Science, Technology and Society

COURSE MODULE COURSE UNIT Session

5 2 2

The Human Person flourishing in terms of Science and Technology

 Read course and unit objectives

 Read study guide prior to class attendance
 Read required learning resources; refer to unit
terminologies for jargons
 Proactively participate in classroom discussions
 Participate in weekly discussion board (Canvas)
 Answer and submit course unit tasks

At the end of this unit, the students are expected to:

1. Explain modern technology and its role in human flourishing
2. Discuss the Question Concerning Technology.
3. Understand the relationship of science and technology in human flourishing.

Heidegger, Martin (1977).The Question Concerning Technology.

HUMAN FLOURISHING IN SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

PHILOSOPHY- The study of general and fundamental problems concerning matters such as existence,
knowledge, values, reason, mind and language.

Branches of Philosophy
1. Natural Philosophy
2. Moral Philosophy-
3. Metaphysical philosophy
4.
MARTIN HEIDEGGER (1889-1976)
 German philosopher whose work is associated with phenomology and existentialism.
 His ideas have exerted influence on the development of contemporary European philosophy.
 His best-known work is Being and Time (1927). He gave a very impressive analysis of human
existence, the prominence of the important themes of existentialism like care, anxiety, guilt and
above all death is brought out here.
 He begins “The Question Concerning Technology” by examining the relationship between
human and technology, a relationship Heidegger calls a free relationship. If this relationship is
free, it opens our human existence to the essence of technology”. This essence of technology,
however, has nothing to do with technology. Rather, as Heidegger suggests, ‘The essence of a
thing is considered to be what the thing is.”
 Heidegger examines two definitions of technology. Firstly, he offers that “Technology is a
means to an end”(Instrumental definition). Secondly, he proposes that “Technology is a human
activity (Anthropological definition).

The Question Concerning Technology

• 1. Heidegger begins by portraying his investigation of technology as the building of a path.

• 2. He examines the common understanding of technology as a neutral instrument under the
control of humans.
• He proposes to get to the true sense via the correct sense
• 3. He analyses the notion of instrumentality to reach the truth or the essence of technology- it
is traced to causality.
• 4. Technology is a very particular kind of revealing to, and the description articulates the key
terms of Heidegger’s philosophy of technology: Modern technology challenges-forth nature to
yield treasures to humans; technology sets-upon (positions and orders) the yields of nature so
that they are available and of humans, becoming part of the standing reserve.
• 5.He discusses the relation of modern science to the essence of technology-
• He claims for the sciences the aggressive approach to nature that goes well with technology,
but poorly with science.
 • 6. The enframing of technology is destiny.
• Destiny is neither an inevitable fate that descends on humanity nor the result of human willing.
• Disclosure of destiny and human freedom are one and the same.
• 7. There is a twofold danger to destiny.
• One is the danger that human being reduces itself to standing reserve and in so appearing to
have taken total control encounters nothing any more.
• The other is the danger that the disclosure of the enframing forecloses every other
dispensation and conceals that too is a disclosure.
• 8. Still the enframing is a disclosure. It involves human being, therefore harbors the possibility
of saving power.

Doctrine of causality
1. Causa materialis- the material, the matter out of which an object is made.
2. Causa formalis-the form, the shape into which the material enters.
3. Causa efficiens- which brings about the effect that is finished
4. Causa finalis- end

Bringing Forth- making something

 The bringing forth-poesis-which underlies causality is a bringing out of concealment.

 The revealing is what the Greeks call truth-Aletheia- means unhiddedness or disclosure.
 Technology brings forth as well , and it is a revealing.
 This is seen in the way the Greeks understood techne, which encompasses not only craft, but
other acts of the mind and poetry.
 Heidegger characterizes modern technology as a challenging forth- very aggressive in its
activity.
 With modern technology, revealing never comes to an end.
 The revealing always happens on our own terms as everything is on demand.
 He also described modern technology as the age of switches, standing reserve and stockpiling
for its own sake.
Example:
1. Volcanic eruption- challenging forth
2. Coral bleaching-challenging forth
3. Planting trees- bringing forth
4. Mining- challenging forth
5. Farming- bringing forth

