GROUP 7
At the end of this chapter, the students should be able to:
1. Evaluate contemporary human experience to strengthen
the human person functioning in society;
2. Discuss the importance of human rights in the face of
changing social conditions and technological
development; and
3. Identify laws or policies in the country that protect the
well-being of the person in technological advancement
and ethical dilemmas.
The good life entails living in a just and progressive society whose citizens have the
freedom to flourish. The human person has the autonomy to make choices which may
enable the flourishing of his/her self and society. The United Nations General Assembly
proclaimed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) now serves as a common
understanding of what a person’s fundamental rights are. On December 10, 1948, as the
global standard of fundamental human rights for universal recognition and protection, the
UDHR begins, "Whereas recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable
rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice, and peace
in the world" (UDHR Preamble). As implied, everyone has absolute moral worth by virtue of
being human. Human dignity is an ultimate core value of our existence. When we fully
recognize and appreciate this truth in ourselves and in all the persons around us,
regardless of their status in life, then we pave the way for a just and progressive society. It
is in this kind of society that we are able to become fully human—more free, more rational,
and more loving. Human beings become more free when we are empowered to make
choices for our flourishing. We become more rational when we are able to value and apply
the principles of logic and science in our lives. We become more loving when we ensure
that human dignity lies at the foundation of our endeavors, whether scientific or not. It
entails knowing one's fundamental human rights that must always be protected in the face
of changing conditions.
The UDHR explicates the fundamental human rights in 30 articles. It
outlines inalienable human rights that are vital and necessary in the
pursuit of the good life. These are the freedoms everyone is entitled to
and guaranteed by virtue of being human. The first article states the
essential principle of being human in a just, free, and rational society.
Everyone is born free and equal in dignity and rights. The common
experience, however, does not always manifest such truth. More often
than not, those who have more to offer are given special treatment. The
good life, nevertheless, as a life of justice, demands not just equal
treatment of human beings but also preferential treatment o those who
have less or are disadvantaged. The first seven articles of the UDHR
encapsulate the spirit of this so-called "milestone document in the
history of human rights." They are as follows:
Article 1
All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with
reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.
Article 2
Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration,
without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political
or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status. Furthermore,
no distinction shall be made on the basis of the political, jurisdictional or international
status of the country or territory to which a person belongs, whether it be
independent, trust, non-self-governing or under any other limitation of sovereignty.
Article 3
Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person.
Article 4
No one shall be held in slavery or servitude; slavery and the slave trade shall be
prohibited in all their forms.
Article 5
No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or
punishment.
Article 6
Everyone has the right to recognition everywhere as a person before the law.
Article 7
All are equal before the law and are entitled without any discrimination to equal protection of
the law. All are entitled to equal protection against any discrimination in violation of this
Declaration and against any incitement to such discrimination.
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights has a long, bloody history. Crafted in
1948, after World War II, the UDHR now serves as a common understanding of
what each person’s fundamental rights are. These rights apply to everyone,
everywhere. It is imperative that we all know and live these rights to prevent
injustice and oppression.
The rise of the machines accompanying the progress in science and technology may render humans useless. Manual
labor is gradually being replaced by machinery. Computers become more and more sophisticated. Robots, usually
designed like human beings, are created to perform complex, repetitive, or dangerous tasks.
With the development of artificial intelligence (AI), robots may also eventually act and decide like humans. In the
possibility that machines adopt the nature of humans, there is a need to reflect on the ethical problems posed by
such development.
Though the Philippines has not yet reached the point of producing robots on a commercial scale for household use, it
still behooves us to ponder the ramifications of replacing persons with machinery. Much as the BBC News has
reported that experts in South Korea are crafting ethical guidelines to prevent humans from exploiting robots and
vice versa (Evans, 2007), and that roboticists in Europe are lobbying for government legislation, such reality is
generally unheard of in the Philippines. To Filipinos, artificial intelligence seems like the stuff of science fiction
movies. Be that as it may, its use in the country is surely gaining ground, especially in the business process
outsourcing (BPO) industry. Technology enables the growth of the BPO industry but it seems that it is also
technology that will kill the industry as we know it. Investors and business people find as a sure return of investment
the use of business analytics provided by artificial intelligence. Business analytics is a means by which consumer
and industry data are used to come up with better decision-making. With the help of AI, decisions now arise from
sophisticated statistical analyses made from massive data. As of August 2017, it is estimated that a million Filipino
BPO workers may be affected and lose their jobs with the adoption of artificial intelligence (Santos, 2017).
