AQA 8525 · Section 3.7 · Impact of Technology

Ethical
Issues

Privacy · Surveillance · Bias · Ownership · AI Decisions

CSZoneAQA GCSE Computer Science 8525

Privacy and Surveillance

Data Collection and Individual Rights

Mass surveillance — governments and companies collect vast amounts of personal data (CCTV, internet activity, phone data). Raises questions about privacy vs. security.

Tracking and targeted advertising — companies track browsing to serve personalised ads. Users often unaware of the extent of data collection.

Facial recognition — accurate but raises civil liberty concerns. Should police be allowed to use it on crowds?

Right to be forgotten — can people request personal data be deleted from the internet? GDPR grants this in the UK/EU.

Algorithmic Bias and AI Decisions

When Technology Isn't Fair

Algorithmic bias occurs when a computer system produces unfair results, usually because the training data reflected existing human prejudices. E.g. facial recognition systems less accurate on darker skin tones; hiring algorithms discriminating by postcode.

AI decision-making — who is responsible when an AI makes a harmful decision (e.g. wrongly denying a loan, misidentifying a criminal)?

Ethical AI requires diverse training data, transparent algorithms, and human oversight

Digital Divide and Ownership

Inequality and Intellectual Property

Digital divide — not everyone has equal access to technology. Rural areas, developing countries, elderly people, and low-income households may lack internet access or devices. This creates inequality in education and employment.

Intellectual property — who owns computer programs, AI-generated content, and digital creations? Should programmers be paid fairly for open-source contributions?

Automation and jobs — ethical question: is it acceptable to automate jobs that humans relied on for income?

Exam Practice

Have a go at this question

AQA-style question

Discuss one ethical issue raised by the use of surveillance cameras with facial recognition technology in public spaces.

3 marks

Privacy: people have a right to move in public without being tracked [1]. Facial recognition creates a permanent record of people's movements without their consent [1]. However, it may help police identify criminals and deter crime [1] — an ethical trade-off between security and civil liberties.

Key Takeaways

What to Remember

Privacy: data collection, surveillance, tracking raise ethical concerns about consent

Algorithmic bias: unfair AI/algorithm outcomes due to biased training data

Digital divide: unequal access to technology creates social inequality

Ethical issues require weighing benefits vs. harms — no simple answer