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Computers in Society
Electronic Voting
Applications
Term Papers
I want to see a topic and at least 2 references by the Thursday after break. Create a page CIS/s07/Name to place this on and link to it from you home page.
What are the topics that people are going to do?
Reading
The reading for Tuesday is long but important. Make sure you do it!
Homework
Get this in the wiki tonite. I will print the posters if you put them on your wiki page.
No more homework till Thursday but you need to get going on the term paper by then.
Applications Presentations
* I want GOOD readings up on the front page by tonite. Team 1 needs to find some better reading.
* I want a poster up Wednesday night at latest
* Be organized during the presentation!
* Address fundamental issues and avoid hype
Quiz 5
1. In the story about the Iraqi blogger, a) The blogger was able to prove that he
wasn’t being influenced by the US b) The central issue was determining the
authenticity of these blogs c) The person contacted by the reporter
could have proved that he was the owner of the blog in question
2. What is a shill?
Quiz 5
3. In the story about Arab blogs, a) The author argued that blogs provided a new channel
for free speech b) The author showed how governments can easily
prevent the Internet from spreading speech that they wish to suppress
c) A blogger was able to evade government control by leaving his country
4. If a government is unable to prevent citizens from speaking to each other on the Internet, how can it react against information it wishes to suppress?
5. Explain why Elijah Meeks (author of the article about criticism of Wikipedia) feels that the Wikipedia is a reliable source of information.
Quiz 5
6. Why does the Wikipedia delete articles that it feels are not of general interest?
7. Why would an author create a login to edit in the Wikipedia instead of editing anonymously?
8. List 2 reasons an academic might be reluctant to contribute to the Wikipedia
Back to E-Voting
This is, of course, an application of computing!
What are the important issues in E-voting? How are these affected by the use of computing?
Complexity
The basic problem of electronic voting is one of complexity – as machines become more and more complex it is harder to verify that they function as desired.
What sort of complexities does E-voting introduce? What about old voting machines – are they better?
What sort of process can we use to assess complex systems?
Internet Voting
In Switzerland they have decided to skip the entire voting machine and just use Internet technology.
This is not a pervasive technology but rather an option to mail-in or direct voting.
What is the basic difference between this and US-style voting?
What is the primary advantage of this system?
What are the risks?
Diebold
Controversies surrounding e-voting often focus on the Diebold company
* Controls about 80% of us voting* Proprietary software* Uses Microsoft Access* Ethical issues for Diebold personnel (a senior VP
was convicted of planting "back doors" in ATM software)
* CEO was an active campaigner for the republican party
Diebold
Open source or closed source?
* Programs like Vista are "closed source" – we trust the program because we trust Microsoft
* Programs like Linux are "open source" – we trust them because we can look inside and see how they work
Diebold asserts that the closed source model is better of voting machines – do we agree with this?
The Diebold Leaks
Internet journalists obtain internal Diebold memosDiebold attempts to have them removed from websites
claiming copyright violationStephen Heller publicizes internal communications between
Diebold and its lawyer that indicate fraudulent behavior – he is prosecuted for stealing confidential documents. He pleads guilty and gets a find and probation.
"We must not allow the private corporations to run our elections for us in secret, using secret machines and secret software. The only thing secret about our elections should be the secret ballot," he said.
Current Status
The Voter Confidence and Increased Accessibility Act of 2007 would restore transparency and auditability as the cornerstones to our electoral process. The Act would require that all voting technologies use voter-verified paper ballots that can be recounted and audited, provide that regular audits actually be performed to confirm the accuracy of elections and uncover problems, and ensure that the computer code used in voting machines is made available for independent scrutiny. These and other reforms would dramatically improve the accuracy and reliability of American elections and take major steps toward restoring voter confidence in elections.
--- eff.org
Computer Applications
Before we go into specific applications, what are the real issues?
* Complexity / Simplicity: systems that use computers are inherently more complex than those that don't – why?
* Benefit – does the computer offer a fundamental contribution? If so, why?
* Risks – are there unanticipated risks that accompany the use of computing?
Cautionary Tales
Computer science is replete with "software disasters". Most of these are strictly financial (abandoned software or destruction of equipment) but some have caused human harm.
A Disaster Close to Home
When DIA was first built, an ambitious new baggage handling system was devised to use computers / robots / conveyers to move baggage. The system caused a delay in opening the airport and was eventually scrapped ($234,000,000 down the drain)
One of the main causes for this failure was the software in the system. It was hard to separate mechanical failures from software failures since the systems are intertwined.
Disasters in Spacehttp://spaceflightnow.com/cluster2/000714feature/ariane501_qt.html
• NASA Mariner 1 went off-course during launch, due to a missing 'bar' in its FORTRAN software (July 22, 1962).[7]
• NASA Apollo 11 landing problem (July 20, 1969). • NASA Voyager 2 (January 25, 1986). • Phobos 1 lost (September 10, 1988). • ESA Ariane 5 Flight 501 self-destruction 40 seconds after takeoff (
June 4, 1996). • NASA Mars Climate Orbiter destroyed due to incorrect
orbit insertion (September 23, 1999). • Mars Polar Lander lost (December 3, 1999). • NASA Mars Rover freezes due to too many open files in flash
memory (January 21, 2004).
True Disasters
* Therac-25: (1985 – 87) a software bug in a radiation treatment machine causes 3 deaths.
* 1991: a numerical error (rounding) causes a Patriot missile to lose track of an Iraqi Scud – 28 soldiers killed
* Chinook helicopter crash – 29 people killed. Impossible to conclusively determine the cause but software problems are suspected.
Adding a Computer
What can we do by adding a computer?
The Osprey
The Osprey is a "fly by wire" craft – that is, there is a computer sitting between the controls in the cockpit and the actual control surfaces on the aircraft. This craft cannot be flown without computer assistance.