Unemployment is only one of the many ethical considerations in the widespread use of AI. What does this mean for human
beings who can be replaced by machines? Is the value of the person inversely proportional to that of a machine exhibiting
artificial intelligence? How do we guard against mistakes committed by machines? These points are but a sample of the
questions that should be resolved when faced with technology that may become a threat to human dignity and security. In
the future, when machines and robots become more human-like, with all the attendant feelings and thoughts, people may
also have to consider the ethical treatment for AI.
It is also interesting to note that as machines and robots approach having a human-like nature, humans may also have the
tendency to become machine-like. Since many of the things people need, from conveniences to information, are available
with just the touch and swipe of the fingertips, humans begin to function more like automatons. The internet has become an
instant go-to tool for answers to questions. More often than not, people expect what the search engine, like Google, spews
out in byte sizes and forget how to process, read, think further, or put things in context. As the internet gets more intelligent,
we are in danger of becoming less so. In the article, “Is Google making us stupid?” Nicolas Carr (2008) asserted that “as we
come to rely on computers to mediate our understanding of the world, it is our own intelligence that flattens into artificial
intelligence.”
The development of society along with science and technology gives rise to more and more complex issues. What is vital is
that, at the very least, we are able to protect and exercise human rights for everyone in our pursuit of the good life. It is
important that amid these developments, human beings become more free, more rational, and more loving in our practice of
science and technology.
As we examine contemporary issues in science and technology—information, genetically modified organisms,
nanotechnology, and climate change—we keep in mind that the building of a just and progressive society entails the constant
practice of the good. It may be exhibited in exceptional scientific methodologies, personal virtue, social responsibility, and
global concern.
Chief scientist and corporate executive officer of Sun Microsystems, Bill Joy, wrote in 2000 a controversial essay,
"Why the future does not need us." In his work, he contended that our most powerful 21st-century technologies—
genetics, nanotech, and robotics (GNR)—are threatening to make humans an endangered species. This possible
extinction of the species may largely come about due to the unreflective and unquestioning acceptance of new
technologies by humans. Joy also asserted that:
Accustomed to living with almost routine scientific breakthroughs, we have yet to come to terms with the fact that the most
compelling 21st-century technologies—robotics, genetic engineering, and nanotechnology—pose a different threat than the
technologies that have come before. Specifically, robots, engineered organisms, and nanobots share a dangerous amplifying
factor: They can self-replicate. A bomb is blown up only once—but one that can become many, and quickly get out of control.
Each of these technologies also offers untold promise. The vision of near immortality drives us forward; genetic
engineering may soon provide treatments, if not outright cures, for most diseases; and nanotechnology and
nanomedicine can address yet more ills. Together they could significantly extend our average life span and improve
the quality of our lives. Yet, with each of these technologies, a sequence of small, individually sensible advances leads
to an accumulation of great power and, concomitantly, great danger (Joy, 2000).
Humans should have learned the lesson in the atomic bombings of the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in
1945 that killed over a hundred thousand people. Brilliant physicists, led by J. Robert Oppenheimer, brought into
existence
a deadly nuclear weapon. A definite testament to the success of science and technology, the atomic bomb was also a
fatal reminder of its destructive power. Now with GNR, we are called to be circumspect and questioning of technology.
Again, As Heidegger (1977) propounded, it is in questioning that we build a way. GNR today is accessible to small
groups and individuals and does not require funding and facilities as huge as those needed by the nuclear weapons of
mass destruction. This makes GNR more prone to accidents and abuses. It is scary to imagine that such accidents and
abuses may self-replicate and spin out of control, especially when placed in the hands of extremist groups and
individuals.
Science and technology may be the highest expression of human rationality. People are able to shape or destroy the
world with it. Theoretical physicist and mathematician Freeman Dyson, in the documentary The Day After Trinity
(1981), shared his thoughts and sentiments as a scientist taking part in the development of nuclear power:
I have felt it myself. The glitter of nuclear weapons. It is irresistible if you come to them as a scientist. To feel it's there in
your hands, to release this energy that fuels the stars, to let it do your bidding. To perform these miracles, to lift a million tons
of rock into the sky. It is something that gives people an illusion of illimitable power, and it is, in some ways, responsible for all
our troubles--this, what you might call technical arrogance, that overcomes people when they see what they can do with their
minds.
Human nature may be corrupted when the powers of our mind, our rationality, and our science and technology
become manifest. If we are not able to rein in the vanity and arrogance that such powers unleash, then we are on the
way to destroying the world.
The wasteland grows; woe unto him who harbors
the wasteland within.
- Friedrich Nietzche
