As we have seen with regard to our previous blogpost, where we studied the vision of science and technology since the 1930s, the major advances in technology were headed towards projecting the nation's sovereignty and military supremacy. But after the atomic bombing of Japan, the view of science changed dramatically; and one couldn't avoid the moral implications of the technology they mean to create. As we have have seen in our earliest blogpost, predicting the full extent of the social impact on a technological invention is impossible to predict. The Cold War didn't help in that respect, as it was just another excuse for each country to continue it's research on establishing their own supremacy. But, as engineers, we must take it upon ourselves to set a standard of ethics and model a society (as far as possible) with the inclusion of the technological enhancement, and see what pops up. Every piece of technology has it's risks, and we Engineers must take the responsibility to alter the invention in mind appropriately so that the society could cope with the demons that it brings with it.
Let us take an example in the Electronic Voting Machines. The US came up with the 'then' supercomputer ENIAC, which was the precursor to the computer chips responsible for the drive of computerizing every aspect of the society. The Election Commission of India has officially declared that elections, from now on, shall be done electronically. But there are many risks to the introduction of this technology in the election system. The chip which has the counter coded within it is unreadable and it would be impossible to tell if the manufacturer has other plans in mind. It has also been proven that it is possible to rig the displays, immaterial of which candidate has won. It is also proven possible that the results can be rigged using a bluetooth device that can be slipped into the machine. On the whole the machine has a lot of openings. Sources say that there might exist as many as a million people in India who have the technical know-how of rigging these EVMs.
But now we need to ask ourselves:- how do alter the machines to avoid it getting rigged? What is the alternative to EVMs, and would it tackle the issues at hand? Consider the paper ballot system. It's functioning is better understood than the EVMs and the set of people who have the technical know-how to alter the election results are a lot larger than in case of the EVMs. As for solutions to the problems posted by the EVMs, a few ideas come to mind; but they make the system more complex, and if ever the elections are then rigged it would be impossible to tell.
But on weighing the options, I personally feel the EVMs would make a better system for elections rather than the paper ballot system. But we engineers must continue to strive to make the system fool-proof.
-Amit M Warrier
EE09B004
References:-
1) The Risk Digest
Let us take an example in the Electronic Voting Machines. The US came up with the 'then' supercomputer ENIAC, which was the precursor to the computer chips responsible for the drive of computerizing every aspect of the society. The Election Commission of India has officially declared that elections, from now on, shall be done electronically. But there are many risks to the introduction of this technology in the election system. The chip which has the counter coded within it is unreadable and it would be impossible to tell if the manufacturer has other plans in mind. It has also been proven that it is possible to rig the displays, immaterial of which candidate has won. It is also proven possible that the results can be rigged using a bluetooth device that can be slipped into the machine. On the whole the machine has a lot of openings. Sources say that there might exist as many as a million people in India who have the technical know-how of rigging these EVMs.
But now we need to ask ourselves:- how do alter the machines to avoid it getting rigged? What is the alternative to EVMs, and would it tackle the issues at hand? Consider the paper ballot system. It's functioning is better understood than the EVMs and the set of people who have the technical know-how to alter the election results are a lot larger than in case of the EVMs. As for solutions to the problems posted by the EVMs, a few ideas come to mind; but they make the system more complex, and if ever the elections are then rigged it would be impossible to tell.
But on weighing the options, I personally feel the EVMs would make a better system for elections rather than the paper ballot system. But we engineers must continue to strive to make the system fool-proof.
-Amit M Warrier
EE09B004
References:-
1) The Risk Digest
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