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GP Notes Science & Technology
GP Notes Science & Technology
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Introduction
Positive impact:
[1] Today, science has a profound effect on the way we live, largely through technology—the
use of scientific knowledge for practical purposes. The first automobile, dating from the 1880s,
made use of many advances in physics and engineering, including reliable ways of generating
high-voltage sparks, while the first computers emerged in the 1940s from simultaneous advances
in electronics and mathematics.
[2] Alongside these achievements, science has also brought about technology that helps save
human life. The kidney dialysis machine enables many people to survive kidney diseases that
would once have proved fatal, and artificial valves allow sufferers of coronary heart disease to
return to active living. Biochemical research is responsible for the antibiotics and vaccinations
that protect us from infectious diseases, and for a wide range of other drugs used to combat
specific health problems. As a result, the majority of people on the planet now live longer and
healthier lives than ever before.
[3] Indeed, technological research and development continue to introduce new products and
services to society. Many of these innovations come about as a response to society’s changing
needs, providing solutions to the problems faced in modern society, improving our standard of
living and increasing our efficiency.
Negative impact:
[4] However, scientific discoveries can also have a negative impact in human affairs. Over the
last hundred years, some of the technological advances that make life easier or more enjoyable
have proved to have unwanted and often unexpected long-term effects.
[5] Industrial and agricultural chemicals pollute the global environment, even in places as remote
as Antarctica, and city air is contaminated by toxic gases from vehicle exhausts. The increasing
pace of innovation means that products become rapidly obsolete, adding to a rising tide of waste.
Most significantly of all, the burning of fossil fuels such as coal, oil, and natural gas releases into
the atmosphere carbon dioxide and greenhouse gases. These gases have altered the composition
of the entire atmosphere, producing global warming and the prospect of major climate change in
years to come.
[6] Science has also been used to develop technology that raises complex ethical questions. This
is particularly true in the fields of biology and medicine. Research involving genetic engineering,
cloning, and in vitro fertilization gives scientists the unprecedented power to bring about new
life, or to devise new forms of living things. At the other extreme, science can also generate
technology that is deliberately designed to harm or to kill. The fruits of this research include
chemical and biological warfare, and also nuclear weapons, by far the most destructive weapons
that the world has ever known.
[7] Now, more than ever, technology – a product of science – has become an important part of
peoples’ lives. Not only does technology have a direct impact on our physical lives but it also
affects our social relationships and values.
However recently, after years of futile efforts to stop digital pirates from copying its music, the
music business has started to copy the pirates.
Online and mobile services offering listeners unlimited, "free" access to millions of songs are
proliferating.
Taken from the Intl Herald Tribune (http://www.iht.com/articles/2009/01/18/technology/midem.4-410564.php)
Identity theft is costing the UK economy over £1.7bn a year, according to figures "calculated by
the Home Office Identity Fraud Steering Committee (IFSC) in co-operation with both public and
private sector organisations".
Adapted from Guardian (http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/blog/2006/feb/02/identityfraud)
Question
(a) What is your opinion on the blame placed on ICT in the creation of social problems? Is it
appropriate/fair?
<!--[if !supportLists]-->d. <!--[endif]-->Effect on Identity
i. Multiple Identities
Individuals can create a private space within the public space of the Internet. In creating that
private space, they may reveal their personalities and express their opinions without any qualms
(subjective to whether their private space remains private or is open to public viewing).
According to Sally M. Cohen, author of Email, IM, And Social Network Strategists: Help Teens
Manage Multiple IDs While Preserving Privacy, multiple identities allow teens to create
boundaries in online social networks. However, are such boundaries created to express
themselves freely or free themselves from the watchful eyes of parents?
ii. The Invisible Cloak
U.S. Supreme Court Justice Scalia said “The very purpose of anonymity is to facilitate wrong by
eliminating accountability” (quoted in [Framkin 1995]).
Under the cloak of an online identity, which is easily created, edited and deleted, individuals may
feel protected being anonymous. However there is an obvious risk of misuse of anonymity. To
eliminate such a risk, a United Nations agency is quietly drafting technical standards, proposed
by the Chinese government, to define methods of tracing the original source of Internet
communications and potentially curbing the ability of users to remain anonymous. Adapted from
CNET News (http://news.cnet.com/8301-13578_3-10040152-38.html)
Question
(a) How different is having multiple personalities from having multiple online identities?
