Meaning & Relevance of STS 5.

Differentiators between countries

that can tackle poverty effectively.
6. Engine of growth.
7. Intervention for cognitive
enhancement.

Society- The sum of our interactions as

humans, including the interactions that
we engage in to figure things out and to
make things.
Relationship between Science and
Science- The systematic study of the Society-
structure and behavior of the physical and
natural world through observation of natural  Science influences the society
phenomena and through experimentation thru its knowledge and
that tries to simulate natural processes worldview.
under controlled conditions.  Scientific knowledge and the
procedures used by the
Science and Technology- Scientists influence the way
 Knowledge about the natural world many individuals in the society
based on facts learned thru think about themselves, others,
experimentation and observation and the environment.
 Practical application of science,  The effect of science on society
used to solve problems or invent is neither entirely beneficial nor
useful tools. entirely detrimental.
 Thru science, man develop There are social influences on the direction
technologies. and emphasis of scientific and
 Application of gained scientific technological development, through
knowledge for practical purpose. pressure groups on specific issues and
 Technology is used in all other accepted social views, values, and
experiments. priorities.
Role of Science and Technology What does STS mean?
1. Alter the way people live -Study of how society, politics and culture
affect scientific research and technological
2. Key drivers to development.
innovation, and how these in turn, affect the
3. Technological revolutions transform society, politics, and culture.
business practices across the
-a result of a “sociological turn” in science
economy.
studies.
4. Have the power to better the lives of
poor people in developing countries.
-It makes assumption that science and
technology are essentially intertwined and
that they are each profoundly social and
political.
GOOD LIFE
According to Epicurus:
 Good Life is pleasure is the only
good and pain the only evil.
 He taught that the best life is free of
fear and free of pain.
Aristotle’s Idea of Happiness:
Eudaimonia- “good spirit”
 Good life is marked by happiness
and excellence.
 flourishing life filled with meaningful.
 endeavors that empower the human
person to be the best version of
himself/herself.
Happiness:
 It is the activity of the soul in
accordance with virtue.
 is the maximum realization of what
was unique to humans.
 for humans was to reason well.
 The task of reason was to teach
humans how to act virtuously, and
 the exercise faculties in accordance
with virtue.
The Virtues
Intellectual Virtue- theoretical wisdom
(thinking and truth) practical wisdom
understanding. Experience and time are
necessary requirements for the
development of intellectual virtue
Moral Virtue- controlled by practical
wisdom (ability to make right judgment)
owed its development to how one nurtured it
as habit. can be learned.
 “Happiness depends on ourselves“
 central purpose of human life and a
goal.
 depends on the cultivation of virtue.
 a genuinely happy life required the
fulfillment of a broad range of
conditions, including
 physical as well as mental well-
being.
Thomas Aquinas:
-Cornerstone of Catholic thought and
teaching
-Advocated that on earth man lead a life of
virtue, which he defined as having “a good
habit, productive of good works”
Why is that everyone is in the pursuit of
good life?
Happiness as the ultimate purpose of
Human Existence
 Happiness is a final end or goal that
encompasses the totality of one's
life.
 It is not something that can be
gained or lost in a few hours, like
pleasurable sensations.
 It is more like the ultimate value of
your life as lived up to this moment,
measuring how well you have lived
up to your full potential as a human
being.

