option 6-Artificial Intelligence

Assignment 2 I.T. HOT TOPICS RESEARCH ESSAY ! Due Date: Week 7, Friday 5pm, 18 April

Length: 1500 words (max. not including references)

Value: 20% of the total marks for the unit

! TASKS

1. Research an I.T. topic of current relevance. Choose one topic from the list below.

2. Prepare an essay about your topic with no more than 1500 words (excluding reference list).

3. Your topic of choice must be posted to the Discussion Board titled “Assessment 2 – Topic Selections” by Week 3, Friday 5pm, 21 March.

4. Note that if you have not posted a topic by this time, you will be assigned a topic by your lecturer.

! REQUIREMENTS

• The assignment should be word-processed. • It should include a reference list. • Use Harvard referencing style. • Do not include sources in the reference list that are not cited in the document. • You need to use a minimum of 10 sources and there needs to be at least 3 different types (i.e.,

websites, book, journal article).

! !

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TOPICS (CHOOSE ONE)

Option 1: Social Media GeoCities is a web hosting service which employs the concept/metaphors of “cities” and “neighbourhood” in real-world. For example, computer-related sites are placed in “SiliconValley” and entertainment sites in “Hollywood”. GeoCities was the third-most visited website at its peak when it was acquired by Yahoo! in 1999.

10 years later as social media had taken over and become mainstream on the Internet, GeoCities was shutdown and deleted. However, the Internet Archive team made a backup of the site just before it was shut down to preserve the effort put in by around 35 million people since it started. The resulting 650GB archive was published online as a remembrance of the glorious days of GeoCities.

Will current social media (i.e., Facebook) eventually face the same fate? Justify your arguments with robust supporting evidence.

! Option 2: Li-Fi Wi-Fi is a popular networking technology that allows electronic devices to connect to the Internet wirelessly using radio frequency. It can be commonly seen from mobile devices to government facility. However in recent years, researchers have found a way to utilise visible light from light-emitting diodes (LEDs) to transmit data: such technology is called Li-Fi (light fidelity).

Even though Li-Fi is still at its infancy, many universities and researchers are actively studying to reach its potential.

Compare Wi-Fi and Li-Fi critically and discuss the advantages and disadvantages of Li-Fi.

! Option 3: Wearable Technology Google Glass is one of the first and most talked about augmented reality wearable computers in 2013. Its usage varies from personal entertainment to surgical practise. Similar to other emerging technologies, Google Glass has also received quite a few negative critical receptions, such as privacy concern.

Critically discuss the pros and cons of ubiquitous wearable computing like Google Glass. Note how you would use a ubiquitous device like Google Glass.

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Option 4: Science & Technology Children with Asperger’s syndrome (or high functioning autism) often exhibit excellent language, memory and technical skills. However, their lack of good social skills and understanding of social interaction often hinder their ability to function in elementary and middle school settings. Research regarding the use of technology to help children with Asperger’s syndrome or autism have just started to emerge as technology is maturing at a rapid pace.

Research what technology options are available to aid children with Asperger’s syndrome or autism? Support your discussion with robust supporting evidence.

! Option 5: Internet Privacy We share information on the Internet everyday, through social media, blog posts, or even apps on your phone. Technology has become so ubiquitous today that we are not as concern about privacy as we used to be. A recent attack on Snapchat revealed almost all (approx. 4.6 millions) usernames and phone numbers on the Internet for anyone to download. However, the majority of Snapchat users were not worried about how such information could be used.

Popular companies such as Apple, Microsoft, Google, Target (United States) and Sony have been hacked at least once in the past decade. In the most extreme case hackers obtained and sold users’ credit card details. This proves that nothing is safe on the Internet. Who can we trust our information with and how much information can we share?

Critically discuss the assertion.

! Option 6: Artificial Intelligence The movie “Her” demonstrated the possibility of a complex Artificial Intelligence (A.I.) interface with human emotion. In the not too distant future our computer systems will be able to display all the characteristics of intelligence we recognise in humans.

