6 exam-style questions with full mark schemes and model answers. Write your own answer and the AI examiner marks it against the mark scheme.
Learn this properly: Ethical Issues in ComputingA large supermarket chain plans to replace most of its staffed checkouts with self-service and automated checkout machines, and to use AI software to predict what customers will buy.
Discuss the impacts of introducing this technology. In your answer you should consider more than one type of impact (for example ethical, cultural/social or environmental) and reach a conclusion about whether, on balance, the change is a positive one. (6 marks)
UK law includes the Computer Misuse Act 1990 and the Data Protection Act, which apply to different situations.
(a) An employee logs into a colleague's account without permission to read their private messages. State which one of these two laws this most clearly breaks. (1 mark)
(b) Describe one thing the Data Protection Act requires organisations that store people's personal data to do. (1 mark)
(c) State one action, other than unauthorised access alone, that would be an offence under the Computer Misuse Act 1990. (2 marks)
Discarded computers, phones and other devices create electronic waste (e-waste), which is a major environmental concern.
(a) Other than going to landfill, state one environmental problem caused by e-waste. (1 mark)
(b) Describe two ways individuals or organisations could reduce the environmental impact of their computing devices. (2 marks)
Software can be released as open-source or as proprietary (closed-source) software.
(a) State one key difference between open-source and proprietary software, in terms of the source code. (1 mark)
(b) Give one advantage to a user of choosing open-source software. (1 mark)
(c) Give one advantage to a user of choosing proprietary software instead. (1 mark)
Not everyone has equal access to computers and the internet. This inequality is known as the digital divide.
(a) State one factor that can cause the digital divide. (1 mark)
(b) State one disadvantage a person might face if they are on the wrong side of the digital divide (i.e. they have poor access to technology). (1 mark)
A musician publishes an original song online. The law that automatically protects their work from being copied or used without permission is the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
State what this copyright law prevents other people from doing without permission. (1 mark)