AP® Spanish Language and Culture review sheet from Aim for Five (aimforfive.com/spanish/units/4/4-4)
Unit 4 · Topic 4.4
4.4 Societal Impacts of Science and Technology (El impacto de la ciencia y la tecnología en la sociedad)
This topic asks how science and technology change society as a whole, for better and for worse. You'll weigh issues like the digital divide, machines replacing jobs, and the environmental cost of new technology, which makes it one of the richest topics for the argumentative essay.
Key terms
- la brecha digital
- la automatización
- el acceso a internet
- el desempleo
- la ética
- el impacto ambiental
The digital divide
The digital divide (la brecha digital) is the gap between people who have good internet access and devices and people who don't. It usually follows other gaps: city vs. countryside (lo urbano y lo rural), richer vs. poorer households, younger vs. older people.
The COVID-19 school closures in 2020 made the divide easy to see across Latin America. Students with a computer and home internet kept taking classes online, while many in rural areas shared one phone among siblings or depended on lessons broadcast by radio and TV. Readings on this topic often use that moment as an example.
- el acceso a internet (internet access), la conectividad (connectivity), la alfabetización digital (digital literacy: knowing how to use technology well)
- las zonas rurales (rural areas), la desigualdad (inequality), los recursos (resources)
Automation and work
Automation (la automatización) means machines or software doing work people used to do. It can raise productivity and take over dangerous jobs, but it can also lead to unemployment (el desempleo) for workers whose tasks are easy to automate. Many texts end with the same answer: workers will need new training (la capacitación or la formación), and some new jobs will appear that don't exist yet.
Words to know: el empleo / el puesto de trabajo (job), reemplazar or sustituir (to replace), la mano de obra (labor, the workforce), la productividad.
The environmental cost
Technology runs on materials and energy. Lithium (el litio), used in phone and electric-car batteries, comes partly from the salt flats of the "lithium triangle" (el triángulo del litio) shared by Argentina, Bolivia and Chile. Mining it brings investment and jobs, but it uses a lot of water in very dry places, and some Indigenous communities near the salt flats have protested.
Data centers that power the internet and AI need electricity and water to cool their machines. In Chile and Uruguay, plans for large data centers drew public criticism over water use during droughts. Old devices also become electronic waste (la basura electrónica or los residuos electrónicos).
Ethics: who decides?
Ethics (la ética) asks what's right, not just what's possible. Texts raise questions like: Should a company be able to sell your data? Who is responsible when an AI system makes a mistake? Should gene editing be allowed on humans? You don't need a final answer. You need to explain a position and support it.
Useful verbs: regular (to regulate), proteger (to protect), garantizar (to guarantee), beneficiar a (to benefit), perjudicar a (to harm).
Language toolkit: concession
A concession admits a point on the other side before you push back. It's what makes an argument sound fair, and it helps your organization score.
- Aunque la tecnología crea empleos, también puede eliminarlos.
- Si bien es cierto que…, también hay que tener en cuenta que…
- A pesar de + noun: a pesar de sus ventajas, la automatización…
- No obstante / sin embargo (however) to turn back to your own point
Worked examples
Try each one yourself first, then open the solution.
- Example 1
Writing a body paragraph that integrates sources
Essay prompt (in the style of the exam): ¿Debería el gobierno garantizar el acceso gratuito a internet en las zonas rurales? Your three sources (summarized; all invented for this practice): Fuente 1, an article, describes a rural school where students walked 3 km to find a signal to send homework. Fuente 2, a chart, shows home internet access at 78 % in cities and 41 % in rural areas. Fuente 3, an audio interview, has a mayor saying the project is expensive but that connected towns attract new small businesses. Write one body paragraph in Spanish supporting a yes position.
Show the solutionHide the solution
- Step 1: Start with a claim, not a source. The paragraph's first sentence says what you're arguing, so it isn't organized source by source.
- Step 2: Use at least two sources as evidence, and name each one clearly (según la Fuente 2, como explica el artículo…). Citing by number or type is enough.
- Step 3: Explain each piece of evidence. Don't just repeat the 78 % and 41 %; say what the gap means for students.
- Step 4: Handle the counter-argument from Fuente 3 with a concession (aunque…), then turn it to your side.
- Step 5: Finish with a sentence that ties back to the claim, using a connector like por lo tanto.
Answer: Model paragraph: El acceso gratuito a internet en las zonas rurales es necesario para que todos los estudiantes tengan las mismas oportunidades. Según la Fuente 2, el 78 % de los hogares urbanos tiene internet, pero solo el 41 % de los hogares rurales lo tiene. Esa diferencia no es solo un número: el artículo de la Fuente 1 cuenta que algunos alumnos caminan tres kilómetros para enviar su tarea. Es decir, la falta de conexión convierte una tarea sencilla en un obstáculo diario. Aunque el alcalde de la Fuente 3 admite que el proyecto es caro, también explica que los pueblos conectados atraen nuevos negocios. Por lo tanto, la inversión no es un gasto perdido, sino una manera de cerrar la brecha digital y de impulsar la economía local.
Common mistakes
- Summarizing each source in turn. Organize around your argument and bring the sources in as evidence for it.
- Treating the digital divide as only about owning a device. It also includes connection quality, cost and digital skills.
- Writing "el problema" as feminine or "la sistema". Many -ma words from Greek are masculine: el problema, el sistema, el tema, el programa.
- Using actual to mean "actual". Actual means current (la situación actual); for "actual" or "real" use real or verdadero.
On the exam
- Societal-impact questions are natural essay prompts, and the chart source is often about access or usage by group. Use at least one specific number from it and say what it shows.
- Reading questions on this topic often ask for the author's attitude (optimista, preocupado, crítico, neutral). Look at adjectives and at what the author chooses to end with.
- Name each source every time you use it. Readers look for clear identification of all three sources for the top score in source use.
Connected topics
Videos
Check yourself
5 questions on 4.4 Societal Impacts of Science and Technology (El impacto de la ciencia y la tecnología en la sociedad). Pick an answer to see if you got it, and why.
| Indicador | Zona urbana, 2015 | Zona urbana, 2025 | Zona rural, 2015 | Zona rural, 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hogares con conexión a internet (%) | 58 | 86 | 14 | 41 |
| Hogares con al menos una computadora (%) | 47 | 55 | 10 | 17 |
| Personas que usan internet solo desde el celular (%) | 12 | 23 | 30 | 62 |
| Velocidad media de la conexión (megabits por segundo) | 8 | 65 | 2 | 18 |
Datos hipotéticos. Texto escrito para esta práctica
¿Qué tendencia muestra la tabla entre 2015 y 2025?
En 2025, ¿cuántos puntos porcentuales separaban a los hogares urbanos y rurales con conexión a internet?
¿Qué conclusión sobre la brecha digital apoyan los datos de conexión a internet?
¿Qué dato sugiere mejor que a muchos estudiantes rurales les cuesta hacer tareas que exigen una computadora?
Una organización quiere reducir la brecha digital del país. Según la tabla, ¿qué propuesta responde mejor a los datos?
0 of 5 answered