Identify existing technologies that can be used to construct “Samantha” and critically discuss if the benefits of such computer intelligence would outweigh the disadvantages.

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Option 7: Privilege Escalation Mobile operating systems nowadays are mostly locked- down platforms with digital rights management (DRM) where users cannot directly interact with the file system and the device’s functionalities are provided by the manufacturer in a sand-boxed environment.

Privilege escalation, or more commonly known as jailbreaking, is the act of removing limitations imposed by the manufacturer, thus enabling the device to gain access to resources that are normally protected from an application or user.

Critically discuss why an operating system should and should not be locked-down in the above context, considering the legal context.

! Option 8: Big Data Dr. Eric Horvitz, a computer scientist and co-director of Microsoft Research, who worked with a large urban hospital in Washington was able to use a concentration of anonymous Internet searches in the neighbourhoods in close proximity of the hospital to calculate the probabilities of cardio cases which showed up soon after.

Through the use of Internet searches, Twitter feeds, or in general “Internet as a sensor”, Dr. Horvitz was also able to identify previously unpublished side effect of medicines and track the onset of postpartum depression among new mothers.

Through the use of online information, can we better understand our behaviours, or more importantly overcome various challenges in health and diagnosis?

This is one implementation of the principles of Big Data. Research how principles of Big Data are currently applied in one of the following fields: • Medicine • Education • Astronomy

!

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GETTING HELP

1. Doing Your Assignment You may find the following link useful in preparing for your assignment. See “Doing the Assignments” at http://learnline.cdu.edu.au/units/itonline/assignments.html.

! 2. About Essay Writing CDU Study Guide (http://learnline.cdu.edu.au/studyskills/) has a comprehensive range of study skills information.

You may find the following resources useful in writing academic assignments:

• Introduction to Academic Assignments
 http://learnline.cdu.edu.au/studyskills/studyskills/introacademicassignments.html

• Introduction to Academic Writing
 http://learnline.cdu.edu.au/studyskills/studyskills/introacademicwriting.html

• What to Avoid in Formal Writing
 http://learnline.cdu.edu.au/studyskills/studyskills/aswhattoavoid.html

• Strunk’s “The Elements of Style” is an old book (1918), but a good one, to check for suggestions and conventions on writing style. Some things have changed since 1918, but many of his suggestions are largely intact today.

– You can find the book at http://www.crockford.com/wrrrld/style.html. Thanks to Douglas Crockford for making this available.

! 3. Researching The CDU Library’s Summon search (http://www.cdu.edu.au/library/) is a good way to start gathering research about your chosen topic. If you have not used Summon before please watch the video on the Summon Guide webpage (http://libguides.cdu.edu.au/summon).

Alternatively, visit the CDU Library’s help on Summon:

• Referencing 101 (http://libguides.cdu.edu.au/cdureferencing)

• Referencing Style Guide (http://libguides.cdu.edu.au/content.php?pid=100403&sid=753758). We use CDU Harvard style for HIT164.

• iResearch (http://www.library.usyd.edu.au/elearning/learn/referencing/activities/index.php). This is an interactive learning tool, courtesy of University of Sydney.

• CDU’s Information Technology Guide (http://libguides.cdu.edu.au/IT) is very useful for finding academic quality sources via the Library.

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4. Plagiarism – you will be penalised if you plagiarise your work If you have any doubt about what constitutes plagiarism, then please talk to your lecturer.

You can also find more information about plagiarism at CDU Library Service (http:// libguides.cdu.edu.au/content.php?pid=100403&sid=2587885).

! PRESENTATION

Essay should be word processed and include page numbers and student name and number in the footer. It is recommended that you check for plagiarism in your work before you submit.

! SUBMISSION GUIDELINES

All students should submit to Learnline:

• Word processed document only, PDF files are not accepted.

• Include an assignment cover sheet with the plagiarism section signed.

• Ensure that your file is labelled in the format of firstnameLastnameAssign1.doc (e.g., johnAppleseedAssign1.doc).

– Note that there are no spaces or symbols in the file name.

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