FM-AA-CIA-15 Rev.

0 10-July-2020

Study Guide in GE 6: Science, Technology, and Society Module No. 8

STUDY GUIDE FOR MODULE NO. 8

WHEN TECHNOLOGY AND HUMANITY CROSS

MODULE OVERVIEW

Humans aiming for a good life should cautiously think while dealing with science and technology.
This Module discusses documents that are very important to ensure that human rights are being protected
and the well-being of the human person is being guaranteed in the advent of developments in science and
technology. This section focuses on S. Romi Mukherjee's article on human rights-based approach to science,
development, and technology, and the cited documents in the article that contain their key principles.

MODULE LEARNING OBJECTIVES

At the end of this Module, you should be able to:

1. Identify key documents and their principles that ensure the well-being of humans in the midst of
scientific progress and technological development
2. Examine human rights in order to uphold such rights in technological ethical dilemmas

LEARNING ACTIVITY 1

Diagnostics

Before continuing on this Module, let us have a short diagnostic test to determine your beliefs regarding
human rights and science and technology. Choose the statements below that you agree on.
1. Rights upheld in the context of science and technology should be the same for every human being.
2. To attain science and technological advancement, it is sometimes necessary to disregard human
rights.
3. It would be a violation of human rights if the scientific community does not include the public in its
decisions.
4. Human rights should be considered when making decisions and policies where science and
technology is concerned.
5. The foremost responsibility of the scientific community is to ensure that human rights are not
violated during scientific endeavors.

HUMAN RIGHTS-BASED APPROACH TO SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, AND DEVELOPMENT

You cannot deny that most of the comfort you are experiencing wherever you are is because of science
and technology. At this moment, you can choose a comfortable way on reading this text maybe through your
phone or laptop or printed on a paper.

Indeed, scientific and technological advancement today is associated to having a good life, however, it
can be perilous in upholding human rights. Exponential technologies have truly amazing potential for
humanity, but we may squander it if we forget that the purpose of all technology should be to promote human
flourishing. Thus, it is important that in the developments in science and technology, human rights should
always be kept in mind. Such is the aim of a human rights-based approach to science, technology, and
development.

S. Romi Mukherjee, a senior lecturer in Political Theory and the History of Religions at the Paris
Institute of Political Studies, explained this approach in his article Linking science and human rights: Facts
and figures. According to Mukherjee (2012), a human rights-based approach to science technology, and
development:

“seeks to place a concern for human rights at the heart of how the international
community engages with urgent global challenges. The UN Development Programme
characterizes this approach as one that ‘leads to better and more sustainable outcomes
by analyzing and addressing the inequalities, discriminatory practices and unjust power
relations which are often at the heart of development problems. It puts the international

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human rights entitlements and claims of the people (the 'right-holders) and the
corresponding obligations of the state (the 'duty-bearer) in the center of the national
development debate, and it clarifies the purpose of capacity development.’”

To learn more about the human rights-based approach to science and technology, its aims, and its
assertions, you can read Murkhejee’s article by visiting this link:
https://www.scidev.net/global/human-rights/feature/linking-science-and-human-rights-facts-and-
figures.html#:~:text=A%20human%20rights%2Dbased%20approach%20to%20science%2C%20technology
%20and%20development,engages%20with%20urgent%20global%20challenges.

KEY DOCUMENTS AND THEIR PRINCIPLES THAT ENSURE THE WELL-BEING OF HUMANS

In his article, Mukherjee also identified some international statutes, declarations, and decrees to ensure
human rights are protected in the pursuit of science and technology development. Among these are the
following:

1. Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) - 1948. The United Nations General Assembly
proclaimed the UDHR as the standard of human rights on December 10, 1948. The UDHR tells us
that one’s worth is because of being human at that human dignity is an ultimate core value of our
existence.
2. UNESCO Recommendation on the Status of Scientific Researchers - 1979. The UNESCO
Recommendation on Science and Scientific Researchers sets the standards by which science should
operate and asserts that for science to progress, proper support should be given to it. This also
emphasizes the need to develop policies to ensure that developments are aimed towards to
betterment of society.
3. UNESCO Declaration on the Use of Scientific Knowledge -1999. This document touches on several
important issues that touches both humanity and science and technology.
Among other documents cited in his article include the following:
4. International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (1966)
5. Declaration on Social Progress and Development (1969)
6. Declaration on the Use of Scientific and Technological Progress in the Interest of Peace and for the
Benefit of Mankind (1975)
7. Universal Declaration on Bioethics and Human Rights (2005)
8. The Declaration of Dakar (2007)
9. The Cairo Declaration (2006)

The contents of the said documents and their implications, Mukherjee believed, should not be only
written on paper but practiced by the different nations that impose them. By applying a human rights-based
approach, the society will flourish as science and technology does.

Now that you have seen the importance of a human rights-based approach to science and technology, we
will look at specific issues that concerns the intersection between humanity and technology. This includes
issues between humanity and robots and humanity, gadgets, and the Internet.

HUMANS AND ROBOTS

Automation, increasing sophistication of computers, and robots may be threatening the usefulness of
humans and threatening human employment. The development of artificial intelligence may make robots act
or decide like humans. This possibility needs reflection regarding ethical considerations concerning robots.

It is very difficult to actually define of what a robot is, and many people may disagree of what a robot
really is. Generally speaking, a robot is an “autonomous machine capable of sensing its environment,
carrying out computations to make decisions, and performing actions in the real world”. Autonomy in robots
may vary, from having some outside control to having virtually no external influence.

According to Dylan Evans in his article The ethical dilemma of robotics, some countries are drawing
ethical codes and legislation regarding human abuse to robots and vice versa. The development of emotional

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robotics which allows robots to recognize human expressions of emotion and to engage in behavior that
humans readily perceive as emotional also contributes to the ethical dilemma regarding robots and humans.

