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This article discusses artificial intelligence, and the extent to which it is a) realistic and b) can be used as a replacement for humans in the case of chats -- in other words, it analyzes the question of how and when any such bots will be ready for usage in a manner that will be realistic enough for chatting with an actual human being. This development emerged due to the immediate need of firms such as customer service centers to use less work force and yet satisfy customers with solutions to trivial (to them) problems. The advantages for the stakeholders are immediately obvious -- less workforce will be needed because the computers will be in charge of answering most questions, and fewer questions will be eventually directed to an actual individual. However, the immediate ethical disadvantage is the loss of job openings in the area of customer service, along with many other areas, since intelligent machines will soon be the preferred alternative to complete such tasks; this provides the impacts concerning the economic and psychological aspects. Furthermore, through the loss of jobs, it is likely and very possible that legal issues may arise. The solutions to these problems is that the human workers work in tandem with each other; that way, both the machines are put to good use and the aspects involving the loss of jobs and the ethical/moral issues that arise with these points will be solved. Through the analysis of this article, it is immediately and readily obvious that the IT systems involved in this wide range of scenarios includes but is not limited to computers/computer servers, robotic mechanisms (e.g. robotic arms, etc.).

Situation: Robots are now being invented to aid in farming. This particular farm built a robot to prune and de-sucker grapes. Social and Ethical Significance: People and Machines - People being replaced by technology is a reality that we must face as it is a reality that we are beginning to see. Obviously when machines replace people, jobs are lost which is never a good thing. But that's not all we should be worrying about. When machines start to perform human tasks, we lose the skill and knowledge that comes with completing those tasks. So technology taking over tasks could either lead to depletion of common knowledge that humans have but it could also go be good because it will leave room for humans to focus on more important issues and knowledge, while machines take care of the mundane chores. IT Systems: GPS Gyroscope - Part of security. The robot knows when it has been lifted off the ground Artificial Intelligence - grape recognition Plant recognition Hard drive Synchronization of cameras Built in security - The robot won't start if it is an unknown area and can self-destruct Stakeholders: Farm Owners - The way their business is conducted could change Farm workers - They could lose jobs or have to learn new ones Robotic Engineers - They are interested in the new technology being used Applications to Specified Scenario: Changing how companies function is only one piece of what technology is changing. Technologies like this robot in the article could be applied to many different areas in the world. One example is security and surveillance. The robot in the article watches plants all day. It wouldn't be hard to alter the cameras to recognize people too. These robots also have tools that they are able to use. Wouldn't it then be possible to give the robots weapons and have them enforce the law? Or go to war? What would that mean for us humans? The upbringing of Artificial Intelligence will induce lots of change and raise various ethical considerati

Scenario : At least 22.1 million people that are current or former US government workers since 2001's information was hacked and possibly breached into by hackers who stole the Office of Personal Management (OPM) data. It is believed that China stole this information to increase their collection of data of intelligence on US government employees, according to the article. Social / Ethical Issues : China and hackers now have personal information about millions of Americans which is a big ethical issue because no one knows how they are going to use that information and no one knows how much information they actually got. Also, China could use their newly-gained information against government workers unless the workers release personal government information about the US. This could possibly be a huge problem for the US if China basically uses espionage against US government employees and for their own personal gain. IT systems and things the hackers were able to breach: fingerprints databases social security numbers job assignments performance evaluations records on family members and close friends who were listed on job applications for security purposes financial and health records computer user names and passwords Stakeholders: China - Given that they stole information from the United States government intelligence, their relationship between the US and China will weaken. United States government and citizens- US gov't will now have less trust in China and also have a weakened relationship with China. The United States will most likely also take new security measures to make sure their information is more secure, and United States government workers will now be very hesitant to give out their information.

Watson is IBM's latest supercomputer with a twist. Not only can it's artificial intelligence decipher and perfectly understand human literature and language, but it can even give a response which will be equally as startling. This computer is designed to think like a human being, and it's ability to do this is almost unbelievable. Watson even proved itself in a mini jeopardy game against two former jeopardy champions, crushing them with ease and easily claiming the reward of one million US dollars. An artificial intelligence with this power is a figure of great controversy, and many say that we should not be investing in machines such as Watson, which could potentially destroy the careers of millions of individuals across the globe with it's almost human like 'thinking' processes. However, Watson could still prove to be an extremely useful tool for many fields which require human attention, such as medicine, finance, commerce, and business. With it's almost human like attributes, Watson could execute tasks such as calculating and predicting stock exchange values, deciding how to solve medical problems, or even predicting which economies are to fall and which ones are to rise.

Apple says it is taking steps to remove a malicious software added to dozens of apps commonly used by owners of iPhones and iPads in China. Stakeholders: Apple and people who use Apple products in China. There was a malicious code on Apple products which affected the company and many people in China who use (among many others) the app WeChat: A very popular chatting app in Asia. Social/Ethical issues: When people start getting messages that makes them reveal their personal information, they would either believe it's important or be suspicious about it. If a friend "asks" for information and you reply to them, to have them later ask you why you told them that, then you are most likely being played and that would cause a lot of panic. I suppose a positive thing that could come from this is that people would be forced to close down the apps and actually talk face to face. This malware would also destroy Apple's reputation somewhat since they were so careless that the app store was infected. But this would have taught them to be more careful, which is a positive thing as it helps them improve. A solution for one negative impact - easily being played into giving out personal information - would be to make sure the person is real or the website or company is authentic. A list of IT systems: iOS Transaction Processing Systems Customer Relationship Management Systems Business Intelligence Systems Knowledge Management Systems [http://smallbusiness.chron.com/types-information-systems-organization-43097.html]

Great article choice! What social or ethical impact do you think that this might have towards the people? Other than the obvious impacts of destroying devices, what else could arise from such an issue? Also, how would developers of applications be affected by these issues?