Questioning as the Piety of Thought

 Piety means obedience and submission.
 One builds a way towards knowing the truth who he/ she is as a being in this world.
  Thus we shall never experience our relationship to the essence of technology so long as we
merely represent and pursue the technological, put up with it, or evade it. Everywhere we
remain unfree and chained to technology, whether we passionately affirm or deny it. But we
are delivered over to it in the worst possible way when we regard it as something neutral; for
this conception of it, to which today we particularly like to pay homage, makes us utterly blind
to the essence of technology (1977,p1)
 ENFRAMING: WAY OF REVEALING IN MODERN TECHNOLOGY
Calculative thinking
 One orders and puts a system to nature so it can be understood better and controlled
Meditative thinking
 One lets nature reveal itself to him/ her without forcing it.

1. Technology as a Mode of Revealing

2. Technology as Poesis: Applicable to Modern Technology
3. Questioning as the Piety of Thought
4. Enframing: A way of Revealing in Modern Technology
5. Human Person Swallowed by Technology
6. Art as a Way out of Enframing

Aletheia means unhiddenness or disclosure

Poesis is defined as bringing forth.
Techne is the root of technology
Piety is associated with being religious.

McNamara, J. (2011). A return to the Beginning in Stellar Origins, Human Ways.

Study Questions
Read the article, The Question Concerning Technology. Answer the following questions.

Questions:

1. What do you think constitutes human flourishing?

2. How is the human person revealed in modern technology?

McNamara, DJ., VAlverde VM, Beleno III, R. Science, technology

and Society.C&E Publishing Inc. 2018. Chapter 4 pp. 52-58. ISBN:
978-971-98-0935-7
The Question Concerning Technology. en.m.wikipedia.org
The Technological view of the world of Martin Heidegger.
FutureLearn Philosophy of Technology and Design. University of
Twente. https://.www.futurelearn.com
Christopher Cocchiarella. Heidegger on the essence of
Technology: What is technology, really? March 17, 2019.Mindful
Technics A Technology Education Site and Blog for Geeks.
https://mindultechnics.com
Science, Technology and Society
COURSE MODULE COURSE UNIT Session
6 2 3

Human Flourishing

✓ Read course and unit objectives

✓ Read study guide prior to class attendance
✓ Read required learning resources; refer to unit
terminologies for jargons
✓ Proactively participate in classroom discussions
✓ Participate in weekly discussion board (Canvas)
✓ Answer and submit course unit tasks

At the end of this unit, the students are expected to:

1. Identify different concepts of human flourishing.
2. Relate human flourishing to the progress of science and technology.
3. Critique human flourishing vis-a vis the progress of science and technology.

Hickel, J. 2015). Forget ‘developing rich countries, it’s time to de-develop ‘rich countries.
http://www.the guardian.com/global-development-professionals-network/2015/sep/23/ developing-
poor-countries-de-develop-rich countries-sdgs
 Human flourishing is defined as an endeavor to achieve self-actualization and fulfillment within the
context of a larger community of individuals. This also means access to the pleasant life, the engaged
or good life and the meaningful life.
(Seligman, Steen, Park and Peterson, 2005), stated that human flourishing requires the
development of attributes and social and personal levels that exhibit character strengths and virtues
that are commonly agreed across different cultures.
According to Aristotle, there is an end of all the actions that we perform which we desire for itself.
Flourishing is the greatest good of human endeavors and that toward which all actions aim. The good is
what is good for purposeful and goal-directed entities. He presented the various popular conceptions of
the best life for human beings; (1) a philosophical life, (2).life of pleasure and (3) a life of political
activity.
Eudamonia means good spirit is a property of one’s life when considered as a whole. It is formally
egoistic in that a person’s normative reason for choosing particular actions stems from the idea that he
must pursue his own good or flourishing. It also implies a divine state of being that humanity is able to
strive toward and possibly reach.
Happiness is “doing well” and” living well”. It is a pleasant state of mind.
Verbally there is a very general agreement; for both the general run of men and people of superior
refinement say that is ( Eudaimonia), and identify living well and faring well with being happy; but with
regard to what ( Eudaimonia) is they differ, and the many do not give the same account as the wise…
(Nicomachean Ethics 1095a17).
Epicurus identifies that the eudaimon life is the life of pleasure maintains that life of pleasure
coincides with the life of virtue. He understands Eudaimonia as a more or less continuous experience of
pleasure and, also freedom from pain and distress. Virtue is only instrumentally related to happiness.
Socrates believed that virtues such as self-control, justice, courage, wisdom, piety and related
qualities of mind and soul are absolutely crucial if a person is to lead a good and happy life. Virtues
guarantee a happy life Eudaimonia
For Plato, Eudaimonia depends on virtue (arête) which is depicted as the most crucial and the
dominant constituent of euddaimonia.
Pyrrho, founder of Pyrrhonism, a school of philosophical skepticism that places the attainment of
ataraxia (a state of equanimity) as a way to achieve Eudaimonia. Pyrrhonist practice is for the purpose
of achieving epoch.
Dasein” which literally means “being there” focuses on the “mode of existence”
Eudemonia is consists of Greek words “eu” which means “good” and “daemon” which means “spirit”.

