STS

• Humans started to develop technology as a means to improve their living
• Scientific knowledge must be applied to different processes in order to make life easier
• Despite the good intentions of technological advancement and development through scientific knowledge, there are still disadvantages caused by these technologies, which raised societal concerns
• Ethical dilemmas regarding the introduction of these technologies changed the social behavior and preferences of humans
• Unit VI emphasizes how the rapid acceleration in science and technology influenced some ethical standards of society
• Advantages and disadvantages of the newly acquired technologies are presented, including how these advancements brought ethical dilemmas to the community
• Inherent human rights are also presented in this unit
• Learning Objectives


  • Know and assess human rights in order to know the underlying rights concerning some technological ethical dilemmas
  • Discuss the implications of the interaction between science and technology and human social behaviour
  • Relate human rights and the emerging technological dilemmas
• Technology, which is the application of scientific knowledge on techniques and processes, has practical impact by sustaining different sectors of the community especially in agriculture, health, education, and transportation sectors
• The use of technology started when human civilization developed tools as they learn complex human behavior associated with their survival
• The present-day generation have great desire for transformation, innovation, transmission, and domination of information
• Many people nowadays became technologically dependent because of the ease and comfort that these technologies gave
• The influence of science and technology in human daily living is growing
• There is also an intense competition in the marketing of these new technologies in the society
• The impact of technological inventions to the society must always be considered
• Advantages of modern technology


  • Improved communication
  • Easier and faster dissemination of information
  • Improved housing, lifestyle, and entertainment
  • Automated and more versatile home and entertainment equipment
  • Effective distant learning platforms
  • Improved modern transport system
  • Sophisticated medical equipment and treatment procedures
  • Increased productivity and efficiency in different industries
  • More creative and innovative entrepreneurship through online businesses
• Disadvantages of modern technology


  • Possible shift in economies and massive job displacement
  • Development of destructive weapons
  • Physical and social isolation and increased loneliness
  • Reduced human creativity and intelligence
• The above disadvantages of modern technology lead to technological ethical dilemmas
• Human rights


  Rights inherent to all human beings, whatever nationality, religion, ethnic group, race, sex, or any position in the society
• Human rights are untransferable, which means they could not be removed in a person unless declared or instructed by law
• Human rights are universal, as stated in the Universal Declaration on Human Rights in 1948
• Human rights are inseparable and interconnected
• Articles in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights


  • Right to Equality
  • Freedom from Discrimination
  • Right to Life, Liberty, Personal Security
  • Freedom from Slavery
  • Freedom from Torture and Degrading Treatment
  • Right to Recognition as a Person before the Law
  • Right to Equality before the Law
  • Right to Remedy by Competent Tribunal
  • Freedom from Arbitrary Arrest and Exile
  • Right to Fair Public Hearing
  • Right to be Considered Innocent until Proven Guilty
  • Freedom from Interference with Privacy, Family, Home, and Correspondence
  • Right to Free Movement in and out of the Country
  • Right to Asylum in other Countries from Persecution
  • Right to a Nationality and the Freedom to Change It
  • Right to Marriage and Family
  • Right to Own Property
  • Freedom of Belief and Religion
  • Freedom of Opinion and Information
  • Right of Peaceful Assembly and Association
  • Right to Participate in Government and in Free Elections
  • Right to Social Security
  • Right to Desirable Work and to Join Trade Unions
  • Right to Rest and Leisure
  • Right to Adequate Living Standard
  • Right to Education
  • Right to Participate in the Cultural Life of the Community
  • Right to Social Order that Articulates this Document
  • Community Duties Essential to Free and Full Development
  • Freedom from State of Personal Interference in the above Rights
• Aside from the rights enlisted in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, there are other human rights included in the Constitution of each state, treatises, local laws, and policies
• Human rights should always be considered before a certain technology is introduced to avoid technological ethical dilemmas
• Ethics


  A system of moral principles or values that govern a person's behavior concerning what is good for oneself and the society that he belongs to
• Ethical dilemma


  A situation wherein there can be two possible solutions, but both of them were unpleasant or not acceptable from an ethical perspective
• How people approach ethical dilemmas


  1. Acknowledge or accept the ethical issue

  2. Make decisions through questions about truths/facts, key values and ethical principles, and possible options

  3. Subject the dilemma to critical evaluation

  4. Make a decision and evaluate the consequences
• Advances in technology are rapidly changing in many disciplines, such as agriculture, engineering, education, medicine, etc.
• Technological ethical dilemmas occur when new and emerging technologies raise ethical, social, and privacy issues
• These dilemmas arose from the conception, production, use, and effect of technology
• Factors placed at risk when ethical dilemmas occur due to certain technologies


  • Environment
  • Individual health
  • Individual rights
  • Affected society
• The need to explore conceptual, ethical and policy issues of the society where modern technological advancement interacts promotes the advancement of science and technology
• Technological advancements also have the potential to transform individuals' lives negatively
• Technological ethical dilemmas


  Ethical, social, and privacy issues that arise from the conception, production, use, and effect of new and emerging technologies
• Factors placed at risk by technological ethical dilemmas


  • Environment
  • Individual health
  • Individual rights
  • Affected society
• Recent technologies and innovations should not hinder an individual from enjoying any of the rights mentioned in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
• Emerging policies related to science and technology (from the Reilly Center for Science Technology and Values at the University of Notre Dame)


  • Real-time Satellite Surveillance Imagery
  • Colonizing Mars: An Astronaut Bioethics
  • Wearable Technology
  • State Sponsored Hacktivism and "soft war"
  • Enhanced Pathogens
  • Non-lethal weapons
  • Robot Swarms
  • Artificial life forms
  • Resilient social-ecological systems
  • Brain-to-brain interfaces
• Satellite generated images can violate the privacy of human life if they reach the hands of potential leftists
• There is a need for risk assessment in the Mars colonisation mission by NASA and Mars One