Tactic: Uninformed use

Tactic sort: Dark Tactic

Type: Unsustainable Pattern

Category: edge-computing

Tags:

Title

Uninformed use

Description

Nowadays, there are a lot of applications that are very easy to use but act to some extent as a black box for the user who has no idea about what data the application gathers about herself and/or what technology it uses. This has consequences on social sustainability: first the user may not be aware of what information is available about her or what consequences her actions may have, but also she does not feel the need to know more as it is just so easy to use. As the edge computing paradigm develops and new applications emerge, it is going to become more complicated to know what data is gathered and where it is stored.

Participant

end-user, edge-user, policy makers

Related artifact

Technology

Context

Service used

Feature

Using a new service/technology

Tactic intent

Making it hard for the end user to understand what it is she is using, which may lead to unwanted usage

Intent measure

Level of awareness of the end user

Countermeasure

Educating the users to such questions becomes crucial in order to avoid e.g., integrity issues, and policies should evolve to better protect the end users’ interests. At the same time as edge computing applications are released, it would be interesting to assess the level of technology literacy of edge users and design appropriate education.

Source

*The Dark Side of Cloud and Edge Computing* by Klervie Toczé, Maël Madon, Muriel Garcia and Patricia Lago (DOI: https://doi.org/10.21428/bf6fb269.9422c084)