Topic: Why the Future Doesn’t Need Us?

MODULE 8 AY 2021-2020

Student’s Name:
Year & Block : WEEK 1
Date Received : AY 2021-2022
Instructor’s Name:
SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY AND SOCIETY 1
 I. Overview

Hi, there! WELCOME TO OUR CLASS – General Education 9, Science, Technology,

and Society (STS). I will be y our Instructor on this subject for the whole Semester. As part
of LiComCo family, I am committed to help a n d guide you to be successful and I am
counting on you to play an active role as my students.
This lesson will give light to the development of science and scientific ideas in the heart
of the society. It is the goal of this lesson to articulate ways by which society is transformed
by Science and Technology.

II. Learning Outcomes

At the end of this lesson, the students should be able to:

▪ Identify moral issues and standards in using modern technologies;

▪ Discuss the effects of the interplay between technology and humanity through the
dilemma(s) they face;
▪ Evaluate contemporary human experience in order to strengthen and enlighten the
human person functioning in society.

III . Discussion and Self-

Assessment Activities (SAA)

In the Philippines, modern technology has gradually flourished. It is something that we

use in our everyday lives because it makes the tasks we come across in our daily activities
much easier. Without a doubt, technology can help to make a society more productive, and
growing productivity is a major predictor for future increases in standards of living. However,
technology can likewise lead to large impact on a person’s physical, mental, psychological
aspect if abused thoroughly. It can cause harm to both the environment and individuals.

An Argument on Dangers of Technology to Humanity

Bill Joy argues that humanity is in danger from technologies that he believes are just
around the corner. His concern is that robotics, genetic engineering, and nanotechnology
present risks unlike anything we have created in the past. The key to understanding these
new risks is the fact that these technologies share one remarkable potential; that is, self-
replication.
Recently, some people have expressed concerns about the effects of technology. The
most dominant concern these days is artificial technology (AI) that would replace people in
jobs. Some people worry that robots and the internet might eventually replace people in the
work field. Joy believes that we will have intelligent robots by 2030, nano replicators by 2020,
SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY AND SOCIETY 2
and that the genetic revolution is already upon us. We all have a picture of what an intelligent
robot might look like. Hollywood has given us many stories of that kind of technology gone
wrong; the Terminator series for example. Surprisingly, Bill Joy concludes “The only realistic
alternative I see is relinquishment: to limit development of the technologies that are too
dangerous by limiting our pursuit of certain kinds of knowledge.”

On Artificial Intelligence
Artificial intelligence (AI) is wide-ranging branch of computer science concerned with
building smart machines capable of performing tasks that typically require human
intelligence. AI is an interdisciplinary science with multiple approaches, but advancements in
machine learning and deep learning are creating a paradigm shift in virtually every sector of
the tech industry (https://builtin.com/artificial- intelligence).
In the paper published in the internet society organization, although artificial
intelligence evokes thoughts of science fiction, artificial intelligence already has many uses
today, for example:
▪ Email filtering: Email services use artificial intelligence to filter incoming emails.
Users can train their spam filters by marking emails as “spam”.
▪ Personalization: Online services use artificial intelligence to personalize your
experience. Services, like Amazon or Netflix, “learn” from your previous purchases
and the purchases of other users in order to recommend relevant content for you.
▪ Fraud detection: Banks use artificial intelligence to determine if there is strange
activity on your account. Unexpected activity, such as foreign transactions, could be
flagged by the algorithm.
▪ Speech recognition: Applications use artificial intelligence to optimize speech
recognition functions. Examples include intelligent personal assistants, e.g. Amazon’s
“Alexa” or Apple’s “Siri”.
The advancement of artificial intelligence and robotics poses challenges on its socio-
economic impacts, transparency, bias and accountability, new uses of data, security and
safety, ethics and new ecosystems. With this, adoption of ethical standard is needed to
promote ethical considerations in innovation policies.

Task 1. LET’S DIG DEEPER!

Read the article by Bill Joy on “Why the Future Doesn’t Need Us”, make an outline using
the format below and answer the given questions.

1. Main Ideas (What are the main ideas that have you gained in the article?)
I.
II.
III.
2. Insights (What new insights or learning did you gain in discussion/activity?)
I. Before reading the article/understanding the lesson, I thought…
II. However, reading the article/understanding the lesson, I now think/realize …
3. The article is titled “Why the Future Doesn’t Need Us?” Do you agree that the future
won’t indeed need us? Explain your answer.
4. Why, in Joy’s opinion, is humility necessary in developing technology?
5. On what ethical principles would you say Joy bases his critique of technology?
SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY AND SOCIETY 3
 Task 2. LET’S WATCH AND LEARN
Watch the video lesson entitled “What Is the Impact of Artificial Intelligence (AI) On
Society? “ . After watching the video lesson on Artificial Intelligence (AI), work on the
following:
1. Identify the positive and negative impacts of AI by filling the table below:
Positive Impact Negative Impact Possible Issues

2. Write your own reflection about the documentary film. (300-500 words)
Rubric for Reflection Writing
Criteria Superior Sufficient Minimal Unacceptable
(5 points) (4points) (3 points) (2 points)
Depth of Response Response Response Response
Reflection demonstrates an demonstrates a demonstrates a demonstrates a lack
in-depth general reflection minimal reflection of reflection or
reflection or internalization or internalization internalization of the
or internalization of the concepts. on of the concepts. concepts.
of the concepts. Viewpoints and Viewpoints and Viewpoints and
Viewpoints and interpretations are interpretations are interpretations are
interpretations supported. unsupported or missing,
are insightful and Appropriate supported with inappropriate,
well supported. examples are flawed arguments. and/or
Clear, detailed provided, as Examples, when unsupported.
examples are applicable. applicable, are not Examples, when
provided, as provided or are applicable, are not
applicable. irrelevant to provided.
the assignment.

