EL SOULEIMANEYA INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL

ANGLAIS OBLIGATOIRE

Scientific innovations and responsibilities

Innovation refers to “the use of a new idea or a new method” in something. An innovation can
be a new product, an improvement on a product, a new production process whereas
responsibility is the “good judgment and the ability to act correctly and make the right
decisions”. It can be defined as the “obligation to ensure that everything goes as smoothly as
possible, that what is necessary and fair in each case is done, with as little damage as possible”.

1. Artificial intelligence and its implications

“the [study, development and] use of computer programs that have some of the qualities of the
human mind, such as the ability to understand language, recognize pictures, and learn from
experience”. Artificial intelligence is most integrated into our daily lives when we use our phones, which
contain Siri (for Apple), Alexa (for amazon), and Google Assistant. Those applications are capable of
performing calls when ordered to, setting timers, giving out the weather… They include many more
features which are implemented to give a shortcut to humans and simplify their lives. This type of
intelligence is what is programmed to take part in the robots’ functionality and performance. It is what
fires the robots to give them the ability to perform what humans are capable of: teach, clean, nurse,
operate, and many more daily specialized activities. Coined in 1956, the term “AI” refers to
intelligence exhibited by machines and applies to machines mimicking humans’ cognitive
functions, with the assumption that the human mind can be imitated.

 1943, Alan Turing : computer whose technology enabled to trick people into
thinking they were speaking to a real person
 1950, I Robot, Isaac Asimov : computer with the capacity to store all human
knowledge
 1997, Deep Blue : supercomputer which won against world chess champion Garry
Kasparov
 2016, AlphaGo : computer program which beated a human professional at the game
 Go

2. Artificial intelligence (Scientific innovations and responsibility)

Nowadays, the human race has managed to revolve their lives around the technological devices and
equipment around them. This has become the new concept of modernity which was created by humans.

Among the technological developments that were created, robots were invented. Robots are human- like
inventions, which are programmed to carry out complex activities and resemble human beings, except for
emotions. Robots are fed information and programs much like a computer, and can control and be
controlled. Some robots are designed to carry out a specific task, such as performing surgeries, delivering
food to hotel doors, welcoming guests, and so on. Those types of robots replace human tasks and are
sometimes hired instead of humans to perform their job. Others are created to be companions, which are
far more complex.

2. Scientific innovations and climate change

Scientific and technological innovations have revolutionized our lives, but have also brought
about many environmental problems. Climate change is the most urgent issue to tackle, but is it
too late to reverse the trend?

I. The causes and effects of climate change?

1. What is climate change?

The Earth’s global climate is changing and the planet is warming up. The Earth’s average
temperature has risen about 1 C since the end of the 19th century and the phenomenon is
accelerating: 2016 and 2019 are the two hottest years on record and there have been five
particularly hot years in a row (2015- 2019). The global warming is due to human activities
such as farming, deforestation, and industrialization. Indeed, over the past 150 years,
industrialized countries have been burning fossil fuels, which has released harmful gases in the
atmosphere and produced the greenhouse effect. In the same time, forests (which absorb carbon
dioxide and release oxygen ) have been cut down to serve human purposes.

2. The effect of global warming

The effect of global warming can be seen everywhere: the polar ice caps are shrinking, the
mountain glaciers and snow are melting, the oceans are warming and the sea level is rising. The
outcomes are disastrous: the weather has become unpredictable, the complex ecosystems of the
different regions of the world are endangered, and a lot of animals and plants have difficulty
adapting to the change. Humans are impacted too, especially in developing countries: they have
to face record high temperatures, intense rainfalls, floods and droughts and all their
consequences. If nothing is done now, there will be 3 C temperature increase by 2030, which
would be a In 2018, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCG) issued a new
warning:

II. Finding solutions and taking responsibility

Climate change has been caused by humans, but humans are also the ones who can take actions: it is their
responsibility to fight against it.

1. Solutions: The notion of sustainable development appeared in a 1987 report defining it as

”development that meets the needs of the resent without compromising the ability of future generations
to meet their own needs”. It means we should seek the ways of living and working that enable all the
people in the world to lead healthy, fulfilling and economically secure lives while protecting the
environment. This implies many changes at various levels. At an individual scale, we can choose a
clean energy and green products (for example free of toxic compounds or biodegradable). We can change
our eating habits, but fair trade items, reduce waste and recycle more. Besides, the main step forward to
achieve sustainability is to cut carbon dioxide pollution and invest in renewable energy- solar panels or
biomass for example. States and governments have to invest and contribute to innovations.

