WHEN TECHNOLOGY AND HUMANITY CROSS

 Human rights in the face of changing social conditions and technological development.

 How humans differ from robots.

 Laws or policies in the country that protect the well-being of the person in technological development and ethical dilemmas.

INTRODUCTION

 A good life entails living in a just and progressive society whose citizens have the freedom to flourish.
 The human person has the autonomy to make choices which may enable the flourishing of his self and society.
 Human beings become freer when we are empowered to make choices for our flourishing.
 The UDHR

UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS (with logo of UDHR)

 It entails knowing one’s fundamental human rights that must always be protected in the face of changing conditions.
 Begins “Whereas recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the
human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world” (UDHR Preamble).

 Explains the fundamental human rights in 30 articles.

ROBOTICS AND HUMANITY (pictures)

 The rise of machines accompanying the progress in science while it may render humans useless.
 Robots, usually designed like human beings, are created to perform complex, repetitive, or dangerous tasks.
 With the development of Artificial Intelligence (AI), robots may also eventually act and decide like humans.
 In the possibility that machines adopt the nature of humans, there is a need to reflect on the ethical problems posed by
such development.

 Though the Philippines has not yet reached the point of producing robots on a commercial scale for household use, it is
still behooving us to ponder the ramifications of replacing persons with machinery.
 Be that as it may, its use in the country is surely gaining ground, especially in the business process outsourcing (BPO)
industry.
 Investors and businesspeople find as a sure return of investment the use of business analytics is a means by which
consumer and industry data are used to come up with better decision-making.
 As of August 2017, it is estimated that a million Filipino BPO workers may be affected and lose their jobs with the
adoption of artificial intelligence (Santos, 2017).

 What does this mean for human beings who can be replaced by machines?
 Is that value of the person inversely proportional to that of a machine exhibiting artificial intelligence?
 These points are but a sample of the questions that should be resolved when faced with technology that may become a
threat to human dignity and security.
 In the future, when machines and robots become more human-like, with all the attendant feelings and thoughts, people
may also have to consider the ethical treatment for AI.
  Since many of the things people need, from conveniences to information, are available with just the touch and swipe of
the fingertips, humans begin to function more like automatons.
 Often, people accept what the search engine, like Google, spews out in byte sizes and forget how to process, read, think
further, or put things in context.

 The development of society along with science along with science and technology gives rise to more and more
complex issues.
 What is vital is that amid these developments, human beings become more free, more rational, and more loving in
our practice of science and technology.

Points to Remember:

 The good life entails living in a just and progressive society whose citizen have the freedom to

flourish.

 There are still some problems faced by the different technological advancements.

 Ethics should still be enforced in the field of technology so as to ensure the safety and morality of

these devices to people.

1.How do we protect our human rights in the face of technological advancement and ethical

dilemmas?

2. How does science and technology affect contemporary life and vice versa?

3. Do you believe that Google makes people stupid?

WHY DOES THE FUTURE NOT NEED US?

LESSON PROPER

 Chief scientist and corporate executive officer of Sun Microsystems, Bill Joy, wrote in 2000 a controversial essay, “Why
the future does not need us,” In his work, he contended that our most powerful 21st century technologies- genetics,
nanotech, and robotics (GNR)-are threatening to make humans and endangered species.
 This possible extinction of the species may largely come about due to the unreflective and unquestioning acceptance of
new technologies by humans.

 Joy also asserted that: Accustomed to living with almost routine scientific breakthroughs, we have yet to come to terms
with the fact that the most compelling 21st-century technologies—robotics, genetic engineering, and nanotechnology—
pose a different threat than the technologies that have come before.
 Yet, with each of these technologies, a sequence of small, individually sensible advances leads to an accumulation of
great power and, concomitantly, great danger.

 Humans should have learned the lesson in the atomic bombings of the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in
1945 that killed over a hundred thousand people.
 A definite testament to the success of science and technology, the atomic bomb was also a fatal reminder of its
destructive power.
 GNR today is accessible to small groups and individuals and does not require funding and abuses.

 Science and technology may be the highest expression of human rationality.

 If we are not able to rein in the vanity and arrogance that such powers unleash, then we are on the way to destroying
the world.

The wasteland grows; woe unto him who harbors the wasteland within - Friedrich Nietzche

Pointers to Remember:
 Science and technology may be the highest expression of human rationality.
 Human nature may be corrupted when the powers of our mind, our rationality, and our science and technology
become manifest.
 Most powerful 21st century technologies- genetics, nanotech, and robotics (GNR)-are threatening to make humans
and endangered species.