Unit 5: Impact of Computing
AP Computer Science Principles: 50 practice questions with detailed explanations.
Unit Study Guide
Executive Summary
Computing innovations change society for better and worse. Understanding the digital divide, bias, crowdsourcing, legal questions, and privacy risks is core to responsible computing.
Benefits and harms
The same innovation helps and harms: social media connects people but spreads misinformation; GPS aids travel but tracks location; automation cuts injuries but eliminates jobs. Evaluate claims against evidence from multiple sources.
The digital divide
Unequal access to devices, connectivity, and skills splits the connected from the unconnected. Solutions include public wifi, subsidized broadband, and affordable devices — access plus the skills to use it.
Bias and crowdsourcing
Algorithms trained on skewed data reproduce bias; audits across groups reveal it. Crowdsourcing — gathering contributions from many people — powers citizen science and open data, but quality varies, so cross-checking helps.
Legal and ethical concerns
Copyright protects original works automatically; licenses like Creative Commons and open source set reuse terms; copying without citation is plagiarism. Programs should follow their licenses and attribute authors.
Privacy and safety
Personally identifiable information (names, addresses, birth dates) deserves protection. Share less publicly, use strong passwords and updates, and recognize phishing. Privacy policies describe how data is used.
Exam traps
A computing innovation typically has BOTH benefits and harms — claims of one-sided effects are red flags. Statistical significance is not practical importance. Open source does not mean no rules.