Science Technology andSociety
When Technology and Humanity Cross
When Tech nology and
Humanity Cross
This module on the course Science, Technology and Society provides the
information about how technology is being used today. It gives specific uses and application of
technology as well as the ethical dilemmas that are face together with it.
At the end of this module, you should be able to:
1. examine the different use of technology today;
2. identify different uses of technology; and
3. analyze the ethical dilemmas faced with robotics and artificial intelligence.
Reading Activity: Carefully examine the images and paragraphs from the
YouTube video entitled Different types of Robots for future by Edutrainer
"We know roboticsis the future of technology and today. We are going to
explore its applicable f ields. So,let's start.
1. Medical robots. This robot helps manual or automatic positionin of robot at client
position for design tool for medical world.
2. Chef robots. This is amazing robot which cooks delicious food for your tummy. Soon
you may find it in your nearby restaurants and hotels.
3. Construction robots. Robots in construction make the light easy for the workers.
They made the building structure so much perfect that even skill worker cannot meet
them.
4. War Robots. Who bought robots this little mesh war machines can change the game
when used with Al and machine learning.
5. Agriculture Robots. This robot helps the farmer to plant and water them they keep
the detail analysis of plant and other information related to farming.
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When Technology and Humanity Cross
Source: https://www .youtube .com/watch ?v=p/BiShzfgns
•
6. Manufacturing robots. In manufacturing is most used robot till date. They are
creating ever ything from small parts to full working cars.
7. Transport robots. Nowadays, drone deliver y is very popular and increasing day by
day. Drone is the type of flying robot soon human will travel using drone also."
'Great!!
You may now
proceed to
the main lesson.
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Science Technology andSociety
When Technology and Humanity Cross
CONGRATULATIONS!
You may now proceed to the lesson.
The Uses of Technology Today
1. Use of Technology in Business
Today businesses can save money by using technology to perform numerous
tasks. When you compare the amount of money spent on hiring an individual to
perform a certain task and the training necessary to be able to perform that function
consistently, it is costly. When it comes to technology, a small business can scale out
and consistently deliver more at high quality with less human resources, often
equating less cost.
2. Use of Technology in Communication
Unlike in the past when communication was limited to letter writing and
waiting for those postal services to deliver your message. Today technology has
made the field of communication easy. Now you can draft a business message and
email it or fax it in an instant.
Technology has made business meetings so simple, with the introduction of
video conferencing; you no longer have to worry to be late for a business meeting.
Now with this video conferencing technology, you can be in the meeting in a virtual
form and engage with your partners directly.
3. of Technology in Human Relationships
As the world develops, people are getting more carried away with their work
and cares. Today a lot is demanded, so everyone is too busy and have no time for
finding a relationship. So technology has also filled this part. With technology, you
can connect and meet new people while at work using social network technology.
You can also use technology to find a new date without living your work. Nowadays
people use mobile phone apps to meet and connect with new and old friends. Social
networks like Facebook.com, Tagged.com have played a big role in connecting both
old and new relationships.
However, virtual relationships are not as strong as physical relationships, so I
advise you to take off time and meet these people you network with virtually and get
to know each other better. On the other note, people who over participate in virtual
relationships, end up with no friends in real life, and they develop a disease called
cyber-sickness and loneliness.
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4. Use of Technology in Education
Today, technology has made a very big change in the education world, with the
invention of technology gadgets and mobile apps it is easier than ever for students
to learn. Nowadays you can access a full library of educational material via a mobile
app or website on any smartphone or iPad. Before inventing this technology,
students had to go to physical libraries to get the information they need.
5. Use of Technology in Purchasing
Technology has also made the buying and selling of goods and services so
flexible and a lot safer. With the introduction e-payment systems, users can easily
purchase anything online without leaving the comfort of their homes, they no longer
need to overly worry about sending credit card information to a vendor.
6. Use of Technology in Agriculture
Picture 1 {Before Teclhnology} Picture 2 { After Technology)
Also, technology has changed the agricu ltural industry by replacing human
labor with machines that are operated or controlled by people or other machines. In
the agricultural industry, productivity is a key factor. If production is high,the fa rmer
will make more profits. Technology has helped farmers replace the old ways of
farming with machines that can do the job in less time right from the day of planting
to the day of harvesting. A simple example is an animal-drawn plow replaced the
digging stick. Then later, that plow was replaced by the horse-drawn moldboard
plow. Currently, we have the large tractors that pull complex tilling machines. But,
even these machines are being replaced by no-till or minimum-till farming practices,
which reduce the amount of work it takes to prepare the soilfor planting.