Science and Technology and Good Life
 S&T is also the movement towards
good life.
 S&T are one of the highest
expressions of human faculties.
 S&T allow us to thrive and flourish
with meaning.
 S&T may corrupt a person.
 S&T with virtue can help an
individual to be out of danger.
In Summary
Life is good! It is only our thoughts, choices,
and actions towards the situations we meet
in life each moment of time that makes life
look bad! The same bad situation in life that
makes one person think badly inspires
another to do a noble thing! The same good
situation in life that makes one person feel
so good to get into a bad situation, inspires
another person to create another good
situation because of the good situation.
It is all about thoughts, choices and actions!
Life is good! Live it to the fullest!” -Ernest
Agyemang Yeboah
One must find the truth about what the
good is before one can even try to locate
that which is good.
HUMAN FLOURISHING
-a state where people experience positive
emotions, positive psychological functioning
and positive social functioning, most of the
time," living "within an optimal range of
human functioning."
POSITIVITY
Human Flourishing- an effort to achieve
self-actualization and fulfillment within the
context of a larger community of individuals,
each with the right to pursue his or her own
such efforts.
-involves the rational use of one's individual
human potentialities, including talents,
abilities, and virtues in the pursuit of his
freely and rationally chosen values and
goals.
Human Civilizations and the
Development of Science and Technology
Human person as bearer – a both the
bearer and person or beneficiary of
thing that science and technology
carry or hold something beneficiary.
 Human flourishes and finds meaning
in the world that he/she builds. 
 Human may unconsciously acquire,
consume, or destroy what the world
has to offer.
Science and Technology-
-must be treated as part of human life that
needs reflective and meditative thinking.
 Reflective Thinking
 Meditative Thinking- kind of thinking
that thinks the truth of being, that
belongs to being and listens to it.
-must be examined for their greater impact
on humanity as a whole.
Technology as a Mode of Revealing
MARTIN HEIDEGGER
-a German philosopher and a seminal
thinker in the Continental tradition of
philosophy.
-widely acknowledged to be one of the most
original and important philosophers of the
20th century.
HEIDEGGER’S VIEW ON TECHNOLOGY.
 He strongly opposes the view that
technology is “a means to an end” or
 “a human activity.”
 These two approaches, which he
calls, respectively, the “instrumental”
and “anthropological” definitions, are
indeed “correct”, but do not go deep
enough; as he says, they are not yet
“true.”
 Heidegger points out, technological
objects are means for ends, and are
built and operated by human beings,
but the essence of technology is
something else entirely.
 Since the essence of a tree is not
itself a tree, he points out, so the
essence of technology is not
anything technological.
What, then, is technology, if it is neither
a means to an end nor a human activity?
 Technology, according to Heidegger
must be understood as “a way of
revealing” (Heidegger 1977, 12). 
 Revealing is his translation of the
 Greek word alètheuein, which
means ‘to discover’ – to uncover
what was covered over. Related to
this verb is the independent noun
alètheia, which is usually translated
as “truth,” though Heidegger insists
that a more adequate translation
would be “unconcealment.”
How can technology be ‘a way of
revealing’?
1.What does this have to do with
technology?
2.What does Heidegger mean when he
says that technology is “a way of
revealing”?
 everything we perceive or think of or
interact with “emerges out of
concealment into unconcealment,
 by entering into a particular relation
with reality, reality is ‘revealed’ in a
specific way.
 technology is the way of revealing
that characterizes our time.  
technology embodies a specific way
of revealing the world, a revealing in
which humans take power over
reality.
 While the ancient Greeks
experienced the
 ‘making’ of something as ‘helping
something to come into being’ – as
Heidegger explains that modern
technology is rather a ‘forcing into
being’.
 Technology reveals the world as raw
material, available for production
and manipulation.
WHY IS TECHNOLOGY NOT A HUMAN
ACTIVITY?
  According to Heidegger, there is
something wrong with the modern,
technological culture we live in
