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 owed its development to how one nurtured it
technology are essentially intertwined and as habit. can be learned.
that they are each profoundly social and
political.
GOOD LIFE
According to Epicurus:  “Happiness depends on ourselves“
 central purpose of human life and a
 Good Life is pleasure is the only goal.
good and pain the only evil.  depends on the cultivation of virtue.
 He taught that the best life is free of  a genuinely happy life required the
fear and free of pain. fulfillment of a broad range of
conditions, including
 physical as well as mental well-
Aristotle’s Idea of Happiness: being.

Eudaimonia- “good spirit” Thomas Aquinas:

 Good life is marked by happiness -Cornerstone of Catholic thought and

and excellence. teaching
 flourishing life filled with meaningful.
-Advocated that on earth man lead a life of
 endeavors that empower the human
virtue, which he defined as having “a good
person to be the best version of
habit, productive of good works”
himself/herself.
Happiness:
Why is that everyone is in the pursuit of
 It is the activity of the soul in good life?
accordance with virtue.
 is the maximum realization of what
was unique to humans.
Happiness as the ultimate purpose of
 for humans was to reason well.
Human Existence
 The task of reason was to teach
humans how to act virtuously, and  Happiness is a final end or goal that
 the exercise faculties in accordance encompasses the totality of one's
with virtue. life.
 It is not something that can be
The Virtues gained or lost in a few hours, like
Intellectual Virtue- theoretical wisdom pleasurable sensations.
(thinking and truth) practical wisdom  It is more like the ultimate value of
understanding. Experience and time are your life as lived up to this moment,
necessary requirements for the measuring how well you have lived
development of intellectual virtue up to your full potential as a human
being.
Moral Virtue- controlled by practical
wisdom (ability to make right judgment)
 -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."

Science and Technology and Good Life

POSITIVITY
Human Flourishing- an effort to achieve
 S&T is also the movement towards self-actualization and fulfillment within the
good life. context of a larger community of individuals,
 S&T are one of the highest each with the right to pursue his or her own
expressions of human faculties. such efforts.
 S&T allow us to thrive and flourish
with meaning. -involves the rational use of one's individual
human potentialities, including talents,
 S&T may corrupt a person.
abilities, and virtues in the pursuit of his
 S&T with virtue can help an
freely and rationally chosen values and
individual to be out of danger.
goals.
In Summary
Life is good! It is only our thoughts, choices,
Human Civilizations and the
and actions towards the situations we meet
Development of Science and Technology
in life each moment of time that makes life
look bad! The same bad situation in life that Human person as bearer – a both the
makes one person think badly inspires bearer and person or beneficiary of
another to do a noble thing! The same good thing that science and technology
situation in life that makes one person feel carry or hold something beneficiary.
so good to get into a bad situation, inspires
another person to create another good  Human flourishes and finds meaning
situation because of the good situation. in the world that he/she builds. 
 Human may unconsciously acquire,
It is all about thoughts, choices and actions! consume, or destroy what the world
Life is good! Live it to the fullest!” -Ernest has to offer.
Agyemang Yeboah

Science and Technology-

-must be treated as part of human life that
One must find the truth about what the needs reflective and meditative thinking.
good is before one can even try to locate  Reflective Thinking
that which is good.  Meditative Thinking- kind of thinking
that thinks the truth of being, that
belongs to being and listens to it.
HUMAN FLOURISHING
-must be examined for their greater impact  Revealing is his translation of the
on humanity as a whole.  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.”

