3 I WHEN TECHNOLOGY AND HUMANITY CROSS 1

PREFACE

This module is designed to understand the interaction between science and

technology and social, cultural, political, and economic contexts that shape and are
shaped by them (CMO No. 20, series of 2013). This interdisciplinary course engages
students to confront the realities brought about by science and technology in
society. Such realities pervade the personal, the public, and the global aspects of
our living and are integral to human development. Scientific knowledge and
technological development happen in the context of society with all its socio-
political, cultural, economic, and philosophical underpinnings at play. This course
seeks to instill reflective knowledge in the students that they are able to live the
good life and display ethical decision making in the face of scientific and
technological advancement. It also includes mandatory topics on climate change
and environmental awareness.
The module contains activities and worksheets as assessment tool to
evaluate students’ knowledge, outcome and process learning.
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UNIT 3: WHEN TECHNOLOGY AND

HUMANITY CROSS

3.0 Learning Objectives

a. Discuss how robots are used today in industry, research and in education.
b. Explain the different basic components of a robot are and how they
perform their function.
c. Explain artificial intelligence.
d. Evaluate contemporary human experience in order to strengthen and
enlighten the human person functioning in society.

Introduction
Robots today are much different than they were even just ten
years ago. As they’ve evolved, robots have incorporated built-in
safety features to minimize workplace incidents and even work
directly alongside human workers. With a diverse range of end-
effectors and robot designs, they’ve also been able to greatly
expand their potential uses compared to earlier robots.

Robots are now easier to program than ever before, with some robots not even
needing programming knowledge, whereas traditional robots required unique
expertise for programming. Most impressively, as all these new features have
been added to modern robots, their initial costs have been steadily decreasing,
making them a viable solution for just about any industrial operation.

3.1 Topics/Discussion
Robotics and Artificial Intelligence

Robot, any automatically operated machine that replaces human effort, though it
may not resemble human beings in appearance or perform functions in a
humanlike manner. By extension, robotics is the engineering discipline dealing
with the design, construction, and operation of robots.
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Robotics is the Robots contain at least some level of computer programming.

Without a set of code telling it what to do, robot would just be another piece of
simple machinery Pop culture has always been fascinated with robots. R2-D2.
Optimus Prime. Wall-E. These over-exaggerated, humanoid concepts of robot
usual seem like a caricature of the real thing...or are they more forward thinking
than we realize? Robots are gaining intellectual and mechanical capabilities that
don’t put the possibility of a R2-D2-like machine out of reach in the future.

As technology progresses, so too does the scope of what is considered robotics. In

2005, 90% of all robots could be found assembling cars in automotive factories.
These robots consist mainly of mechanical arms tasked with welding or screwing
on certain parts of a car. Today, we’re seeing an evolved and expanded definition
of robotics that includes the development, creation and use of bots that explore
Earth’s harshest conditions, robots that assist law-enforcement and even robots
that assist in almost every facet of healthcare.

Characteristics of Robots

• Robots all consist of some sort of mechanical construction. The mechanical

aspect of a robot helps it complete tasks in the environment for which it’s
designed. For example, the Mars 2020 Rover’s wheels are individually
motorized and made of titanium tubing that help it firmly grip the harsh
terrain of the red planet.

• Robots need electrical components that control and power the machinery.
Essentially, an electric current (a battery, for example) is needed to power a
large majority of robots.

• Robots contain at least some level of computer programming. Without a

set of code telling it what to do, a robot would just be another piece of
simple machinery. Inserting a program into a robot gives it the ability to
know when and how to carry out a task.

The robotics industry is still relatively young, but has already made amazing
strides. From the deepest depths of our oceans to the highest heights of outer
space, robots can be found performing tasks that humans couldn’t dream of
achieving.

Types of Robots

Mechanical bots come in all shapes and sizes to efficiently carry out the task for
which they are designed. From the 0.2 millimeter-long “RoboBee” to the 200
meter-long robotic shipping vessel “Vindskip,” robots are emerging to carry out
tasks that humans simply can’t. Generally, there are five types of robots:
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Pre-Programmed Robots

Pre-programmed robots operate in a controlled environment

where they do simple, monotonous tasks. An example of a pre-
programmed robot would be a mechanical arm on an
automotive assembly line. The arm serves one function — to
weld a door on, to insert a certain part into the engine, etc. —
and it's job is to perform that task longer, faster and more
efficiently than a human.

Humanoid Robots

Humanoid robots are robots that look like and/or mimic human behavior. These
robots usually perform human-like activities (like running, jumping and carrying
objects), and are sometimes designed to look like us, even having human faces
and expressions. Two of the most prominent examples of humanoid robots
are Hanson Robotics’ Sophia and Boston Dynamics’ Atlas.