<!--[if !supportLists]-->e. <!--[endif]-->Education
<!--[if !supportLists]-->i. <!--[endif]-->Accessibility of Information
With the help of new media, information is now easily available. The teacher no longer holds
absolute authority over knowledge. Both the teachers and students can take part in knowledge
acquisition and creation.
Question
(a)With increasing access to information, how has the role of teachers changed?
(b)Are teachers redundant?
(linked to how we define education? Also the need for a teacher to help teach skills to process
the abundant information)
In addition, new media has provided the platform for distance learning which has transformed
the global education landscape.
Technology "will allow you to control the information you want, and to get it where you want it
and when you want it" - Randy Bennett (responsible for electronic-media initiatives at the
Newspaper Association of America)
ii.Digital Divide
ICTs are expected to improve efficiency and increase access to knowledge and expertise. Thus it
would appear that an inclusive information society will strengthen democracy, increase social
participation, remove barriers to modernization, and empower populations who might have been
left out of the development process. Thus ICT brings us one step closer to eradicating poverty.
Where a country has high levels of ICT skills and expertise, society will be better placed to
combat social exclusion and the information divide, as well as to identify opportunities for
economic growth. From the individual standpoint, access to certain forms of ICTs may increase
the choices available to individuals. With increased access to information, individuals are able to
make more informed decisions. This is the very essence of empowerment.
Example:
In 1995, more than 2.2 million people in developing countries educated themselves through on-
line courses. At the same time, initiatives, such as the Health Internetwork, open up
communication lines and provide physicians and patients with up-to-the-minute medical
information and access to resources.
While some countries and people have benefitted from information communications technology
(ICT), more than 95% of the world still do not have electronic access. This gap between
information-haves and information-have nots, that exists both between countries and between
communities within countries, is known as the "digital divide" or "information poverty."
Evidence of the digital divide:
<!--[if !supportLists]--> <!--[endif]-->A computer costs one month's salary for the average
American, compared with eight years' income for the average Bangladeshi.
<!--[if !supportLists]--> <!--[endif]-->A quarter of the world’s countries still do not have
one telephone per 100 people.
<!--[if !supportLists]--> <!--[endif]-->The United States has more computers than the rest
of the world combined, and Thailand has more cellular phones than the whole of Africa.
Adapted from ICTs and Education indicators (Communication Statistics unit, UNESCO Institute for Statistics)
http://www.itu.int/ITU-D/ict/partnership/material/ICT_Education_Paper_Nov_2006.pdf
and
UN cyberschoolbus (http://www.un.org/cyberschoolbus/briefing/technology/index.htm)
The potential to improve the human condition using this kind of technology is an irresistible
fruit. But with it comes the dark side of supertechnology: the possibility of annihilation of life on
this planet. Synthetic biology and creating novel life forms by creating new DNA sequences
could be used to create organisms never before encountered on earth.
This kind of science will not and should not be stopped. The potential benefits are too great. But
with it, we require the most profound and overarching programme of radical moral enhancement
of human beings, using not just traditional methods of education but looking at how we can alter
our own biology to ensure that we become the kinds of beings fit to develop and use
supertechnology.
If we develop supertechnologies that will profoundly change the nature of life on this planet, we
need to become the gods fit to wield this power.
Craig Venter:
J. Craig Venter is an American biologist and businessman. He founded the Institute of Genome
Research and was instrumental in mapping the human genome.
Adapted from Changing the Building Blocks of Life: Playing God and Being gods
http://www.practicalethicsnews.com/practicalethics/2008/02/changing-the-bu.html
Question
(a)What is your opinion on the use of science to ‘alter our biology’ so as to make us morally
upright?
(b)Are there differences in our understanding of morality across cultures and time? If so, who
decides which morality to abide to?
<!--[if !supportLists]-->ii. <!--[endif]-->Producing Designer Children
Some people view the deliberate intervention in the natural process of procreation as an unethical
interference with the process of nature.
Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis (PGD)
Preimplantation genetic testing is a technique used to identify genetic defects in embryos created
through in vitro fertilization (IVF) before pregnancy. Preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD)
refers specifically to when one or both genetic parents have a known genetic abnormality and
testing is performed on an embryo to see if it also carries a genetic abnormality.
