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D. Topics in Computer Science · Topics in Computer Science: Sustainability, Ethics, Emerging Technologies and Careers

Emerging Technologies and Society: Who Benefits and Who Pays?

D3.1About 70 minutes
Learning goals
  • I can describe several emerging computer technologies in 2026.
  • I can analyse the impact of a technology on different members of society, on cultures around the world and on the economy.
  • I can explain the digital divide using current Canadian data.
  • I can model technology adoption with a logistic function in Python and use it to reason about equity.

Words to know

emerging technology
A technology that is new or developing quickly and whose effects on society are still unfolding.
digital divide
The gap between people who have good access to technology and the skills to use it, and people who don't.
diffusion of innovations
Everett Rogers's theory of how new ideas and technologies spread through groups of adopters.
logistic function
An S-shaped function used to model growth that starts slowly, speeds up and levels off.
automation
Using machines or software to do tasks people used to do.
OCAP®
First Nations principles of ownership, control, access and possession of their data.

New technology lands unevenly

When a new technology arrives, it doesn't arrive for everyone at once, and it doesn't affect everyone the same way. Online banking helped people who were comfortable with computers and made life harder for some who were not when branches closed. Smartphones gave many people in remote places access to information, but only where there was a signal.

Expectation D3.1 asks you to explain the impact of emerging technologies on various members of society, on societies and cultures around the world, and on the economy. In Grade 11 (ICS3U) you toured research areas such as AI, robotics and computer vision; this lesson is about their effects on people.

Some emerging technologies (2026)

  • Generative AI: systems that produce text, images, audio, video and code (see Ethics of Artificial Intelligence).
  • Quantum computing: computers that use quantum effects. Today's machines are small and error-prone, but researchers are working toward machines that could solve certain problems, such as simulating molecules, far faster, and could break some of today's public-key encryption, which is why new "post-quantum" encryption standards are being adopted.
  • Extended reality (XR): virtual, augmented and mixed reality for training, design, health care and entertainment.
  • Autonomous systems: self-driving vehicles, delivery robots, drones and warehouse robots.
  • The Internet of Things (IoT): sensors and connected devices in homes, farms, factories and cities.
  • Low-Earth-orbit satellite internet: large groups of satellites providing broadband to rural and northern areas.
  • Biometrics: identifying people by face, fingerprint or voice.

A framework for analysing impact

For any technology, ask:

  1. Who benefits and who bears the costs? Think about age, income, disability, language, location (urban, rural, northern), gender, and First Nations, Métis and Inuit communities.
  2. Access: who can use it? The digital divide is the gap between people who have good access to technology and the skills to use it, and people who don't. According to Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (progress page updated May 2026), 97.4% of Canadian households had access to 50/10 Mbps internet in 2024, but only 87.4% of rural households did. The federal targets are 98% by 2026 and 100% by 2030; rural, remote and many First Nations communities have had lower access than cities.
  3. Culture: does the technology support or erode languages and cultures? For example, many AI tools work best in English and other widely used languages. At the same time, communities use technology to support their own priorities, for example First Nations, Métis and Inuit organizations developing digital tools for language learning and archives. The First Nations principles of OCAP® (ownership, control, access and possession), from the First Nations Information Governance Centre, assert that First Nations govern how data about their communities is collected, used and shared.
  4. Economy: productivity gains, new industries and jobs, jobs that change or disappear, and who captures the profits. Some tasks within jobs are automated rather than whole jobs.
  5. Around the world: effects differ between countries, for example where e-waste ends up, where minerals are mined, and which countries build and control the technology.
Same technology, different impacts: AI chatbots for government servicesWhoPossible benefitPossible costBusy working adults24/7 answers, no waitingwrong answers if uncheckedOlder adultshelp in plain languageharder to reach a humanSpeakers of other languagestranslation on demandweaker in less-used languagesRemote communitiesservice without travelneeds reliable internetFront-line stafffewer routine questionsjob changes or cuts
One technology, five groups. Listing benefits and costs side by side for each group keeps an analysis from treating "society" as one person.

How technologies spread: the S-curve

Adoption of many technologies follows an S-shaped curve: a slow start with innovators and early adopters, rapid growth through the early and late majority, and a slowdown as it nears saturation. The sociologist Everett Rogers described these adopter groups in his Diffusion of Innovations theory. A common mathematical model is the logistic function:

adoption(t) = 100 ÷ (1 + e^(−k(t − t₀))) percent

where t is time in years, k sets how fast it grows, and t₀ is the year adoption reaches 50%. Who is in the late groups matters for equity: people without money, skills or access are often last, and services that assume everyone has adopted can leave them out.

Technology adoption often follows an S-curve (model: k = 0.6, midpoint year 10)0%50%100%05101520years since introductionslow start:innovators, early adoptersfastest growth at the midpointsaturation: late adopters
A logistic adoption curve. The steepest point is the midpoint, where half the population has adopted.
import math
def adoption(t, k, t0):
return 100 / (1 + math.exp(-k * (t - t0)))
def first_year_reaching(target, k, t0):
t = 0
while adoption(t, k, t0) < target:
t += 1
return t
for t in [0, 5, 10, 15, 20]:
print(t, round(adoption(t, 0.6, 10), 1))
print("90% reached in year", first_year_reaching(90, 0.6, 10))

The model from the graph. math.exp(x) computes e to the power x.