Dayrit, F. (2011). Sustainable Development: An Evolving Paradigm for the 21st Century. Stellar
Origins, Human Ways.

Study Questions

After Reading the article “Forget ‘developing rich countries, it’s time to de-develop ‘rich countries”
by Jason Hickel. Answer the following questions;

1. What is the standard response to eradicating poverty?

2. According to the majority of people in middle-and high-income countries, what puts the
planet and society at risk?
3. What are the two indicators of the quality of life given in the article?
4. According to Hickel, what must be done instead of urging poor countries to “catch up with
rich ones?

Aristotle, The Nicomachean Ethics.1095a17.

Eudaimonia- Wikipedia. en.m.wikipedia.org.
McNamara, DJ., VAlverde VM, Beleno III, R. Science, technology
and Society.C&E Publishing Inc. 2018. Chapter 7 pp. 78-80. ISBN:
978-971-98-0935-7
Science, Technology and Society
COURSE MODULE COURSE UNIT Session
7 2 3

The Good Life

✓ Read course and unit objectives

✓ Read study guide prior to class attendance
✓ Read required learning resources; refer to unit
terminologies for jargons
✓ Proactively participate in classroom discussions
✓ Participate in weekly discussion board (Canvas)
✓ Answer and submit course unit tasks

At the end of this unit, the students are expected to:

1. Define the good life.
2. Understand the concept of the good life.
3. Examine shared concerns that make-up the good life.

The good life

A PUZZLING PROBLEM
• People want to be healthy but many consume junk food
• People want to be happy but many do things that make themselves miserable
• Most things that taste good are probably bad for you.
• Most things that give you thrill are probably bad for you too.
What is the good life?
• People have different ideas of what constitutes the good life.
• Wrong pursuits may lead to tragic consequences.
• Correct pursuits may lead to flourishing.
ARISTOTLE (NICOMACHEAN ETHICS 2:2)
All human activities aim at some good. Every art and human inquiry, and similarly every action
and pursuit, is thought to aim at some good; and for this reason the good has been rightly
declared as that at which all things aim.
Nicomachean Ethics and Modern Concepts
Eudaimonia- Eu-good, daimon- spirit= good life
Good life- happiness and virtue
Virtue- intellectual and moral
The 4 Pillar of the Good life
• Health, wealth, love and happiness

THE HAPPINESS PURSUIT

• Everybody wants more happiness and success.
• It’s good to know how to optimize happiness and success.
• There is a wide agreement that happiness is the greatest human good.

RISK FACTORS
• The happiness pursuit becomes one’s ultimate purpose in life.
• The happiness pursuit is not guided by a philosophy of life informed by general principles of
meaning, spirituality and virtue.

Golden Rule

• Confucius: What you do not want done to yourself, do not do to others.

• Aristotle: We should behave to others as we wish others to behave to us.
• Buddhism: Hurt not others with that which pains thyself.
• Christianity: D unto others as you would have them do unto you.