Hanson Robotics’ Sophia Boston Dynamics

Autonomous Robots

Autonomous robots operate independently of

human operators. These robots are usually
designed to carry out tasks in open
environments that do not require human
supervision. An example of an autonomous
robot would be the Roomba vacuum cleaner,
which uses sensors to roam throughout a home
freely.
Roomba Vacuum Cleaner
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3. Tele-operated Robots

Teleoperated robots are mechanical bots

controlled by humans. These robots
usually work in extreme geographical
conditions, weather, circumstances, etc.
Examples of teleoperated robots are the
human-controlled submarines used to fix
underwater pipe leaks during the BP oil
spill or drones used to detect
landmines on a battlefield.
Human-Controlled Submarine

Augmenting Robots

Augmenting robots either enhance current human capabilities or replace the

capabilities a human may have lost. Some examples of augmenting robots are
robotic prosthetic limbs or exoskeletons used to lift hefty weights.

Robotic Prosthetic Limbs Robotic Exoskeletons

3.1.1 Applications of Robotics

• Helping fight forest fires

• Working alongside humans in manufacturing plants (known as co-bots)
• Robots that offer companionship to elderly individuals
• Surgical assistants
• Last-mile package and food order delivery
• Autonomous household robots that carry out tasks like vacuuming and
mowing the grass.
• Assisting with finding items and carrying them throughout warehouses
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• Used during search-and-rescue missions after natural disasters

3.1.2 Uses of Robots

Manufacturing

The manufacturing industry is probably the

oldest and most well-known user of robots.
These robots and co-bots (bots that work
alongside humans) work to efficiently test
and assemble products, like cars and
industrial equipment. It’s estimated that
there are more than three million industrial
robots in use right now.

Logistics

Shipping, handling and quality control

robots are becoming a must-have for
most retailers and logistics companies.
Because we now expect our packages
arriving at blazing speeds, logistics
companies employ robots in warehouses,
and even on the road, to help maximize
time efficiency. Right now, there are
robots taking your items off the shelves,
transporting them across the warehouse
floor and packaging them. Additionally,
a rise in last-mile robots (robots that will
autonomously deliver your package to
your door) ensure that you’ll have a face-
to-metal-face encounter with a logistics
bot in the near future.

Home

It’s not science fiction anymore. Robots can be

seen all over our homes, helping with chores,
reminding us of our schedules and even
entertaining our kids. The most well-known
example of home robots is the autonomous
vacuum cleaner Roomba. Additionally, robots
have now evolved to do everything from
autonomously mowing grass to cleaning
pools.
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Travel
Is there anything more science fiction-like
than autonomous vehicles? These self-
driving cars are no longer just imagination. A
combination of data science and robotics,
self-driving vehicles are taking the world by
storm. Automakers, like Tesla, Ford, Waymo,
Volkswagen and BMW are all working on the
next wave of travel that will let us sit back,
relax and enjoy the ride. Rideshare
companies Uber and Lyft are also developing
autonomous rideshare vehicles that don’t
require humans to operate the vehicle.

Healthcare

Robots have made enormous strides in the

healthcare industry. These mechanical
marvels have use in just about every aspect
of healthcare, from robot-assisted surgeries to
bots that help humans recover from injury in
physical therapy. Examples of robots at work
in healthcare are Toyota’s healthcare
assistants, which help people regain the
ability to walk, and “TUG,” a robot designed
to autonomously stroll throughout a
hospital and deliver everything from
medicines to clean linens.

3.2 Is Google Making Us Stupid

Artificial Intelligence

Artificial intelligence (AI), the ability of a digital computer or computer-

controlled robot to perform tasks commonly associated with intelligent beings.
The term is frequently applied to the project of developing systems endowed with
the intellectual processes characteristic of humans, such as the ability to reason,
discover meaning, generalize, or learn from past experience. Since the
development of the digital computer in the 1940s, it has been demonstrated that
computers can be programmed to carry out very complex tasks—as, for example,
discovering proofs for mathematical theorems or playing chess—with great
proficiency. Still, despite continuing advances in computer processing speed and
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memory capacity, there are as yet no programs that can match human flexibility
over wider domains or in tasks requiring much everyday knowledge. On the
other hand, some programs have attained the performance levels of human
experts and professionals in performing certain specific tasks, so that artificial
intelligence in this limited sense is found in applications as diverse as
medical diagnosis, computer search engines, and voice or handwriting
recognition.

3.2.1 How is Artificial Intelligence Used?

Artificial intelligence generally falls under two broad categories:

• Narrow AI: Sometimes referred to as "Weak AI," this kind of

artificial intelligence operates within a limited context and is a simulation
of human intelligence. Narrow AI is often focused on performing a single task
extremely well and while these machines may seem intelligent, they are
operating under far more constraints and limitations than even the most basic
human intelligence.

