Social and Ethical Issues

Social and Ethical Issues The Impact of Technology

Consider Automatic Teller Machines (ATM)……………….

Why do we use ATM’s  Because they are convenient?  They enable us to check our account balance, withdraw cash, or make banking transactions at any time of the day or night, at locations that are more accessible that our bank branch.

But what are the negative aspects of ATM’s?

 Unemployment

In 1983 480 000 worked as bank tellers, by 1993 there were only 301 000 tellers.

 Alienation and customer service

Automation of teller function removes the human contact between the customer and a live teller. Instead of talking to a smiling person, we confront a machine. The ATM can be confusing to operate. We could forget our password. We might have a question it cannot answer.

 Crime

People are robbed after withdrawing cash at ATMs. Stolen and counterfeit ATM cards are used by thieves to steal millions of dollars each year. The anonymity of the machine makes ATM fraud easy. A human teller would notice if the same person made numerous withdrawals, or might know the real cardholder by sight, or might be able to identify the suspect after the theft is discovered.

 Loss of privacy

Because the transactions at ATMs are recorded in a database at the bank, the record of a person’s transactions at various ATMs can provide information about the person’s whereabouts and activities.

 Errors

An error in the computer program that operates ATMs for a large New York bank caused accounts to be debited twice the amount of the actual withdrawal. In less than one day, more than 150 000 transactions, totally approx. $15 million were incorrectly recorded. Will you stop using ATMs?

Probably not…….. the example of ATMs suggests that many people are willing to accept several negatives factors as they value convenience very highly. Some of the problems described above are exaggerated and would occur without ATMs or have solutions.

 Unemployment

Compared to 15-20 years ago there are now fewer people employed as bank tellers, but there are more people employed in the computer industry. Overall. Have computers increased or decreased employment? How do computers change the work environment and the structure of business?

 Alienation and customer service

Anyone who wants to talk to a human teller can go into the bank during banking hours. No one is required to use an ATM, it is a new, additional option. Banks are now open more hours than they were before ATMs existed. However, some banks now charge a fee for teller transactions that could be done at ATMs. Many banks are closing branches because services are automated. The impact of computers on customer service has been mixed.

 Crime

ATM fraud is a serious problem (along with computer hacking) – there is no exaggeration of this problem.

 Loss of privacy

Loss of privacy at ATMs brings up other issues as well. A large portion of our financial transactions, including supermarket purchases, credit card purchases, loan repayments, and income are recorded in computer databases. Our web surfing can be tracked even when we go browsing. Our governments maintain huge databases with personal information on us. Cameras record our movements in public places. Who should have access to this information, and how should it be protected from abuse and errors?

 Errors

The error rate for ATM transactions is quite small. With billions of transactions each year, we must expect that some errors will be made, and a low error rate is tolerable. The potential for damage caused by serious errors in complex computerised systems is a significant problem. The use of computer systems leads to new kinds of errors that would not have occurred before.