Technology as a Mode of Revealing

How can technology be ‘a way of
MARTIN HEIDEGGER revealing’?
-a German philosopher and a seminal 1.What does this have to do with
thinker in the Continental tradition of technology?
philosophy.
2.What does Heidegger mean when he
-widely acknowledged to be one of the most says that technology is “a way of
original and important philosophers of the revealing”?
20th century.
 everything we perceive or think of or
HEIDEGGER’S VIEW ON TECHNOLOGY. interact with “emerges out of
 He strongly opposes the view that concealment into unconcealment,
technology is “a means to an end” or  by entering into a particular relation
 “a human activity.” with reality, reality is ‘revealed’ in a
specific way.
 These two approaches, which he
calls, respectively, the “instrumental”  technology is the way of revealing
and “anthropological” definitions, are that characterizes our time.  
indeed “correct”, but do not go deep technology embodies a specific way
enough; as he says, they are not yet of revealing the world, a revealing in
“true.” which humans take power over
reality.
 Heidegger points out, technological
 While the ancient Greeks
objects are means for ends, and are
built and operated by human beings, experienced the
but the essence of technology is  ‘making’ of something as ‘helping
something else entirely. something to come into being’ – as
 Since the essence of a tree is not Heidegger explains that modern
itself a tree, he points out, so the technology is rather a ‘forcing into
essence of technology is not being’.
anything technological.  Technology reveals the world as raw
material, available for production
What, then, is technology, if it is neither and manipulation.
a means to an end nor a human activity?
WHY IS TECHNOLOGY NOT A HUMAN
 Technology, according to Heidegger ACTIVITY?
must be understood as “a way of
revealing” (Heidegger 1977, 12). 
  According to Heidegger, there is 1495, Leonardo da Vinci
something wrong with the modern,
- Drew plans for a robotic knight to entertain
technological culture we live in
audiences; operated by pulleys, cables, and
today. In our ‘age of technology’
gears.
reality can only be present as a raw
material (as a ‘standing reserve’). 1737, Jacques de Vaucanson
This state of affairs has not been
brought about by humans; the - Designed the digesting duck, capable of
technological way of revealing was flapping its wings.
not chosen by humans. 1810, Friedrich Kaufman

 Rather, our understanding of the - First humanoid robot, a soldier with a

world our understanding of ‘being’, trumpet.
of what it means ‘to be’ - develops 1921, Karel Capek
through the ages.
 In our time ‘being’ has the character - “Robot” was first used in a play in R.U.R.,
of a technological ‘framework’, from Rossum’s Universal Robots. By the Czech
which humans approach the world in writer Carol Cappel.
a controlling and dominating way.
1941, Isaac Asimov
 Every attempt to climb out of
technology throws us back in. The - Coined the word “robotics”
only way out for Heidegger is “the
will not to will”. 1961, Unimate
 We need to open up the possibility - First industrial robot, sold to perform work:
of relying on technologies while not transfer parts in a GM car factory.
becoming enslaved to them and
seeing them as manifestations of an 1979, Stanford Cart
understanding of being. - 1st robot with a functional stereo vision to
navigate and determine distances
automatically.
- An autonomous vehicle.
When technology and humanity cross
2000, ASIMO
- Advanced Step in Innovative Mobility, a
What is a robot? humanoid multi-functional mobile assistant
robot.
A robot is a machine designed to
accomplish a particular task. 2002, Roomba
What is Robotics? - Home-cleaner robot.
The intersection of science, engineering, - Introduced by iRobot
and technology produces machines that
substitute for or replicate human actions. 2003, Parcel robot
- The 1st prototype to unload parcels from a
container, developed by DHL.
Some Milestones in Robotics
2003, Opportunity and Spirit
- 1st robots sent to mars, planned lifetimes Roles and Jobs of Robots
of 90 days but ran 20 times longer.
Computer-Assisted Manufacturing
2005, Stanley
– Used in assembly and inspection
- Stanford Racing Team’s “Stanley” drove a processes, the fast-food industry, preparing
175-mile-long desert tack in less than 7 palettes for shipping, grinding process on
hours with no human intervention. automotive parts.
Military
– War weapons, aircraft, artillery, naval
ships, “smart bombs” and others.