A few examples of Narrow AI include:

• Google search
• Image recognition software
• Siri, Alexa and other personal assistants
• Self-driving cars
• IBM's Watson

Artificial General Intelligence (AGI): AGI, sometimes referred to as "Strong AI," is

the kind of artificial intelligence we see in the movies, like the robots
from Westworld or Data from Star Trek: The Next Generation. AGI is a machine
with general intelligence and, much like a human being, it can apply that
intelligence to solve any problem.
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3.2.2 Artificial Intelligence vs. Human Intelligence

Intelligence can be defined as a general mental ability for reasoning, problem-

solving, and learning. Because of its general nature, intelligence integrates
cognitive functions such as perception, attention, memory, language, or planning.
On the basis of this definition, intelligence can be reliably measured by
standardized tests with obtained scores predicting several broad social outcomes
such as educational achievement, job performance, health, and longevity. So let’s
study the differences between Artificial Intelligence and Human Intelligence in
detail.

What is Artificial Intelligence?

Artificial intelligence (AI) is studying an artificially created, intelligent agent, or a

machine to use the colloquial term. Such machines have the ability to learn about
the world that surrounds them and take actions that will have the best chances of
achieving success. Research into AI involves using a lot of tools from other sciences
such as psychology, linguistics, computer science, and many others. It also overlaps
with other fields of study, such as facial recognition, robotics, data mining, and
others. As we can see, AI is a very broad term.

What is Human Intelligence?

Human intelligence involves a person’s mind to learn from his or her previous
experiences. This could be their education, work experiences, or simply a situation
that they found themselves in and have learned something from it. Most
importantly, there are many types of information a human mind can provide. For
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example, a person can talk about an observation during a trip abroad or on their
daily morning commute to work and give some valuable insight into their field of
study or expertise.

Artificial Intelligence vs. Human Intelligence

There are some areas where human intelligence has the advantage over machines.
For example, let’s take a look at multi-tasking. A person can work on many
different tasks at the same time, while it would take a long time for a machine to
do something like this. Another important area where people have the advantage
is in decision making. In fact, even the most advanced machines are on par with a
six-year-old child when discussing this category. Humans are so far ahead of
computers in this category because of their ability to learn from experiences and
take in multiple factors involved, as well.

The area where machines have the definitive advantage is in the processing
speed. In fact, a machine can perform 93,000 trillion operations per second. For
example, let’s say that a doctor can make a diagnosis in ten minutes. An artificial
intelligence system would be able to make one million diagnoses in that amount
of time. Such processing speed and energy that the computers can provide is what
allows them to excel in areas such as chess since it can calculate hundreds of
thousands of moves per second.

Comparison Factor Human Intelligence Artificial Intelligence

Energy Efficiency 25-watt human brain 2 watts for modern
machine learning
machine
Universal Humans usually learn While consuming
how to manage hundreds kilowatts of energy, this
of different skills during machine is usually
life. designed for a few tasks.
Multitasking Human worker work on The time needed to teach
multiple responsibilities system on each and every
response is considerably
high
Decision Making Humans have the ability Even the most advanced
to learn decision making robots can hardly
from experienced compete in mobility with
scenarios. 6 years old child. And
this results we have after
60 years of research and
development.
State Brains are Analogue Computers are digital
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Coming to the debate of Artificial Intelligence vs Human Intelligence, recent AI

achievements imitate human intelligence more closely than before, however,
machines are still way beyond what human brains are capable of doing. The ability
of humans to apply the acquired knowledge with a sense of logic, reasoning,
understanding, learning and experience is what makes us stand out.
With knowledge comes power, and with power comes great responsibility.
Although Machines may be able to mimic human behavior to a certain extent, their
knowledge may fall apart when making rational decisions like us. AI-powered
machines make decisions based on events and their association with them,
however, they lack “common sense”. AI systems are clueless in the understanding
of “cause” and “effect”. Meanwhile, real-world scenarios need a holistic human
approach.

Although AI has made our tasks easier in many ways and is only getting better.
But there have been AI epic failures that have raised questions about AI being a
part of our lives:

1. When an Uber self-driving autonoumous car killed a pedestrian while under

computer control, or

2. Like the AI-led IBM’s Watson Supercomputer recommended ‘unsafe and

incorrect cancer treatments’,

3. When AI-enabled facial recognition tool became biased towards coloured skin
tones, which meant innocent people being wrongly identified as potential
criminals.