➢ They make personal happiness and success their ultimate end of life without moral compass
and without the desire to pursue inner goodness.
Disillusion- King Solomon realized the vanity of success long, long ago: The world will never be
enough: “The eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing”( Eccl.1:8)
 ➢ It takes more and more to reach the same level of happiness- addiction, money etc.
➢ Nothing in this world can fill the spiritual vacuum within us.
➢ Dreams are often broken when reality strikes.
FATE AND CIRCUMSTANCE
➢ Bad things happen to good people
➢ Reversal of fortune
➢ For some people, most days are bad days. ( poverty)

Living an authentic life means living with deep acceptance on the facticity of death resulting to a life
lived-Heidegger
The unexamined life is not worth living for-Socrates
The Holistic Approach
good people, good community and world peace= good life
MATERIALISM
A form of philosophical monism which holds that matter is the fundamental substance in nature, and
that all things, including mental aspects and consciousness are results of material interactions.
❑ The first materialists were the atomists in Ancient Greece.
❑ Democritus and Leucippus led a school whose primary belief is that the world is made up of and
is controlled by the tiny invisible units in the world called atomos or seeds.
❑ Atomos simply comes together randomly to form the things in the world.
Classification of Materialism
1. Naïve materialism
2. Dialectical materialism
3. Metaphysical materialism

Hedonism
Is a school of thought that argues that the pursuit of pleasure and intrinsic goods are the
primary or most important goals of human life.
➢ A hedonist strives to maximize net pleasure (pleasure minus pain) but when having finally
gained that pleasure, happiness remains stationary.
➢ “Eat, drink and be merry for tomorrow we die.”
Stoicism
▪ Another school of thought led by Epicurus.
▪ The stoics espoused the idea that to generate happiness, one must learn to distance oneself
and be apathetic.
▪ The path to happiness for humans is found in accepting this moment as it presents itself, by not
allowing ourselves to be controlled by our desire for pleasure, or our fear of pain.
 THEISM
• The belief in the existence of the Supreme Being or Deities
• Describes the classical conception of God.
• The ultimate basis of happiness is the communication with God
• Monotheism- Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Sikhism, Zoroastrianism

Humanism
• A school of thought espouses the freedom of man to carve his own destiny and to legislate his
own laws, free from the shackles of a God that monitors and controls.
• Is a philosophical and ethical stance that emphasizes the value and agency of human beings,
individually and collectively.
• Refers to nontheistic life stance centered on human agency and looking to science rather than
revelation from a supernatural source to understand the world.
 The Good Life is a Balance Life
✓ A single-minded pursuit is not always beneficial.
✓ Active engagement needs to be balanced by rest.
✓ Exclusive love needs to be balanced by greater love.
✓ Achievement needs to be balanced by acceptance.
✓ Self-transcendence needs to be balanced by fair treatment.
No one can deny the fact that science and technology has a profound impact on how modern
man thinks and appreciates matter. It can be concretely seen in the present conditions of man
in the society. The desire to feel satisfaction of research and development through genetic
engineering, cloning and the likes opened endless doors for skeptics.

Virtue is the excellence of character that empowers one to do good and be good.
Happiness defines a good life.
Eudamonia refers to good spirit

Study Questions

Watch the documentary short film 'That Sugar Film (2015). Answer the following questions:
1. What is the relationship between the good life and science?
2. Based on the short film, does technology always lead us to the good life? How and Why?
McNamara, DJ., VAlverde VM, Beleno III, R. Science, technology
and Society.C&E Publishing Inc. 2018. Chapter 6 pp. 70-73. ISBN:
978-971-98-0935-7
Javier Serafica JP, PAwilen G., CAslib Jr. BN, Alata EJ. Science
Technology and Society. First Edition. 2018. Rex Bookstore, INc.
(RBSI). Chapter 2 pp.75-81. ISBN 978-971-23-8671-8
The Good Life-Wikipedia. https://en.m.wikipedia.org
Birgit Ohlin, MA,BBA. What is the Good Life? How Positive
Psychology Can Create Meaning. Positive Psychology.com
Emrys Westacott.What does it mean to live the Good
Life?.February 26,2020. ThoughtCo. https//:www.thoughtco.com
Science, Technology and Society
COURSE MODULE COURSE UNIT Session
8 2 3

When Humanity and Technology Cross

✓ Read course and unit objectives

✓ Read study guide prior to class attendance
✓ Read required learning resources; refer to unit
terminologies for jargons
✓ Proactively participate in classroom discussions
✓ Participate in weekly discussion board (Canvas)
✓ Answer and submit course unit tasks

At the end of this unit, the students are expected to:

1. Discuss contemporary human experience to strengthen the human person functioning in
society.
2. Evaluate the impact of Technology on humans and society.

