Over the past few years, there have been a number of new computerized innovations on the scene: blogs, on-line dating services, electronic tax filing, algorithmic trading software, datamining software, social networking technology (such as Facebook or Google Chrome), BitTorrent, MP3 files for music or novel hardware advances such as mobile handheld devices (iPhones, Blackberries, etc.) or e-readers (such as Kindle).
Select one specific computerized technology that has emerged roughly within the past 30 years and then investigate the social impact of this new advance. Your writeup should include: a description of the technology, situating it clearly within the field of computer science; an in-depth discussion of both the positive and negative consequences of this new technology (indicating segments of society which have been impacted); some reflection on how to best make use of the technology in the years to come. Note that you must provide a good balance of both positive and negative impacts in your essay; do not simply focus on one of these elements.
CS692 students are required to do primary research as part of this assignment: interviewing people who may be involved with or affected by the computer technology that has been chosen. Include an appendix which indicates the questions that were asked and include in the body of your essay what you learned from your primary research. Undergraduate students are welcome to include primary research as well; this is not required, however.
All students are expected to incorporate research (so not to simply state their opinions). This should happen not only for the part of the essay that discusses positive and negative impacts but also for the part of the essay that covers the technology (so cite references to clarify how you know how the technology works). Include a reference list at the end of the assignment and proper citations within the body of the text. Note that you may need to extrapolate from research that has been conducted in the past on other, related technologies.