2011, IBM Watsons

Medical
- Artificial intelligence system, won against
two of Jeopardy’s greatest champions, – Prosthetic limbs, pacemakers, dialysis
brought a new generation of cognitive machines, heart rate monitors, blood
technology. pressure machines, and others.
2011, Kinect Space exploration
- First low-cost computer electronics sensor Robonaut, a humanoid robot developed in
to empower robots to identify and pick 2004, to assist astronauts, controlled by
items. - Released by Microsoft. Virtual Reality, has stereoscopic vision, and
dexterous hands with several
2012, Kiva
configurations.
- Company that builds mobile robots that
Bio-production
can pick up a shelf of goods and bring the
entire shelf to the picker who stays in one Harvesting robots and multi-operation
spot. robots used in farms, grapevine yards, and
flower fields.
- Acquired by amazon.
Personal
2013, Baxter
Fax machines, computers, refrigerators,
- 1st collaborative robot designed to work
blenders, watches, GPS receivers, etc.
safely around people, launched by Rethink
Robotics
3 Laws of Robotics Robotics Characteristics
1. A robot may not injure a human or come -Robots consist of mechanical construction.
to harm.
-Robots need electrical components that
2. A robot must obey orders except when control and power the machinery.
conflict with the 1st aw.
-Robots contain at least some level of
3. A robot must protect itself as long as it computer programming.
does not conflict with the 1st or 2nd law.
 -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 Is the source of the essential goods and
ecological services that constitute the
Ways to Protect your Privacy source of life for all and it has direct
EXAMPLE: Reducing spam consumptive value in food, agriculture,
medicine and in industry. (Villaggio
Technology: Spam filters Globale, 2009)
Law: The CAN-SPAM Act
1- Illegal to send commercial email with Biodiversity and its Types
false headers
Genetic Diversity- Difference in DNA among
2- You can unsubscribe from the sender Individuals
Markets: You choose an email provider that Species Diversity- Variety of species in a
does a good job of reducing spam give area
Your choice: You decide not to open that Ecosystem Biodiversity- the variety of
email with the unpleasant header 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
How should we teach future generations animals, plants and microorganisms, we
to adopt an ethical approach to using cannot have the healthy ecosystems that
technology? we rely on to provide us with the air we
breathe and the food we eat. And people
 There has never been a more also value nature of itself.
crucial time to have a
conversation with young people a  Threats
 Explore appropriate and safe sites -in human
for learning and research. -petroleum ued
 Copyright law, Fair Use Act and  Consequences
Creative Commons matter.  Nutritional impact
 Help prevent cyberbullying.
 Self-image is important.
 Make use of netiquette. Healthy Society-
 Always give credit to the original
Means a BALANCED SOCIETY
source.
 Think wherein it would last in long terms and could
sustain its needs (Jorge Arango, 2018)

Healthy Society-Technology

 Communication-sharing
Biodiversity
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 Meditative and Reflective Thinking
(consciousness)- technology and
machines doesn’t have
Billjoy- co-founder of Sun Microsystems
--wisdom, consciousness, and
-published an article in Wired Magazine intuitin
entitles “Why the Future Doesn’t need
Information Age
us.”
-He argues that “our most powerfl 21st
century technologies—robotics, genetic
What is Information Age?
engineering, and nanotechnology—are
threatening to make humans an
-idea that access to and the control of
endangered species.”
information
The underlying message in his article
was clear: This period is also called the:

 Computer Age
The rate and direction of technological  Digital Age
innovation over time will lead to a world  new Media Age
where humans are unnecessary 202
202 and machines will be able to do It is the period that started in the last quarter
without us. of the 20th century.
"You can't solve a problem with the
management of technology with more
technology"
Why is it called the age of information?

-This period of history has been called the

Information Age because it makes available
 In what sense technology instant access to knowledge that would have
takeover/not take over the human been difficult or impossible to find
beings? previously.
 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 How does the Information Age influence
think the future need human human life?
being?
-Many communication services like texting,
email, and social media developed and the
They always need man due to its: world has not been the same since. People
learn new languages easier, and many
-malfunctioning, renewal and update books have been translated into different
languages, so people around the world can
-intellectual virtue of man
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