today. In our ‘age of technology’
reality can only be present as a raw
material (as a ‘standing reserve’).
This state of affairs has not been
brought about by humans; the
technological way of revealing was
not chosen by humans.
 Rather, our understanding of the
world our understanding of ‘being’,
of what it means ‘to be’ - develops
through the ages.
 In our time ‘being’ has the character
of a technological ‘framework’, from
which humans approach the world in
a controlling and dominating way.
 Every attempt to climb out of
technology throws us back in. The
only way out for Heidegger is “the
will not to will”.
 We need to open up the possibility
of relying on technologies while not
becoming enslaved to them and
seeing them as manifestations of an
understanding of being.
When technology and humanity cross
What is a robot?
A robot is a machine designed to
accomplish a particular task.
What is Robotics?
The intersection of science, engineering,
and technology produces machines that
substitute for or replicate human actions.
Some Milestones in Robotics
1495, Leonardo da Vinci
- Drew plans for a robotic knight to entertain
audiences; operated by pulleys, cables, and
gears.
1737, Jacques de Vaucanson
- Designed the digesting duck, capable of
flapping its wings.
1810, Friedrich Kaufman
- First humanoid robot, a soldier with a
trumpet.
1921, Karel Capek
- “Robot” was first used in a play in R.U.R.,
Rossum’s Universal Robots. By the Czech
writer Carol Cappel.
1941, Isaac Asimov
- Coined the word “robotics”
1961, Unimate
- First industrial robot, sold to perform work:
transfer parts in a GM car factory.
1979, Stanford Cart
- 1st robot with a functional stereo vision to
navigate and determine distances
automatically.
- An autonomous vehicle.
2000, ASIMO
- Advanced Step in Innovative Mobility, a
humanoid multi-functional mobile assistant
robot.
2002, Roomba
- Home-cleaner robot.
- Introduced by iRobot
2003, Parcel robot
- The 1st prototype to unload parcels from a
container, developed by DHL.
2003, Opportunity and Spirit
- 1st robots sent to mars, planned lifetimes
of 90 days but ran 20 times longer.
2005, Stanley
- Stanford Racing Team’s “Stanley” drove a
175-mile-long desert tack in less than 7
hours with no human intervention.
2011, IBM Watsons
- Artificial intelligence system, won against
two of Jeopardy’s greatest champions,
brought a new generation of cognitive
technology.
2011, Kinect
- First low-cost computer electronics sensor
to empower robots to identify and pick
items. - Released by Microsoft.
2012, Kiva
- Company that builds mobile robots that
can pick up a shelf of goods and bring the
entire shelf to the picker who stays in one
spot.
- Acquired by amazon.
2013, Baxter
- 1st collaborative robot designed to work
safely around people, launched by Rethink
Robotics
3 Laws of Robotics
1. A robot may not injure a human or come
to harm.
2. A robot must obey orders except when
conflict with the 1st aw.
3. A robot must protect itself as long as it
does not conflict with the 1st or 2nd law.
Roles and Jobs of Robots
Computer-Assisted Manufacturing
– Used in assembly and inspection
processes, the fast-food industry, preparing
palettes for shipping, grinding process on
automotive parts.
Military
– War weapons, aircraft, artillery, naval
ships, “smart bombs” and others.
Medical
– Prosthetic limbs, pacemakers, dialysis
machines, heart rate monitors, blood
pressure machines, and others.
Space exploration
Robonaut, a humanoid robot developed in
2004, to assist astronauts, controlled by
Virtual Reality, has stereoscopic vision, and
dexterous hands with several
configurations.
Bio-production
Harvesting robots and multi-operation
robots used in farms, grapevine yards, and
flower fields.
Personal
Fax machines, computers, refrigerators,
blenders, watches, GPS receivers, etc.
Robotics Characteristics
-Robots consist of mechanical construction.
-Robots need electrical components that
control and power the machinery.
-Robots contain at least some level of
computer programming.
 -Watson is also used in healthcare
applications.
Types of Robots
Humanoids
Aerospace Robots
-Honda’s ASIMO
-Flying robots and those that operate in
space. SmartBird, Raven, Mars rover, -Geminoid series
Robonaut.
Consumer Robots
Industrial Robots
-Robots you can buy and use just for fun or
-Manipulator arm for repetitive tasks. -
to help you with tasks and chores.
Unimate, the grandfather of factory robots.
-Amazon’s warehouse robots
-Collaborative factory robots

