Technological Development and Information Literacy
BasicAI makes life easier, yet false information spreads with it — learn the newest technologies and how to verify what you read.
- Three technologies: AI judges, big data finds patterns, the cloud stores.
- Three keywords: informatisation, digitalisation, intelligentisation — in progression.
- Spread features: fast, wide, endlessly forwarded, real-time connection.
文體小知識：時事議題課——由人工智能到假資訊流傳，認識科技發展趨勢，學會辨別資訊、負責任上網。
§Text Passage
1Unlocking your phone with your face, a map app predicting traffic jams, cloud storage syncing your photos across devices — behind these everyday functions are three of the world's newest technologies: artificial intelligence, big data and cloud data storage. They have reached every corner of study, shopping, travel and entertainment.
2Information technology develops along three keywords: informatisation, digitalisation and intelligentisation. The internet, social media and instant messaging let information spread widely within minutes, constantly updated and forwarded; people in different places communicate in real time, share information and even act together, as netizens worldwide join online fundraising or learning campaigns. The speed and reach of information today were unimaginable before.
3Yet speed and convenience have a flip side: false information floods the web. A rumour with a sensational headline can sweep a whole platform within hours, while verification takes far longer than forwarding. That is why information literacy matters so much: knowing how to find, evaluate and use information — spotting falsehoods, verifying sources, comparing facts from several channels — is compulsory citizenship in the digital age.
4Information literacy is more than a skill; it connects to positive values: using technology ethically, refusing to create or spread unverified messages, respecting others' privacy, and obeying the relevant law. Being a digital citizen who both masters technology and holds to principles is this course's message to S5 students.
1Summary 重點摘要
AI makes life easier, yet false information spreads with it — learn the newest technologies and how to verify what you read.
2Vocabulary cards Vocabulary
Technology letting computers mimic human learning, judgement and language.
Analysing huge datasets to find patterns and support decisions.
Keeping files on network servers for access anywhere.
Society increasingly relying on information technology and flows.
Turning data, processes and services into digital form.
Adding automatic judgement and learning to products and services.
Platforms where users build networks and share content.
Apps sending messages in real time across distances.
Untrue or unverified messages spreading fast online.
The ability to find, evaluate, verify and use information responsibly.
3Step by step Steps
- Step 1: The three newest technologiesIn daily life, artificial intelligence, big data and cloud storage are everywhere: AI lets software understand speech, recognise images and generate text; big data finds patterns in huge records, such as transport apps predicting congestion from passenger flows; cloud storage keeps photos and documents on network servers, so changing phones does not mean losing data. Understanding what these three technologies do — and how they differ — is the basic knowledge this course requires, and everyday examples will make your answers concrete.
- Step 2: Informatisation, digitalisation, intelligentisationThe curriculum summarises the direction of IT development in three words. Informatisation: society increasingly relies on producing and flowing information. Digitalisation: data and processes become digital, as e-government services replace paper applications. Intelligentisation: systems gain automatic judgement and learning, as with smart customer service and machine translation. See them as a line: information flows first, processes are digitised next, and intelligent judgement is added last — a progression, not a jumble, so keep the order in mind.
- Step 3: How information spreadsThe internet, social media and instant messaging have transformed how information travels. Three features: first, huge amounts of information spread widely within a very short time; second, content is constantly updated, edited and forwarded, so the original source becomes hard to trace; third, people in different places communicate in real time, share information and even act together. If a question asks for the 'features of IT development', these three points plus the three keywords form the most complete answering framework.
- Step 4: Real-time communication and collective actionTechnology lets people in different places talk and cooperate in real time: families reunite by video across continents, multinational teams hold simultaneous meetings, netizens forward rescue and support requests within minutes of a disaster, and students reach world-class lessons through online courses. Such borderless connection is exactly what the theme 'our interconnected and interdependent contemporary world' describes. In answers, give positive examples alongside the risks to show balanced analysis of technology's effects, not one-sided praise or blame.
- Step 5: Why false information floods the webPublishing online costs almost nothing — anyone can upload, forwarding is effortless, and platforms' algorithms favour sensational content — so false information floods the web. The effects are wide: individuals may trust bogus remedies or fall into scams; at the social level, rumours can cause panic, damage reputations and even distort public decisions. Fake messages during the epidemic were a hard lesson: the faster information flows, the more vital verification becomes — a civic duty of the digital age.
- Step 6: A practical method for checking informationChecking information is a workable routine: first check the source — who published it, and is it a reliable organisation? Then verify the facts — do other media or official channels report the same? Third, read the content — beware exaggerated headlines, vague times and places, and out-of-context images. Finally, wait one step — better a few minutes late than to become a rumour's messenger. Turn this routine into a daily habit, and information literacy becomes real.
- Step 7: Values, ethics and the lawInformation literacy is not just telling true from false; it binds to positive values. Use technology with moral integrity: do not create or spread false and malicious content, do not infringe others' privacy or intellectual property, and remember that online conduct carries the same responsibility as offline. Obey the relevant law too — Hong Kong law clearly covers defamation and dishonest use of computers, and online offences carry real consequences. Technology is a tool; whether it is used well depends on the user's values.
5Worked example Example
Read the data: a message spreads on a social platform claiming that 'a chain supermarket sells food containing harmful substances', with an image of unclear origin. It is forwarded more than ten thousand times within hours; the supermarket must publicly clarify, and the message is later confirmed false. Explain what feature of information spread the data reflects, and how citizens should respond.
- Step 1: Answer the 'feature' part first — tie to curriculum terms: information spreads widely within a short time and is forwarded repeatedly, showing the speed and low publishing threshold of an informatised society.
- Step 2: Use the data as evidence — 'over ten thousand forwards within hours' proves the speed; 'an image of unclear origin' proves the low threshold and the ease of mixing in false content.
- Step 3: Structure the 'response' in layers — personally, check sources and facts and do not forward casually; socially, rely on official clarification and media verification.
- Step 4: Elevate the close — point to the link between information literacy and positive values: responsible use of technology is a civic duty.
- Answer: Sample answer: The data show that under information technology, information spreads widely and is forwarded repeatedly within a very short time; with a low publishing threshold, unverified content mixes in easily, and a false message can sweep social platforms within hours, harming reputations and public judgement. Citizens should raise their information literacy: check whether the source is reliable, compare facts against official channels and several media, and do not forward or help spread anything unverified. This protects oneself from being misled and is a responsible civic act — the moral integrity that using technology demands.
6Common mistakes Mistakes
7Quick check Quick check
Q1What do AI, big data and cloud storage each do?
Q2The three keywords of IT development?
Q3What are the features of online information spread?
Q4What is the first step in checking information?
Q5How does information literacy relate to positive values?
8Recap Recap
- Three technologies: AI judges, big data finds patterns, the cloud stores.
- Three keywords: informatisation, digitalisation, intelligentisation — in progression.
- Spread features: fast, wide, endlessly forwarded, real-time connection.
- Four checking moves: source, facts, content, wait one step.
- Technology is a tool — literacy plus ethics and law makes a digital citizen.