more information has made the promise of the internet more and more attractive. But, as pointed out earlier, the internet is sometimes a confusing place. This is not only due to the sheer volume of the information made available to the net surfer, but also due to the fact that those who make such information available are not always being merely generous – some of them, one way or another, intend to benefit from their activities.
Often, the manner by which unscrupulous posters intend to benefit equate to some form of injury to those who have accessed their information. Sometimes, it is through the collection of information regarding an unwitting net surfer for the purpose of sending him targeted, specific ads tailored to the perceived preferences of such a person. The end goal is to make a sale of the product, which is by itself a legitimate aim. However, there is still an element of collecting information without the informed and express consent of an individual. Indeed, some entities operate only for the purpose of collecting as much information as possible regarding net surfers, such as credit and purchase histories, and ultimately purveying such information to companies touting products. One can only imagine the danger such information-stealing activities create.
Another danger is not the stealing of information, but the destruction of it. This often occurs with viruses propagated through the internet, such as the infamous “Melissa” and “I Love You” strains. The lost information caused by such viruses easily translate to considerable actual damages specially for those companies whose records were attacked. Not only that, since these and other harmful programs such as Trojans, worms and spammers often create massive amount of e-mails, communication through the internet become bogged down.
One might ask that given such dangers, is it still worth it to employ the internet and computers, said to be the pinnacle of technology, in handling and facilitating information and communication? The answer is yes. As perceived by Isaac Asimov, computers can only go wrong if the humans were wrong in the first place. It is here where policy becomes so important. By aiming for, designing and adopting a suitable policy with regards to information, communication and technology, the promised benefits can be maximized whereas any and all costs are minimized.
2 comments:
And then there are the grey(-ish?) areas, such as Gmail's automatic scanning of email messages in order to send the user targeted ads. As I understand it, the company states that no human intervention takes place during this procedure, the actual scanning being done merely by computers. I've gotten used to this feature over time, finding it an acceptable cost in return for the large amount of storage Gmail offers. But I can understand why people would be unnerved by it (as I was at first). And there's the question of whether this is some form of slippery slope, such that after people like me get used to it, and concede this derogation of privacy, more diminution can be expected to occur in the not-so-distant future.
as of now, those ads are more annoying than threatening to students like us. I can't count how many spywares and ads ive had to remove... sheesh. But the dangers are there. If it becomes prevalent, we're like to become passive and accept it all and so the slippery slope as you say. How depressing. But that's probably why we have infotech classes popping up in schools. At least not everyone is willing to take this lying down :)
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