Disaster Response Robot

Military Robots
-Perform dangerous jobs like searching for
-Endeavor Robotics’ PackBot scouts
survivors in the aftermath of an emergency.
improvised explosives, BigDog carries
Drones heavy gears, Cobalt, autonomous mobile
system.
-Unmanned aerial vehicles DJI’s Phantom
series, Parrot’s Anafi, Global Hawk. Research Robots
Education -Primarily intended to help researchers do
research.
-For use at home or in classrooms, hands-
on programmable sets from Lego, 3D Self-driving Cars
printers with lesson plans, and teacher
-Autonomous vehicles build for DARPA’s
robots like EMYS.
competitions, Toyota Prius, Waymo.
Entertainment
Telepresence
-Designed to evoke an emotional response,
-These allow you to be present at a place
comedian RoboThespian, Disney’s Navi
without going there.
Shaman, Partner, the musical bot.
Underwater Robots
Exoskeletons
-Aquanaut, deep-sea submersibles. Ocean
-Used for physical rehabilitation for enabling
One, diving humanoids. ACM-R5H
a paralyzed patient to walk again, added
snakebot.
mobility, endurance, or capacity to carry
heavy loads.
Medical Robots Advantages of Robots
-Da Vinci surgical robot, Bionic prostheses,  If introduced correctly, industrial
Exoskeleton. robots can improve the quality of life
 by freeing workers from dirty, boring, Ethics in technology, simply put, refers to
dangerous and heavy labor. moral principles that govern how
 Technology advances, improvement technologies should be used.
in overall health, medical
Technology ethics is the application of
advancements, decreased labor-
ethical thinking to the practical concerns of
intensive and unsafe activities.
technology
Concerns on Technology
Some fundamentally ethical questions
 Gerd Leonhard, European futurist, include:
speaker and author specializing in
 In what way can technology help
the debate between humanity and
people?
technology.
 In what way can technology be
 Humanity will change more in the
harmful
next 20 years than the previous 300
 to people?
years.
 In what sense can technology give
 He believes that technology will no
us a good life?
longer remain just outside of us, it is
moving inside of us.
 Technology revolutions have
involved the material world around
us. Now, technology starts involving
the biological world within us.
 Autopilot systems may make pilots FOUR ETHICAL ISSUES
“forget to fly”. 1. Privacy
 Social media were designed to find
and connect to friends. 2. Property
 Language translation tools may be
3. Accuracy
of widespread use and may lead
people 4. Access
 to discontinue language education
IS TECHNOLOGY VALUE LOADED OR
and training.
VALUE NEUTRAL?
According to most research ethics is known
Technology and Ethical Dilemmas to be value neutral.
PRIVACY: Privacy is the claim of
individuals, groups or institutions to
Possibility of ending diseases, solving determine for themselves when, how, and to
energy issues, reducing global warming, what extent their information should be
and (possibly) halting or reversing climate communicated to other.
change
THERE ARE FOUR WAYS OF PRIVACY
 We need to embrace technology and HARMS WHICH ARE FOLLOWS:
harness its positive powers (but)
 We should not become slaves of  Intrusion
technology in the process.  Information collection
 Information processing
  Information dissemination
Ways to Protect your Privacy
EXAMPLE: Reducing spam
Technology: Spam filters
Law: The CAN-SPAM Act
1- Illegal to send commercial email with
false headers
2- You can unsubscribe from the sender
Markets: You choose an email provider that
does a good job of reducing spam
Your choice: You decide not to open that
email with the unpleasant header
How should we teach future generations
to adopt an ethical approach to using
technology?
 There has never been a more
crucial time to have a
conversation with young people a
 Explore appropriate and safe sites
for learning and research.
 Copyright law, Fair Use Act and
Creative Commons matter.
 Help prevent cyberbullying.
 Self-image is important.
 Make use of netiquette.
 Always give credit to the original
source.
 Think
Biodiversity
Is the source of the essential goods and
ecological services that constitute the
source of life for all and it has direct
consumptive value in food, agriculture,
medicine and in industry. (Villaggio
Globale, 2009)
Biodiversity and its Types
Genetic Diversity- Difference in DNA among
Individuals
Species Diversity- Variety of species in a
give area
Ecosystem Biodiversity- the variety of
habitats, ecosystems, and communities
What is the importance of biodiversity?
Biodiversity is essential for the
processes that support all life on Earth,
including humans. Without a wide range of
animals, plants and microorganisms, we
cannot have the healthy ecosystems that
we rely on to provide us with the air we
breathe and the food we eat. And people
also value nature of itself.
 Threats
-in human
-petroleum ued
 Consequences
 Nutritional impact
Healthy Society-
Means a BALANCED SOCIETY
wherein it would last in long terms and could
sustain its needs (Jorge Arango, 2018)
Healthy Society-Technology
 Communication-sharing
information
  Learning- through outline -Repurpose
information
-Refuse
 Access to resources-
 Thinking – altered thinking; may Major Threats of Biodiversity and
think that you will benefit/harmful Consequences
 Health- application that helps
-climate change in marine life (dynamite
track diet/exercise
fishing, oil spill; can damage marine life
 Agricultural/Industrial needs-
trash in the ocean)
different opportunities
-deforestation
Why is sustainability important in a
healthy society? -practice application for our future
-protects ecosystem -consumers of marine life
-improves our lives
-in simple way to conserve energy The NANO WORLD
-waste segregation/waste disposal

The “nano” refers to a unit meaning one

billionth or ten raised to negative nine (10-
9).
For example, a nanometer is one billionth of
a meter. Hence, “nano” expresses a very
tiny amount or size.
Connection of Biodiversity to a Healthy
Society
NanoScience

