IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - September 2023 - 110

Feature
or negative impacts on society. When the context of
the situation influences whether the societal impact
of data is positive or negative, we refer to it as a gray
area. Context has previously been used in examining
privacy issues resulting from the use of technology
and data [12], [13]. Given the importance of the role
that context plays in assessing the societal impacts
of data, we develop a contextual framework that is
useful in determining the consequences of data on
the values of a good society.
Contextual framework for societal
impact
The proposed framework is depicted in Figure 1.
Five contexts are considered: the technological context,
the cultural context, the legal context, the political
context, and the situational context. Each of these
contexts is discussed in detail later in this section.
Although it is possible to consider additional contexts,
we believe these five contexts are sufficiently general
and comprehensive to include most societal scenarios.
Within a context, the societal impact of data
could be positive or negative depending upon different
conditions and circumstances. The region on the
left side of Figure 1 represents data applications that
provide positive impacts on society and thus contribute
to the actualization of the values of a good society.
The region on the right-hand side represents scenarios
where data applications intentionally or unintentionally
have a negative impact on society. For
example, malware, which is computer software that
has been developed with malicious intent, including
accessing confidential information, falsifying
information, and deleting files that are essential to a
person or organization [14]. Recently, there has been
a global shift of criminal activity from stealing data, to
shutting down the operations of organizations with
ransomware and demanding large payments from
organizations to regain control of their systems. It was
recently reported that the Federal Bureau of Investigation
(FBI) is investigating 100 types of ransomwares
and that both the FBI and people in the administration
of the U.S. Federal Government have signaled that ransomware
has been elevated to a top national security
priority. Particularly troubling is that multiple ransomware
attacks have been carried out at hospitals, delaying
medical care, and suspending some surgeries.
There are also applications which may unintentionally
cause harm to a society. For example, while
Amazon's artificial intelligence (AI)-powered applicant
vetting algorithm was intended to speed up
the recruitment process and save recruiters' time, it
proved to be biased against women candidates and
consequently Amazon discontinued its use [15].
The region in the center of Figure 1 represents the
gray area where the societal impact of data may be
positive or negative depending upon the context.
For example, when used for security surveillance,
limiting access to restricted areas, or locating a child
in a large crowd, facial recognition technologies are
viewed positively. However, when used for surveillance
by governments, facial recognition is often
considered to negatively impact society, as it violates
good society values. In the following, each of
the five contexts is discussed and illustrated.
Technological context
Technological innovations continue to profoundly
affect societies. While technologies promise
and deliver substantial societal benefits, they
frequently carry some negative consequences.
Often the effective use of technology improves the
human condition and the standard of living but also
can have unintended harmful effects. For example,
steam engine technologies enabled rapid advances
in transportation and automation of factories leading
to higher productivity that benefitted societies,
but the burning of coal led to greater pollution.
Furthermore, more recent technological
Figure 1. Contextual framework for
societal impacts of data.
110
advances in information technologies have dramatically
changed the way work is performed,
information is communicated, commerce is conducted,
entertainment is enjoyed, and how we live.
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IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - September 2023

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