Technology is an ever changing and advancing field. The average person cannot wait to upgrade their phones because of updated software or newer features. The same goes for businesses and the technology that they use. Stores and business have gone from ordinary cameras that only keep a record for twenty four hours, to cameras that recognize faces and shopping habits. While this may benefit the companies who use them, many people have negative views on the ethics of these technologies because the companies choose to use these technologies discretely.
After watching the videos and reading the paper attached to the assignment, I was surprised to learn about several monitoring technologies that I have no idea were being used. The first one is using a person’s cellular wifi to track their position in the store. If a person’s cellular wifi is turned on, the wifi sensors in the store to see how many people are in what department of the store and for how long. This data is completely anonymous. The second tracking technology that I was surprised to learn about is a school in Texas using radio frequency
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The school implemented the student tracking badges because they lost 1.7 million dollars of funding, and most of it was due to poor attendance taking. These badges allow the school to account for every student on the premises. Whereas before, if a student was in the bathroom, hallway, or etc. the student would be counted absent. This was costing the school thirty dollars per student, per day. Businesses who use the wifi sensors to track consumers allows the business to see what departments are popular that day. Lastly, businesses who use the camera and mannequins with facial recognition benefit from decreasing the amount of shoplifting that occurs. While there are many benefits, the way stores have implemented the use of these technologies has made people question the ethics in