Your smart idea for the environment: strengths and limits
ICT Prep 2 Term 1, Unit 1, Lesson 1: pp. 9–20
GoalDesign a smart idea for one problem and name one strength and one limit.
New words
strength · something good that a design does welllimit · something a design cannot do, or a cost that comes with itupkeep · the cleaning, repairs and updates a system needs to keep workingethical controls · rules and human checks that keep a technology fair and safe
Explanation
Now you become the designer. Choose one problem from the table. Write the sensor, the decision of the AI and the action of the machine. Then judge your idea. A strength could be that it saves water or warns early. A limit could be the cost to build it, the upkeep it needs, a mistake if the system fails, or the fact that a machine cannot give the care a person gives. Data from sensors must also be protected. A balanced view is the best: smart systems are useful tools, and they need rules and human checks. They are neither magic nor dangerous by themselves. A good designer says both the strength and the limit.
Idea
Strength
Limit
Soil sensors that decide when to water
saves water
sensors cost money and need care
Rain sensors that warn before a flood
early warning
a failed sensor can send a wrong warning
Air sensors on a school roof
shows the worst hours
data must be kept safe
Worked examples
sensor: water rises→AI: warning→villagers prepare
Mina’s group designs a rain-and-drain warning for a village. The sensors tell the AI how fast the water rises. The strength: villagers get a warning early. The limit: if a sensor breaks, the warning may be wrong, so a person must check the sensors every month.
A class of thirty votes for the idea it likes best. Soil sensors get twelve votes, rain warnings nine, air sensors seven and ice robots two. The chart shows that votes are opinions; it does not say which idea is best for every place.
Class activity
Make your own design sheet with four lines: the problem, the sensor, the decision of the AI and the action. Add two more lines, one strength and one limit. Read it aloud to a classmate and ask them to add one rule or human check.
Practice
1
Name one strength and one limit of a smart watering system.
Strength: saves water. Limit: sensors cost money and need care.
2
What can happen if a sensor breaks?
The system may make a wrong decision, so people must check it.
3
Why must sensor data be protected?
It can show private facts and should only be used by those who are allowed.
4
Finish the sentence: a balanced view says smart systems are…