7. Use of Technology in Banking
The use of technology in banking is the backbone of society today. Most banks
now offer online banking facilities. Millions make use of this service daily to manage
their finances. Most businesses also use this feature to pay employees and transfer
money. Many individuals and companies are reliant on this option to function.
Additionally, security has significantly benef ited as these banking systems do their
best to ensure there are firewalls and limits in place to reject any curious hacker.
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8. Use of Technology in Transportation
Transportation is one of the basic areas of technological activity. Both
businesses and individuals have benef ited from the new technologies in the travel
industry. Time is money, so we must have a fast and efficient mode of transport. Try
to imagine life without a well-developed transportation system. Transportation is the
food, clothing, and shelter of society. It has become a basic need of every society. It
assists with the essential transfer of necessary services and goods for all industries,
some of which is required for a population's existence. However, transportation
technology has changed dramatically since 1800 to recent years. Take a good
example on the train comparison picture.
Picture 2 ( Today - first and efflci·ent }
- ---...
Picture- 1 ( In the past .slow}
Trains
There has been an extreme rise if electric and hybrid vehicles. They promise
greater gas mileage, an environmentally responsible and all-around less expensive
vehicle.
Tesla Motors- Tesla Motors is the big boy of the fully electric car world.They have
showrooms all around the world and a very faithful following.
Toyota Prius - The biggest contender in the hybrid industry. It has been faithfully
performing and surpassing expectations since 1997. It is never the best looking but
it makes up inperformance and saving.
Transportation technology continues to advance with a possible autonomous
vehicle soon to come. Despite these advancements, country laws still require
adjus ting if the technology used today and intended for tomorrow is to progress.
Impact Technology Lives Future Technology
Notice how our lives are surrounded by gadgets and tech appliances. The PC
at your desk, the cell phone next to your bed, the Wifi router, even your thermostat
- all these are examples of how technology has transformed every aspect of our
lives; some for the good and others may not be so good. Here are some of the latest
features in techno logy and analyze their positive and negative impact on human lives.
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a. Smartphone Revolution
It was just over a decade ago when cell phones were primarily used for calling
and sending texts. Today, the uses of cell phones run the game. Phones do
everything from taking high-resolution pictures to watching pixel-perfect videos,
browsing the internet to playing graphic-intensive games to monitoring your
movements. It's astonishing at how this small device can handle demanding tasks in
addition to fulfilling basic communication needs.
The advent of smartphones has simplified our lives immensely. People now
connect with their loved ones more frequently and easily through video calls and
instant messaging services. Tasks, like creating slides, reading emails, and creating
documents don't require a PC anymore.
b. Less-Active Lifestyle
While the smartphone revolution has made our lives easy, it has also made us
lazy. Today, the whole world is at our fingertips, and thus we don't have to work or
move around like we did previously to get things done.
Sedentary lifestyle and lack of physical activities can be partly attributed to
the over-dependence on smartphones. This is especially true for the younger
generation, who are constantly glued to their cell phones. In the modern era, cell
phone addiction is having a negative impact on our lives. Care needs to be ta ken to
deal with this issue in an effective way.
c. Robotics and Artificial Intelligence
The advancements made by the scientific and engineering community has
turned Artificial Intelligence (Al) and robotics from science fiction to reality. Though
we don't have human-like robots like those depicted in movies, intelligent machines
are now a part of our daily lives.
Sophisticated machines that are capable of working with minimal human
intervention are sophisticated robots too. Driverless cars are yet another example of
Al and robotics. With tech giants like Google, Tesla, and BMW involved in the
production of driverless cars,it looks like we are going to see self -driving cars sooner
than we may have expected.
Future of Technology
With each passing day, techno logy is growing by leaps and bounds. And
despite concerns about unemployment and over-dependence, proper use of
technology holds a bright future for us. So, how can technology shape up the future
in a better way? Let's take a look!
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a. Clean Energy
Excessive consumption of fossil fuels has led our planet to the brink of
catastrophic consequences. However, technology is helping us deal with this problem
by developing clean energy . Development in the field of solar power technology has
drastically reduced the cost of solar cells.
b. Virtual Reality (VR)
Pokemon Go was one of the earliest examples of virtual reality going
mainstream. Tech giants like Google, Facebook, and Nokia are spending a huge
amount of money to make VR experience better for the customers. However, VR is
not just about immersive multimedia experience. With time and further
developments, VR can be used for commun ication through holograms, for interacting
with 3-D objects and other useful and educational purposes .
c. Education for all
A considerable number of the global population doesn't have access to quality
education. With the help of the internet, anyone on this planet can have access to
not only basic education but also advanced topics.