2. Individual vs collective responsibility

Most nations hesitate to take firm action. Many countries fear that reducing greenhouse gas emissions
may harm their economic growth.

The 2015 International Climate Conference in Paris (COP 21) was the first one of the kind to lead to a
general agreement: all 195 countries decided to act together to keep the global temperature rise below 2
C, but years later, COP 24 was still about discussing how to put the Paris agreement into practice.

3 Can genetic really rhyme with ethics?

Reproductive science can help people to become parents in spite of infertility, disease or age.
However, these medical innovations have raised many ethical issues. How far can medicine go?

I. When reproductive medicine means hope

Reproductive techniques have given hope to parents who can’t conceive a child naturally.

1. In vitro fertilization (IVF) is a medical treatment for infertility, a medical procedure whereby an
egg is fertilized by sperm in a test tube or elsewhere outside the body in a laboratory. Louise Brown, the world
first test- tube baby, was born in Britain in 1978, since then, IVF has enabled many people to become parents.
Eight million IVF babies have been born in the world so far.

2. Pre- implantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) is a more advanced technique used to identify genetic
disorders or embryos before they are implanted, which prevents these disorders from being passed on to the
child. The world’s first PGD was performed in 1989 in London with two couples at risk of transmitting a
chromosomal disease. It enabled both mothers to get pregnant and give birth to healthy babies in 1990.Since
then, PGD has become increasingly popular. Thousands of children have been born following PGDtreatment
at hundreds of clinics all over the world.

3. Egg- freezing enables women to freeze their eggs while they are young and healthy. The eggs are stored
until they want to start a family. This “fertility insurance” is getting more and more popular: there were 564
egg- freezing cycles in the USA in 2009 and 8,892 in 2016. This technique was first used for cancer patients
whose eggs are damaged by chemotherapy and radiation. It is now used for women who are not ready to be
mothers yet or who want to focus on their career before having children.

II. Ethical dilemmas and responsibility

These medical advances can be seen as a positive development of science, but aren’t they going too far?

1. Social questions: More and more American companies offer egg freezing to their female employees
as a perk (advantage). They want to help them balance their family life and career. However, they are
trying to bridge the gap or taking control of women’s lives?
2. Ethical issues: Today, many American fertility clinics offer the possibility to have “designer babies”:
parents can resort to PGD to choose their child’s gender or its eye or hair colour. This selecting procedure
has raised conflicting opinions and ethical concerns. Indeed, many people fear the risks of eugenics.

5. Going extraterrestrial episode

Is space conquest a dream or a necessity?

A hundred thousand years ago, humans set out to conquer the world and have never stopped
exploring and venturing into the unknown for climatic, food or ideological reasons. Crossing the
sea or sometimes immense countries, made proof of courage and determination. Five centuries
after Christopher Columbus embarked on the greatest conquest. Thanks to technology , what had
only been imagines until now becomes reality. Since the first expedition, scientists and wealthy
people high- tech giants had their eyes fixed on space.

The conquest of space is originally a personal dream. The personality of Elon Musk and his
excessive ambition make the king of space. Elon Musk is an entrepreneur. He has created major
leading companies, which shows his creativity. He knows how to develop and bring his ideas to
life. He is also not scared of the unknown, since he left home quite young to study abroad. In the
video, he will probably explain the details of his project to go to Mars represented in the picture
behind him: how to travel and how to stay/settle there. Musk explains that the fast way to make
Mars inhabitable would be to drop thermonuclear bombs over its poles. Mars is very cold (as
cold as Antarctica in winter) and its atmosphere is very thin. The detonations would change its
climate and warm it up by creating a greenhouse effect. He will not implement this project. He
just says that it could be an effective way to terraform Mars but the media are making it one of
his projects. The video is a press conference given by Elon Musk about his project to send people
to Mars and settle there. He answers two journalists’ questions about the trip and subsequent life
on the red planet. He explains the risks of such an adventure. Musk first deals with the
personality and age of the first people who will go there. Then a female journalist asks about
safety during the journey and living conditions once on Mars. Musk depicts the hardships people
will have to overcome: they may die during the trip and will be exposed to radiations which
however, will not kill them; there are ways to protect from radiations: during the trip thanks to a
particular orientation of the rocket head and once on Mars the radiation will be less important.
They will be protected by the planet itself and the atmosphere, and they will be able to build a
magnetic field. They may get cancer but the risk is a little higher than on Earth. Musk looks and
sounds optimistic, which contrasts with the information he gives. He means that risks are part of
the plan. Man has to take risks to achieve his goals.