Values in science and technology
digital surveillance and privacy issues
surveillance = to watch over
intended to keep an individual safe and to ensure that they meet a certain standard of behaviour
aim = to protect and to control
necessary to enforce a society's norms
teachers watch over children
police watch over public spaces
employers watch over their employees
digital footprint
collection of data that records your online activity, including your personal data, the websites youve visited, your locations, your social connections, activity logs and history
increased reliance on AI
leading to more data being collected since AI algorithms depend on access to data
security and privacy issues are major weaknesses of AI and IoT (interned of things)
sensors can collect sensitive data related to what we are doing at home
hackers have disabled smart home appliances and tracked people's location and eavesdropped on conversations
biometric technologies
facial recognition technologies
increases privacy of content
used for smartphones and surveillance for policing border control, voter registration and security
powerful tool of social control
evident within authoritarian regimes
self censorship
citizens are aware that they are being watched
they tend to alter their behaviour to conform and avoid any possibility of ending up under the radar even if they are not doing anything wrong
surveillance control in democracies to distinguish between terrorists and non-terrorists
gene editing
DNA structure unraveled in 1950s by Rosalind Franklin and Maurice Wilkins - produced the first X-ray pictures of DNA
these photos helped Watson and Crick show that the DNA molecule was in the form of 2 long strands of nucleotides wound in a double helix
4 different nucleotides
adenine
thymine
cytosine
guanine
1990 - human genome project - largest biological research project
aimed to determine DNA sequence of the entire human genome
completed in 2003, revealing roughly 22,500 human genes
genetic screening
can detect whether people are carriers of genetic conditions
cystic fibrosis
sickle cell anaemia
haemophilia
can assess the likelihood of developing certain conditions in the future
eg. cancers with known genetic factors
CRISPR
Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats
most precise, cost effective and quickest way to edit genes
molecular scissors that can find and cut a chosen gene
potential applications include...
conservation
drug development
agriculture
tackling genetic diseases
genetically modified crop varieties
desirable characteristics
resistance to pests, diseases, harsh env conditions
consequently increased yields
there are ethical concerns abt them and their potential impacts on the environment and their impact on farmers in less developed countries
gene editing using CRISPR has the potential to correct certain genetic defects and prevent the serious conditions associated with genetic disorders
sickle cell disease
cystic fibrosis
haemophilia
designer babies
creating gene edited designer babies with desired characteristics by modifying human embryos
"Playing God" by selecting beneficial genes to increase physical fitness, intellingence or muscle strength is highly controversial because it can lead towards eugenics
recent research involving human embryos have shown significant unintended changes in DNA when seeking to edit a single gene
CRISPR gene editing may not be as precise as has been believed and could lead to potentially harmful changes in other genes
embryonic stem cell research
helps us understand the mechanisms of human development and differentiation
very promising for new treatment for diseases
heart attacks
diabetes
spinal cord injury
parkinson's disease
more research is necessary
human stem cell research raises ethical controversies since stem cells are typically derived from 3-5 day old embryos
ethical concerns revolve around the creation, treatment and destruction of human embryos for research
Military Research - weapons of mass destruction
was the development of the atomic bomb during WWII necessary?
" We helped in creating this new weapon in order to prevent the enemies of mankind from achieving it ahead of us. Which, given the mentality of the Nazi's, would have meant inconceivable destruction, and the enslavement of the rest of the world
conservation
drugs
agriculture
genetic diseases