Assignment 8.1/9.1: Ethical Issues

Potential ethical problems and misuses involving the plant monitoring system include:

• Using monitoring system to monitor other environment variables not defined explicitly in the design. 

• May be seen as invasive to constantly monitor environment variables in the home. When installed in a private property, there may be a concern about the collection and use of personal data involving the household/building.

• Cybersecurity risks could be an issue because the system may be vulnerable to hacking or data breaches, which could lead to unauthorized access to personal information or control of the system.

• Unsupervised/unregulated plant care protocol may be unethical and lead to negative user impact. The system may affect the growth and health of the plant in unexpected ways and could potentially harm the plant.

Solutions to the posed problems and misuses involving the plant monitoring system include:

• Making the system completely local and not require connection to a separate database. Keeping the system offline prevents any potential hacking and data breaches that could leak the personal information of the user.

• A local system also could give the customer peace of mind in the idea that all of the information that is being collected stays within the circle of the customer.

  • A downfall of an offline system is that it would make updates much more difficult to implement and would require an entirely different infrastructure than a wireless connection update system.

  • To address both of these concerns, the system could be designed to minimize data collection and be completely transparent about what data is being collected and where it is being stored/encrypted for the user's peace of mind.

• To address cybersecurity risks, the system could be designed with strong security protocols to prevent unauthorized access or hacking. This could include encryption, two-factor authentication, or regular software updates to address vulnerabilities.

• Having a set transparent infrastructure and guideline for the intended use of the product will address any potential ethical issues that customers may bring up.