In his article, Evans outlined some of the problems that humanity may face as robotics flourishes. To
learn more about these issues, read the article The ethical dilemmas of robotics through the link
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/6432307.stm

HUMANS, TECHNOLOGY, AND THE INTERNET

Almost every household contain television sets, mobile phones, and computers. There are hundreds of
millions of mobile phone subscription, millions of active Facebook accounts, and several hours of mobile
phone and computer interface. The Philippines has currently one of the highest digital populations in the
world and is the fastest-growing application market in Southeast Asia.

These devices are used as platforms for advertisements, propaganda, and advocacies for
communication, for information dissemination, as recreational activity and stress reliever, and as way to bond
with family members. Though there are uses, some argue that there are ethical dilemmas that these
advancements bring forth.

An interesting issue regarding this was written on the article Is Google making us stupid? by Nicolas
Carr regarding the effect of the internet on how we think. To learn more about the issues regarding the
Internet, read the article Is Google making us stupid? through the link
https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2008/07/is-google-making-us-stupid/306868/.

LEARNING ACTIVITY 3

Document Analysis

After reading the article, answer the following questions:

1. Read the identified documents in the article Linking science and human rights: Facts and figures and
look for the articles that pertains specifically for science, technology, and human rights. For the first
three documents, the articles have been identified for you. However, for other documents cited
(documents 4 – 9), you will have to read the content of the document to determine the particular
section or article that science and technology and human rights are concerned. You will be grouped in
six and will be assigned the document to read and will be shared to the class. In reading the
documents, answer the following:
a. What is the document all about?
b. What section or article of the document focuses on science, technology, and human rights?
c. How does the document ensure that human rights are being protected in the context of science
and technology?
2. What do you think are the challenges in implementing the contents of these documents? How can we
overcome these challenges?

Your work will be graded using the following rubric:

4 3 2 1
Depth of Content Demonstrates a Demonstrates a Demonstrates a Lacks
comprehensive comprehensive basic understanding of
understanding of understanding of understanding of the subject for
the subject for the subject for the subject for reflection.
reflection and work reflection. reflection.
can be used as an
example for others.
Originality and Work is insightful Work is insightful Work shows some Work is not
Insight and shows a high and shows insight and some original.
degree of imagination. degree of
imagination. imagination.
Style and Clarity Ideas are clearly Ideas are clearly Ideas show some Ideas are not

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articulated and well articulated and well degree of clarity communicated

developed. developed. but are not well clearly nor are they
developed. well developed.
Organization and Writing is well- Writing is well- Writing has some Writing is
Grammar organized with no organized with few degree of unorganized and
spelling and spelling and organization with contains many
grammatical errors. grammatical errors. some spelling and spelling and
grammatical errors. grammatical errors.
Timeliness Completed work Completed work Completed work Completed work
was passed earlier was passed on the was passed the was passed more
than the deadline deadline given. day after the than a day after the
given. deadline given. deadline given.

SUMMARY

The following learning points summarize what you have learned in this section:

 Human rights are central to discussions on how science, technology, and development can promote
human well-being. Human rights are also rights to sustainability, serving to protect the poor and
vulnerable from the excesses of market-driven science and technology. Without a human rights
approach to science, technology, and development, the uneven distribution of goods — from services
and natural resources to intangible resources such as human dignity and autonomy — would only
grow exacerbated, resulting in further environmental degradation and, above all, heightened
vulnerability.
 In other words, human rights-based approaches should not be treated as merely decorative moral
dimensions to policy or scientific and technological innovation. They can form the very heart of
sustainable futures.
 For science and technology, the approach requires scientists to go beyond knowing how their work
relates to human rights, and demands that they strive to secure and affirm human rights through the
knowledge they produce.
 A human rights perspective also affirms that access to scientific information is a human right. This
implies that the benefits of scientific advancement should be shared openly, free from restrictions by
social groups, corporate entities or states. Above all, a rights-based approach to science seeks to
create the conditions for equitable participation
 There are certain issues on humanity on robotics. Issues on safety, blame, rights, and value of
humanity are just some of the issues that can one can identify. He said that some are concerned
regarding robots that can show and perceive emotion, which might make us feel more machine-like.
He questioned on whether imposing the right of humans to robots might decrease our own
specialness. He was also worried on the use of robots in the military.
 The internet and other gadgets also impose some issues on humanity. These include issues on
communication, behavioral influence, information, and effects on intelligence.

REFERENCES

 Carr, N. (2008, July). Is Google Making Us Stupid?: What the Internet is doing to our brains. The
Atlantic. Retrieved from https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2008/07/is-google-making-us-
stupid/306868/
 Evans, D. (2007, March 9). The ethical dilemmas of robotics. BBC News. Retrieved from
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/6432307.stm
 Leonard, Gerd (2016). TECHNOLOGY vs. HUMANITY: The coming clash between man and
machine. pp. 18-20. Fast Future Publishing Ltd 2016. Retrieved from:
https://scholar.google.com/scholar?
hl=tl&as_sdt=0%2C5&q=en+technology+and+humanity+cross&btnG=
 Mukherjee, S. R. (2012). Linking Science and Human Rights: Facts and Figures. SciDevNet.
Retrieved from https://www.scidev.net/global/human-rights/feature/linking-science-and-human-rights-
facts-and-figures.html#:~:text=A%20human%20rights%2Dbased%20approach%20to%20science
%2C%20technology%20and%20development,engages%20with%20urgent%20global%20challenges.

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 Quinto, Edward Jay M. and Nieva, Aileen D. (2019). Science, Technology, and Society. pp 111-122.
Quezon City: C&E Publishing.

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