3

Science,
Technology,
and Society
Prepared By:
John Alvin U. Nillo, LPT

Objectives
At the end of this module, you are expected to:
a. define the different technological advancements in society;
b. discuss the development of science and technology in the Philippines;
c. explain how robots change humanity; and
d. discuss the effects of the interplay between technology and humanity through the
dilemma/s it facing.

• The ever-growing society has made people see technology as some form
of necessity.
• Technology comes from the Greek word techne and logos which mean
art and word.
• Technology means a discourse on arts.
• Appeared in the 17th century where the concept was only used to talk
about the arts, specifically applied arts.
• Concepts like machine and tools were also attached to the word
“technology” which is the more popular sense of the concept nowadays.

TELEVISION SETS, MOBILE PHONES, COMPUTERS, AND

HUMANITY
• A number of technological devices can be easily found inside the home, the most accessible
place to anyone.
• It can also be easily inferred that these technological devices are some of the most popular
and most commonly used types of devices across all age groups.
• People all over the world use these technologies every day to accomplish different purposes.
 When Technology and Humanity Cross

TELEVISION
• A product of different experiments by various
people.
• Paul Gottlieb Nipkow, a German student, in the late
1800’s was successful in his attempt to send images
through wires with the aid of a rotating disk.
• This invention was the called “electric telescope”
that had 18 lines of resolution.
• In 1907, two inventors, Alan Archibald Campbell-
Swinton who was an English scientist and Boris Rosing
who was a Russian scientist, created a new system
of television by using cathode ray tube in addition
to the mechanical scanner system.

MOBILE PHONES
• Mobile phones have a very interesting background story.
• On April 3, 1973 Martin Cooper, a senior engineer at Motorola,
made the world’s first mobile phone call.
• The mobile phone used by Cooper weighed 1.1 kilograms and
measured 228.6 x 127 x 44.4 mm.
• This kind of device was capable of a 30-minute talk time.
• However, it took 10 hours to charge.
• In 1983, Motorola made their first commercial mobile phone
available to the public.
• It was known as the Motorola DynaTAC8000X (Goodwin, 2016).

COMPUTERS & LAPTOPS

• It was Charles Babbage, a 19th century English
Mathematics professor, who designed the
Analytical Engine which was used as the basic
framework of the computers even until the present
time.
• In general, computers can be classified in three
generations.
• Each generation of the computer was used for a
certain period of time and each gave people a new
and improved version of the previous one.
• The first true portable computer was released in April
1981.
• It was called the Osborne 1 (Orfano, 2011)
• A typical household owns at least four of the following devices: a mobile phone (89 %),
smartphone (53 %), tablet (14 %), desktop ( 39 %), laptop or netbooks (37 %), and smart TV (4 %)
( Philstar, 2013).
• These data prove the deep-seated fascination of Filipinos to different technological devices.

Property of Mr. John Alvin U. Nillo, LPT and exclusive use of LORMA COLLEGES. Reproducing, storing, distributing, photocopying,
recording, posting and/or uploading of any part of this document and of any form and any means without the prior official written
permission of LORMA and the instructor, is strictly PROHIBITED and is subjected to any forms of consequences.
 When Technology and Humanity Cross

Quick Fact: Filipinos spend most time online, on

social media worldwide.
https://www.rappler.com/technology/philippines-online-use-2019-hootsuite-we-are-social-report

In the Philippines, time spent online

daily soared from 9 hours and 29
minutes last year to 10 hours and 2
minutes this year, the highest in the
world. Coming in second is Brazil,
clocking in at 9 hours and 29
minutes, while Thailand is third at 9
hours and 11 minutes. Last year, the
Philippines came in second to
Thailand at 9 hours and 38 minutes.

Roles Played by Technological Advancements

TELEVISION

• advertisements and information dissemination.

• recreational activity and good stress reliever.
• good platform for different propagandas and advocacies.
• good way to bond.

MOBILE PHONES

• communication.
• surf on the internet.
• take pictures.
• Other applications (music player, calendar, radio, and the like).

PERSONAL COMPUTERS (PC) AND LAPTOPS

• surf the internet and communication.

• use for job.
• play games.
• watch movies and the like.

Property of Mr. John Alvin U. Nillo, LPT and exclusive use of LORMA COLLEGES. Reproducing, storing, distributing, photocopying,
recording, posting and/or uploading of any part of this document and of any form and any means without the prior official written
permission of LORMA and the instructor, is strictly PROHIBITED and is subjected to any forms of consequences.
 When Technology and Humanity Cross

Ethical Dilemma Faced by Technological

Advancements
• Most parents would argue that these devices make their children lazy and unhealthy.
• First dilemma, people who develop different kinds of sickness because of too much use of
technological devices.
• Second dilemma, the people in the scientific world nor the children are blameworthy because
first, the children are not yet capable of rationally deciding for themselves what is good and
what is bad. Second even the creators of these technologies went out of their way to inform
children of the pros and cons of these technological contributions, it would still be useless
because the children have no capacity to understand them yet.
• It was the recklessness and overconfidence of the adults that cause the character change in
children.

