Computers were a significant factor in society’s move to the information age. With computers came incredible power by placing a significant wealth of information at the hands of the user, providing astronomical computing power that could be amplified by pooling processing resources, and providing significant advances in collaboration and information sharing. In addition, Moore’s Law hypothesized that the number of transistors that can be loaded to an integrated circuit, the heart of the microcomputer, doubles every two years, which provides in turn nearly doubles computing power. With significant power comes a significant amount of responsibility as well as a significant amount of risk. In addition, that power can be leverage for adverse purposes just as well as it can for good ones. Ultimately, there are many ways that computers make the world safer; unfortunately, there are just as many ways that they make it less safe.

A few areas that benefit heavily from the use of computers are the medical industry, transportation industry, and the infrastructure. Computers are commonplace in the medical industry, not just with the administrative staff, but with the doctors themselves. Computers contain a wealth of patient information that can be stored, accessed, and shared by their doctors right from the examination room (Sagel, 2015). Equally as important, the ability to store electronic health records, which provides a more comprehensive patient history. Sagel (2015) also identified that medical computers can run programs that check patient data against doctor’s prescriptions and care plans, which increases accuracy and prevents potential drug interactions. Another area where computers make the world safer is in the transportation industry. They help safely fly planes, control air traffic, manage above ground and subway trains, and have now become a part of self-driving cars. Finally, computers support critical infrastructure; the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) identified 16 that are considered vital to the United States, some of which include: chemical, communications, manufacturing, dams, emergency services, energy, food/agriculture, nuclear, as well as the above stated healthcare and transportation sectors.

Unfortunately, while there are many positive outcomes from computers, they are also place a powerful tool at the hands of people who exploit them for negative outcomes. Although social media can be perceived as positive in that it brings the world closer together, sexual predators, bullies, and other criminals utilize this medium to locate and terrorize victims or prey on minors. This medium can also be utilized to steal and sell personally identifiable information like birthdates. Social media and other internet mediums can be utilized to spread disinformation. Bond (2021) identified that 12 people, known as “The Disinformation Dozen” produce 65% of the COVID-19 anti-vaccine misinformation on social medial platforms. Finally, computers establish a medium for hackers and criminals to create and distribute a variety of malware aimed to commit fraud, theft, disrupt or destroy. This can be costly to companies, but even more costly to individuals who have their identity stolen.

Bond, S. (2021, May 14). Just 12 people are behind most vaccine hoaxes on social media, research shows. NPR. Retrieved December 1, 2021, from https://www.npr.org/2021/05/13/996570855/disinformation-dozen-test-facebooks-twitters-ability-to-curb-vaccine-hoaxes.

Critical Infrastructure Sectors. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency CISA. (n.d.). Retrieved December 1, 2021, from https://www.cisa.gov/critical-infrastructure-sectors.

Sagel, S. (2015, April 21). The impact of medical computers on patients – information technology. Healthcare Facilities Today. Retrieved December 1, 2021, from https://www.healthcarefacilitiestoday.com/posts/The-impact-of-medical-computers-on-patients–8931.