Technology & Society
Evaluate technology's impact on work and daily life
Evaluating Technology's Impact
Technology shapes how we work, communicate, travel and live. It solves problems but creates new ones. Responsible citizens evaluate technology critically: Who benefits? Who is harmed? Is it sustainable? Is it accessible to all? In SA, technology must address our specific challenges fairly.
Example
Technology Impact Evaluation
Example: Smartphones
Benefits: communication, banking (mobile money), education, job searching
Problems: addiction, cyberbullying, screen time, e-waste, privacy
Access: digital divide (not everyone can afford data/devices)
Example: Automation in mining
Benefits: safer (fewer workers underground), more efficient
Problems: massive job losses in a country with high unemployment
Evaluate using: social, economic, environmental and ethical lenses
Note
Remember
As future technologists, you have a responsibility to create technology that improves lives without causing harm. Consider: Does this technology help or widen inequality? Is it environmentally sustainable? Is it accessible to all South Africans? Technology should serve humanity, not the other way around.
Key Vocabulary
Digital divideThe gap between those with access to technology and those without
EthicalRelating to what is morally right and wrong
AccessibleAvailable and usable by all people, including those with disabilities
EvaluateTo assess the value, impact or effectiveness of something
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Digital divide
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