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D3.1 · Explain impacts of emerging technology

Learn to explain impacts of emerging technology through clear examples and targeted practice.

Ontario Grade 12 Computer Science

Topics in Computer Science

A Grade 12 guide to identifying who is affected, how, and with what trade-offs

Emerging technologies can change how people communicate, work, learn, receive services, and make decisions. The Ontario Grade 12 expectation D3.1 asks students to explain impacts of emerging technology. Explaining an impact means more than naming a technology or saying it is useful or harmful: describe what changes, who experiences the change, and why it matters. ICS3U provides a useful starting point: you already know that computer systems process information and that people use them for particular purposes. This lesson applies that understanding to effects on people and society, without assuming that every effect is certain or the same for everyone.

What you will learn

  • Explain how an emerging technology can affect individuals, communities, and organizations.
  • Distinguish potential benefits from risks and recognize that impacts may differ among groups.
  • Support an explanation with a clear cause-and-effect chain and relevant context.

1. Start with the people and the change

An emerging technology is a technology that is new or developing in its use, capabilities, or adoption. Whether a technology is emerging can depend on context: a tool may be familiar in one setting and new in another. The label alone does not tell us whether its effects are positive or negative.
Begin an explanation by naming the technology and the situation in which it is used. Then identify the people or groups affected. These might include users, workers, people whose information is collected, organizations, or people who cannot easily access the technology. Ask what changes for each group: an activity may become faster, a decision may rely on new information, or a service may become harder to access.
A useful cause-and-effect chain is: technology use leads to a change in a process or in access to information; that change affects a group; the effect creates a benefit, a risk, or both. For example, a system that analyses applications may help an organization sort many applications, while applicants may be affected if the system handles their information inaccurately. The example explains possible effects; it does not establish that every such system behaves in that way.
  • Name the technology and the situation.
  • Identify who is affected and what changes for them.
  • Explain the link between the technology and the effect.

2. Examine benefits, risks, and unequal effects

One technology can have different impacts on different people. A service delivered online may be convenient for someone with a suitable device and reliable internet access, but difficult to use for someone without them. An explanation should therefore avoid treating one person's experience as universal.
Consider several areas without assuming that every area applies to every technology. Access asks who can use the tool and what they need to use it. Privacy asks what information is collected, how it is used, and who can see it. Safety and reliability ask what could happen if the technology gives an unsuitable result or is unavailable. Work and learning ask how tasks or responsibilities might change. Environmental impact asks whether creating and using the technology involves resources or waste; do not claim a particular environmental size without evidence.
Impacts also vary over time. An immediate effect, such as needing to learn a new interface, may differ from a longer-term effect, such as a change in how an organization provides a service. Some effects are intended, while others may be unintended. State uncertainty honestly: a possible impact is not automatically a proven outcome.
  • Look for both benefits and risks rather than assigning a single overall verdict.
  • Ask whether access, information, or outcomes differ between groups.
  • Separate observed evidence from possibilities and predictions.

3. Build a clear, supported explanation

A strong response links a specific use of a technology to a specific effect. Avoid statements such as “technology changes society” unless you explain what changes and for whom. Instead, give the setting, name the affected group, and make the cause-and-effect connection explicit.
Support the explanation with appropriate evidence. Evidence might include information from a credible report, a documented policy, or a clearly described scenario. Check that the evidence concerns the technology and group being discussed. Do not turn a single example into a claim about everyone, or present a prediction as a measured result. If evidence is unavailable, frame the point as a possibility and explain the condition that could produce it.
A balanced explanation need not give equal space to benefits and risks. It should give enough context to make the judgment fair. For instance, explain that a tool may improve access for some users while noting a relevant barrier for others. Finish by stating why the effect matters to the people involved.
  • Use a specific context and a clear cause-and-effect link.
  • Match evidence to the claim and affected group.
  • Qualify predictions and avoid unsupported universal claims.

4. Apply the approach to different technologies

Facial recognition illustrates why context matters. In a setting where a person chooses to use it to unlock a device, the impact concerns convenience and the handling of identifying information. In a setting where it is used to identify people without their active choice, concerns about privacy and mistaken identification become especially relevant. The technology is similar, but the setting and affected people change the explanation.
Generative artificial intelligence can produce text or images in response to prompts. It may help a user draft or explore ideas, while also creating a need to check accuracy and consider whether the material is appropriate to use. The impact depends on the task and how people review and rely on the output. Do not assume generated material is correct simply because it is fluent.
A technology does not have one fixed social effect. Choices about where it is used, who can access it, what information it handles, and how people respond all shape its impacts. These questions help explain the technology's effects without claiming that the technology alone determines the outcome.
  • The same technology can have different impacts in different settings.
  • Explain the role of user choices and organizational use.
  • Treat accuracy, access, privacy, and reliance as context-dependent questions.

Worked example

Online health appointments

Explain one possible benefit and one possible limitation when a clinic offers appointments by video.
  1. Set the context
    The technology is video communication used for a clinic appointment. The affected groups include patients and clinic staff.
  2. Explain a benefit
    A patient who can connect remotely may be able to attend without travelling to the clinic. This could make access more convenient for that patient.
  3. Explain a limitation
    A patient without a suitable device, connection, or private place may find the appointment difficult to use. The online option may therefore not improve access for everyone.
  4. Reach a balanced conclusion
    Video appointments can offer convenience, but their impact depends partly on whether patients can use them. This is a reason to avoid describing the option as equally accessible to all.
Answer: Video appointments may make it easier for some patients to attend without travelling. They may be less accessible to patients who lack suitable equipment, connectivity, or a private place to speak. The effect depends on the patient's circumstances.
Check: The explanation identifies the technology, affected people, a benefit, a limitation, and why the effects differ.

