WHEN

TECHNOLOGY AND
HUMANITY CROSS
Are we OK with
entrusting certain
decisions to artificial
intelligence?

Will we be OK with being

force mediated by a
robot?
TECHNOLOGY
Technology
came from the Greek
words techne and logos
which mean art and word
respectively. Taking the
two words together,
technology means a
discourse on art
(Buchanan, 2010).
⚫Technology these days
enjoys such fame and
glory because of the many
benefits it brings to
mankind. Some would
even say that it does not
only bring convenience but
also pleasure and
happiness to people.
There are people who would even
argue that technology has
become a necessity and no
longer a want. At present,
people work very hard in order
to save money to buy these
“necessities” while in the past,
people only used their money for
things that would help them
survive.
In general, technology keeps on
progressing due to not only the
changing times and
environment but also to the
ever- progressing mind of
mankind. It would not be
possible for all these
technological advancements to
exist if it were not for the
brilliance, creativeness, and
power of the mind.
⚫According to Kantar Media,
92% of urban homes & 70%
of rural homes own at least
one TV set. It is for this
reason why TV remains to be
the ultimate medium for
advertisement placements
(The Manila Times, 2014).
Television Sets, Mobile Phones,
Computers & Humanity
The current count of
households with TV set
already reached 15.135M
(Noda, 2012). This number
signifies that TV plays a
great role in the lives of
the people or among
Filipinos.
Paul Gottlieb Nipkow. He
Invented the Nipkow disk,
one of the first successful
technologies for televi-
sion transmission. Hundreds
of stations experimented
with television broadcasting using the
Nipkow system in the 1920s and
1930s, until it was superseded by
all-electronic systems in the 1940s.
Mobile Phones
Filipinos love to use their
mobile phones anywhere,
anytime. They use it for
different purposes other than
for communication. More
than half of the Filipino
population own at least one
mobile phone regardless of
type.
Alan Archibald Campbell-
Swinton
The first man to
envision a
completely electronic
television system.

Boris Rosing. he invented

a TV system using a
cathode-ray tube as
a receiver.
In 2010, global research
agency Synovate conducted
a survey and declared 67%
product ownership in the
country. In fact, it was also
claimed that mobile phones
are considered a must- have
among young Filipinos (ABS-
CBN News, 2010).
The Ipsos Media Atlas Philippines
Nationwide Urban 2011-2012
survey results showed that one
in every three Filipinos cannot
live without a mobile phone. In
other words, 30% of the
Philippine urban population
nationwide said that mobile
phones are necessities in life
(Roa, 2012).
On April 3, 1973, Martin
Cooper, a senior engineer at
Motorola, made the world’s
first mobile phone call. He
called their rival
telecommunication company
& properly informed that he
was making the call from a
mobile phone.
In 1983, Motorola made
their first commercial
mobile phone available to
the public. It is known as
the Motorola DynaTAC
8000X (Goodwin, 2016).
Computers & laptops have
also become part of many of
the Filipino households. Most
of the profits gained by
computer & laptop
manufacturers come from
offices, businesses, or
schools where such device
have become part of their
necessities.
Charles Babbage
A mathematician,
philosopher, inventor
and mechanical
engineer. He originated
the concept of a digital
programmable
computer.
The first true portable
computer was released in
April 1981. it was called the
Osborne 1 (Orfano, 2011).
From that moment on, the
evolution of laptops
continued until the present
time where various designs
and models are already
available.
A typical household owns at least
4 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.
Here are some facts about
Filipinos and their use of
gadgets and the Internet
(Rappler, n.d.):
>Mobile phone subscription is
at 119M.
>Filipinos spend
approximately 3.2 hrs on
mobile & 5.2 hrs on desktop
daily.
>Currently, the Philippines is
one of the highest digital
populations in the world.
>There are now 47M active
FB accounts in the
Philippines.
>The Philippines is the
fastest-growing application
market in Southeast Asia.
Ethical Dilemma Faced by these
Technological Advancement
>most parents would argue
that these devices make their
children lazy & unhealthy.
>moral dilemma, children are
freely exposed to different
things on TV, mobile phones,
laptops, or computers.

Ethical Dilemma Faced by these

Technological Advancement
>it also causes some to
become reclusive,
alienating themselves from
other people.

The ethics of responsibility

is an appropriate theory
that can be used in these
dilemmas.
Robotics & Humanity
Another great product of the
innovative minds of the people
is the robot. Robots are now
widely used. For example, there
are so called service robots.
These particular robots do
specific tasks but focus mainly
in assisting their masters in
everyday tasks.
Robotics & Humanity
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 definition 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
Service robot
A service robot is a robot
that performs useful tasks
for humans or equipment
excluding industrial
automation application. A
robot may be classified
according to its intended
application as an industrial
robot or a service robot.
Personal service robot
A personal service robot or a
service robot for personal use
is a service robot used for
noncommercial task.
Examples are domestic
servant robot, automated
wheelchair, personal mobility
assist robot, and pet
exercising robot.
Professional robot
A professional service robot or a
service robot for professional
use is a service robot used for
commercial task, usually
operated by a properly trained
operator. Examples are
cleaning robot for public
places, delivery robots in
offices or hospitals, fire fighting
robots.
Germany was one of the first
countries to develop service
robots. As part of the
German Federal Ministry of
Education Research’s
“Service Robotics Innovation
Lead Initiative,” it sponsored
a collaborative project called
DESIRE launched in Oct. 1,
2005.
Deutsche Servicerobotik
Initiative-Germany Service
Robotics Initiaative
(DESIRE) objectives:
>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
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:
⮚“clear up the kitchen
table”
⮚“fill the dishwasher”
⮚“clear up this room”
Mock, n.d.
George Devol made the
first invention of robots in
1950. He called it
“Unimate” from
“ Universal
Automation.”
>they are primarily used to ease
the workload of mankind.
>to make life more efficient and
less stressful.
>they perform complicated
activities which human beings
are incapable of doing.

Roles Played by Robotics

>there are robots which are
made for pleasure, they
are to entertain people.
Laws of a good robot
formulated by Isaac
Asimov:
1. A robot may not injure a
human being or, through
inaction, allow a human
being to come to harm.
2. A robot must obey the
orders given to it by human
beings except such order
would conflict with the first
law.
3. A robot must protect its
own existence as long as
such protection does not
conflict with the 1st & 2nd
Law.
⚫Safety
⚫Emotional component
In the field of robotics, there are
the so-called partial autonomy
(includes active human-robot
interaction) and full autonomy
(excludes active human-robot
interaction).

Ethical Dilemma/s Faced by

Robotics
Partial & full autonomy robotics