Deck 12: Ethical Dimensions of Technology

Question 1

Schumpeter (2004) developed the theory of economic development by arguing that ________ was the driver of economic development because it created new, previously not existing markets and sources of revenue.

A) electricity
B) innovation
C) pipeline development
D) globalization

Answer 1

B

Question 2

When we examine technology as the product of science, which is inherently neutral, then it follows that technology should also be perceived as being value-neutral. This argument is part of which of the following concepts?

A) Uncontextualized tool
B) Derivative of science
C) Continued value of science
D) Tool as science

Answer 2

D

Question 3

New technologies to address technological related stress have been developed; what are examples of these apps.

A) e-health
B) Asana
C) Headspace
D) Destressor.com

Answer 3

C

Question 4

What is the central part of Heidegger's inquiry into technology?

A) The link between technology and human destiny
B) How the use of technology alters the characteristics of what being human is
C) How the advantages and disadvantages of technology balance
D) The most basic effects of technology

Question 5

What is a solution to Heidegger's fears that humans will simply become an object of technology when they fail to question the hidden intentions of technology?

A) Reject technology to realize one's true dependence upon it
B) Not outright reject technology, but detach from it and question its purpose and role in society
C) Embrace technology for the advantages of it far outweigh the disadvantages
D) Embrace the advantages of technology, but study technology extensively so that one can be sure that humanity is not lost as one gains abilities that were beyond the capabilities of the past individuals

Question 6

What has been the major critique of Heidegger's approach to technology and destiny?

A) Heidegger posits that technology is only negative for humanity.
B) Heidegger's view assumes that something essentially "human" is lost when technology is used to augment human abilities.
C) Heidegger's view of faith in technology is simplistic and denies human agency.
D) Heidegger views technology as faith and his approach is overly complicated.

Question 7

Net neutrality can be defined as:

A) the need to ensure that all online news articles are correctly balanced so as to ensure no one political faction gains precedence
B) the policy of allowing equal access to the internet regardless of age, ethnicity, or gender
C) the doctrine of ensuring that wired broadband and wireless broadband are of equal quality
D) ISPs should provide all users with equal access to all online content, applications, and platforms without intervention al economic value

Question 8

What is the term for technologies without a clear purpose in society?

A) knickknacks
B) doodads
C) gadgets
D) gizmos

Question 9

What does the acronym WEEE stand for?

A) Waste of Every Electric Electronic
B) Waste of Electric and Electronic Equipment
C) Wasteland of Electric and Electronic Equipment
D) Waste-treatment for Electric and Electronic Equipment

Question 10

Electronic waste is produced in large quantities globally every year. It is important to realize that ________.

A) all of it is reused, refurbished, or recycled
B) none of it is dumped in landfills
C) all of it is dumped in landfills
D) much of this is reused, refurbished, or recycled, much is also dumped in landfills

Question 11

Many programs are being developed globally to manage waste, one of them is StEP. What is the main goal of StEP?

A) to display e-waste generation and disposal on an interactive world map
B) to create international agreements and policies to facilitate ethical and sustainable disposal
C) to help individuals to reduce e-waste in Canada
D) to showcase how e-waste affects vulnerable populations like the elderly and children

Question 12

What radioactive isotope (as discussed in the text) is used in smoke detectors?

A) Americium
B) Bromine
C) Cadmium
D) Dubnium

Question 13

A study of young children in the UK found that five-year-olds were allowed to spent time in front of screens. The time spent in front of screens was about:

A) 1 hour/week
B) 2 hours/week
C) 7 hours/week
D) 10 hours/week

Question 14

What phenomenon, discussed by Harvey (2000) and Thrift (1996), has developed as a result of heavy reliance on technology that allows for interactions and the flow of information to occur at a faster pace without constraints of distance?

A) Media transferral
B) Time-space compression
C) Media shift
D) Time-space continuum

Question 15

Digital redlining refers to:

A) the lack of investment in transmission infrastructure by ISPs in already deprived economic areas
B) unofficial maximum internet speeds
C) a type of firewall that prevents access to certain applications depending on their origin
D) the editorial process of using track changes in Google Docs and similar applications

Question 16

In a networked society we observe collisions of social spheres and social roles. What is this trend called?

A) Location bias
B) Deterritorialization
C) Time-space compression
D) Unterritorialization

Question 17

Stress and mental health concerns have large economic costs. The World Health Organization (WHO) reports that in the US, the cost of stress is approximately:

A) Costs the US economy $100 million a year
B) Costs the US economy $1 billion a year
C) Costs the US economy $50 billion a year
D) Costs the US economy $300 billion a year

Question 18

Swedish philosopher Sundström (1998) has described three instances in which technology could be deemed as being value neutral. What are they?

A) Multiple uses of tools, contextualized tool, tool as technology
B) Multiple uses of tools, uncontextualized tool, tool as science
C) Single use of tools, contextualized tool, tool as technology
D) Single use of tools, contextualized tool, tool as science

Question 19

What was the idea that emerged in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, particularly in Europe and North America, where technology was enabling radical economic, workplace, social, and cultural change?

A) Technology leads to enlightenment.
B) Technology leads to social change.
C) Technology leads to progress.
D) Technology leads to hierarchy.

Question 20

Why, according to Baudrillard, is technology regressive?

A) Technology facilitates a society's everyday tasks, removing the need to learn various skills and thus increasing the society's dependence on technology.
B) Technological development divides the world into progressive and regressive societies.
C) Technology is used to control the society, thwarting the development of individualism.
D) A debate focused on technological progress and failure does not question the present production system with its inequalities, power relations, and injustices.
True/False Questions

Question 21

Value Sensitive Design disempowers users and designers as well as those otherwise impacted by the technology.

Question 22

Schumpeter's analysis has shown that the gap between those involved in technological innovation and those involved in the workforce has begun to shrink.

Question 23

Excessive screen time has no negative mental health outcomes.

Question 24

George P. Grant claims that faith in progress through technology is an ingrained and permanent component of North American life.

Question 25

Moral backwardness means that humans see themselves as superior to technologies, able to dominate and control all technological aspects.

Question 26

According to Baudrillard, gizmos are essential tools that facilitate everyday tasks.

Question 27

Indigenous treaty territory is often traversed by polluting pipelines.

Question 28

High-level recovery systems have prevented activist groups from ensuring that more devices are reused and refurbished.

Question 29

When presented with environmental concerns related to Keystone XL pipeline, people were often swayed towards the positive effects of the project rather than the negative.

Question 30

Under Fordism, home and leisure must be subservient to the needs of industry.

Question 31

Describe the socio-technical approach and discuss its strengths in terms of the kinds of insights it allows us to make with regards to technology.

Question 32

What is the association between screen time and mental health outcomes?

Question 33

Describe the notion of moral backwardness as proposed by Baudrillard?

Question 34

Discuss the idea of energy poverty and how it might affect life in one particular element of modern Canadian society.

Question 35

Define the term deterritorialization in terms of our networked society.

Question 36

The idea of technology as always being "progress" has been historically a positive value and strongly associated with technological and industrial development as well as economic success. Yet in recent years this perspective on technology has been called into question. Discuss key critiques of the "technology as progress" perspective and illustrate your points with examples from your own experience or observation.

Question 37

MIT researchers created a moral dilemma to investigate how research can inform the potential moral decisions that machines may have to make when on the road. Explain why it is helpful to place humans in the place of a driverless car? What do we learn about the ethics of algorithms by partaking in the moral machine? Do you think it is a good idea to design moral dilemmas like the "MIT's moral machine" to help program machines? What are the limitations?