Geographic Information & Society: Some things to think about GEOG 370 Christine Erlien

Role of geography in society Recording, documenting, describing Measuring Classifying Modeling GIS as a tool that supports these analyses

Technology’s Social Consequences Many positive aspects Environmental monitoring Deforestation Natural disasters (floods, fires, hurricanes) Urban growth Epidemiological uses Tracking epidemics & predicting impacts

Technology’s Social Consequences Geographic information as a privacy threat Integrating information from multiple sources Location coordinates + financial transactions  used for targeted marketing Linking of credit card transactions with public records (deeds, tax records, etc.), census records, other information  characterize you & your neighbors Rising health insurance rates because of high incidence of a particular disease in your neighborhood From Geospatial Matters: Exploring the Implications of a Digital Earth

Technology’s Social Consequences Geographic information as a privacy threat Tracking people (esp. kids) using GPS-enabled phones Example: Disney MobileDisney Mobile Does the signal go directly to the tracker? How long do they keep this information? There are no existing guidelines for background checks on people hired by the companies doing GPS tracking Might the phone company sell this information to marketers or others & what would that mean?

Technology’s Social Consequences Militaristic uses of GIS Waging war is easier & almost virtual (i.e., precision guided weapons & 3-D representations) Effects of weaponry not readily seen GIS as a democratizing force? Or does it create inequalities? Expense of the software package Need for powerful computers Knowledge to use the package

Technology’s Social Consequences The need to maintain confidentiality For some things, maps shouldn’t be published, or only at an aggregated level (less detail)