(H1GP P1) Science and Tech Concepts

KeyClashes - Developments:moreharmthangood?- Aretheydevelopingtoofast?Aretheyconsideringethicalramifications?- AreregulationsinS/Tjustified?- Shouldsciencebeaboutlearningmoreorabouthowitcanserveandmeethumanneeds? STyipee . ᐟ Argument Evidence Explanation Evaluation Overcomehumanphysicalweakness - Artificialinsemination(Spermiscollected,eitherfromthehusbandoradonor,andplacedartificiallyintoawomen’suterus):2%ofbabiesbornintheUSarefromIVF- Modernmedicinescanhelptreatillnessesthatwouldhavebeendeathsentencespreviously:HighbloodpressurecanhelprelaxbloodvesselstopreventhbplikeZestril,anti-depressantslikeZoloft - Canhelpinfertilecoupleshavechildrenandparticipateinthejoyofhavingchildren/countrieswithseverepopulationreplacementchallengestosupplementthemselves/Couplesfromlesstraditionalstructurescangetchildrenaswell- InsteadofmedicationsthatwerelargelyineffectivethatcausedfatigueandinsomnialikeReserpine(hbp)andjustbeingdismissedasmania(depression),thereareactualwaystomitigateillnesseswefacenow - TantamounttoplayingGod/givendrugstoinduceovulationsomayriskthewomen/mayrisktheincreasedpopularityofdesignerbabiesordonorsiblings- Successinthisareamaybeseenasapanaceaforlife’sexcess,makingpeoplemorecomplacent(usemedsinsteadofmakelifestylechanges) ConvenienceisprovidedbytheadventofST - Robotics:Adventof“roboticwaiters”fromChinesestartupPuduRoboticsareprevalentinHaidilaosallaroundtheworld- Youcanalsouseotherevidlikethephonesandstuffbutithoughtthiswasfunnier^^ - Reliablymeetfoodwaittimeexpectations(busyrestaurants)/carry66pounds(10timesmorethanahumanwaiter),cover1.2m/s - Lessofaburdenonhumanwaiters,lessstressandcanmanagemoreimportantserviceneedsratherthanallthesimplethings STprovidesus - Militarybuildupcan - Singapore::Production - Countriesthatarevery

betterprotectionthanwehaveeverhadbefore protectthesovereigntyofanationinpoliticallyfragilesituations:- Techoriginallytoprotectuscanbeusedformoreeverydaythings:GlobalPositioning ofF-35fighterjets,NextGenUnmannedAerialVehicles,MaritimeSecurityUnmannedSurfaceVessels smallcanusetechnologicalprowessinordertoprotectthemselvesagainstlargercountriesincaseofanattack STallowsustosolveglobalproblems - Geneticallymodifiedfood:greatsignificancetotheworld’sstarvingpopulation,helpfulwhenpopulationisgrowinglargely- Vaccination:Caninnoculatelargegroupsofpeopleandprotectagainstdeadlydiseases - GMricecalledBTricecontainsagenethatallowsittoberesistanttovariouspests=increasingyield,profit- Polioishighlycontagious,wrecksyournervoussystem=no.ofcasesdroppedby99.99%sincetheestablishmentofthe1988GlobalPolioEradicationIntiative - Allowsforbetterfoodthatcanbebetterforproducers(cheaperbclesspesticides,profit)andtheconsumers(moresupply,morebenefitsifGMgoodforhealth)butconcernsariseabouthealtheffectsanditschangetotheenvironment- Vaccinesgoodbutnoteveryonelikesvaccines SThasallowedustoimprovecommunications/closethedistance - SocialMedia:techadvancesthattranscendbordersandredefinehowwecommunicate- TransportSystems:Fastertravel,morepeopletransported,interconnectedness - Whatsapp,Discord,Telegram,MicrosoftTeams(freemessagingappstocommunicateallovertheworld),Instagram,Twitter,Tiktok(InteractiveSMplatformsthatallowpeopletouniteovergeographicalboundariesoversharedinterests)- JapaneseShinkansen,Planesbeingcheaperthanever - Friendshipscannowbeforgedoverseas,increasesflexibilityforemployees(thinkfamilies,mothers),connectoverseascountries//exacerbatedifferencesandfightsonline,onlineSMsbad STbad!!! ★ Argument Evidence Explanation Evaluation PlayingGod Cloning:NazipartyconceptualisedCloningallowshumanstoplay Ithasdecentlikemotivations