Reputed educational institutions from different countries are already
recording lectures and publishing those materials on the internet for everyone to
watch and learn. With better internet connectivity and smartphones, "education for
all" won't be a pipe dream anymore.
d. Flying cars
Amazon has already started delivering goods with the help of its drone fleet,
and Google is working on building its own powerful drones.
A couple of start-ups are also working on building flying cars. A flying car for
all intents and purposes is a drone that is capable of carrying people. There are
already a handful of flying vehicle proto-types: Terraf ugia has TF-X; Pal-V has the
Pal-V1; Indigenous Peoples' Technology and Education Center (1-TEC) has the
Maverick LSA "Flying Car";and lastly AeroMobil s.r.o. has the AeroMobi l 3.0.
Robot Rights
While neuroscientists are still working on unlocking the secrets of conscious
experience, we understand more about the basic mechanisms of reward and
aversion. We share these mechanisms with even simple animals. In a way, we are
building similar mechanisms of reward and aversion in systems of artificia l
intelligence. For example, reinforcement learning is similar to training a dog: improved
performance is reinforced with a virtual reward.
Right now, these systems are fairly superficial, but they are becoming more
complex and life-like. Could we consider a system to be suffering when its reward
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functions give it negative input? What's more, so-called genetic algorithms work by
creating many instances of a system at once, of which only the most successful
"survive" and combine to form the next generation of instances. This happens over
many generations and is a way of improving a system. The unsuccessful instances
are deleted. At what point might we consider genetic algorithms a form of mass
murder?
Once we consider machines as entities that can perceive, feel and act, it's not
a huge leap to ponder their legal status. Should they be treated like animals of
comparable intelligence? Will we consider the suffering of "feeling" machines?
The Ethical Dilemmas of Al in Robotics
In recent years,robotics has become increasingly applicable in our society due
to their usefulness. Initially, robots were automated machines that performed a
limited amount of tasks, but over time, their usefulness has increased, as has their
complexity. Throughout these years, engineers and scientists have improved robotic
capabilities to the point that they are comparab le to human abilities in several
aspects. The robotics industry is implementing more complex and intelligent robots
nearing what was once thought of as science fiction. Here are its ethica l dilemmas.
Ethics in Safety
1. 1979, worker in car manufacturing struck by a robot and killed
2. 1981. .Japanese wo rker killed performing maintenance on robot
3. Experts worry if robots can be sophisticated enough for preventing injury, for
military and household usage
4. Al causes robots to be unpredictable and possibly dangerous
5. Using Al,robots "thought process" will be hard understand even for computer
scientists The European Parliament creating laws holding robots responsible,
and regulate developers/sc ientists
6. The United States courts have ruled that the actions of robots need to be
strictly defined, holding the developers accountable
7. None of the governments are considering the integration of intelligent robots
8. Intelligent robots are much safer than traditional robots
9. Laws today need to be restructured to deal with these intelligent machines
Holding Robots Accountable
1. Keep machines accountable for their ethics/ethical outcomes
2. Intelligent systems lead to more spontaneous and unpredictable actions
3. Humans could easily push bias onto these intelligent systems to affect their
outcome
4. Some feel Al should be restricted and follow hard-coded rule-sets, hold robots
easily accountable
5. Restrictions prevent robots from reaching peak potential
6. New laws will need to be developed to counter this issue, and improve
perception of robots in the public eye
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Robot Rights
1. Philosophers like Descartes and Kant felt animals were nothing more than
mindless machines
2. They excluded animals/machines from moral consideration
3. Machines today are reaching human levels of intelligence
4. By giving robots higher levels of understanding, they must be given rights,
responsibility, and moral regard
Ethics in Privacy
1. Robots will have access to every room of an individual's home
2. Can observe private conversations, collect almost all data about any individual
3. Robot manufacturers will need clear about their usage of the public's data
4. Laws will need to be developed to prevent the misuse of public data by robots
5. Without public trust. this could halt robotic development
6. Public should treat robots as a part of society, not a corporate entity
Ethics with Emotional Attachment
1. Emotional issues include strong attachments to the robot
2. In medical environments patients bonded with assistive robots
3. Expressing extreme emotion towards robots (anger or sadness)
4. Issue if assistive robots cannot process people's emotional distress
5. Will always require a human companion to resolve emotional complaints
6. This will need to be addressed as Al and robotics becomes more advanced
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ACTIVITY
Name: Course & Section: _
A. Direction. Match the Impact of Technology and Future of Clean Technology on
Column A to the descrption on Column B. Write the letter on the space provided
before each number.
Column A Column B
1. Smartphone Revolution a. Development in the field of solar power
technology has drastically reduced the cost of
solar cells.