Carr, N. (2008).Is Google Making Us stupid?.

http://www/theatintic.com/magazine/archive/2008/07/1/google making us stupid/306868/?
 The idea that new technologies can liberate us from the human condition is a fantasy. In reality,
the 21st-cenntury will be all too human.
David Mattin

Humanity
➢ A virtue associated with basic ethics of altruism derived from human condition (
wikipedia).
➢ According to Confucius, humanity is a” love of people”, if you want to make a
stand, help others make a stand.

Human Robot Interaction

Today, in the era of present technology, robotics has become a big part of our collective lives.
Robots are utilized for their knowledge, exactness and interminable vitality to perform assignments
consistently and profitably, that when performed by people tends to create flaws. For instance, AI
robots have already started an enormous job in improving waste administration and finding distinctive
approaches to handle the waste issue endured by most developing nations like India. Indeed, the robot
age has arrived. The possibility of robots may bring to most minds the possibility of androids like T-800
in the movie “Terminator”. The vast majority of us are not able to understand that a lot of robots exist in
the most basic forms today; they are not so much android but rather more like industrial tools or
equipment. This implies the world would be prepared for more smart intelligence to be utilized in day-to-
day applications (Singh).

The Impact of Technology on Human Health

Technology has crept into every corner of our lives, form obsessive texting to checking emails
more often. Most of us absorb three times more information everyday compared with 50 years ago.
According to University of California researchers, we spend 12 hours in front of TV and computers at
home. Multitasking participants had more difficulty filtering out irrelevant information than those
focusing on one task at a time. Teens, however, are emotionally more vulnerable to the effects of
rampant texting and online sharing. According to a 2010 Nielsin survey, we send and receive text
messages 3, 339 times a month (Deodhar).

The Future of Humanity (Nick Bostrom, 2009)

Extinction
An estimated 99% of all species that ever existed on earth are already extinct (Raup, 1991).
There are different ways in which human species could become extinct: Primarily, by transforming or
evolving into one or more species or by merely dying out without any replacement or continuation. Our
species has survived earthquake, volcanic eruption, typhoons and other natural phenomena for tens of
thousands of years. Nowadays, one of the utmost extinction risks arise from human activity. For
instance, Advances in biotechnology might make it possible to design new viruses that combine the
easy contagion and mutability of the influenza virus. A dreadful pandemic with high virulence and 100%
mortality rate among infected individuals could possibly will terminate human species. Additionally, an
all-out nuclear war between Russia and the United States might be an example of a global catastrophe
that would be unlikely to result in extinction.

Recurrent Collapse
This means that the human condition will reach a kind of statis, either instantly or after
undergoing one or more cycles of collapse regeneration. Human civilization may endure catastrophes
that prevent it from moving beyond a certain level of advancement. It also requires a carefully calibrated
homeostatic mechanism that possesses the level of civilization restricted within a relatively narrow
interval.

Plateau
Human civilization may reach a level of technological advancement beyond which no further
advancement is feasible. Predictions that life span can be greatly increased have depended in part on
the apparent decelerations and plateaus.

Post humanity
People have developed significantly different cognitive abilities, population sizes, body types,
sensory or emotional experiences or life expectancies. Post humanity has established itself as a label
for a form of human existence radically transformed by the most advanced medical techniques and by
the use of biotechnology and nanotechnology for human enhancement.

Technology Trends (Jayshree Pandya)

1. Biological Engineering and Bio-Economy

2. Molecular Manufacturing and Self-replicating Systems
3. Distributed Additive Manufacturing
4. Artificial Intelligence Driven Automation
5. Neuromorphic Computing and Computing Beyond Turing Limit
6. Quantum Computing and Control
7. Nanosatellites and Space Exploration
8. Internet to BrainNet
9. Stem Cells and Regenerative Medicine
10. Brain Mapping and Brain Uploading
HUMANITY
 From the latin word “humanitas” which means “human nature, kindness.”
 the human race, which includes everybody on earth.
 It’s also a word for the qualities that make us human, such as that ability to love and have
compassion, be creative and not be a robot or alien.
"Soft war" is a concept used to explain rights and duties of is urgent even terrorists during armed
struggle.

