Emerging Technologies and Social Impact
This domain covers new and rapidly developing technologies and how they change work, communication and society. The exam tests definitions, typical applications, and balanced discussion of benefits and drawbacks.
Key technologies
- Artificial intelligence and machine learning - systems that learn patterns from data rather than following only fixed rules.
- Expert systems - a knowledge base plus an inference engine that gives advice in a narrow field.
- Robotics and automation - machines performing physical or repetitive tasks.
- Internet of Things - everyday devices with sensors and network connections.
- Cloud computing - IaaS (rented virtual machines), PaaS (development platform), SaaS (finished application such as webmail).
- Blockchain - a distributed, append-only ledger shared across many computers.
- VR/AR, biometrics, 5G, quantum computing - immersion, identity verification, high-speed mobile data, and a new computing paradigm.
Social and economic impact
Benefits: e-commerce, telecommuting, e-learning, e-government, remote healthcare, automation of dull or dangerous work. Drawbacks: job displacement, the digital divide, misinformation, screen addiction, wider attack surface for cybercrime, high energy use and e-waste, and privacy loss through data collection.
Worked example
A 12-person firm moves email, files and accounting to SaaS. Monthly per-user fees replace buying and maintaining a server, and staff can work from anywhere. But the firm now depends on reliable internet, pays a recurring cost, and stores data with a third party, raising jurisdiction and exit-plan questions. Judgement: suitable for a small firm with no IT team, provided it keeps an offline backup and knows how to retrieve its data.
Traps that cost marks
- Describing "the cloud" as storage on your own computer.
- Assuming new technology always reduces cost.
- Confusing AI with simple rule-based automation.
- Giving only benefits when the question asks for both sides.
- Ignoring security and privacy implications of IoT devices.