2. Less-Active Lifestyle b. Phones do everything from taking high-
resolution pictures to watching pixel-perfect
videos, browsing the internet to playing
graphic-intensive games to monitoring your
movements.
3. Robotics and Artificial c. Sophisticated machines that are capable of
Intelligence working with minimal human intervention.
4. Clean Energy d. With time and further developments,
communication through holograms, for
interacting with 3-D objects and other useful
and educational purposes can be done.
5. Virtual Reality (VR) e. Reputed educational institutions from
different countries are already recording
lectures and publishing those materials on the
internet for everyone to watch and learn.
6. Education for all f. Amazon has already started delivering goods
with the help of its drone fleet, a nd Google is
working on building its own powerful drones.
7. Flying cars g. Today, the whole world is at our fingertips,
and thus we don't have to work or move around
like we did previously to get things done.
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B. Direction: Describe how the use of technology on the areas below affects your life.
Write your answer on the space provided.
1. Use of Technology in Communication
2. Use of Technology in Education
3. Use of Technology in Purchasing
C. Direction: Encircle one (1) Ethical Dilemma below and write you r opinion on the
space provided.
Ethical Dilemmas:
a. Al causes robots to be unpredictable and possibly dangerous
b. Restrictions prevent robots from reaching peak potential
c. Robots will have access to every room of an individual's home
d. Expressing extreme emotion towards robots (anger or sadness)
Opinion:
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s summarize the lesson
that we discussed today.
Name: Course & Section: ----------
Direction: Provide a summary on the following topics below. Write your answer on the
space provided below each topic.
The Uses of technology Today
Impact Technology Lives Future Technology
Robots Rights and Ethical Dilemma
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' KUDOS!ll
•
You have come to the end of this module.
Oops! Don't forget that you have still an
assignment to do.Here it is...
Na me: Cou rse & Section: ---
---
-- -
Di rection: Look for an a rticle (online, on newspa per or from magazine) dated this yea r,
showing dilem mas i n the use of robotics and artificial intelligence. Paste the a rticle
inside the box below.
'CONGRATULATIONS!!!
on reachingthe end of this
module.Keep up the good work.
REMINDE
You may now proceed to the next module.
Don't forget tosubmit all the exercises, activitiesand
portfo ilo on _
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When Technology and
Humanity Cross
(TEST)
Name: -
---
------- -
--- Course & Section: --
---- Date:- ---------
Direction/Instruction: Encircle the letter that contains the best answer.
1. What use of technology can save money by using technology to perform
numerous tasks as it allows small business to scale out and consistently
deliver more at high quality with less human resources?
A. Use of Technology in Business
B. Use of Technology in Education
C. Use of Technology in Purchasing
D. Use of Technology inCommunication
2. What use of technology has changed the agricultu ral industry by replacing
human labor w ith machines that are operated or controlled by people or other
machines?
A. Use of Technology in Banking
B. Use of Technology in Agriculture
C. Use of Technology in Transportation
D. Use of Technology in Communication
3. Who is the big boy of the fully electric car world which have showrooms all
around the world?
A. Ford
B. Toyota Prius
C. Ferrari
D. Tesla Motors
4. What use of technology is the backbone of society today as Millions make use
of this service daily to manage their finances and most businesses use this
feature to pay employees and transfer money?
A. Use of Technology in Human Relationships
B. Use of Technology in Banking
C. Use of Technology in Business
D. Use of Technology in Transportation
5. What use technology allows to connect and meet new people while at work
using social network technology like finding a date without living work?
A. Use of Technology in Education
B. Use of Technology inCommunication
C. Use of Technology in Human Relationships
D. Use of Technology in Transportation
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6. When was a vapanese worker killed while performing maintenance on robot
which is an Ethical dilemma on safety with robots?
A.1981
B.1982
C.1988
D.1971
7. Who has a flying vehicle proto-types of TF-X?
A. Indigenous Peoples' Technology and Education Center
B. Pal-V
C. Terrafugia
D. AeroMobil
8. What feature of technology will allow anyone on this planet to have the
access to not only basic education but also advanced topics with the help of
internet?
A. Flying Car
B. Education for all
C. Virtual Reality
D. Clean Energy
9. What feature of technology made by the scientific and engineering
community has turned Artificial Intelligence (Al) and robotics from science
fiction to reality?
A. Less-Active Lifestyle
B. Future of Technology
C. Robotics and Artificial intelligence
D. Smartphone Revolution
10. Who is the biggest contender in the hybrid vehicle industry which
has been faithfully performing and surpassing expectations since 1997?
A. Toyota Prius
B. Tesla motors
C. Transportation technology
D. Smartphone Revolution
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