How do we allow scientific innovation without ruining the world?

AbbyGNelson · Post by **AbbyGNelson** » 04 Mar 2018, 19:21

kandscreeley wrote: ↑04 Mar 2018, 08:43
CatInTheHat wrote: ↑04 Mar 2018, 06:06
kandscreeley wrote: ↑02 Mar 2018, 16:23 I feel like this is an age old question that there's really no good answer to. People didn't even want credit cards when they first came out because they thought they were the "mark of the beast" or unsafe or something. There has to be a happy medium between allowing scientific innovation and educating people on the horrors what some of the inventions can do.

I just don't think that we can throw the baby out with the bath water on this one. There will always be evil people. We could get rid of all scientific innovation, and they would find a way to be evil.
Well said! I remember hearing my parents talk about the people fearing credit cards for those reasons. I can also remember people being concerned about cell phones causing communication issues.... there are some, but the good far surpasses the bad.
Thanks. I kind of felt like I was babbling at the end.

Credit cards are actually an interesting innovation to discuss under this topic, because there are studies that say people spend more when they use a credit card then if they use cash. So while credit cards are not evil (most if not all innovation is innocuous) they statistically result in more spending which can be harmful to people and their ability to save and not go into debt.

I think that with invention and innovation, people need to be taught how to use it and the potential pitfalls, because someone is going to burn themselves on accident. You know?

Roggyrus · Post by **Roggyrus** » 05 Mar 2018, 02:14

The keyword for inventions and innovations is as you have said it is "that they could help the world." In the case of the sports watch that gives the Final Notice, what does it profit the world if people know when they would die? Is there anything constructive about it? Even without knowing people just die anyway. But then, this is only whimsical thinking, if say, the "sports watch" was devised in such a way that insurance companies could beam it to prospective costumers and know when that costumer's the Final Notice would come, then the company might be forewarned about who to insure or not.

briellejee · Post by **briellejee** » 05 Mar 2018, 06:18

As a strong supporter of environmental conservation, I don't think inventors really consider the impact of their works to the environment. It's really saddening that we all care about the money and comfort and not the earth we live in. I think there should be implemented laws that will not allow certain inventions that do not follow guidelines and ethics and can have harmful consequences to the environment. There's this certain inventor, I forgot who and what, but he stopped using a harmful chemical in his invention that causes harm for the environment. It made his product less effective but he didn't care. I wish others could do the same.

Jkhorner · Post by **Jkhorner** » 05 Mar 2018, 09:33

I firmly believe that while AI may grow to be a useful and also potentially disturbing tool, humans will always win out. Humans are the only species on the planet with the ability to continuously adapt and create new things. Of course that does mean people can do stupid new things, too. But for all the mistakes humans make, there are more humans coming behind to help fix them.

Sometimes those mistakes will be the things we create. Sometimes it will be the regulations that control those creations. I don't have the answer because I don't know the future, but I think that in itself is a blessing. Imagine, if we knew where we were going to end up as a species, who among us would push to be better?

R-Myra · Post by **R-Myra** » 05 Mar 2018, 11:12

I think the same. At last it depends on 'in whose hand the technology is'.
Every new invention has its pros and cons that we need to figure out on our own. We can use it in a good way or the worst ways possible.

brunettebiblio wrote: ↑02 Mar 2018, 09:32 This is a question that's been (and will be) posed for a very long time. Certain technologies can alter human life completely, but at what cost and to what reward? When do things go from natural to unnatural? I think it really depends on the technology. I'd love to be able to choose the hair and eye color of my future child for example, but I would never want to be involuntarily resurrected as a cyborg. It really comes down to who has the final say in whatever that technology is, I think, and how much will it alter their life for both the positive and the negative, to answer whether or not a technology is ethical.

sepicatt · Post by **sepicatt** » 05 Mar 2018, 18:45

I just came across the video from the Niger incident that is being shared online where four Green Berets die. The video is taken from a helmet came from one of the Berets. I thought about this question as I watched it. Scientific innovation has enabled us to have gopros and helmet cams but at what cost? I think about those family members who now have the ability to see how their loved one actually died. It breaks my heart. I know it bothered me and the reason I had watched it was because of discussions going on within my group about it.

I think someone said it best earlier that just because we can doesn't mean we should. I cant help but think of the families of those four brave men. And I can't help but think the line was past by putting the video up for everyone to see. Just very bothered esp by some of the stances of the people posting it.

