Objectives for the students – develop the ability to reflect over, assess and evaluate the consequences of different technological choices by analysing the advantages and disadvantages of the impact of technology on nature, society and the living conditions of individuals, – develop the ability to incorporate their technical knowledge into their own personal views of the world and practical actions, – develop an interest in new technology and their ability and their judgement when handling technical issues.
Tutorial N.B. This is only guidance to some of the key aspects of the problems and possibilities with new technologies on board. As you work you will probably come across other aspects you’ll need to look further into.
A. Robotics At the moment we live in the Information society but pretty soon we will step in to the Robot society. Robots will play a major part in our lives in, for example household, elderly care and medicine like surgeries and prosthesis. Estimations are that in the next two decades robots will be capable of replacing humans in most manufacturing and service jobs. Robots and artificial intelligence will develop rapidly and according to Moore's law (which describes the relentless exponential improvement in digital technology with uncanny accuracy) computers will have the same processing power as human brains by the year 2029, and that by 2045 artificial intelligence-enhanced robots will reach a point where it is able to improve itself. Actually the Swedish robotics professor Lars Asplund predicts that by 2048 a robot-team will be skilled enough win the World Cup in football (if they will be able to participate that is)! What tasks should the robots have on board Santa Maria? Will the robots follow the Three Laws of Robotics that was written by Isaac Asimov? What happens if a robot does something wrong? o
Who will be responsible?
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What will the consequences be? And for who? ● The robot?
● The owner? ● The operator? ● The robot constructor? What rights and responsibilities should an intelligent robot have? o
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Same as the rest of the crew members or like “slaves”? ● Salary? ● Recreation? ● “Robo-healthcare”? ● Pension? ● Right to vote? Should cyborgs be allowed at the ship? If so, what kind of robotic prosthesis will be allowed?
B. Genetic engineering Genetic engineering is a branch of biology that has developed very fast over the last decade and will develop even faster in the future. For now it mainly focuses on making food, animals and plants better adapted to the need of humans but it will also be possible to do Human genetic engineering where scientist make registering and modification of an individual's genotype. o o
Should there be a genetic information bank of the crew members’ genes Weigh pros and cons against each other’s and make a decision. Who would get access to it? ● Doctors and scientists? ● The police? ● The leaders? ● All of the crew?
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Should the plants and animals on board the ship be genetically modified organisms? Yes or no? Weigh pros and cons of each and make a decision.
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Should you allow genetic testing of embryos? Yes or no? Weigh pros and cons of each and make a decision.
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When would such testing be done? ● In case of high risk of severe disabilities or disorders? ● To investigate if the child has risk for genetic illnesses in the future? ● To investigate if the child has good or bad genetic qualities? ● Other reasons?
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Should it be possible to do genetic engineering of embryos by replacing genes? Yes or no? Weigh pros and cons of each and make a decision. When would they be done? ● High risk of severe disabilities or disorders? ● Reduce the risk for genetic illnesses in the future? ● To enhance genetic qualities of the child? All or just some specific? ● Other reasons? Should genetic therapy be allowed - that is replacing genes in living humans? Yes or no? Weigh pros and cons of each and make a decision. When would it be used? ● To treat diseases like diabetes or colour blindness? ● To enhance qualities of a person like muscular strength, the capacity of the lungs or brain capacity? Should cloning be allowed on the ship? Yes or no? Weigh pros and cons of each and make a decision. ● Plants? ● Animals? ● Humans?
C. New inventions If we go back 40 years to the past, there were no cell phones, no RollerBlades, no personal computers, no grilling machines, no Internet, no Rap music, no computer games, no iPods, no GoreTex, no flat screens, no Simpsons, no Prozac, no graffiti, no sports bra, no GPS, no Viagra, no My Little Pony, no Three-Point Shots, no Post It-notes. If you look 40 years in the future, what will it look like then? o
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What new inventions will be invented by the year 2052? Don't think so much about the technical aspect about how the invention will function in detail, instead think rather about what problems need to be solved and what needs will have to be satisfied. Use your creativity and imagination! How realistic is your invention? Make estimation in percentage!