The ethical dilemmas of robotics. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/6432307.

Study Questions

Discuss the different ethical dilemmas faced by technological advancements in the society.

Suggested topics:

1. Will robotics replace human employment?

2. Do technological devices bring more good than bad to people?

3. Do you believe that Google makes people stupid? Cite at least five examples to support
your assertion.
Bostrom, Nick. 2009. The Future of humanity. Geopolitics, history
and international relations 1(2):41-78. An in-depth analysis of the
four categories of possible futures.
Impact of Technology on Humanity Life-TCET. Nimbus.
https://www.tcetmumbai.in
Mattin, David. 2019. Everyone is talking About our Post-human
Future. It’s a Fairytale. https://medium.com
Science, Technology and Society
COURSE MODULE COURSE UNIT Session
9 2 5

Why does the future not need us?

✓ Read course and unit objectives

✓ Read study guide prior to class attendance
✓ Read required learning resources; refer to unit
terminologies for jargons
✓ Proactively participate in classroom discussions
✓ Participate in weekly discussion board (Canvas)
✓ Answer and submit course unit tasks

At the end of this unit, the students are expected to:

1. Explain how technology is shaping the future of humanity.
2. Identify the different types of technology that will determine our future.

Joy, B. (2000). Why The Future Doesn’t Need Us. Chief Scientist and Corporate Officer of Sun
Microsystems. http.www.cc.gatech.edu/computing/nano/documents
 Technology is changing our world at an overwhelming pace. Most people are deeply involved
with technology. They tend to be ever optimistic about its prospects and persistently eager to adopt and
promote it. Many focused their optimistic remarks on health care, food, energy, environment, education,
economy and agriculture. In the span of a few short years, social media, mobile devices and internet
have transformed how we communicate and get information about the world. Rapid advances in
science and technology foreshadow a world that can displace some forms of human labor. In addition,
nearly everyone expressed concerns about the long-term impact of new tools and techniques on the
essential elements of being human. However, many shared deep worries and trepidation about the
danger brought by rapid technological change. It is of course true that no one can predict the future.
The key variable in understanding the future is rarely technology alone, but how humans use it,
perceive it, and adapt to it.
C.S.Lewis argued that humanity, so –called power over nature “turns out to be a power
exercised by some men over other men with Nature as its instrument’. He feared that modernism and
its ability to explain away everything but “nature “would leave us emptied of humanity. All that would be
left is our animal instincts. The choice we have to see humanity as a complex combination of both
material and spiritual components or else to be reduced to machines made of meat ruled by other
machines with nothing other than natural impulses to guide them. He also warned us of a society that
has explained away every mystery, and the danger of what he calls “man-molders which will be armed
with the powers of an Omni-competent state and irresistible scientific technique.
According to Francis Fukuyama, there are three possible scenarios for the near future. First, the
genetically enhanced intelligence or the prospect of living longer lives free from genetic disease. Next,
advance in stem cell research might soon allow us to regenerate any tissue in the body. Lastly, the
widespread use of psychotropic drugs like Prozac and Ritalin that can make everyone happy without
the side effects of the drugs.
Jacques Ellul warns that as technological capabilities grow, they results in countless means to
accomplish tasks than ever before. The more dependent we become on technology, the more it
conforms our behavior to its requirements rather than vice versa.
William Gibson, who coined the term “cyberspace”, has said the ‘the future is here”- it’s just not
evenly distributed”. Some of the important changes in the future will come not from a new technology,
but from a large number of people having access to something that already exists (Scharre, 2017).

