Is the IT infrastructure future proof?
2011 (English)In: The social impact of social computing / [ed] A. Bisset et al., Sheffield, UK: Sheffield Hallam University , 2011, p. 356-361Conference paper, Published paper (Refereed)
Abstract [en]
The ICT infrastructure and its technological core are now becoming the critical infrastructures of our society. Our activities and processes are now relying on these platforms, they are now our social and business platforms. But are they sustainable? What are the (physical) limits to take into account when looking into the ICT future? Do the planet have enough resources to sustain the making, powering and wasting of all the electronic devices needed to support our social and business platforms in the future? This paper addresses the issue of evaluating the environmental impact of ICT. Starting from the analysis of the sustainability of one of its most celebrated "laws", the Moore's law, we analyse its entire life-cycle, from "silicon-factories", to their use in data centres, to the final destination of ICT products: recycling and reuse (trash ware) in the best case or, uncontrolled waste traffic towards poor countries with health hazards and environmental pollution, in the worst case. We introduce a new dimension in the social and ethical analysis related to ICT: the future. What are the implications of this future ethics in ICT?
Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Sheffield, UK: Sheffield Hallam University , 2011. p. 356-361
Keywords [en]
computer, information, communication, technology, sustainability, environment, ethics, accountability, ethical competence, engineering, skill
Keywords [sv]
informationsteknologi, kommunikationsteknologi, hållbarhet, miljö, etik, moral, ansvarsredovisning, etisk kompetens, färdighet, dator, datoretik
National Category
Ethics Human Computer Interaction Computer Sciences Economics Human Aspects of ICT
Research subject
Human-Computer Interaction; Human-Computer Interaction
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-158997ISBN: 978-1-8437-339-6 (print)OAI: oai:DiVA.org:uu-158997DiVA, id: diva2:442060
Conference
ETHICOMP 2011
Projects
ETHCOMPCESTICTeESD2011-09-202011-09-202022-01-28