Because only unaffected embryos are transferred to the uterus for implantation, preimplantation
genetic testing provides an alternative to current postconception diagnostic procedures, which are
frequently followed by the difficult decision of pregnancy termination if results are unfavorable.
http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/273415-overview
As with all medical interventions associated with human reproduction, PGD gives rise to strong
and often conflicting views about the social acceptability of the procedure. For example, in
Germany the use of PGD is prohibited by law. In the UK, PGD is permitted in law but its
operation is controlled by the state.
Reasons against PGD
Diagnosis of late-onset diseases and predisposition syndromes
A more recent application of PGD is to diagnose late-onset diseases and (cancer) predisposition
syndromes. It can be argued that PGD for late-onset diseases is unethical since the individuals
remain healthy until the onset of the disease, usually in the fourth decade of life. On the other
hand, the high probability or certainty of developing some disorders, and their incurable nature,
can lead to a stressful life, waiting for the first symptoms to occur and to an early death. In the
case of predisposition syndromes, such as BRCA1 mutations predisposing to breast cancer, it can
be argued that there is no certainty of getting the disease and that the disease can usually be
treated.
PGD used for sex selection for non-medical reasons.
<!--[if !supportLists]-->g. <!--[endif]-->Blurring the boundaries between man and machine
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is the area of computer science focusing on creating machines that
can engage on behaviors that humans consider intelligent. The ability to create intelligent
machines has intrigued humans since ancient times, and today with the advent of the computer
and 50 years of research into AI programming techniques, the dream of smart machines is
becoming a reality. Researchers are creating systems which can mimic human thought,
understand speech, beat the best human chessplayer, and countless other feats never before
possible.
<!--[if !supportLists]-->h. <!--[endif]-->Environment
Industrialization, deforestation, agricultural intensification, overfishing etc. have brought about
many environmental problems.
i.Impact on the rich and the poor
The environmental damage caused by rich nations disproportionately impacts poor nations and
costs them more than their combined foreign debt, according to a first-ever global accounting of
the dollar costs of countries' ecological footprints. (Science Daily, Jan 23, 2008)
The study makes clear, for example, that while deforestation and agricultural intensification
primarily impact the host country, the impacts from climate change and ozone depletion are
spread widely over all nations.
"Low-income countries will bear significant burdens from climate change and ozone depletion.
But these environmental problems have been overwhelmingly driven by emission of greenhouse
gases and ozone-depleting chemicals by the rest of the world," Srinivasan said.
Climate change is expected to increase the severity of storms and extreme weather, including
prolonged droughts and flooding, with an increase in infectious diseases. Ozone depletion mostly
impacts health, with increases expected in cancer rates, cataracts and blindness All of these will
affect vulnerable low-income countries disproportionately.
In addition to climate change and ozone depletion, overfishing and conversion of mangrove
swamps to shrimp farming are areas in which rich nations burden poor countries.
"Seafood derived from depleted fish stocks in low-income country waters ultimately ends up on
the plates of consumers in middle-income and rich countries," Srinivasan said. "The situation is
similar for farmed shrimp. For such a small, rare habitat, mangroves, when cut down, exact a
surprisingly large cost borne primarily by the poor- and middle-income countries."
The primary cost is loss of storm protection, which some say was a major factor in the huge loss
of life from 2005's tsunami in Southeast Asia.
Deforestation, on the other hand, can exacerbate flooding and soil erosion, affect the water cycle
and offshore fisheries and lead to the loss of recreation and of non-timber products such as latex
and food sources. Agricultural intensification can lead to drinking water contamination by
pesticides and fertilizers, pollution of streams, salinization of croplands and biodiversity loss,
among other impacts.
When all these impacts are added up, the portion of the footprint of high-income nations that is
falling on the low-income countries is greater than the financial debt recognized for low income
countries, which has a net present value of 1.8 trillion in 2005 international dollars, Srinivasan
said. (International dollars are U.S. dollars adjusted to account for the different purchasing power
of different currencies.) "The ecological debt could more than offset the financial debt of low-
income nations," she said.
Adapted from
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/01/080121181408.htm
(2)Political Impact
i. A Surveillance Society
=> Cameras everywhere
=> Tracking on the use of the internet
This results in increased power/ authority by the state over its people and it can potentially create
fear and paranoia amongst the masses. We can draw parallels with the panopticon.