0 0.2
5 4.7
10 50.0
15 95.3
20 99.8
90% reached in year 14

Output of the program above (what Python prints).

Worked example

Example 1: When will 90% have it?

Using the model with k = 0.6 and t₀ = 10, find (a) adoption in year 10 and year 15, and (b) the exact time when adoption reaches 90%. (c) What does this mean for a government that plans to move a service online-only in year 12?

  1. (a) Year 10: 100 ÷ (1 + e⁰) = 100 ÷ 2 = 50%. Year 15: 100 ÷ (1 + e^(−3)) = 100 ÷ 1.0498 ≈ 95.3%.
  2. (b) Solve 90 = 100 ÷ (1 + e^(−0.6(t − 10))). Then 1 + e^(−0.6(t − 10)) = 100 ÷ 90 = 1.111..., so e^(−0.6(t − 10)) = 0.1111.
  3. Take the natural logarithm: −0.6(t − 10) = ln(0.1111) ≈ −2.197, so t − 10 ≈ 3.66 and t ≈ 13.66 years. The program's loop gives the first whole year: 14.
  4. (c) In year 12, adoption(12) = 100 ÷ (1 + e^(−1.2)) ≈ 76.9%. About 23% of people would still not have adopted. An online-only service would exclude them unless alternatives (phone, in person, help centres) remain.

(a) 50% and about 95.3% (b) about 13.7 years (first whole year 14) (c) roughly 23% would be left out, so keep non-digital options.

Just for fun

How many quantum computer scientists does it take to change a light bulb?

Until you look, they're both changing it and not changing it.

Hands-on activity

Impact map for an emerging technology

You need: paper or a document, and internet access for research.

  1. Choose one technology from the list (or another emerging technology you're curious about).
  2. Make a table like the chatbot diagram with at least six groups, including at least one group outside Canada and one based on location (rural, northern or remote).
  3. For each group, list one possible benefit and one possible cost. Find at least three sources (with dates) to support your entries.
  4. Estimate a logistic model for the technology (choose k and t₀ and justify them, for example from a news report about current adoption). Use the program to find when it might reach 90%.
  5. Write a paragraph recommending one action (by a government, company or community) that would spread the benefits more fairly.

What to look for: specific groups, balanced benefits and costs, dated sources, a model with stated assumptions, and a recommendation that targets a group identified in the table.

Your turn

1

Define the digital divide.

2

What share of Canadian households had access to 50/10 Mbps internet in 2024, and what are the targets?

3

Name the five adopter groups in Rogers's diffusion of innovations theory.

4

Using the model with k = 0.6 and t₀ = 10, what is adoption in year 5?

5

Give one benefit and one cost of low-Earth-orbit satellite internet for a northern community.

6

What are the OCAP® principles?

More practice: warm-up

1

What is XR short for?

2

Where is the steepest point of a logistic adoption curve?

3

What does IoT stand for?

4

Name one reason quantum computing matters for cybersecurity.

5

What does adoption(10, 0.6, 10) return?

More practice: on your own

1

Using first_year_reaching, what would change if k were 0.3 instead of 0.6 (t₀ still 10)? Find the first whole year with at least 90%.

2

Explain how generative AI could affect a minority language community positively and negatively.

3

An economist says, "Automation doesn't destroy jobs, it changes tasks." Give an example that supports this and one that challenges it.

4

Why should an impact analysis include a group outside Canada?

5

Biometric face recognition is introduced to speed up airport security. Name two groups who might be affected differently and how.

Challenge

1

Show algebraically that for the logistic model, the time to go from 10% to 90% adoption is (2 ln 9) ÷ k. How long is it for k = 0.6?

2

Write a function year_range(low, high, k, t0) that returns the first whole years reaching low% and high% using first_year_reaching. What does year_range(10, 90, 0.6, 10) return?

3

Evaluate this claim with evidence from the lesson: "Once a technology reaches 95% of homes, the digital divide is solved."

Check your understanding

Quiz

1.

What does the digital divide refer to?

2.

In the logistic model adoption(t) = 100 ÷ (1 + e^(−k(t − t₀))), what does t₀ represent?

3.

In 2024, about what share of Canadian households had access to 50/10 Mbps internet, according to ISED?

4.

Which statement best reflects the lesson's framework for analysing impact?

5.

Why does quantum computing matter for encryption?

6.

What do the OCAP® principles assert?

For parents and teachers

Big idea: D3.1 asks students to explain the impact of emerging technologies on various members of society, on cultures around the world and on the economy. The key habit is breaking "society" into specific groups and weighing benefits and costs for each.

How to help: Share a technology change you lived through (online banking, smartphones, self-checkout) and who it helped or left behind. If you have relatives in rural or northern areas, talk about internet access there.

Common difficulties:

  • Treating society as one group, or listing only benefits.
  • Algebra with the logistic model: isolating the exponential term before taking the natural logarithm.
  • Using old statistics. The broadband figures (97.4% of households and 87.4% of rural households in 2024) were the latest federal figures in October 2026; check for newer ones.
  • When discussing First Nations, Métis and Inuit communities, focus on communities' own priorities and leadership, not stereotypes.