Week 10 & 11

• In the span of a few short years, social media, mobile devices and internet have transformed how we communicate and get information about the world.
• Argued that humanity, so –called power over nature “turns out to be a power exercised by some men over other men with Nature as its instrument’.

  C.S.Lewis
• He feared that modernism and its ability to explain away everything but “nature “would leave us emptied of humanity.

  C.S Lewis
• According to Francis Fukuyama, there are three possible scenarios for the near future. First, the genetically enhanced intelligence or the prospect of living longer lives free from genetic disease. Next, advance in stem cell research might soon allow us to regenerate any tissue in the body. Lastly, the widespread use of psychotropic drugs like Prozac and Ritalin that can make everyone happy without the side effects of the drugs.
• Jacques Ellul warns that as technological capabilities grow, they results in countless means to accomplish tasks than ever before.
• William Gibson, who coined the term “cyberspace”, has said the ‘the future is here”- it’s just not evenly distributed”
• Is an interdisciplinary research area at the interface of computer science and engineering. It involves the conception, design, manufacture and operation of robots.

  Robotics
• Operate in a controlled environment where they do simple, monotonous tasks

  Pre-programmed
• Robots that look like and/ or mimic human behavior- Sophia


  Humanoid
• Operate independently of human operators

  Autonomous
• Mechanical bots controlled by humans

  Teleoperated
• Either enhance current human capabilities or replace the capabilities a human may have lost

  Augmenting
• is the study and manipulation of atomic or molecular scale to improve or even revolutionize many technology and industry sectors

  Nanotechnology
• Alan Turing established the fundamental goal and vision of artificial intelligence. It is the attempt to replicate or simulate human intelligence in machines
• Norvig and Russell defined Artificial Intelligence in four approaches: Thinking rationally, thinking humanly, acting rationally and acting humanly
• Potential Risks to Society

  •   Devaluation of humanity
  • Decrease in demand of human labor
  • High costs of creation

  Ø Ethical issues

  Ø Social isolation

  Ø Environmental Problems
• GNR

  Genetics ,Nanotechnology and Robotics
• KMD


  Knowledge and enabled mass destruction
• WMD

  Weapon of Mass Destruction
• NBC


  Nuclear, Biological and Chemical
• A theory/ concept that is of an advance level of technological or economic development that would involve a radical change in the human condition, whether the change was brought by biological enhancement or other cause.

  Post-Humanity
• Potential Risks to Society

  • Devaluation of humanity
  • Decrease in demand of human labor
  • High costs of creation
  • Ethical issues
  • Social isolation
  • Environmental Problems
• Is the process by which an organisms’ genetic material is  altered or manipulated so that the organism will have specific characteristics.

  Genetic Engineering
• It has been applied in numerous fields including research, medicine, industrial biotechnology and agriculture.

  Genetic Engineering
• It can be used in Cloning, Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs), Gene therapy

  Genetic Engineering
• A virtue associated with basic ethics of altruism derived from human condition

  Humanity
• From the latin word “humanitas” which means “human nature, kindness.”
• is a concept used to explain rights and duties of is urgent even terrorists during armed struggle.

  Soft War