Robotics and Humanity

• Another great product of the innovative minds of the people
is the robot.
• Robots are now widely used. Ex. There are so called service
robots. These particular robots do specific tasks but focus
mainly in assisting their masters in their everyday tasks.
• The International Federation of Robotics (IFR) and United
Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) made it
their task to formulate a working definition for service robots.

A Preliminary Extract of the Relevant Definitions is (IFR,

2012)
• A robot is an actuated mechanism programmable in two or more axes with a degree of
autonomy, moving within its environment, to perform intended tasks.
• A service robot is a robot that performs useful tasks for humans or equipment excluding industrial
automation application.
• A personal service robot or a service robot for personal use is a robot used for a noncommercial
task, usually by laypersons. Ex. Domestic servant robot, automated wheelchair, personal mobility
assist robot, and pet exercising robot.
• A professional service robot or a service robot for professional use is a robot used for a
commercial task, usually operated by a properly trained operator.

Example: Cleaning robot for public places, delivery robot in offices or hospitals, fire fighting
robot, rehabilitation robot, and surgery robot in hospitals.

• Germany was one of the first countries to develop service robots.

• As part of the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research’s “Service Robotics
Innovation Lead Initiative,” it sponsored a collaborative project called DESIRE (Deutsche
Servicerobotik Initiative-Germany Service Robotics Initiative) which was launced on October 1,
2005.

Property of Mr. John Alvin U. Nillo, LPT and exclusive use of LORMA COLLEGES. Reproducing, storing, distributing, photocopying,
recording, posting and/or uploading of any part of this document and of any form and any means without the prior official written
permission of LORMA and the instructor, is strictly PROHIBITED and is subjected to any forms of consequences.
 When Technology and Humanity Cross

Individual Objectives of DESIRE

• To achieve a technological edge toward attaining key functions and components that are
suited for everyday use.
• To create a reference architecture for mobile manipulation.
• To promote the convergence of technologies through integration into a common technology
platform.
• To conduct pre-competition research and development activities for the new products and
technology transfer in start-up enterprises in the field of service robotics.

Some of the expected work to be performed by DESIRE are the following:

• “Clear up the kitchen table”
• “Fill the dishwasher”
• “Clear up this room”

Roles Played by Robots

• Used to ease the workload of mankind.
• To make life more efficient and less stressful.
• To entertain people.

• just like people living in the society, robots also have their own set of rules and characteristics
that define what a good robot is.
• these laws were formulated by Isaac Asimov back in the 1940’s, when he was thinking of the
ethical consequences of robots.

These are the following (Standford, n.d.):

• Law One: A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to
come to harm.
• Law Two: A robot must obey the orders given it by human beings except where such orders
would conflict with the First Law.
• Law Three: A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict
with the First or Second Law.

Ethical Dilemma/s Faced by Robotics

• Safety.
• Emotional component
• Partial autonomy includes active human-robot interaction.
• Full autonomy excludes active human-robot interaction.

Property of Mr. John Alvin U. Nillo, LPT and exclusive use of LORMA COLLEGES. Reproducing, storing, distributing, photocopying,
recording, posting and/or uploading of any part of this document and of any form and any means without the prior official written
permission of LORMA and the instructor, is strictly PROHIBITED and is subjected to any forms of consequences.
 When Technology and Humanity Cross

Let’s Have an Activity!

Answer the given activities below. You may use MS Word (and other word
processing applications/software).

I. Write five (5) possible advantages and disadvantages of technology to humans. Write it in
NOT more than three (3) sentences for each number. Submit your final output (in any format)
on Google Classroom, Module Activities, “Module 3 Activity no.1” part.

Advantages Disadvantages
1. 1.
2. 2.
3. 3.
4. 4.
5. 5.

II. Write five (5) Advantages and Disadvantages of Modern Technology on Youth Society.
Write it in NOT more than three (3) sentences for each number. Submit your final output (in
any format) on Google Classroom, Module Activities, “Module 3 Activity no.2” part.

*DUE DATE: Submission is on or before November 27, 2021 at 11:59PM

References:
https://www.utwente.nl/en/bms/wijsb/research/Human-Technology%20Relations/
https://www.studocu.com/ph/document/divine-word-college-of-calapan/ab-political-science/7-when-technology-and-
humanity-cross/9865856
https://pdfcoffee.com/when-technology-and-humanity-cross-pdf-free.html
https://www.coursehero.com/file/78294452/TOPIC-1-WHEN-TECHNOLOGY-AND-HUMANITY-CROSSPPTpptx/

Property of Mr. John Alvin U. Nillo, LPT and exclusive use of LORMA COLLEGES. Reproducing, storing, distributing, photocopying,
recording, posting and/or uploading of any part of this document and of any form and any means without the prior official written
permission of LORMA and the instructor, is strictly PROHIBITED and is subjected to any forms of consequences.