The Key to an Emerging Profession, Essay Example

Describe the Problem

Producing low-power Wi-Fi transmissions by reflecting wireless signals such as Bluetooth is known as interscatter communication (Langston). This enables implanted gadgets with rechargeable batteries to transmit data-carrying Wi-Fi frequencies. The main problem of interscatter communication is that the preservation of battery life is of utmost importance, since the only way one can access a brain chip is via brain surgery, which has a high risk of complications (Langston). Another issue this new tech could cause is the evolution of smart credit cards. “The team created credit card prototypes that can communicate with one another directly by reflecting Bluetooth signals from a smartphone” (Langston). It makes personal credit cards more susceptible to data leakage if anyone can work out how to make a card transmit its data to an unintended subscriber. Another minor issue is that these gadgets require a device to transmit these Bluetooth signals to operate. In the case of a smart contact lens that produces a signal to anything like high blood sugar, a dead battery for a mobile phone could end up causing the gadget to stop operating normally, thus failing to notify the individual about the problem.

Value and Issues

The values of Freedom, safety, confidentiality, life and satisfaction, information sharing, and capabilities are all pertinent to these potential challenges (Barocas and Nissenbaum). People who use these gadgets expect them to be fully secure because they are physically connected to their bodies or comprise sensitive data transmitted via Wi-Fi signals. If that data fell into the wrong hands, or if someone knows how to interrupt the gadget by sending a signal, the consequences would be disastrous. In terms of Freedom, it will be closely related to information transparency and confidentiality.

Notably, even at the inception of computers, a considerable pool of individuals acted in fear as they suspected that these new gadgets only created problems such as job loss. They foresaw hefty unemployment levels since tasks that were done manually by a large pool of individuals only required a few of them. Others argued that finances spent on computes were wasteful, since computing required people to gain new skills, which was also extremely expensive. Thus, fear made people visualize telecommuting as dangerous, and such is the case with interscatter communication as people feel that its risks outweighs its benefits (Baase and Henry 276).

Also, computing professionals have to exude professionalism by being honest, careful, and competent. In most cases, the clients are usually the victims of any eventuality within the computing world. For this case, it is the responsibility of the interscatter communication to verify whether the device has enough charge to avoid situations such as the need for additional surgeries for replacement. Therefore, it is imperative for computing specialists to comprehend that they have special responsibilities to their clients and the general public, with or without any direct relationship with the users (Baase and Henry 425). Further, consumers must be able to trust that these manufacturers will not invade their privacy and exploit that capability for financial benefit. Life and satisfaction ultimately come down to an improved quality of life, which these gadgets, if fully designed, will bring to a broad spectrum of people.

Organizational Context

The University of Wisconsin and its engineering program are responsible for developing this new Interscatter innovation. The goal of this Institution is to innovate and create new technologies to improve the College’s research support and funding. As a result, the brightest minds worldwide will flock to the College and study, help educate, or carry out research (Langston). The engineering department, scholars, research scientists, learners, the advisory council and other stakeholders working to make the College well-known are the interested parties in this Institution. If this technological innovation is successful, the university’s reputation would improve, attracting more students who would like to attend. As these numbers rise, more equivalent developments could be made, raising the Institution’s reputation and financing. However, the lack of an ethical framework would fail this technology as it would be considered harmful. In that case, the College might be held liable, resulting in the complete opposite of every reason mentioned and possible litigation. Individuals would resign or be fired, and the Institution’s reputation would suffer (Baas and Henry 426).

Application 

Some alternatives for the Institution include continuing to research and seeking to enhance technology at a slow and methodical rate to ensure that all safeguards are in place. Another alternative would be to start releasing the technology’s foundation, illustrate how it works, and permit organizations to improve and commercialize the product and benefit from royalties. They could distribute the research with other leading engineering colleges, expecting that a collaborative effort to solve the problem would lead to higher overall use of the innovation (Agresti).

Recommendation

I recommend that the University of Washington pursue patenting the study and certify it to an organization founded by scholars and researchers and supported by the College. The individuals who invented the technology are probably more familiar with the innovation. They will be able to make the innovation as secure as possible and distribute it to the general public ethically (Moor 112). This would only increase their interest in making this new tech as safe as possible for its users. They will not be able to criticize the original scholars for overlooking something because they are those scholars. If the business succeeds, the university will be able to profit from the work of its scholars.

Works Cited

Agresti, William W. “An IT body of knowledge: The key to an emerging profession.” IT Professional 10.6 (2008): 18-22.

Baase, Sara, and Timothy Henry. A Gift of Fire: Social, Legal, and Ethical Issues for Computing Technology. 5th ed., 2018.

Barocas, Solon, and Helen Nissenbaum. “Big Data’s End Run around Anonymity and Consent.” Communications of the ACM, vol. 57, no. 11, 2014, pp. 31-33.

Langston, Jennifer. “Interscatter Enables First Implanted Devices, Contact Lenses, Credit Cards to ‘talk’ WiFi.” Phys.org – News and Articles on Science and Technology, 17 Aug. 2016, phys.org/news/2016-08-interscatter-enables-implanted-devices-contact.html. Accessed 9 July 2022.

Moor, James H. “Why we need better ethics for emerging technologies.” Ethics and information technology 7.3 (2005): 111-119.