Lesson 8

• Technological optimism


  Belief that technological advancements and innovations will sustain human life
• The Year 2000

  Book by Herman Khan and Anthony Wiener in 1967 that listed 100 possible technological innovations that could happen in the 20th century
• Negative implications of technology

  • Atomic bombing in Nagasaki, Japan
  • Human genome project
  • Using diesel-powered automobiles and coal-powered plants
  • Construction of dams
  • Agent Orange
  • ILOVEYOU virus
• Atomic bombing in Nagasaki, Japan was the abuse of science and technology
• The human genome project gave the power to manipulate genes
• Using diesel-powered automobiles and coal-powered plants made travel more efficient and electricity available, but contributed to the greenhouse effect
• Construction of dams disrupted natural ecosystems and displaced local communities, e.g. Chico River Dam and Kaliwa Low Dam project
• Agent Orange, a herbicide and defoliant chemical used by the US military in the Vietnam war, disrupted agricultural food production
• The ILOVEYOU virus, an infamous cyber attack made by Filipino IT students, affected millions of computers worldwide, including systems of the Pentagon (US Military Base) and British Parliament
• Protecting humanity from negative effects of technology


  • Universal Declaration of Human Rights (Article 27) - right to participate in and benefit from scientific
  • UNESCO Recommendation on the Status of Scientific Researchers - 1974 (Article 4) - all advances should solely be geared towards the welfare
  • UNESCO Declaration on the Use of Scientific Knowledge - 1999 (Article 33) - All levels of government and the private sector should provide enhanced support