21st Century Technologies

1. Genetic engineering- is the process by which an organisms’ genetic material is altered or
manipulated so that the organism will have specific characteristics.
It has been applied in numerous fields including research, medicine, industrial
biotechnology and agriculture.
It can be used in Cloning, Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs), Gene
therapy.
2. Robotics
Is an interdisciplinary research area at the interface of computer science and
engineering. It involves the conception, design, manufacture and operation of robots.
(Wikipedia).
 Characteristics of Robots: Robots all consist of some sort of mechanical construction,
Robots need electrical components that control and power the machinery.
Types of Robots: Pre-Programmed Robots ( operate in a controlled environment where
they do simple, monotonous tasks), Humanoid robots ( robots that look like and/ or
mimic human behavior- Sophia), Autonomous Robots ( operate independently of human
operators, Teleoperated Robots ( mechanical bots controlled by humans), Augmenting
Robots ( either enhance current human capabilities or replace the capabilities a human
may have lost),
Applications: military robots ( to search, rescue and attack), industrial robots ( IBM
keyboard manufacturing factory in Texas), collaborative robots or cobots,( intended for
direct human robot interaction within shared space), construction robots ( robotic arm
and robotic exoskeleton), agricultural robots ( closely linked to the concept of AI-assisted
precision agriculture and drone usage), medical robots ( da Vinci Surgical System and
Hospi), kitchen automation ( Rotimatic, flatbreads baking, Frobot, frozen yogurts), Robot
combat for sport, domestic robots ( Roomba vacuums the carpets), nanobots (Kinesin
uses protein domain dynamics in nanoscales to walk along a microtubule) and swarm
robotics (disaster rescue missions, target localization and tracking, simultaneous
localization and mapping, cooperative environment monitoring and convoy protection).
3. Nanotechnology- is the study and manipulation of atomic or molecular scale to improve or even
revolutionize many technology and industry sectors.
4. Artificial Intelligence
Refers to “machines” that respond to stimulation consistent with traditional responds
from human, given the capacity for contemplation, judgement and intention.
Alan Turing established the fundamental goal and vision of artificial intelligence. It is the
attempt ro replicate or simulate human intelligence in machines.
Norvig and Russell defined Artificial Intelligence in four approaches: Thinking rationally,
thinking humanly, acting rationally and acting humanly.
It is being used in health care, energy development, finance, transportation, aviation and
telecommunications.
It includes autonomous vehicles such as drones and self-driving cars, playing games
such as chess or Go, search engines such as Google search, online assistants such as
Siri, image recognition in photographs, predicting flight delays and medical diagnosis.
Methods and Goals in AI: The symbolic ( or top-down) approach-seeks to replicate
intelligence by analyzing cognition independent of the biological structure of the brain in
terms of the processing of symbolic label. and the connectionist ( bottom-up) approach-
involves creating artificial neural networks in imitation of the brain’s structure.

Potential Risks to Society

➢ Devaluation of humanity
➢ Decrease in demand of human labor
➢ High costs of creation
➢ Ethical issues
 ➢ Social isolation
➢ Environmental Problems

List of Emerging Technologies that will shape our Future

1. Electric/ self-driving cars

2. Robot butlers
3. Flying cars
4. Space tourism
5. Colonization of other planets
6. Wearable screens
7. 3D printed Food and Metal
8. 5G-6G connectivity
9. Re-engineering and Recycling
10. High-rise farms
11. Lab-grown meats
12. Robot soldiers
13. Roads over rivers and seas
14. Holography
15. Body implants prosthesis

Post-humanity is a theory/ concept that is of an advance level of technological or economic

development that would involve a radical change in the human condition, whether the change was
brought by biological enhancement or other cause.
GNR- Genetics ,Nanotechnology and Robotics
KMD- knowledge and enabled mass destruction
WMD- Weapon of Mass Destruction
NBC- Nuclear, Biological and Chemical

Study Questions

Discuss the effects and ethical dilemma it entails from the suggested topics below. Show your
output in class.

Suggested topics:
1. Artificial intelligence

2. Waze application

3. Cloning

4. Space exploration

5. Educational Technology

Don Closson. Does the Future Need US? The Future of Humanity
and technology. May 27, 2002. https://probe.org.
Paul Scharre. Making Sense of Rapid Technological Change. July
19,2017. www.cnas.org
Artificial Intelligence- Wikipedia. en.m.wikipedia.org.
Artifical intelligence. https://www.britannica.com
Artificial Intelligence. What is Artificial Intelligence? How does AI
work? Built in.Tech Jobs. https://builtin.com
Robotics Technolohy. What is Robotics? Types of robots. Built in
Tech Jobs. https://builtin.com
Life in the future: Technology that will change the way we live.
www.pocket-lint.com