cloningAryansuperhumans,eliminatingindividualswithtraitstheydidn’tlike(Eugenics),HwangWooSuk’s2005researchintocloninghadhimpressuringhisresearchworkerstoprovideeggs,NationalBioethicsAdvisoryCommisionhaslawsthatbanreproductivecloningintheUSA God->leadtoeugenics(artificialmanipulationandcontrolofthecharacteristicsofpeople),theresearchputsactualhumansnowatrisktoprotect/helphumansinthefuture,devalueslifeandturnstheprocessofareproductionintoamechanisedone (tocuregeneticdiseases,longerlives)buttherearedefinitelywayswhereitcanbediscriminatoryandbadbecausehumansarebad:/ Disregardforthesanctityoflife Warweapons:Nuclearweaponry(Countrieswithweapons:Russia,US,China,France,UK,Pakistan,India,Israel,NK,estimatedno.ofdeathsfrom13-34millionpeoplefromblast+heat+falloutofnuclearweapons),Chemicalwarfare(WhitephosphorususedinthewarintheMiddleEast,burninghumans,AgentOrangeintheVW) weaponslikethishaveraisedethicalandmoralconcerns,especiallywithhowindiscriminatetheseweaponsare,destroyingbothimportanttargets(military,keyinfrastructure)andhavinglong-termandunintendedconsequencesthatcausemoreharmthanbenefit(civiliancasualties,nuclearfallout) Thesametechnologicaladvancementsthathaveledtomedicalbreakthroughs,energyinnovationshavealsoledtoweaponsofmassdestruction=bad,canalsoposeglobalsecurityrisksandfears=makeitworsebetweenglobalpowers Addiction - SM:TikTokhavinglimitsonhowmuchyoucanscrollonyourFYP,estimated210millionpeoplesufferfromaddictiontoSM/internet(UniversityofMichiganstudy)- Videogames:‘ResetSummerCamp’inUSAasacamptohelpteensreducetheirscreentimetoreasonablelevels,upto4%ofgamersarecurrentlyaddicted - SM:cancontributetomentalhealthissues(anxiety,depression,low-selfesteem)duetoconstantcomparisons,riskofpolarisationandmisplacingofpriorities(celebrities>>actualissues,seeMetGalavPalestine)- VG:Badforphysicalhealth,socialisolation(seeHikikomorimovementinJapan) Thoughtheseoutletscanbeconsideredfun,growingtrendsovertheyears (espduringthepandemic)haveshownthatthereisanincreaseinarelianceinthesethingsandescapereality=becausetheydothisforanemotionalreasonratherthanjustforpleasure,there’sahigherriskofaddiction Humanredundancy - AI:MarvelusingAIgeneratedimagesforshows(Loki,SecretInvasion),AIusedbyawebsiteDudesybringbackdeadstandupcomedianGeorgeCarlinforacomedyspecial(GeorgeCarlin:I’mGladI’mDead) - Creativejobsarebeingsupplanted/replacedbyArtificialIntelligence Withoutanydecentintervention/lawsputinplacebyanygovernment,AIwillcontinuetousurpmorecreativejobs Unlevelplayingfield(Classdivide) Firstworldcountrieshaveaccesstothebesttechnologies,whilethird Thismeansthatthereisaninequitabledistributionof inequitybad(sorry)

worldanddevelopingcountriesdonothavethat:2022,2.7billionpeople,representingathirdoftheworld,donothaveaccesstotheinternet technology,andthebenefitsarelargelyconcentratedonlyinthe ApplicationsofST ArtificialIntelligence(AI)ᶻ 𝗓 - Recenttrend:ubiquityofgenerativeAI(DALL-E,MIdjourney,ChatGPT)- Preventnegativeimpactsby(Wayforward):AcknowledgethedualuseofAI+engineersandscientistsneedtoworkwithpolicymakerstocomeupwithacodeofethics+policyframeworkshavetobeabletoadapt- StraitsTimes(2023):ChatGPTperformedbadinsolvingarithmeticproblems(scoring21/100inthe2022MathematicsPSLEpaper),performedworseinEnglishComprehension,notablystrugglinginunderstandingnuanceandmakinginferences(10/20in2022EnglishPSLEpaper)- McKinseyandCompany(2022):AI’scomputerscanperformelementaryarithmeticoperationsataspeedof10billionoperationspersecond.Meanwhile,thehighestfrequencyofbrainneuronalfiringisabout1000spikespersecond-10milliontimesslowerthanacompute- Bettertoseethetwoascomplementaryagents:AItoaidinourlower-skilledduties,humansgivethemorehigher-skilledtasks=ouroldrolesgotreplacedbyAIbuthumanshavesimplymovedontoanewrolethatservesusbetter. Pros Cons SavesHumanCosts- (2017)MITreview:‘1in5companiesreportedthattheyhadincorporatedAIinsomeofferingsorprocesses’=AIcoulddeliver$13trillioninadditionalglobaleconomicactivityby2030 Displacementofworkers- 47%oftotalUSemploymentisatriskfromautomation- Especiallywiththeirusageinjobsthatusedtobeconsideredsafe(Graphicdesign,law,scriptwriting)nowmaycompetewusincognitiveskills(‘capabilityreplacement’) Savestimes- NumerouscompaniesinfinancialindustryareusingAIintheirdecisionmaking(projectsandassessloanrisk,improveloanunderwriting)- LawyersusingAItocomplimentthepain-stakingresearchtheyusuallyhavetodo(HarveyAI,Paxton)withplatformsthatcovervastlegaldatabasesandcaselibr