 Food and nutritional needs- This refers to the study of exceptionally

pagtatanim small things that can be used across all the
-promotes economic other fields of science, such as biology,
opportunities chemistry, physics, material sciences, and
 Medicine and pharmaceuticals engineering (NNI,2017).
 Supports economic opportunities Nanotechnology
-Technology sustains the extension of This deals with science, technology, and
technology use are helpful engineering accompanied at the nanoscale,
-If correct technology used to improve which is about 1 to 100 nanometers.
biodiversity
5 r’s Nanotechnology Products
-Reuse One of the examples of nanotechnology
-Reduce product that was used during the pre-
modern era was medieval stained-glass
-Recycle window (Courtesy: NanoBionet).
  The arrangement of the structure of
materials at the nanoscale can
Materials in nano-size show uncommon
change its strength. For instance, a
physical and chemical properties caused by
pencil contains a graphite, which is
several factors including the increase in its
made of carbon atoms that are
particular surface area (Bogoevski &
arranged in sheets.
Burevski, 2008; Sergeev, 2001). Based on
 This can easily slide around when
the latest research, nanotechnology helps
writing because graphite sheets can
enhance the quality of the following:
easily rub off onto paper. Another
example, in diamonds, carbon atoms
are tightly packed together, making it
Biomaterials- These nano biomaterials are so hard that they cut steel.
being used in healthcare, such as imaging
tools as bioengineering to detect diseases, Polymers- These have been used to
monitoring, prevention, treatment of several enhance and strengthen computer chips,
diseases, for instance: cancer; especially its design.
cardiovascular disorder; inflammatory
conditions, and some infectious diseases.
Commercial Applications
Ceramics- An example of these is nano
ceramics paint coating. This is being used  Sunscreens
as a car paint coating to provide strong  Self-Cleaning Windows
protection and shield that keeps the paint of
the car look shiny and brand new

Metals-. A good example of these are Science and Technology Impacting the
tennis and badminton rackets. It increases Human Existence
the strength of the metal by 200 times by
rolling up the sheets of carbon atoms.
John Mccarithy- Father of Artificial
Intelligence

 Scientists have been working on Top 10 Artificial Intelligence Companies

another super strong version of
carbon atoms called nano tubes, 1. Amazon Web Services
which consists of sheets of carbon 2. IBM
atoms rolled into tiny cylinders. The 3. C3.ai
figure on the right shows single- 4. DeepMind
walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNT) 5. Metaverse Platforms
and multi-walled carbon nanotubes 6. H20.ai
(MWCNT). 7. Dataiku
8. SenseTime
9. Salesforce
10. Cloudera
Billjoy- co-founder of Sun Microsystems
-published an article in Wired Magazine
entitles “Why the Future Doesn’t need
us.”
-He argues that “our most powerfl 21st
century technologies—robotics, genetic
engineering, and nanotechnology—are
threatening to make humans an
endangered species.”
The underlying message in his article
was clear:
The rate and direction of technological
innovation over time will lead to a world
where humans are unnecessary 202
202 and machines will be able to do
without us.
"You can't solve a problem with the
management of technology with more
technology"
 In what sense technology
takeover/not take over the human
beings?
 Technology needs human being
to make it more efficient, in the
event that an make it efficient, and
can function in its own do you
think the future need human
being?
They always need man due to its:
-malfunctioning, renewal and update
-intellectual virtue of man
Meditative and Reflective Thinking
(consciousness)- technology and
machines doesn’t have
--wisdom, consciousness, and
intuitin
Information Age
What is Information Age?
-idea that access to and the control of
information
This period is also called the:
 Computer Age
 Digital Age
 new Media Age
It is the period that started in the last quarter
of the 20th century.
Why is it called the age of information?
-This period of history has been called the
Information Age because it makes available
instant access to knowledge that would have
been difficult or impossible to find
previously.
How does the Information Age influence
human life?
-Many communication services like texting,
email, and social media developed and the
world has not been the same since. People
learn new languages easier, and many
books have been translated into different
languages, so people around the world can
become more educated.
What are the benefits of the information
age explained?

 relationships at home, work, and in

social situations
 deepening your connections to
others and improving teamwork,
decision-making, caring, and
problem solving.
 enables you to communicate even
negative or difficult messages
without creating conflict or
destroying trust.

Negative effects of Information Age

 Education
 Social Media
 Productivity