Worked example

Automated sorting of job applications

Explain a possible organizational benefit and a concern for applicants when software helps sort job applications.
  1. Identify the use
    The organization uses software to help sort applications. Applicants and the organization are both affected.
  2. Describe a possible benefit
    Sorting support may help staff organize a large set of applications. This describes a possible change in the process, not a measured claim that the software always saves time.
  3. Describe a concern
    An applicant could be affected if the system does not handle information in their application appropriately. The organization should consider how decisions are reviewed and how applicants can be treated fairly.
  4. Connect the effects
    The organization may gain help with organizing applications, while applicants may face consequences from how the sorting process treats their information. The impact depends on the system's use and the surrounding decision process.
Answer: Software-assisted sorting may help an organization organize applications. Applicants may be affected if their information is handled inappropriately or if the sorting process influences decisions unfairly. The explanation should be framed as a possible impact unless evidence about a particular system is available.
Check: The example avoids claiming that a specific system is accurate, fast, or unfair without evidence.

Worked example

Generative AI in a classroom task

Explain one possible benefit and one responsibility when a student uses a generative AI tool to explore ideas for an assignment.
  1. State the task
    The student uses a generative AI tool to explore ideas, not as a guaranteed source of correct information.
  2. Explain a possible benefit
    The tool may offer suggestions that help the student consider different starting points for their own work.
  3. Explain a responsibility
    The student should check relevant claims and follow the teacher's instructions for using and acknowledging assistance. Generated wording can sound confident without being reliable for the assignment.
  4. Explain why context matters
    The effect depends on how the student uses and reviews the output. Using suggestions as a starting point differs from relying on unchecked material as if it were verified.
Answer: Generative AI may help a student explore possible ideas, but the student remains responsible for checking claims and following the assignment's directions. The impact depends on how the output is reviewed and used.
Check: The explanation gives a potential benefit, identifies a responsibility, and does not claim that generated content is always correct.

Common mistakes and how to avoid them

Calling a technology simply good or bad.
Correction: Describe particular effects, affected groups, and the setting; one technology can have both benefits and risks.
Assuming a possible outcome is a proven fact.
Correction: Use evidence for factual claims, and label predictions or scenarios as possibilities.
Discussing only the person who directly uses a technology.
Correction: Consider other affected people, such as those whose information is processed or who cannot access the service.
Naming a risk without explaining how it could arise.
Correction: Connect the technology's use to the change and then to the effect on people.

Lesson summary

  • D3.1 is about explaining effects of emerging technology, not merely naming new tools.
  • Identify the use, the affected groups, the change, and why it matters.
  • Discuss benefits and risks in context; different people may experience different effects.
  • Use relevant evidence, and distinguish established facts from possibilities.

Check your understanding

Question 1

A school introduces an online tool for submitting assignments. Which explanation best describes an impact?
  1. It is a modern tool, so it will improve learning for everyone.
  2. It changes how assignments are submitted; it may be convenient for students with access to the required technology, while others may face barriers.
  3. Online tools always create privacy problems.
  4. The school has a computer system.
Show answer and explanation
It changes how assignments are submitted; it may be convenient for students with access to the required technology, while others may face barriers.
This option identifies a change, recognizes different experiences, and avoids an unsupported universal claim.

Question 2

A student says, “A generative AI response is fluent, so its facts are reliable.” What is the most appropriate correction?
  1. Fluent writing proves that the information has been checked.
  2. The student should treat the response as automatically false.
  3. Fluent wording does not by itself establish accuracy; relevant claims should be checked.
  4. Only the tool's name is needed to assess its impact.
Show answer and explanation
Fluent wording does not by itself establish accuracy; relevant claims should be checked.
How confident or polished a response sounds does not establish that its claims are correct.

Question 3

Why should an explanation about a new technology identify who is affected?
  1. Because every group necessarily experiences exactly the same effect.
  2. Because a technology's effects can differ with people's access, circumstances, and role in its use.
  3. Because identifying a group proves that the technology caused every outcome.
  4. Because benefits should be discussed without risks.
Show answer and explanation
Because a technology's effects can differ with people's access, circumstances, and role in its use.
Identifying affected groups helps explain differences in impact without assuming identical experiences.

Key terms

Emerging technology
A technology that is new or developing in its use, capabilities, or adoption in a particular context.
Impact
An effect or consequence of a technology for people, organizations, or communities.
Stakeholder
A person or group affected by, or involved in, the use of a technology.
Evidence
Information that supports a claim, such as a credible report, documented policy, or clearly described observation.

Continue through ICS4U

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About this lesson and its review

Published by DoAssignment. This reviewed lesson follows Ontario Grade 12 Computer Science (ICS4U), expectation D3.1. It is a study resource, not an official curriculum publication.

Before publication, content is checked for structure, mathematical or chemical notation, calculations, course boundaries, and readability. Errors can still occur, so corrections are welcomed.

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