GabbiV · Post by **GabbiV** » 05 Mar 2018, 19:43

My gut reaction is to say scientific endeavors should be as transparent as possible and each country have a certified web presence that logs what is being worked on. There are obvious flaws in this, like highly sensitive projects and information that only the government should see.

Also as a STEM student, scientific papers should step up their game in their writing! Too much jargon and bad writing in general, making it so difficult to process that only individuals of equal specificity can understand.

CaitlinGonya · Post by **CaitlinGonya** » 05 Mar 2018, 19:50

The thing is you run the risk of bad things happening, no matter what the situation is. Unfortunately there are bad people in the world who will do bad things. Fire is good for a forest to clear debris, it's also very dangerous. We need water to survive, but it can also be overwhelming. To think that AI can go one way only is wishful thinking. With that in mind, nothing that could cause potential cause harm should go unreserved. There should be guidelines and maybe even some protection group.

Post by **Clinical1** » 06 Mar 2018, 17:23

In my opinion, asking this question now is like closing the barn door after the horse has gotten loose.

Scientific innovation has been fabulous about treating illness in the young. But when it comes to our elder population, I think we have ruined the world. When you watch someone with dementia, who has very little quality of life thrive because of scientific innovation, it is hard. As my father-in-law passed into his 90's, in a nursing home, we started to take away some of his medication. When he would have an episode and go to the hospital, they would call and want to send him to a cardiologist. He couldn't walk, couldn't serve his own food, and wore a diaper. But through cardiac intervention, he could have lived another 10 years.
By keeping people alive 10 - 15 years more than previously, the age of retirement has also extended, Medicare may not be available for the millennials, and more nursing homes and assisted living facilities are opening all of the time.

vinodsai · Post by **vinodsai** » 06 Mar 2018, 23:23

Bluecobia wrote: ↑02 Mar 2018, 16:55 I agree that technology can and will be used for both bad and good. It seems to be human nature. Some people try to do evil when ever they can . Technology is just another tool for them to use.

You are absolutely right. There is good and bad in everything. I totally agree.

Sahani Nimandra · Post by **Sahani Nimandra** » 07 Mar 2018, 05:29

Everything has its pros and cons but what makes matter even worst is the money driven society that we live on. People would go to any extend to earn money so it is possible that they would use tech to fulfil their illicit desires.

Emmanae · Post by **Emmanae** » 07 Mar 2018, 09:46

I feel like each scientific innovation has to be an individual decision, each one has merits and also detracting factors. I'm all for most medical innovations but I am freaked out by bigdog robots. Currently Black Mirror shows us some examples of things to avoid. xD

Astrocelot · Post by **Astrocelot** » 07 Mar 2018, 13:41

Everyone on this thread, I think, is about on the same page; there will be good and bad to every new innovation! I think it's just a matter of whether or not the pros will outweigh the cons. There's always a lot of mass hysteria and anxiety over things we don't understand. Upcoming technology and its possible consequences are no exception, and we can see that in works like Frankenstein, or in the many silly ways that scientists have been borderline exonerated in the past because it threatened everyone's current, cozy understanding of the universe. Has science gone so far as to create patchwork humanoids out of corpses? No, but this was back when modern-ish science was new and scary because of peoples' unfamiliarity with it, and, "...frightful would be the effect of any human endeavour to mock the stupendous mechanism of the Creator of the world," in regards to Frankenstein.

I think our anxieties about things like AI will be calmed once we're at the point of better understanding it, much like with any other scientific innovation that has become commonplace in our world now. Think of all the things that would be terrifying for our ancestors to know about, but we use that particular technology on a day-to-day basis. As someone who's majoring in computer science and minoring in psychology, I think humans will be able to invent things that buffer our fears, make them safer, and still allow innovation through. Our world might not be the same after the new things have been created - whatever those may be - but that doesn't mean it will be horrible overall. Just different!

Aubrey Lewis · Post by **Aubrey Lewis** » 07 Mar 2018, 17:02

It's no doubt that technology nowadays are gaining more and more importance in our lives. It's not as if there's any way to stop it from advancing, but I just hope that people won't succumb to machines and let them live their lives. AI may be wonderful, but it may have its drawbacks as well. Every invention has its good use to society, but it can also be bad too in the long term.

BookInspector300 · Post by **BookInspector300** » 07 Mar 2018, 20:30

By not trying to play God. It's okay to be curious and invent things that would make life easier but venturing outside the scope of things you don't understand is making grounds for future problems.