Information Technology in a Global Society
ITGS The study of the impact of information technology on society.
An Example Internet and terrorism Think of other examples
How do we limit the scope? Not all technology is information technology. So what is information technology? List things you think of as information technology. List technology that is not information technology.
Defining information technology 1.Computer. How is a computer different from all other machines? 2.Digital Encoding. How is digital encoding different from previous encoding of information?
Digital Representation Text Images Sound Tom … …
Formal Machine Cars Media Watches and clocks Airplanes Weapons Furniture design Machine construction
Digital Information (How different from the past) Perfect and free duplication Instant transportation Ability to take original and transform
Formal Machines (How different from the past) Free duplication Easy modification and upgrades Potential for self replication and artificial intelligence. Recursive construction.
How is this significant? Microsoft (Bill Gates is worth $30 Billion Dollars)Bill Gates is worth $30 Billion Dollars Google (just sold $1.67 billion in stock)$1.67 billion Napster (Kazaa etc.) Distribution of copyrighted material Cell phones Instant Messaging Digital Movie making