Environmental Stewardship and Sustainability
What is the impact of computers and related technologies on the environment?
How does it personally affect YOU?
distracts from going outside
How does it generally affect society?
Climate change
Natural Disasters
destroyed infastructure
Air pollution
Decreased overall health
High water consumption from cooling servers,
Less access to public clean drinking water
Destruction of habitats
- deforestation
- soil degradation
- air + water pollution
climate change
ICT sector accounts for 4% of Global greenhouse gas emissions
improper disposal/E-waste
land and water pollution
discarded products grows to an estimated 57.4 million metric tonnes
Huge amounts of energy consumption to power data centres, servers, and other IT structures
- from fossil fuels
a single smartphone requires around 12,760 litres of water
Strategies to reduce the impact of computers and related technologies on the environment
Policy changes
More governmental regulation on tech
solar, wind, hydropower, geothermal energy, biomass, and biofuels
What are some local iniatives and programs that support evironmental sustainability, that YOU can access?
Taking the bus
Scarborough Ride Shares
What is the impact of computers and related technologies on human health?
How does it personally affect YOU?
Loss of sleep
eye strain
tiredness
More learning opportunities + sources of education
Ease of access to family and friends(communication)
Source of income
Takes up a lot of my day
How does it generally affect others in society?
Medical Industry
Industry 4.0/Fourth Industrial Revolution
- implementation of digital tech, such as AI, IoT, and robotics, into manufacturing and industrial process
- other disruptive tech example: Cancer treatment, precision medicine plays an important role in sequencing tumors and their mutations, paired with data analysis and ai(ex, IBM Watson)
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7674813/
Implications/Suggestions from Other Health Professionals
New kinds of training for medical professionals in tech
Government and Business participation
- legislation for user data protection
- Universal Health Coverage
fast changing systems
Dehumanization
- Repetitive and predictable human jobs can be be preformed by robots and computers but this is inapplicable for many services such as:
emergency services, therapeutic relationships, or any other activities that need rapid responses to unpredictable situations.
Ai can support healthcare, but they are incapable of human feelings and connection.
- unable to factor in people's daily lives, outside concerns and symptoms
- technology cannot replace human connection in Healthcare, but instead should be used to enhance the patient-doctor relationship.
Risks
- Financial Cost, requires high initial investment
- Complex changes to integration, training and maintenance
- cybersecurity risks, more vulnerable to attacks
Efficiency and Effectiveness
- more accessible health information
- Mobile tech can reach more people with diagnostics, treatment, and follow up interventions, crossing over physical and social barriers
- Ex. Translation devices to better relations and communications between provider and patient.
- Smart Home Healthcare(IoTs for a home
(IoTs are devices with sensors and processing abilities made to connect and exchange data to other systems, heart rate detection, connected inhalers, health monitoring, etc)
Good for old people, and an aging population. Allows for medical help and supervision to span over homes and decentralizing health sectors.
Social Factor
Mental Health
anxiety + depression
sleep disorders
Media Literacy
More availability to global news
decreased rates of isolation
Instant global connection
- 90%+ of young people are online with cells phones
- 50%+ of adults 65 and older are online and 78% with a phone
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5954608/
Changing family structure through communication
interactive voice response technology (IVR)
- scheduled and automatic telephone assessments and wellness checks.
- connecting people with similar diseases and illnesses, creating community and a support system
Rise of cyberbullying
- little to no consequences and restrictions
- almost totally anonymous
What are strategies to reduce the impact of computers and related technologies on human health?
Physical activity