A free tool and a heavy bill
A small charity uses a free tool to study its gifts. It is open source (anyone may read and change its code). It costs nothing to buy. Then the tool needs an update, and nobody on the team knows how.
New technology brings new options. It also brings new costs to people and to the planet. Today you see four more developments.
Key words
| Word | What it means |
|---|---|
| Open source | software whose code anyone may read, change and share |
| Blockchain | a shared record kept in linked blocks that is very hard to change |
| Rare metal | a metal that is hard to find and mine, used in electronics |
| E-waste | old electronic equipment that is thrown away |
| Autonomous | able to act without a person controlling every move |
| Energy | the power used to make or run a machine |
The cells students fill in are left blank in this preview.
By the end of this lesson
Note
I can describe four more emerging technologies and name one benefit and one concern for each.
Starter: what you already know
Have a go
Starter: what you already know
3 questionsYour answers are marked here and are not kept. A college account keeps every student’s marks.
Open source and blockchain
Open source software is free to read, change and share. It can cut cost, and many people check it. But a firm must still support it, and keep it up to date.
Blockchain stores records in linked blocks that many computers share. Changing an old block is very hard. It suits records that must be trusted. Some kinds use a lot of power.
Why a linked record is hard to change
blocks = [5, 12, 7]
links = []
previous = 0
for value in blocks:
previous = previous * 31 + value
links.append(previous)
print("Links:", links)
blocks[0] = 6
previous = 0
changed = []
for value in blocks:
previous = previous * 31 + value
changed.append(previous)
print("After one change:", changed)Check: open source and blockchain
Have a go
Check: open source and blockchain
4 questionsYour answers are marked here and are not kept. A college account keeps every student’s marks.