The Panopticon is a type of prison building designed by English philosopher and social theorist
Jeremy Bentham in 1785. The concept of the design is to allow an observer to observe prisoners
without the prisoners being able to tell whether they are being watched, thereby conveying what
one architect has called the "sentiment of an invisible omniscience."
Bentham himself described the Panopticon as "a new mode of obtaining power of mind over
mind, in a quantity hitherto without example."
Big Brother is a fictional character in George Orwell's novel Nineteen Eighty-Four, the
enigmatic dictator of Oceania, a totalitarian state taken to its utmost logical consequence - where
the ruling elite ('the Party') wield total power for its own sake over the inhabitants.
In the society that Orwell describes, everyone is under complete surveillance by the authorities,
mainly by telescreens. The people are constantly reminded of this by the phrase "Big Brother is
watching you", which is the core "truth" of the propaganda system in this state.
Question:
(a)How does the use of technology for surveillance infringe on our privacy? Does it matter?
ii. People Power
Technology has allowed the lateralization of communication systems, as mentioned in
Friedman’s “The World is Flat.”
Governments seem powerless to stop the propagation of ideas: you can ban someone from the
country but you can’t ban them from the internet. People are empowered by the new media.
Blogosphere
E.g 1.
Vietnamese dissidents opposed to the one-party rule have been communicating through Skype
and recruiting via test message and voice-over-Internet chat rooms. Exiled Vietnamese advocacy
groups have been sending bulk email messages to accounts with Vietnamese sounding names.
These emails typically decry government corruption and urge ordinary citizens to rise up and
demand multi-party elections.
The country is increasingly wired. Like China, Vietnam uses a firewall to block access to
pornography and political websites and is talking about censoring blogs – although that is more
difficult because most are posted on foreign-based websites.
(A Vietnamese “War” in the Blogosphere, TIME, 17 Aug, 2007)
E.g 2
Wikileaks is a website for whistle-blowers to post allegations of corporate or government
misconduct, while attempting to preserve the anonymity of its contributors. Within one year of
its December 2006 launch, its database had grown to more than 1.2 million documents.
Notable leaks:
An ex-employee at a Zurich-based bank, Julius Baer posted materials detailing money
laundering and tax evasion at the Julius Baer’s Cayman Islands branch.
A copy of Standard Operating Procedures for Camp Delta – the protocol of the U.S. Army at
the Guantánamo Bay detention camp – dated March 2003 was released on the Wikileaks website
on 7 November 2007. Its release revealed some of the restrictions placed over detainees at the
camp, including the designation of some prisoners as off-limits to the International Committee of
the Red Cross, something that the U.S. military had in the past repeatedly denied.
Website: http://wikileaks.org/wiki/Wikileaks
By the time of the novel, Laurent Michaelmas has successfully used his power to create and
sustain a powerful version of the United Nations to ensure world peace. He stays in the
background, however, as a journalist, albeit a highly influential and respected one whose words
and opinions can still influence public opinion. However, as the novel progresses, Michaelmas
slowly learns that a possible extraterrestrial presence may be interfering with the new world he
has worked so hard to create.
The novel is remarkable for its prescience, because it appeared less than a decade into the
Internet era, long before its current prominence and ubiquity.
2008 Science has been a scapegoat for the ills of modern society.’ Comment. DH
2008 Scientific research and applications which are exploitative should not be SAJC
allowed.
2008 Can spending on space research ever be justified when it has little SAJC
practical use?
2008 Effective communication in the technological age requires the written SAJC
word more than the spoken one. Comment.
2007 The computer has done more harm than good to society. Is this true? AJC
2007 Do you agree with the view, eventually technology will always solve HCI
the problems it creates?
2005 We are losing more than we gain through our advances in Science.’ NYJC
Discuss.
2003 Advances that make life more comfortable also make it more JJC
dangerous.’ How far is this true?
2003 To what extent have science and technology solved problems for the JJC
poor?
2000 Modern technology has given us many time-saving devices, and yet we TPJC
often complain that we have no time. Why?
2000 Big Brother is watching.’ The computer, instead of being Man’s friend, TPJC
is his most insidious enemy. To what extent do you agree with this
view?
2000 The advancements in Science and Technology today have both NYJC
empowered and weakened Man. Discuss.