Learning is not momentary; it is a gradual practice of absorbing information and

processing it and eventually adds up to our experience. The learning
experience differs in each being and is an invaluable asset
in guiding and mentoring others. Mentor-guided learning not only helps you
build skills faster but also enables career growth. A mentor brings in his/her real-
time experience that makes your learning worthwhile in connecting with the real
world. A coach guides you in your developing phase to help you understand
things at a granular level, to synchronize and customize your learning behaviour
at many human and emotional levels.

That’s how our education system shapes our thinking and with the same
intention, online education has taken it a step further with human-led courses.
Learning thought processes linked to human-led online education/ no machines
can Mentor like Humans

We live in the world of the internet, with tremendous amounts of information

flowing at the blink of an eye. In spite of the best content available to us online,
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we sometimes deviate from our goal. In e-learning the risk of doing away with
human touch altogether has the following consequences.

• It can lead to lack of motivation. As a solo contributor, we may give less

attention to the challenge at hand and eventually end up not completing
our learning journey. Having a mentor/human intervention
brings humanness in learning preventing motivation issues in learners.
• It can lead to a lack of accountability. We all learn better and remain
committed to our goals when we have someone to look up to, get inspired
by and most importantly be accountable to. Humans are social animals;
learning or anything for that matter demands a community to share openly
and learn from others.
• And finally, a mentor is the one who gets you onboard to meet your goals.
A mentor leads the way and helps you prepare for the career path that lies
ahead. And, that’s the reason machines can never fully replace humans.
Humanness in edtech is just one of the examples where humans will win
over machines.

3.2.3 Humans, not Machines, Will Build the Future: Artificial Intelligence-
Human Intelligence Interface

Going with the present data and our AI-advancements, language processing,
vision, Image processing, and common sense is still a challenge to machines and
require human interventions. Since AI is still in its development stage, the future
lies in how well we humans govern AI apps so that they abide by human values
and safety measures. After all, like Nick Burns, SQL Services Data Scientist
explained: “No matter how good your models are, they are only as good as your
data…”

Think of AI as a pure consumer of data. It will be able to learn from everything

that you feed into, but it will never go out there and look for new information.
Artificial intelligence relies on humans in this regard to find new data, break it
down for them, and then input it into the computer for their neural networks to
process and learn. If this process of human-generated data would stop, then
artificial intelligence would simply collapse. For this reason, you should not be all
that worried about machines taking over your job. After all, you provide a lot of
valuable insights for your company that allows them to navigate the marketplace
to ensure their product or service offering will be best received and most
profitable.
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ACTIVITY NO. 1

1. Give 5 robotics technology that makes a breakthrough in 2019 to 2020.

Explain their function and identify the developer. Provide a photo for each
robotic technology.

2. Explain the importance of robotics and artificial intelligence.

3. Discuss the difference between robotics and artificial intelligence.

4. Create a brief schematic diagram on how robots are made.

5. Differentiate human intelligence and artificial intelligence? What is more

intelligent? Explain your answer.

6. Is Google makes human stupid? Yes or No? Explain your answer.

Performance Rubric
Your essay will be graded based on this rubric. Consequently, use this rubric as a guide
when working on your essay and check it again before you submit it.
Criteria VGE GE SE LE N
(5) (4) (3) (2) (1)

1. The introduction is inviting and it gets the reader’s

attention. Opinion statement is clear.
2. There is one clear, well-focused topic. Main ideas
are clear and are well supported by detailed and
accurate information.

3. The purpose of writing is very clear, and there is

strong evidence of attention to audience.

4. The author uses vivid words and phrases. The

choice and placement of words seems accurate,
natural, and not forced.

5. All sentences are well constructed and have varied

structure and length. The author makes no errors
in grammar, mechanics, and/or spelling.

Legend:
VGE – To a very great extent; GE – To a great extent; SE – To some extent; LE – To a little extent;
N – Not at all
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References

McNamara S.J. Valverde, V. and Beleno, R. Science, Technology, and Society. C and E Publishing
Inc. Quezon City,

Sanjukta Misra (2013). Human Gene Therapy: A Brief Overview of the Genetic Revolution.

Serafica, J.P. et. al (2017). Science, Technology and Society: REX Book Store

Online References
https://www.britannica.com/technology/robot-technology
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.wired.com/story/wired-guide-to-
robots/amp
https://builtin.com/robotics
https://www.investopedia.com/terms/a/artificial-intelligence-ai.asp
https://www.britannica.com/technology/artificial-intelligence/Methods-and-
goals-in-AI
https://builtin.com/artificial-intelligence
https://www.educba.com/artificial-intelligence-vs-human-intelligence/
https://in.springboard.com/blog/artificial-intelligence-vs-human-
intelligence/#
https://skywell.software/blog/artificial-intelligence-vs-human-intelligence/

Acknowledgement
Disclaimer: all images are not mine, and it was downloaded from the online
references above.