7 Ethics, ownership and artificial intelligence
Evaluate technology choices through stakeholders, ownership, licensing and social, economic and environmental effects.
Section Paper 1 · Theory Fundamentals · Sections 1–8
Mapped to Cambridge International AS & A Level Computer Science 9618, 2027–2029 Version 2. These original lessons and self-checks are independent study support; they are not Cambridge papers, official marks or grades. The course does not yet provide a timed four-paper simulation or a locked-down Paper 4 programming environment.
Before you begin
- Use the 2027–2029 syllabus for your exam year. AS candidates study Sections 1–12; A Level candidates study Sections 1–20. Paper 4 uses a programming language chosen from Python, Java or Visual Basic in console mode.
Work on paper. Try each question before revealing help, and explain why your method works.
Quick readiness check
What makes an evaluation of AI use more balanced?
What you will learn
- Explain the key representations, structures or processes in this syllabus section
- Apply the method to a new computer-science example
- Justify a design choice and check its limits
Ethical analysis names who is affected
Computer systems can change access, employment, privacy, safety and the distribution of benefits. A balanced answer identifies affected groups, likely benefits and harms, and the evidence or assumptions behind each claim.
Copyright protects the rights associated with creative work and software. Licences set conditions for use, modification and redistribution; software can be commercial, shareware, or open source under different terms. Open source does not mean that copyright disappears.
AI has applications and trade-offs
AI can classify, predict, recognise patterns and support decisions. Evaluate a particular use for accuracy, bias, explainability, privacy, responsibility, energy use and the effect on work rather than claiming all AI systems behave alike.
Social, economic and environmental impacts can differ among communities. Consider who supplies training data, who can challenge an outcome, and who bears the cost if a decision is wrong.
Pause and explain
What does a software licence specify?
Worked example
A school plans to use a free online tool that stores learner writing to improve an AI system. Give one benefit, one risk and a question the school should resolve.
Show the worked solution
- A benefit could be timely feedback or broader access to practice.
- A risk is that personal writing could be retained or reused beyond the learner's expectation.
- Ask what data is collected, how consent and deletion work, and whether the service's licence permits the proposed use.
Answer The tool may widen feedback access, but the school must resolve data use, consent and licensing before adoption.
Try a topic test
Choose Easy, Normal or Difficult. Save your answers and open worked review after finishing.
Test this topic →From guided practice to a new situation
Write your answer and reasoning first. Use a hint only if you are stuck. The model solution is for self-checking; your written work is not automatically marked.
An organisation adopts a free shareware tool for all staff. Explain why it should check the licence before deployment.
Give me a hint
Free access does not necessarily grant unlimited copying or commercial use.
Compare my reasoning
- Shareware may allow trial or limited use.
- The licence states whether wider installation, redistribution or commercial use is allowed.
- The organisation should check those terms before choosing the tool.
It must confirm that the licence permits the planned number of users and organisational use.
Look for these in your work
- Shareware limitation recognised
- Licence purpose stated
- Decision connected to terms
An AI tool ranks job applicants. Identify one possible benefit, two risks and a safeguard.
Give me a hint
Consider speed and consistency alongside bias and transparency.
Compare my reasoning
- A benefit may be faster triage of applications.
- Risks include biased rankings from data patterns and limited explanation to applicants.
- A safeguard could include human review, validated performance across groups and an appeal route.
It can speed initial review, but bias and opacity require monitored human oversight and a way to challenge decisions.
Look for these in your work
- Benefit stated
- Two distinct risks
- Safeguard matched
A city proposes facial recognition to find missing people in crowded stations. Develop a balanced recommendation that addresses at least two stakeholder groups.
Give me a hint
Weigh the safety purpose against privacy and error consequences.
Compare my reasoning
- Families and missing people may benefit from quicker identification.
- Travellers may face surveillance, misidentification or unequal error rates.
- Recommend only if necessity, accuracy testing, limited retention, human review and independent oversight are established.
Use should be tightly limited and independently tested, with privacy safeguards and human review; otherwise the risk is disproportionate.
Look for these in your work
- Multiple stakeholders
- Benefit and risk compared
- Conditions tied to recommendation
Common mistakes
- Treating free software as automatically open source or unrestricted.
- Claiming that an AI prediction is neutral simply because it is automated.
- Listing a benefit without identifying who receives it or who bears a risk.
What can you explain now?
Does an open-source licence remove copyright?
Compare with the explanation
No
Open-source licences define permissions while copyright can still apply.
After trying it yourself, choose your next review. This is your self-assessment.
Your review choice appears on Today. Sign in to sync it across devices.
Make it stick
How do copyright, software licences and stakeholder impacts shape an ethical technology decision?
If you needed the solution, close it and solve the problem again from a blank page. A correct answer is stronger when you can explain the reason for each step.