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science and technology, competitive and cut-throat nature of scientific…
science and technology
science & tech VS ethics
in vito fertilisation
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controversy over older women seeking IVF treatment
- health risks
- welfare of child as they grow up
surrogacy
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dangers of exploitation of poor women by hiring them at a cut-rate cost to undergo the hardship and pain of labour
eg. 2016 human trafficking crackdown crackdown brought to light a man hiring Filipin women to travel to Cambodia to act as surrogate mothers
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exploited by firms as they receive little compensation for their service despite having to bear the risks
gene therapy
uses genes to prevent diseases
- treat a disorder by inserting a gene into the patient's cells instead of drugs and surgery
long term benefits are problematic to achieve and repeated treatments would be needed
immune system may respond to modified genetic material and disrupt the effectiveness of gene therapy
eg. in 1997, 15 Parkinson's disease patients underwent a gene therapy trail, after treatment the patients had increased mobility
designer babies
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eg. Singapore is the 2nd country to legalize mitochondrial replacement therapy, allowing women with genetic disorders to give birth to healthy babies
could help children suffering from genetic disorders that could be fatal
born free of hereditary genetic diseases, allow for a better quality of life
provide the child with increased intelligence, gifted in certain subjects
however, it is often viewed as tantamount to playing God, should not tamper with Nature
devalues meaning of parenthood as child is merely treated as a manufactured good or product
demean the uniqueness of each individual and undermine one's humanity = greater social inequality
genetic engineering should be embraced only for therapeutic purposes and not for cosmetic or genetic enhancements
eg. CRISPR technology has the potential to excise undesirable genes and insert favourable ones into embryos hence allowing couples to select traits they wish their child to have
normalizing gene editing for cosmetic purposes gives way to new definitions of normalcy and discrimination towards those of 'normal' qualities
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artificial intelligence
area of computer science focusing on creating machines that can engage in behaviours that humans consider intelligent
creating systems that can mimic human thought, understand speech, beat human chess players (AlphaGo)
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(-) accelerated hacking
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with automation, nefarious acts such as delivery of viruses to software, hacking and phishing might be difficult to uncover and detect until it is too late
ethical dilemma of self driving cars + morally ambiguous
cloning
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if labs can clone and grow only the parts needed, this would eliminate the moral and ethical issues associated with cloning a person
-ve: lead to eugenics, the artificial manipulation and control of characteristics of ppl
eg. Germany WW2, Nazi party conceptualized the breeding of a race of Aryan superhumans whilst eliminating individuals whose characteristics are considered unhealthy
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replicate human life = devalue it, reproduction becomes a mechanized process
abortion
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'pro-choice' believe that the mother should be given the rights to decide whether to deliver the baby or not
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stem cell research
some people claim that stem cells have the potential to create life = should not be used at our disposal as life is sacred
animal testing
+ve
in many cases, derived benefits outweigh the harm done
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animals chosen are usually terminal, suffering minimal
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-ve
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they feel pain and fear like us, have the right to be free, protect their own lives
regulations
eg. SG has 3 guiding principles
- replacement of animals w alternative methods
- reduction of no. of animals used
- refinement of projects and techniques used to min impact on animals
- require users of animals for research to undergo appropriate training
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reduces harm on animal during testing by a significant amount but does not entirely resolve the issue of animal testing
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negative
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economy
displacement of jobs
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eg. typewriting, shorthand jobs have been replaced by word-processing and voice-recognition software
by utilising advanced technology, companies are stripping away layers of middle management
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telecommunication
drawback of working from home is that the lines between work and home are blurred => employees expected to be on call / working 24/7
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transient nature of modern tech renders it useless as it quickly outdates in our rapidly evolving world
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quick evolution of bacteria, coupled with decreasing pace of new antibiotic discovery = rise of antibiotic resistance
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eg. Mdm Siti Hajar was robbed of her eyesight and left with multiple organ failures following infection by resistant bacteria
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exploitation
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nuclear power
Albert Einstein discovered nuclear power for the betterment of society as a more sustainable way of generating electricity
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competitive and cut-throat nature of scientific research has unfortunately bred a scientific community devoid of integrity and any sort of honour
where scientific technologies seem to threaten our humanity, it must be recognised that those do not necessarily mean that science only pulls our society backwards
numerous rules and regulations in place today serve to assure us that we can trust science to influence us positively
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govt should improve safety measures by enhancing security of crucial online websites + enforcing rules of meting out severe punishments to offenders to deter such crimes
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in our fast paced society, modern technology is often placed on a pedestal with the latest science and technology regarded as sure fire ways to resolve many of our problems today
modern tech has brought about a multitude of problems, owing to its transient and controversial nature
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carries a host of other problems with it, which offsets the aforementioned success it brought about
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devalues human life + turns the process of reproduction into a mechanized one, no diff from factory production