Organization Writing is clear, Writing is mostly Writing is unclear Writing is unclear

concise, and well clear, concise, and and/or and disorganized.
organized with well organized disorganized. Thoughts ramble and
excellent with good Thoughts are not make little sense.
sentence/paragra sentence/paragrap expressed in a There are numerous
ph construction. h construction. logical manner. spelling, grammar, or
Thoughts are Thoughts are There are more syntax errors
expressed in a expressed in a than five spelling, throughout the
coherent and coherent and grammar, or syntax response.
logical manner. logical manner. errors per page of
There are no There are no writing.
more than three more than five
spelling, spelling, grammar,
grammar, or or
syntax errors per syntax errors per
page of writing. page of writing.

SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY AND SOCIETY 4

Mechanics No/almost no A few Many grammatical, All constructed
grammatical, grammatical, spelling or sentences/paragraph
spelling or spelling or punctuation errors. contain grammatical,
punctuation punctuation
spelling or
errors. errors.
punctuation errors.

IV. Summary/ Key Points

▪ Bill Joy’s article “Why the Future Doesn’t Need Us” provides an extensive analysis
of the new technologies’ development in terms of their ethical dimensions.
Examining the nature of NGR technologies, the author defines their destructive
power as self-replication, which complicates or even makes impossible keeping
them under control. This power creates the weapon of knowledge -enabled mass
destruction (KMD), which is dangerous enough to assume the extinction of
humanity in the coming years.
▪ Joy suggests the establishment of new ethics as the possible prevention of this
threat. However, his belief in this is not convincing. As NGR technologies have
mostly commercial uses (Joy, 2009, p.294), they would be developed with lucrative
purposes even if the scientific community accepts the common ethical rules
regarding this researches. Their extreme destructive power makes me rather
pessimistic regarding the future of the Earth.

V. End of Module
Assessment (EMA)

Answer the following question/s. Discuss and explain in your own words.
1. Joy believes that “we must find alternative outlets for our creative forces, beyond the
culture of perpetual economic growth …” What should we say to future generations who
will face prospects of less prosperity than their parents if we curtail the technological
development that drives economic growth?
2. “Each of us has our precious things,” Joy says, “and as we care for them we locate the
essence of our humanity. In the end, it is because of our great capacity for caring that I
remain optimistic we will confront the dangerous issues now before us.” Do you share
his optimism? Explain.
3. How do science and technology affect contemporary life and vice versa?
4. How do we protect our human rights in the face of technological advancements and
ethical dilemmas?

SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY AND SOCIETY 5

VII. Self – Learning & Module
Evaluation

Self Evaluation
PART OF THE LESSON / MODULE THAT
I find most I find most I find most I would like to
interesting challenging difficult work further

Rate your learning experience in using this module according to the

following scale.
Put a check mark on your response.
▪ 4 – I learned a lot from this module.
▪ 3 – I learned just right.
▪ 2 – I still need guidance on certain topics.
▪ 1 – I did not understand anything.

VII. References

▪ ”How artificial intelligence is changing our society | DW Documentary” accessed 8, July

2020 at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ePZ7OdY-Dw
▪ Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning: Policy Paper (April 18, 2017). Internet Society
Organization, accessed 8, July 2020 at
https://www.internetsociety.org/resources/doc/2017/artificial-intelligence-and-machine-
learning-polic
paper/?gclid=Cj0KCQjwvb75BRD1ARIsAP6LcqtS4QFhJFYJ4S5BeLcTtks6oFY93-
kLnGGk8tH8AEGl44sQG2buapYaAgwNEALw_wcB
▪ Artificial Intelligence. What is Artificial Intelligence and How Does it Work?, accessed 8, July
2020 at https://builtin.com/artificial-intelligence
▪ Does the Future Need Us? The Future of Humanity and Technology. (May 27, 2001),
accessed 2 July 2020 at https://probe.org/does-the-future-need-us-the-future-of-humanity-
and-technology/ /
▪ Joy, Bill. "Why the Future Doesn't Need Us", Wired 8.04 (April 2000), accessed 2 July 2020
at https://www.wired.com/2000/04/joy-2/
▪ Why the Future Doesn’t Need Us Analysis Summary, accessed 2 July 2020 at
https://exclusive-paper.com/essays/review/bill-joy-s-why-the-future-doesn-t-need-us-the.php

SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY AND SOCIETY 6