45 of the Digital Society glossary’s terms, each with the part of the syllabus where you first meet it.
Binary instructions that a CPU can execute directly; every program must be translated into machine code before it can run.
The idea, still hypothetical, that a machine could have subjective experience or awareness, rather than only processing information and imitating conscious behaviour.
A type of AI in which an algorithm finds patterns in data and uses them to make predictions or decisions, improving its performance as it is given more examples, without being explicitly programmed for each case.
The use of cameras and image-analysis software to let a machine detect, identify, measure or locate objects so that it can make decisions and act, for example in inspection, sorting or navigation.
A large, powerful and highly reliable computer designed to process very large numbers of transactions and serve thousands of users at the same time, used by banks, airlines and governments.
Software designed to damage or disrupt a computer system, gain unauthorised access to it, or steal data from it without the owner's consent, such as viruses, worms, trojans, ransomware and spyware.
The monitoring of a whole population, or a large part of it, without individual suspicion, for example by collecting the communications data of all users of a network or scanning every face in a public place.
An online course open to unlimited numbers of participants over the internet, usually with video lectures, automated assessment and online discussion, and often free to join.
The main ideas and claims of a source, and the techniques it uses to make them (words, images, data, graphics, design), including how its evidence was gathered.
Whether a piece of media is what it claims to be: genuine, unaltered and from the source it names, rather than edited, fabricated or taken out of context.
The concentration of media ownership in fewer, larger companies or groups, through mergers, takeovers and the closure of smaller outlets.
The merging of previously separate media forms, technologies and industries, made possible because all content can be handled as digital data on shared devices, networks and platforms.
The division of audiences across many more media sources, platforms and formats, so that fewer people share the same news and entertainment sources.
The process by which storage media, file formats, software or hardware become outdated and unsupported, so the content they hold can no longer be read or played.
Techniques that produce pictures of the inside of the body, such as X-rays, ultrasound, CT and MRI scans and retinal photographs, so that clinicians can diagnose and monitor disease without surgery.
An image, video, phrase or idea that is copied, adapted and shared rapidly between internet users, often changing slightly each time it spreads.
A state of well-being in which a person can cope with the normal stresses of life, realise their abilities, learn and work well, and contribute to their community; it includes emotional, psychological and social well-being, not only the absence of mental illness.
Data that describes other data, such as the date a file was created, its author, its size or the location where a photo was taken.
A proposed network of shared, persistent 3D virtual spaces, often reached through virtual or augmented reality, in which people interact through avatars for work, leisure and commerce.
A network that covers a town or city, connecting LANs across that area, often run by a city authority, university or telecommunications company.
A certificate that records the completion of a short, focused course in a specific skill or competency, often earned online and designed to be combined with others.
A small payment made inside a digital product, usually a game or app, for virtual items, extra features, in-game currency or chances to win random rewards.
An integrated circuit that contains a computer's central processing unit, carrying out the instructions of programs on a single chip. The first commercial one was the Intel 4004 (1971).
The use of data about individuals to divide voters into small groups and send each group a different message designed to appeal to its particular interests, fears or characteristics.
Crowd work broken into very small, repetitive online tasks, such as labelling images, often paid a few cents each, that together complete a larger job.
The movement of people from one place to another, within a country or across borders, to live there temporarily or permanently, whether by choice or because they are forced to leave.
False or misleading information that is shared by people who believe it is true, without the intention to deceive.
A type of intervention that reduces the negative aspects of a challenge, usually without removing their cause, such as cash aid for families who cannot afford food.
Research that combines qualitative methods (exploring experiences and behaviours in depth) with quantitative methods (measuring and finding patterns), so that each covers the other's weaknesses.
Technology that blends real and virtual environments so that digital objects are anchored in physical space and respond to it, and users can interact with both.
The use of portable, wirelessly connected devices, such as smartphones, tablets and wearables, to access data and services from almost any location.
A service that lets people store money in an account linked to their mobile phone number and use it to send, receive and pay, with cash paid in and taken out through local agents.
A type of sign or resource used to make meaning, such as written text, speech, image, moving image, sound or gesture. A single medium, such as a TikTok video, often combines several modes.
A simplified representation of a system, such as a diagram, map, equation or simulation, that shows selected elements and relationships in order to explain, predict or communicate how the system behaves.
A device that converts digital data into signals suited to a particular transmission line (telephone, cable, fibre or mobile) and back again, connecting a home or office to its internet provider.
Designing a product as a set of separate, standardised parts (modules) that can be removed, replaced or upgraded individually, so that a fault in one part does not end the life of the whole product.
A market in which one company is the only supplier, or so dominant that it faces little effective competition and can set prices or terms for others.
The observation, made by Gordon Moore in 1965 and revised in 1975, that the number of transistors on a chip doubles about every two years, while the cost per transistor falls.
A being that can understand right and wrong, choose how to act and be held responsible for its choices; adult humans are moral agents, while current robots and AI systems are not.
An intense, widespread public fear that something, often a new medium or technology, threatens social values or children's safety, out of proportion to the evidence of harm.
The view that moral judgements are true or false only relative to a particular culture, community or person, so that no single set of values applies to everyone. It contrasts with moral universalism, which holds that some principles apply to all people.
The beliefs and practices about right and wrong that a person or community actually holds. Ethics is the systematic study of these beliefs and the reasons behind them.
The main circuit board of a computer, which holds the processor and memory and connects every other component through circuits and sockets.
A form of change in which people, things or values shift position, location or level, such as users moving from one platform to another or a price rising or falling.
The view, proposed by Ken Goldberg, that the future of AI lies in diverse groups of humans and machines working together on problems, rather than in a single superintelligent machine replacing human intelligence.